Scott Henderson Discussion

[Thumberstrummer]

Hi Scott.
Let me apologize in advance for resurrecting this topic once more.
Do you think Suhr would ever be available to sell only blocks and reinforced, thicker arms as OEM / standalone items? Or the full modded tremolo assembly?
I keep breacking arms, and there's no engineering company in the neigborhood that can provide such kind of mod / build service, as you suggested some time ago...

Many thanks
Best,

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Scott Henderson]

No, they won't do that because it's not cost effective for them. They don't do the bridge mod themselves, it's done at a local machine shop in Lake Elsinore CA, which is a small town. This is a very simple job that any machine shop can do. If there's not one in your neighborhood, I'm sure you can find a good one in a bigger city close to you. Most of them will charge about $100 to put threads on a thicker push-in arm, thread the block with a larger hole, and drill the hole in the plate bigger. Then you can easily cut the arm to the length you want. All Suhr does after that is hand-drill the plastic tip a a bit bigger and attach it with super-glue.

This would be a lot cheaper than ordering a custom block and arm from Suhr.

[Scott Henderson]

I forgot to add that the arm should be made of plain steel, not stainless, which is too hard and will break easily. Gotoh makes a variety of arms like this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Gotoh-Tremolo-Arm-Chrome-PAW-1C/dp/B078H1T7G7/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_vtp_ses_clicks_nonshared_1_7/132-3013771-4484215?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B078H1T7G7&pd_rd_r=5c39267b-333b-47f6-be0e-19b41c84dc3e&pd_rd_w=SXb68&pd_rd_wg=divB0&pf_rd_p=749cddcb-b3dc-4bab-bcca-89adfb2f4e61&pf_rd_r=3Y4XDZK9NKN8TXW3HTJ5&psc=1&refRID=3Y4XDZK9NKN8TXW3HTJ5

Unfortunately they don't say if it's plain steel, but they usually say stainless if it is. The Wilkinson/ Gotoh bar is stainless - Trevor is the man so I don't know why he's using a stainless arm, but maybe he knows something about it that I don't. I always need to bend the bar a little to make it the right height - Suhr tried one small batch of stainless arms and every one of them broke immediately when I tried to bend them.

Also, some Gotoh arms are hollow and threaded on the inside so that's not what you want - only push-in arms.

[Thumberstrummer]

MANY MANY THANKS SCOTT!!
Definitely helpful and supportive, as usual.
Having learned there could be a third way, working on existing items that can be a good basis for modding is a great news!
In the end, it sounds way easier to find a machine shop in the neighborhood, machining the arm and the block, than hit a steel parts manufacturer expected to build up the arm from a scratch (in my opinion, the thoughest part of the build).

Thanks again

Best,

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)