when blocking a edge which one , wood or metal?

[VOLTAGE]

I heard that it is best to use brass to block the trem from any up pull for increased sustain and brightness?

[nuno]

Eric Johnson's paranoia.
i really doubt you could hear any differences between wood, brass or anything else. just get a piece of wood and flip it right there: it's easier, faster and cheaper than brass.

[EKG]

Generally, the more dense and harder the material, the brighter the sound ;-)

[nuno]

right, but we aint talking about what material the body is made of, but if using a brass block would give a brighter sound more than a wooden block.

i think neither a dog could ever notice the difference.

[EKG]

You're right....that's why I started with "generally".

[frankfalbo]

On one end you have the body wood and on the other end you have the trem block which is metal, and you are merely trying to join them. So I would think that if it were made out of either of the two materials, it would create a near identical junction, since the body wood is the less dense of the two. Its sort of a "weakest link" in the density category. So as long as you used material that was as hard as the body wood, you should see the same net result. Adding weight to the guitar, however, with a brass block will alter the whole deal because it changes the overall mass of the body as a whole. I think it's far more important that you have a tight, or "high pressure" fit if you're going to benefit tonally. In other words if you have the springs adjusted so there's just barely contact to the block, it will still protect you during string breakage but not string bending/detuning. And it certainly will minimize any transmission of vibration to the body. The material you use would be irrelevant anyway. If you have a nice tight torque on the springs, or you've blocked it under pressure from both sides to make it like a hardtail, then you'll hear the improvement.

[VOLTAGE]

Originally Posted by frankfalbo

On one end you have the body wood and on the other end you have the trem block which is metal, and you are merely trying to join them. So I would think that if it were made out of either of the two materials, it would create a near identical junction, since the body wood is the less dense of the two. Its sort of a "weakest link" in the density category. So as long as you used material that was as hard as the body wood, you should see the same net result. Adding weight to the guitar, however, with a brass block will alter the whole deal because it changes the overall mass of the body as a whole. I think it's far more important that you have a tight, or "high pressure" fit if you're going to benefit tonally. In other words if you have the springs adjusted so there's just barely contact to the block, it will still protect you during string breakage but not string bending/detuning. And it certainly will minimize any transmission of vibration to the body. The material you use would be irrelevant anyway. If you have a nice tight torque on the springs, or you've blocked it under pressure from both sides to make it like a hardtail, then you'll hear the improvement.

frank i set it so that it is very tight against the block, i primarily do this for double stop bends so the strings stay in tune.
I only need a trem to dip in pitch so i have always set it this way.
so it does not matter that i use a piece of hard rock maple or brass to make the connection?(trem block to body wood)
I want the most resonace,sustain,brightness as possible since it is a basswood body which is dark toned

[frankfalbo]

You can swap them out and experiment with different materials, but my thought is that as long as it is as dense as the body wood its all the same. In other words, if you used something softer than the basswood like balsa or some foam rubber, then it would affect your sustain, since you'd be butting up against something that would dampen the vibrations. I'm the type of guy to get really particular about certain things and how they affect tone. This would not be one of them.