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Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 9:00 am
by thisisnickpaige
I have two vintage trems, one was on a '65 and the other off a '69, both patented, yet each has a different shape to the top of the collet. I've never noticed this before. One is thicker with a bevelled edge and one looks more like a modern collet but patinaed. Reminds me of how the bridge thimble tops got thinner over the years. Has anyone else seen this or has someone perhaps changed a collet on one of them over the years?
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 2:23 am
by thisisnickpaige
vs
(the second one has a bit of tape on it because the string is rubbing.)
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 6:38 pm
by Mechanical Birds
Pretty sure the second one. First one looks like the AV65 one
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 7:17 pm
by timtam
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 7:42 pm
by Ursa Minor
Second one is vintage. First looks like AVRI or AV65.
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 2:52 am
by thisisnickpaige
Solid, thank you gents for confirming my suspicions.
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:40 am
by BornToHula
kosmonautmayhem wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2019 7:42 pm
Second one is vintage. First looks like AVRI or AV65.
Im curious kosmonautmayhem, how can you tell?
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:49 am
by Mechanical Birds
The reissue has a bevel, the old ones kinda don’t.
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:02 pm
by sookwinder
Just like the reissue bridge cover is different to the vintage bridge cover, I suspect Fender have made deliberate (albeit small) modifications to the design to be able to show the differences between reissue and vintage
Re: Which trem collet is vintage?
Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 4:00 am
by cursesfoiled
I find that my old vintage Fender tremolo bars don’t quite fit in these bevelled U.S. reissue collets. The U.S. reissue collet shaft is just slightly too snug.
I guess the reissue collet radius is a hair smaller than vintage, and likewise the reissue arm is a hair smaller, too?
And the reissue bars are shorter, too.
Maybe this is a point worth noting, like Japanese reissue tremolos versus U.S. reissue versus vintage. All slightly different radiuses and not often accurately described as different in their sales listings.
At any rate, it’s a bit frustrating when you have to fix an old tremolo and replace a vintage collet with a reissue collet (US, Mexican player, Japanese, Staytrem, American Performer - all the variations). It often means replacing the tremolo bar as well, because the vintage bar may no longer fit the new collet shaft.
