• Killer Guitar Components Tremolo Block Review

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    GuitarsCanada
    Published on 06-08-2011 07:19 PM
    10 Comments Comments
    Review by Alain Rivard

    KGC's (Killer Guitar Components) American Vintage Reissue Brass Tremolo Block (AVRI)



    Since the first electric guitar was plugged in the "Quest For The Holy Grail" has been sustain. KGC has helped that quest with it's replacement brass block and brass claw for vintage style Strat tremolo's

    Out of the box the first thing you notice is the obvious quality and craftsmanship of the components. The package comes with complete instructions on how to remove your current tremolo and install the replacement parts. It should be noted that even with the instructions, the process does involve a fair amount of work and may not be suited for everyone. You can certainly have a tech do it for you if you wish.

    For my guitar the process went fairly smoothly. Take note that you will need to set your intonation again once the process is complete. The replacement claw is larger than the original and required a little tinkering to get it in place. Nothing major for sure.

    When I plugged back in the first thing I noticed was a major increase in resonance and sustain. I was using my Marshall JMP 50 watt and you get some crisp highs and lows and the muddy areas seemed to have vanished. The combination of the brass block and claw will improve tonality of both chords and leads. But for me, it was the increase in sustain that blew me away.

    Overall I would give these components from KGC a high grade and recommend them for anyone looking to give yourself a little boost in the sustain category. Brass block retails for $69.95 US and the Claw goes for $42.95 US and can be ordered direct from the KGC website.

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    Comments 10 Comments
    1. Sneaky's Avatar
      Sneaky - 06-08-2011, 10:52 PM
      Hi Alain!

      Never heard of using a brass block before, buy why not? I think it's mostly about the density of the material used that counts. Can the claw really matter that much though? Surely not $43 dollars worth.
    1. John Watt's Avatar
      John Watt - 06-09-2011, 02:16 PM
      I was using brass saddles back in the seventies, getting a warmer tone and more sustain.
      But when you're thinking about acoustic energy, there's more than just the metal and wood.
      I've found that making a thin plate of medium density material between the tremolo and body,
      allows more natural resonance and smooths out tone and harmonics all over the neck.
    1. cheezyridr's Avatar
      cheezyridr - 06-09-2011, 06:40 PM
      no brass nut? i wonder why not
    1. Rick@Killer's Avatar
      Rick@Killer - 06-10-2011, 09:10 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by cheezyridr View Post
      no brass nut? i wonder why not
      Yeah, we currently do not make a brass nut as it can get complicated with different slot sizes etc. We are considering offering the ABM Brass, Height Adjustable Nut though. What do you guys think? Would you buy something like that?
    1. John Watt's Avatar
      John Watt - 06-10-2011, 11:38 AM
      There's such a thing as too much metal for any acoustic based instrument, like heavy metal bridges and metal nuts.
      But if you're attenuating to compensate for signal loss because of effect compilation, the "ping" you make is an easy mid mix.
      That's still troublesome onstage, especially if the other musicians want to hear tone while they're playing.

      Even luthiers I know say cutting a fret isn't a sure thing, making two or three to get a good one. I'm the same.
      It's easy to place a piece of something under the nut to lift it up, so you can cut your even slots to match the low one,
      and keep doing that until you've got a good one. Or you can start over and just get a nut that works without shims.
      That's hard enough to do with bone and ivory. Metal is almost impossible, by hand.

      A height adjustable nut doesn't sound practical to me.
    1. Jean GODBOUT's Avatar
      Jean GODBOUT - 06-11-2011, 07:50 PM
      Brass is brass, if you are on a budget like I am, Guitar Fetish also produce brass block for American Strat, Mexican Strat and Asian import Strat for $24.95. I think that these are the only parts I would buy from Guitar Fetish, the rest is so so, pickups are junk, but I love these brass and steel upgrade blocks. USA Spaced 2 7/32' Spaced Solid Brass trem Block
    1. Rick@Killer's Avatar
      Rick@Killer - 06-13-2011, 08:12 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Jean GODBOUT View Post
      Brass is brass, if you are on a budget like I am, Guitar Fetish also produce brass block for American Strat, Mexican Strat and Asian import Strat for $24.95. I think that these are the only parts I would buy from Guitar Fetish, the rest is so so, pickups are junk, but I love these brass and steel upgrade blocks. USA Spaced 2 7/32' Spaced Solid Brass trem Block
      I'm sure you love these blocks from Guitar Fetish. I don't doubt that you notice some nice added sustain and a warmer tone. Just remember you get what you pay for. Their blocks simply don't compare to KGC in a number of ways. The trem arm hole is just tapped into the brass (doesn't this concern you?) whereas KGC has the "Flop Stop", nylon insert to keep the arm in place and to keep it from stripping. GFS uses a different, less expensive alloy of brass that I'm sure does give you a tonal upgrade - but it certainly won't give you the musical qualities KGC's brass will. Beyond that, KGC will provide personal customer service to help with any issues. There is a lot of info out there that people have had issues with their blocks not fitting correctly then having trouble with service and returns. With KGC, the customer comes first. We pride ourselves on high quality customer service. KGC blocks are all finished by hand, serial numbered and inspected to look perfect before being shipped. It is pretty clear this is not the case elsewhere.

      The bottom line is that any brass block will be an upgrade over a crappy, pot zinc one, but no others compare to KGC in all of the areas described above. You can buy a Squier Strat for $100 - why would you spend $1500 on an American Strat? They both play music....
    1. geargeek's Avatar
      geargeek - 06-19-2011, 05:55 AM
      A Little word Alain..

      from the guy who did the Review. First, let me say i would NEVER buy something from Guitar Fetish...i buy a TON of parts each year...say beteween 3500 and 5000$ worth minimum..and quality is a most with the instrument i make. On thing is i did try many models before..but for Strat and Floyd Rose and was always wondering what was all the Hype about...and always end-up removing them and getting a refund...i did'nt this time... As for the Claw itself..actually it does work well as well. why?..cause it's where the vibrations ends and goes into the body.... people will pay 100$ to upgrade 3 puts and and a swtich from say RS Guitarwork..and i'll bet 100$ they don't even hear the difference... In this case..you can both HEAR IT..and FEEL IT boys..:)
    1. wpgbluesman's Avatar
      wpgbluesman - 06-19-2011, 08:12 PM
      well i got the brass block bridge plate and graph tech saddles from KGC and let me tell you that the difference is unmeasurable my sustain has improved 1000% it has made my guitar into an extention of my soul. thanks to the guys at KGC not only have they delivered what the promised me but also they are hell of nice guys
    1. kurtdaniel's Avatar
      kurtdaniel - 01-28-2012, 06:20 AM
      Thanks for the great review and audio clips! I think, in many ways, you nailed your description of the improvements you will realize upon installation of a KGC block. This would be very helpful in my study how learn to play guitar..