Uk/eu, Where Do You Buy Hardware?

[Lycking]

Right, a quick question without any explanation, i'm getting a little stock of bodies in soon, and i'm planning to do 3 teles and 3 strats. That'll require quite a bit of hardware, and then i'm just wondering where you all buy your stash. Everything from tuners and tremolos, to switches and knobs.

Got the neck/fretboard woods fixed, so hardware is all i need!

Open for everything!

Thanks!

Lycking

[SwedishLuthier]

If I have only one or two guitars in the pieline/or doing maintanence I'm buyinbg them localy here in Sweden. If I'm boing more than one guitar I often buy them from overseas supliers ar they are quite a bit cheeper to do business with. However that often requires a tax certificate to prove that you are a legit business to get a good OEM discount.As you are in Denmark I think you can buy from both the Swedish wholesalers www.gitarrdelar.se or www.gmf.se

[Prostheta]

Chguitars.co.uk is cheap and cheerful if that is what you are after. Tell Chris I sent you. Not that he'll give you a discount or know who I am but I just had to urge to say that.

Alternatively Black Dog Music from eBay - ping them an email at john(at)blackdogmusic.co.uk with what you want and ask if they will send you an invoice via PayPal for what you want. I don't know if they will do a discount for small numbers but circumventing eBay seller fees always creates room for wiggling. Their inventory is all listed on eBay.

For name brand parts, try allparts.uk.com or wdmusic.co.uk.

[Lycking]

Haha thanks for the tips both of you!

Always such helpful people around here, can't do anything else than love it!

[Lycking]

Also, i was kinda planning to check out Zebrano/Zebrawood as one of the bodies, but after reading some negative comments about it, am i wondering if it's even worth a try? People say it should be like 6-7 of a 10 point scale where 10 is warm(-er than mahogany) and 1 is bright like ash.. Any of you tried it as a full body and not just a top?

It just looks so stunning in almost every body shape

[Prostheta]

I wouldn't go believing everything you hear until you have experienced it yourself I guess. Whilst other viewpoints can be good to help steer, they should not make your decisions for you.

I have not tried it as a body however I have used it in combination with Wengé in a neck and have to say that there was nothing overly negative about it. What specifically have people said about it? Perhaps you need to start a new thread on this since it is kind of a different topic.

[Lycking]

I read a few people saying it had a "weak" tone (i wonder how they'd describe that in details..), and called it a cheap wood. Some arguemented that because Gibson and alike didn't use it, and washburn used it in some models, people apperently wouldn't see it as an acceptable wood.

After thinking a bit about it, would i say that is BS.. Just because the big brands doesn't use it in the same was as Gibson uses mahogany, doesn't mean it's immideatly crap. Gibson built their tone around mahogany, but that shouldn't make it bad eh?

And yeah it is a different topic, but i'd just like one or 2 opinions to see if i should scrap the idea immideatly

[Prostheta]

No, totally not. The consumer guitar market is very much led off what big names say is correct. It often isn't. The trick about "people won't see it as an acceptable wood" is merely a sideways marketing trick to make you think that this was your idea (as a member of "people"). Hell, if you want somebody to do anything, make them think it was their idea in the first place.

Yes, Zebrano is not a traditional wood. The only reason some woods are viewed as traditional is because people expect consistency, and traditional just drips it. People are resistant to change, and certainly "traditional" is far easier to push on people than change. Traditional virtually markets itself. Those that break the dreary old mould are far more exciting and adventurous people, but that takes major truckloads of balls. Supertanker balls. Or a hell-load of marketing (think how Warwick/Framus have control over everything they put out).

Yeah, Gibson won't use Zebrano in a larger context because it breaks their image of being a company steeped in tradition. If Balsawood proved to have a million times the positive characteristics of Brazilian Rosewood and old-growth West Indies and Honduran Mahogany, it would easily be trumped by anybody claiming that it just isn't traditional.

Sorry for the rant, but I am truly of the opinion that if you made two instruments out of well-chosen good wood - regardless of species within limits - and had somebody play them blind that whole traditional thing can go straight out of the window. I wouldn't go as far as to include "pinecasters" in this however a guitar that incorporates Zebrano has just as much relevance and value as one make from "traditional" combinations. Yes, there will be a difference but the art lies in choosing combinations that complement each other. Traditional "Maple/Mahogany" or "Alder/Maple" guitars work and make their own voice. So do other combinations though.

Gibson are a company that owes money to its employees and shareholders. It has to be profitable because the last I saw, they weren't a registered charity. If part of their marketing strategy is telling you that the woods they use are the best woods possible, they will do that. Changing their working formula is risky and generally expensive to make work. Won't happen.

The final word is that you should suck it and see. Take something from the experience, but do make it an experience! Nothing on paper means as much as putting strings on some wood in some form and seeing how it works for you. You might not like Zebrano, but that doesn't mean that the words about "Gibson not wanting to use it for whatever reason they pull out of thin air" is completely true. Equally you might love it.

[Lycking]

Hands down for wise words!!

-And that's not a rant, that is an excellent explanation of this world's marketing ways!

You don't learn if you don't try, that's how this world is build. I'm the type who gets an idea, and does it without too much thinking (not always good hehe).

When a brand has the respect and power, they can basically make the untold laws about what's go and no-go..

But when you look at alot of luthiers and spare time builders around the world, are there, as you say, alot of woods and wood combos there has the clear majority, i belive this has a reason aswell, as consistent resulsts and tonal preferences, but why not just think outside the box!

Thanks alot for the input Pros, made me think alot in the good way

[ScottR]

There have been quite a few zebrano builds done here, and all I remember have been stunning to look at.

Nary a single builder reported that they sounded ordinary.....they were reported to sound great. As you may expect I suppose, but we do tend to comment when we find something that sounds bland or harsh.

SR

[Japfenfan]

For hardware in the UK, try www.axesrus.co.uk I'm not affiliated in any way, just a satisfied customer : )