VegaTrem VT1 UltraTrem Std Satin Black

For my partscaster build I wanted to upgrade from a standard trem - this trem allows for upbends as well as dives, and thus can give a more natural vibrato when used subtly.
It is expensive, but for that you get serious quality engineered components, a bunch of different tension springs and a finish that is appealing and ergonomic. No more pain on palm muting :)
The unit features good adjustment of all parameters, a handy quick installation guide and of course online videos that take you step by step.
Very happy with this purchase which sits in my Fender Body without need for modifications. Oh, worth adding that despite the very thin sustain block (to allow for the upbends) it is suprisingly heavy.

The VegaTrem is a no-brainer if you want to hotrod your Strat-style guitar without routing specially if you have a 6 screw bridge, but it’s not without its flaws. Coming from systems like the Gotoh 510, there are a few design aspects I miss or find less than ideal.

Because the VegaTrem plate has no back wall, each saddle is fixed in place using a locking screw. Intonation is adjusted via a smaller screw at the rear of the saddle that moves it relative to the locking screw. The problem is that once you tighten the locking screw to secure the saddle, fine-tuning intonation becomes quite fiddly.

Saddle height is determined by the two front height screws, but it’s also slightly affected by how tight the locking screw is. This issue is shared with other designs like the Wilkinson WVS100 or WVS50IIK. Moreover, the tolerance on the locking screw thread doesn’t feel quite right — it “bites” into the saddle metal, and you can actually feel the small jumps when trying to adjust it.

Another gripe is the string loading system. On a traditional trem block, you can feed the strings easily through the backplate holes, but on the VegaTrem, the string entry points sit higher up. This means you have to wiggle and angle the string a bit until it catches properly — not a dealbreaker, but definitely less convenient.

It's a really expensive system but it does what's promised, Floyd like experience in a vintage strat.