It is hard believe but if you want a real strat sound, you need vintage style saddles. I didn't know before I installed this. It was not my intention to make my fake strat sound like strat. I just wanted a decent tremolo that looks authentic. Not only does it look authentic, it make my fake-*ss strat sound authentic.
Hear me out, the sound difference between block saddles and vintage saddles is day-and-night. No matter how authentic your vintage output alnico single pickups if you don't have vintage saddles, you won't hear that strat sound. So check your tremolo first to get that sound.
The product... It is amazing as always with Gotoh products. It is machined well and precisely. Nothing sticks out to hurt your palm. The feel under your palm is smooth even though it looks rough. Nothing moves. Tuning is stable. Steel block is heavy and sturdy.
Observation, the tremolo arm is shallow (as it needs to be). It elbows very early so the clearance is tight between the arm and the knobs. There's just enough clearance. I hope I explained it well.
One thing that makes me uncomfortable is that, the tremolo arm requires a little spring under the arm inside the threaded hole. Without it, there's a little "play".
Aged look is subtle but tasteful. If I am going to buy a tremolo bridge again, I would buy this aged one.
What a pleasant surprise for me. I was only trying to make my guitar look cool. It made it sound also cool.
The guitar that I installed this bridge has Fender Custom Shop 69 pickup set. That's what I mean by "authentic".