Took the Sustain Block Plunge - Titanium

[shredmonster]

Titanium Sustain blocks are now 42% off !

I always wanted to try a brass one when I found this sale.

Will review after everything gets here and I do the pain in the arse install.

This should be interesting.

[DonP]

Yes, let us know.

What guitar is it going into?

[Voyager1000]

I have a quick tip for you,
to lessen the pain, if you like the way your guitar is intonated, just measure the distance to the string seat from the front edge of the tremlo plate with a caliper.
Then during the re-install, just set the caliper to the distance you measured, place it on the trem plate, slide the string seat to it and tighten.

It allowed me to avoid the intonation step altogether, and lessened the pain quite a bit. I did two guitars in just over an hour, plus a little additonal maintenance while I had the strings off.

[shredmonster]

Hey Voyager that is a great idea. I was looking around for a method to do the saddles.

The guitar it is going into is my Rico Jr Custom Jekyll.

[Model1VH2]

I'm not sold on the titanium blocks ...
I have a few big brass blocks and I love them.
They're high mass and help provide better tone, sustain, resonance, and stability IMO.

However, though titanium is an incredibly strong metal or alloy, it's also very light weight which sorta goes against all the advantages of using the "high mass" brass blocks.

If you own both the brass and titanium, I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts.

[emperor_black]

If sheer mass is the answer, how about lead blocks? I bet Lead is heavier than brass or titanium.

[rjohnstone]

However, though titanium is an incredibly strong metal or alloy, it's also very light weight which sorta goes against all the advantages of using the "high mass" brass blocks.

If you own both the brass and titanium, I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts.

It's not necessarily the mass you're looking for but more the resonant properties of the metal in question.

Lead has a lot of "mass" to it, but it lacks any resonance capabilities.
Titanium is a very resonant metal.

[emperor_black]

Agreed.

[Model1VH2]

It's not necessarily the mass you're looking for but more the resonant properties of the metal in question.

Lead has a lot of "mass" to it, but it lacks any resonance capabilities.
Titanium is a very resonant metal.

Makes sense, thanks.
I would have never suggested lead though.

Still curious about the difference (if any) in tone between the brass and titanium.

[emperor_black]

well, brass should sound warmer than titanium for sure. just a guess.

[Model1VH2]

well, brass should sound warmer than titanium for sure. just a guess.

That would be my guess as well.
And even at a "discount", those titanium blocks are still $259.
For that kind of scratch, I could get a brand new original Floyd, a brass block upgrade, and still not spend $259.

I dunno ... it just doesn't make much sense to me.

[DonP]

If sheer mass is the answer, how about lead blocks? I bet Lead is heavier than brass or titanium.

Imports from China come with lead blocks.

[emperor_black]

lead blocks painted to look like titanium.

[emperor_black]

That would be my guess as well.
And even at a "discount", those titanium blocks are still $259.
For that kind of scratch, I could get a brand new original Floyd, a brass block upgrade, and still not spend $259.

I dunno ... it just doesn't make much sense to me.

Holy crap, that's almost $200 difference between a brass and titanium block.

[dirtyroadie]

I have a quick tip for you,
to lessen the pain, if you like the way your guitar is intonated, just measure the distance to the string seat from the front edge of the tremlo plate with a caliper.
Then during the re-install, just set the caliper to the distance you measured, place it on the trem plate, slide the string seat to it and tighten.

It allowed me to avoid the intonation step altogether, and lessened the pain quite a bit. I did two guitars in just over an hour, plus a little additonal maintenance while I had the strings off.

Though I didn't have a tough time with intonation after installing a Big Block, this is a great idea. What caliper are you using?