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This article strictly references
genuine Fender® Strat® tremolo bridges that accept a
10-32
or 5mm screw-in tremolo arm. These two
screw-in threading types
are what are found on Genuine Fender® Strat's® that
accept a screw-in tremolo arm, no matter if they are
made in American, Mexico or Japan. The term "Genuine Fender Strat"
within this article does NOT include "Squier by
Fender Strat's" which may accept a
5mm or
6mm (M6 x
1.0) screw-in tremolo arm, we are strictly
referring to the tremolo arms and tremolo bridges for
true genuine Fender® Strat's®, NOT Squier's. The
information presented here is taking into
consideration that the Strat® in question has the
original tremolo bridge that was installed by Fender®
when the guitar was new, no aftermarket bridges are
considered here.
Based on the amount of discussions
we read about "which tremolo arms fit which tremolo
bridges" or "what is the tremolo arm attachment
threading on a particular tremolo arm or within a
particular tremolo bridge", it has become obvious
that there is confusion and miss-information as to
which tremolo arm threading is found in genuine Fender® Strat® tremolo
bridges and tremolo arms.
All American Strat’s® since 1954 that accept a screw-in
tremolo arm are threaded with
UNF 10-32. or more commonly
referred to as
10-32. The
10
refers to the diameter of the material (or tremolo arm)
which is
#10
or 3/16" and the
32
refers to the number or count of threads per one inch.
Your typical
import genuine Fender® Strat’s® (MIM & MIJ) that accept a
screw-in tremolo arm are metric
5mm (M5 x 0.8). The
way a metric threading is described is a little
different then an American threading. The
M5
is the diameter of the material (or tremolo arm) which
is
5mm
and the
0.8
is the distance or measurement in millimeters between
each individual thread. It can be a bit confusing since
American threading pitches are determined by how many
threads per one inch of threading and the metric
threading pitches are determined by the measurement in
millimeters from each individual thread to the next.
Often found written in various guitar discussion forums
one will post that since they have installed an American
10-32 tremolo arm successfully in their MIM OR MIJ Strat® that
it must mean their tremolo bridge has 10-32 threading
in the tremolo block. This is not true if the MIM or MIJ Strat® still
has the original tremolo bridge installed. Here is the
reason why; American 10-32 threaded tremolo arms have 32
threads per inch and the 5mm (M5 x 0.8) has 31.75
threads per inch, there is only 1/4 of a thread
difference in 1 inch of threads between the 10-32 and
5mm, so since the thread pitch is so close to being the
same it really does not factor in with fitment issues,
it is the diameter differences between the 10-32 and 5mm
that forces the issue of correct fit. The diameter of
the threaded portion of the 10-32 and 5mm tremolo arms
are separated by approximately 0.009". 10-32 threads are
typically cut or rolled onto 3/16" (0.1875") diameter
rod and 5mm threads are typically cut or rolled onto 5mm
(0.1968") diameter rod, this is where the 0.009"
difference is referenced. Typically a genuine Fender production
American Strat 10-32 tremolo arm threads will be in the
0.182" to 0.185" diameter range and the 5mm threads will
be in the 0.188" to 0.195" diameter range. One can
erroneously screw a 10-32 American tremolo arm into a
5mm bridge because the thread pitch is so close to being
the same but the diameter of the tremolo arm is smaller
so it will screw in with no apparent problems, but it is
NOT a wise thing to do or a correct fit. You cannot do
the opposite where you take 5mm tremolo arm and attempt
to screw it into an American Strat® tremolo bridge
designed to accept a 10-32 threaded tremolo arm because
the threaded hole in the tremolo block is smaller in
diameter for the 10-32 threads. The 5mm tremolo arm will
bind while attempting to screw it in after less than 1
turn, so it would become quite obvious that it is not
the correct tremolo arm. You will probably never read a
post in a discussion forum where someone mistakenly
states that a 5mm tremolo arm fits just fine in a bridge
designed to accept a 10-32 threaded tremolo arm, it just
won't work... But you will read about the other
way around all the time.
Another post we find in discussion
forums is that when someone mistakenly installs a 10-32
tremolo arm in a metric 5mm tremolo bridge is that it
seems to fits better than the original 5mm tremolo arm
did, it is no longer floppy or loose when all the way
installed. This is because by the time the
incorrect (10-32) tremolo arm is screwed in so far as to
be installed enough for use, the miss-match of threads
are now beginning to bind and this will take up the
slack and wobble that was experienced when the correct
5mm tremolo arm was installed. Never mistake this for a
correct solution, you will eventually damage the threads
in your tremolo block and tremolo arm.
