Should a strat bridge be parallel with the body like a floyd style bridge?

Mines at a slight angle above the bridge so that it floats. This allows slight pull up to increase the pitch. Also makes it very easy to get a nice subtle vibrato. Bad news though is that when bending, all of the strings go a little flat making pedal steel type bends impossible...

That's the trade off.

There is another interesting trade off with a floating bridge, in that, because the bridge "floats" on the spring tension, the strings feel a lot softer under your fingers - amazing - Strats feel very stiff with the bridge screwed up tight against the body, and totally different with the bridge floating.

To adjust a flush to the body strat bridge to a slight float is it just a matter of adjusting the trem springs slightly?

Yep... try adjusting the post screws too.

On the 6 post bridges spring tension will give you that "float", though a trad Strat bridge is best setup as a down only trem, IMHO.

That's how I have it setup but was toying with idea of a slight float. I think I'll leave it as it was

Try it off the body a little. I have a vintage trem on mine and I can pull up lots the way I have it setup.

Here's a pic of how mine's setup:

I set mine flat to the body

I have mine setup to float as well .

Regards

André

flat to the body, makes your guitar exactly like a fixed bridge guit till u dive, plus it stays in tune alot better. EVH's floyds are surface mount flat to the body so its dive only as well because it stays in tuen much better

Ditto

Better tone, too.

Mine stays in tune perfect floating. A lot of people don't realize just how well these trems can work when setup correctly.