What I prefer to do on a strat is remove the backplate and completely screw in the anchor so the bridge doesn’t float but instead sits on the body. This way, all you get is ability to lower pitch, but you can still do nice vibrato, think ‘lenny’ by srv. Also, I got to the point where I was playing like .13-.56mm strings, so you needed to do that unless you wanted the action like 2" off the neck lol. But I like to play blues so the guitar is constantly getting our of tune… being able to stay in tune by ear is part of the necessary skill. A must for me is locking tuners, these came on the g&l and I would never go back. Pretty much the reason it was American Standard deluxe or bust.
But I love having a floating bridge, just too much of a hallmark among the guys I like. Maybe Clapton is the only strat guy who doesn’t use it, prob cause he used to play Gibson’s (my favorite Clapton playing is on John mayall’s album - great guitar album).