A quick and easy test to determine which threads you
have in your TREMOLO
BRIDGE
would be to get a metric 5mm (M5 x 0.8) machine screw of
at least 1" in length (25mm) and attempt to screw it
into your bridge with finger pressure / tightness only,
NEVER force it! If it is truly 5mm then it will
screw in just fine, if it is 10-32, it will not. You
CANNOT perform this test by going the other way around
by trying a 10-32 machine screw since it will screw into
both the 5mm and 10-32 bridge and will tell you nothing.
If you still have a question
as to what bridge may be in your Strat®, look up the
Service Diagram
for your model of Strat® and locate the part number of
the bridge installed and reference the bridge part
numbers below. There may be some bridge part
numbers in the service diagram that are not listed below
or simply not available as replacement parts and often
this occurs when a unique part number of a bridge is
only referenced in a complete guitar, but its
counterpart as an exact replacement is a different part
number which is used for replacement part sales only.
Unfortunately Fender® is not a
source of 100% accurate information for which tremolo
arm threading is used in some of its tremolo bridges
because they have published incorrect specs for a number
of bridges, see below. Typically you can pretty
much conclude which tremolo arm threading is going to be
in a tremolo bridge by where it is made, typically USA
manufactured bridges will be 10-32 and offshore
manufactured bridges (imports) will be 5mm.
However, this is not 100% true but a good rule of thumb
and starting point for evaluation. The
007-2290-000 American Special / Hwy 1 tremolo bridge is
a good example of an exception. It is made by Ping in
Taiwan but accepts an American 10-32 tremolo arm, it has
#4-40 intonation screws, #4-40 saddle height screws but
has metric M4 x 0.7 top plate mounting screws, so even though it is an
import bridge made in Taiwan by Ping it uses mostly
American screw threading throughout with the exception
of the top plate mounting screws.
Also remember when installing
(screwing-in) a 10-32 or 5mm tremolo arm in a Genuine
Fender® Strat® tremolo bridge that it will go in at an
approximate 10 degree back tilt angle leaning or tilting
toward the rear or end of the body (behind the bridge),
these tremolo arms do not simply screw straight down
into the bridge or tremolo block. If you do not take
this into consideration when installing a tremolo arm
there is the possibility you may damage the threads on
the tremolo arm or bridge or both, so be careful when
screwing in a tremolo arm, never force it for any
reason, if it begins to bind, get tight or you feel too
much resistance, stop and back it out and reassess your
tremolo arm insertion angle, that you have the correctly
threaded tremolo arm for your particular bridge or that
the threads are not already damaged on the tremolo arm
before you create damage that may require repairs or
replacement components. There is an exception to this 10
degree back tilt with those tremolo bridges that have
the half-thickness tremolo blocks, you can confirm this
by removal of the back plate on your Strat, if you have
one of these bridges then your tremolo arm will not have
the described 10 degree back tilt, it will go in
perpendicular to the flat surface of the top plate.
Below are Fender® part numbers for
bridges, tremolo blocks and tremolo arms and the correct
threading used for the installation of the tremolo arms. You'll notice a number
of Import Tremolo Bridges that Fender® incorrectly states
they accept a 10-32
tremolo arm, but those in fact accept a
5mm
tremolo arm, that sure lends to a lot of the confusion.
|
American Tremolo Bridges |
Import Tremolo Bridges |
Replacement Tremolo Blocks |
Tremolo Arms |
099-2049-000 -
10-32
099-2049-200 -
10-32
099-2049-202 -
10-32
099-2050-000 -
10-32
099-2050-200 -
10-32
099-2049-002 -
10-32
009-4247-049 -
10-32
007-2290-000 -
10-32
007-5091-049 -
10-32
007-5091-000 -
10-32 |
007-1014-049 -
5mm
007-1016-000 -
5mm
005-4619-000 -
5mm
005-3275-000 -
5mm
005-9561-000 -
5mm
007-2253-000 -
5mm |
001-9473-000 -
10-32
003-8962-000 -
10-32
007-3943-000 -
10-32
002-6098-000 -
10-32
007-4349-049 -
10-32 |
099-2054-000 -
10-32
099-2039-000 -
10-32
099-2039-200 -
10-32
007-3643-000 -
10-32
099-2092-000 -
10-32
099-2093-000 -
10-32
099-2310-000 -
5mm
003-5958-000 -
5mm
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September 30, 2015 @
16:02
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