A client recently acquired this outstanding Japanese made Fender "Hot Rodded Reissue" Strat, and dropped it off for some TLC and a setup. The quality of this line of Strats is every bit as good as a US made custom shop, and besides that it has a great Jeff Beck vibe. The quality of materials and natural sustain of this instrument is inspiring, and if a locking tremolo is your thing you would be quite happy with one of these in the arsenal.
This particular guitar had been neglected for a while, and some surface rust had formed on the original Floyd Rose locking screws. Some 500 grit sandpaper and mineral oil cleared that up easily.
These tremolo systems can be tricky to setup, but the main rule of thumb is that the string tension must be equal to the spring tension. Once it's set to the height you want, it must also be shimmed to stop it from rising off the body even more as you tune.
The stock electronics in these models, unlike other offshore made Fenders, are actually very well suited to this guitar and sound excellent. The DiMarzio humbucker was made exclusively for these models and has great tonal balance with the single coils.
All-in-all a great guitar that can be found at very reasonable prices ~ if you can find one!
This particular guitar had been neglected for a while, and some surface rust had formed on the original Floyd Rose locking screws. Some 500 grit sandpaper and mineral oil cleared that up easily.
