Though tonewoods, pickups and strings are usually the first port of call when it comes to analyzing what affects the tone of an electric guitar, hardware – specifically, the bridge – also plays a hugely important role.
For Stratocasters, that is particularly the case. An underperforming bridge can often dampen and suffocate the natural tone of your prized instrument, often resulting in an underwhelming overall feel and performance.
FU-Tone’s Signature Brass Strat Style Bridge looks to counteract those negative side effects of lacklustre bridge systems by using the natural sonic qualities of brass to unleash and project the authentic tone of your Strat.
This is achieved through an all-brass construction – comprising brass saddles, brass block, brass base plate and brass-plated whammy bar – that helps maximize vibrations, amplify output and thus elevate your tone and performance to a new level.
“What happens is the brass just amplifies the string vibrations, pushing it back into the guitar,” explains Adam Reiver, FU-Tone founder, in a demo video with Guitar World. “You're getting more of the guitar. It’s not like you're hearing the bridge, we’re just amplifying everything else you’ve already paid for.”
The installation is, as expected, hugely intuitive, and is easy as simply replacing a few screws and dropping the FU-Tone Brass Strat Style Bridge in place. And, as an added benefit, you also get to channel the vibe of Randy Rhoades, who favored brass bridges on some of his own builds.
The overall results, as Guitar World’s Paul Riario explains in the above video, are night and day: “Already you hear the difference, just listen to that. It’s a totally different tonal character. It’s warmer-sounding.
“It actually brings out a lot of the harmonics,” Riario goes on. “It’s roaring. I’ve never heard this guitar sound like this. This guitar was somewhat dead to me. That sounds great.
“What can I say, if you want your guitar to sound killer, get rid of that old bridge and get the FU-Tone all-brass Strat Bridge. Simple as that.”
The FU-Tone Signature Brass Strat Style Bridge is available from $249.95.
Head over to FU-Tone to find out more.
