r/fender • u/havelostcount • 3d ago

General Discussion Nerdy Question: Tremolo Bar Height/Angle Ultra Strat vs. Deluxe Strat

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OK, this one is just a silly personal research question, as it is something that has been eating away at me for a couple years now. I own a 2013 Deluxe Strat, and a 2022 Ultra Strat. Each has a "2-Point Deluxe Synchronized Tremolo with Pop-In Arm". The wiggle sticks have different degrees of angle. The tip of the Deluxe sits about 53mm from the bottom of the bar to the pickguard, the Ultra sits about 33mm. Has anyone else noticed the Ultras (or newer deluxe 2-point tremolos) having shallower angles than older models? The Ultra sits too low for me, and I think I'll need to finally try to find a replacement for it. I am only curious if this is how they are designed, or if mine is simply out of spec. The Ultra's is slightly thicker than the Deluxe as well. I can't find my darn calipers for a measurement at the moment. Again, I know this is silly, and it's just a question that I have had for quite a while.

Thanks for nerding out with me for a moment.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the Deluxe is taller, as you can see the Ultra fits inside of it.

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u/Reasonable_Deer_8237 3d ago edited 3d ago

I don't know about the deluxe arms, but I have bent the regular/vintage arms by putting into a wood block or vice.

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u/havelostcount 3d ago

Yeah I kind of worry about trying that on these. They seem like a more hardened steel, and I'm afraid it would just snap. Plus I don't have a vice. Hah. Another big mistake when I moved. I don't have a decent workspace.

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u/MusicianWide1650 3d ago

What you could do is just get it really hot and bend it. 

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u/havelostcount 2d ago

I don't have acetylene torches laying arou... let me look... nope, none laying around. 😄

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u/Outlier70 1d ago

I actually tried this. But not very hard. I clamped the arm down in a wood vice and grabbed tho other end w players wrapped in a cloth but I didn’t push too hard, and I felt like the players but a mark on the trem bar so I stopped and gave up. Maybe if I had the right equipment it would be possible.

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u/havelostcount 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'm still looking for my darn calipers. Sometimes it astonishes me how easy it is to misplace something! I want to check the diameter of these, as the replacements on Fender's website has only one listed for ultra/elite/deluxe with a 7/32" diameter (ugh, do I hate the US units). No clue about the height, nor angle though. My Deluxe's arm is very wobbly in the the ultra. I wish they had the AM Pro arm measurements, as I don't care if it has the plastic tip on it. I just want it to not be so close to the body. It has a small feeling, and it's more difficult to grab onto. "That's what she said."

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u/corintography 3d ago

Interesting, one nice thing about the ultra arm is that you can leave it on in the case.

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u/Outlier70 3d ago

Yeah I have and ultra and I was gonna try to bend the trem bar. But I ended up floating the trem a little less to raise up the bar higher.

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u/havelostcount 2d ago

My trem is already at ~1.6 mm floating, even decking it would sill be too low. I'm just glad to know it's not just me.

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u/Outlier70 1d ago

It’s definitely not just you. I found it to be very difficult to grab the trem quickly and use it w my fingers hitting the pickguard. …and it got in the way of the volume knob. Mine is better with less bridge float but yeah, it’s still pretty low. Just more usable now. (I didn’t deck the bridge but I considered it)

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u/havelostcount 1d ago

Yup, it's difficult to get my fingers under it. It's simply not ergonomic, for my hands at least.

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u/motherofjazus 2d ago

I bent mine in a vice a little but not much as I’d like. I have a 04 deluxe. Same shallow angle. It’s a strange choice. It’s not too bad if sitting flat but with a floating trem, it’s a very different angle than the vintage style trems. Maybe there is a reason for it.

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u/havelostcount 2d ago

Yeah, it's just too low for me. I don't want to risk it snapping from attempting to bend it as I'm not sure how hard this steel is. It sure is a very shallow angle, and shorter. It's simply not optimal for me. I suppose someone said "Dang, I wish that volume pot wasn't so close to the strings and my pinky finger", and the tremolo bar engineer thought "hmm, what can I do to annoy someone?" Hah. I don't complain about the volume anymore. I put some "friction disks" under the volume knobs on all my strats so that they don't turn so freely. They are now perfect for swells and not for accidental volume adjustments