Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

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supertester
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Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by supertester »

Hello,

I own an old El Degas clear strat guitar and need to replace the tremolo system (The original one is missing) on it but I seem to be having some trouble finding a tremolo system with 20mm in depth.

Can someone here point me in the right direction to buy one or offer any advice on what other non original model I could use if I cannot find one?

Thanks

Steve
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charles
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Re: Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by charles »

Wish I could help on this one, but Strats are not my forte...
Have you checked sites such as Allparts or Guitar Parts Resource?
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
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Barry
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Re: Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by Barry »

Hi supertester.
You said you need to replace the tremolo "system". I assume you mean just the arm/bar, not the entire bridge?

To replace an arm you go by the diameter/thread size, not the depth. These days you will normally see only two possibilities:
  • 6mm diameter (Metric) for import guitars
  • 10-32 diameter for domestic guitars (approx 4.8mm)
Just looking may not help much, but as a rule, a MIJ strat type bridge should take a 6mm. MIK "might" also be 6mm.

The main difficulty you might have is the angle of the return bend and the height from the strings. That can be unique to each guitar manufacturer, but you can put it in a vise and gently "encourage" to change. :mrgreen:

One of my favourite parts store is http://www.guitarfetish.com/Replacement ... s_c_4.html. Try there first.
supertester
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Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2017 1:33 am

Re: Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by supertester »

Barry wrote:Hi supertester.
You said you need to replace the tremolo "system". I assume you mean just the arm/bar, not the entire bridge?

To replace an arm you go by the diameter/thread size, not the depth. These days you will normally see only two possibilities:
  • 6mm diameter (Metric) for import guitars
  • 10-32 diameter for domestic guitars (approx 4.8mm)
Just looking may not help much, but as a rule, a MIJ strat type bridge should take a 6mm. MIK "might" also be 6mm.

The main difficulty you might have is the angle of the return bend and the height from the strings. That can be unique to each guitar manufacturer, but you can put it in a vise and gently "encourage" to change. :mrgreen:

One of my favourite parts store is http://www.guitarfetish.com/Replacement ... s_c_4.html. Try there first.
Hi Barry,

Sadly no I do mean I need to replace "the entire bridge" and the "arm/bar"...

I have a found a local repair shop here but they cannot find a bridge that is thin enough to fit in my El Degas...So I figured I would ask here for some guidance...

Thanks
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Barry
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Re: Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by Barry »

Can you please post some pix, it's difficult to recommend anything sight unseen. The 20 mm measurement you reference is not registering with me.

At this stage we do not know where your guitar was made, but it should not be too difficult to find a replacement bridge for a "strat" style guitar.

If it was made in Japan in the late 70's to early 80's (i.e., a top quality build) there's a chance it may have originally been a Gotoh brand, and they're still in business. Warning though....they ain't cheap!

Korean builds and later may have other manufacturers but be sure to be looking at metric units. American made parts will almost certainly not fit.
supertester
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Re: Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by supertester »

Barry wrote:Can you please post some pix, it's difficult to recommend anything sight unseen. The 20 mm measurement you reference is not registering with me.

At this stage we do not know where your guitar was made, but it should not be too difficult to find a replacement bridge for a "strat" style guitar.

If it was made in Japan in the late 70's to early 80's (i.e., a top quality build) there's a chance it may have originally been a Gotoh brand, and they're still in business. Warning though....they ain't cheap!

Korean builds and later may have other manufacturers but be sure to be looking at metric units. American made parts will almost certainly not fit.
Hi Barry,

Thank you for the reply....Here are a couple of pictures of a guitar exactly like mine before it got gutted of its entire bridge. The guitar was purchased in Canada in the late 70's or early 80's I believe. (If that helps at all)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Image

Image
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Barry
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Re: Looking for tremolo replacement (El Degas clear strat)

Post by Barry »

Thanks for the picture. When you said it was "clear" I was wondering if it was one those Lucite models. We've seen a few pop up on this forum over the years. Stunningly different, but heavy as sin too!

Yep, an MIJ build (should say so on the neck plate too) and the saddles are brass which will make it more difficult to match exactly. As stated earlier you should be looking at a metric sized replacement, American Strat parts will not fit.

Sorry, but I'm still puzzled about the 20mm depth dimension. Are you saying that the bridge cavity is approx 3/4" deep? A sustain block would require much more than that normally. Lucite is a heavy material so my guess is that this guitar would not be as thick through the body as a standard wood construction.

I can only guess, but I'm beginning to suspect that either the original part did not have a sustain block, or it was a top loader style (not strung through the body). You might concentrate on finding an appropriate bridge and simply remove the sustain block. The body is very resonant and may not need one at all. Just a thought.

edit: I've been looking at a few pix online and it looks like these did have a block in them (to attach the springs at least) but I cannot tell what exactly it looks like. Again guessing, but if the depth is as shallow as you say it must have been cut down. You won't find that off the shelf, but you can have a machine shop perhaps reduce it for you if you don't have the equipment.
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