Fender Bridge, Stratocaster Tremolo, American Vintage

The Original
When the Stratocaster was being designed in 1953, Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares wanted to produce a tremolo that could be built into the guitar, rather than being added later as an accessory item (like P.A. Bigsby's vibrato tailpiece). The new design needed to also allow for individual adjustment of both the height and length of each string, which allowed for proper intonation of all six strings. This was an improvement on the Telecaster and Precision Bass bridges that had been designed only a few years before, both of which only allowed a compromised intonation adjustment, since their saddles were shared between pairs of strings.

The new design was ready for the 1954 introduction of the new guitar, and Fender knocked it out of the park. The design is still the bridge of choice for many players around the world.

This bridge is being offered here essentially unchanged from 1954. This is the original, still being manufactured in house by Fender in the USA. This is the bridge used in USA Vintage Reissues and Custom Shop guitars.