TemjinStrife

I've used one. It came with one of the saddle intonation screws stripped, and of course it's a proprietary screw. Luckily, the GFS guy sent me a replacement. I've since blocked the trem and it works fine as a fixed bridge; however, I wouldn't recommend it as an actual whammy bridge as it hasn't held tune very well for me (although that's probably due to me not setting it up properly. However, like I said, blocking it and making a fixed bridge out of it should be ok, as the tone from the thing is reasonably good, and if you block it you should be fine.

I'd get the floyd, and then install a Tremol-No so you have the option to lock it to a fixed bridge if you need to.

Very pretty instrument. I personally think the upper horn is a bit too long and too far away from the neck, but notwithstanding, that's an amazing bass. Where'd you get the Warwick hardware?

Actually, a cutout on the back of the body like that can work well depending on your seated playing position. However, since the body is so long, the neck will likely be too far away to play easily.

As stated above... I would love to get the nut and bridge off of this thing...

http://www.harmony-central.com/ProductImag...e/000009134.jpg

Yamaha has one on their Wes Borland model... both the trem and the nut lock without tools... I wish they'd sell those parts individually, but they appear to be unique to that particular guitar.

EMG's SA active single coil-esque pickups are an instant Gilmour: glassy and clear, with a real "singing" sustain.

The 85, depending on the guitar it's installed in, will generally sound like a snarly and very well-defined LP on steroids.

81s are razor sharp and dull-sounding clean, but scream with lots of distortion.

How about a baritone/Bass VI Jaguar?

Although, that Tele looks pretty tasty...

These things are probably hard to get for the same reason that black OFR-7s and Phase II 7-string Blackouts are hard to find: Schecter is including them on their new for '08 models.

It's all in the details with this build; that's a cool little switch knob!

http://www.tkinstruments.com/id75.htm

This guy sells Sperzel lockers and Hipshot lockers in any conceivable configuration in a range of colors. If you order the Sperzels, be sure to specify that he ream out the low E tuner; Sperzels take up to a .58 string stock, and Hipshots .70. However, he can custom order a tuner reamed out to .70 for you. Trust me, this is a good thing; I love having a .72 on my low B string on my 25.5 scale 7.

If you're making a neckthrough, you can minimize the hassle of calculating and building for neck angle by either recessing the TOM or using the hipshot bridge with no neck angle. That would be my recommendation as neck angle on a neckthru is annoying to deal with.

Also, this guy will get you Sperzels in any color, number, or configuration possible... however, I'd personally recommend the Hipshots he sells for a seven-string since Sperzels can only take up to a .58 low string as shipped standard, while Hipshots can take up to a .70 (I run a .72 on my 25.5 scale seven-string and love it, although I had to ream out a standard tuner so it would fit!)

http://www.tkinstruments.com/index.htm

However, if you ask him specifically, he can get your low tuner reamed out up to a .70... so it's really up to you.

Also, I recommend reading everything you can find on building guitars.

If you're unsure about building a neck, you can get Doug at Soulmate Guitars to do one for you, at a similar cost to Carvin's mass-produced necks. Everything is handmade there and can thus be infinitely customized, from profile to woods. Check him out, he does beautiful work!

http://www.soulmateguitars.com/index.htm

Very cool. Has a nice quirky 60s vibe to the shape, and looks pretty comfy. How's the neck joint work, in terms of ease of construction and general "usefulness"?

If you end up being able to produce these bridges in multiple quantities I might be interested in purchasing one.

Also, seeing the template, I really like the body shape. I'll have to keep that one in mind.

With a gap between the saddles you run the risk of them vibrating which will cause all kinds of odd harmonics in your output. Without a rigid connection the string will not vibrate correctly, not to mention it will sound bad. You could put some spacers in between each saddle but then how will it look?

Are you sure? I've got some guitars that do have a gap between the saddles, and I have no problems with odd harmonics due to the incredible downward pressure exerted by a string-through-body (or through-trem-block) setup.

That said, if it's on a trem, there is always the possibility that if you do a really heavy dive bomb and then release, the saddles may decide to "spin" sideways with all the extra side clearance.

I personally don't think there'd be an issue unless its on a trem, in which case I'd get the direct replacements just to be safe. Since it's a hardtail, you should be ok... but I'd rather spend the extra money and get the direct replacements anyways.

You can get some great replacement mini humbuckers from Seymour Duncan and GFS.

Well, the X2n and Dsonic look unique!

I want to get a DSonic 7 as an upgrade for the Duncan Designed JB currently in the bridge of my seven-string. They supposedly have great definition while retaining a JBish sound. This would be perfect, cause I love the JB but the low-end response on a low B is incredibly wooly.

I'd love to hear them in a more "classic" sounding mix, with less processing definitely. I'm in the market for something "different" sounding as a bridge pickup for my current project as a counterpart to a sustainer, and they look intriguing, but I don't want to shell out $150 for a pickup without some decent sound clips and/or recommendations.

You can ask one of the ebay mega-sellers to put a set together for you -- This guy sold me a set of 4 x 2 EZ-loks, same price as a normal set.

He sold me a 3+4 set as well, with an extra tuner tossed in for free. Just send him a message and he'll send you a very reasonable quote.

If you manage to work out a Steinberger-style "locking" whammy bridge... I recommend patenting it immediately, then selling one to me, as it is just what i am looking for in both six and seven-string configurations!

EMGs tend to "take over" the sound of the body woods to some extent, although you will hear a bit of a difference between say a maple neck bolted to an alder body vs. a mahogany thru-neck. I wouldn't worry too much about tone... I have an all-maple Spirit Steinberger "broom handle" guitar equipped with a Duncan JB that has great bite and snarl with a very Les Paul-ish character as well.

Wow, that's actually really damn cool!

Get yourself an SD pickup booster (or if you like everything integral to the guitar) an EMG PA-2 or Afterburner. You can easily hide the switch under one of the MANY Jaguar switch plates.

At that point, it'll be more down to what pickups you use... each interacts differently with each wood. It's subtle, generally; and with a maple thru-neck you'll be getting a lot of the "maple" tone as the strings primarily resonate on the neck. It's all a sort of voodoo though; each piece of wood and guitar is different.

I am planning on a bolt-on Maple neck, not a neck-through. But I get your point.

Sorry for the essay, but I felt I had to qualify myself and explain where my reasoning came from.

Hey, I was HOPING for an essay. I need all the information I can get just so I make an informed and smart decision.

Still not sure which way to go, but leaning toward Alder; trying to get the sparklingly clean tone with good clarity for the high-gain stuff, just to get a lot of diversity. I love Mahogany, but my Hamer Studio covers that already so I could go either way. I just want sparkling and clear without super-bright or shrill.

Regardless, thanks for the information & opinions. They are greatly appreciated!

-Cheers

From what you're saying, you sound like you'd prefer the tonality of alder.

At that point, it'll be more down to what pickups you use... each interacts differently with each wood. It's subtle, generally; and with a maple thru-neck you'll be getting a lot of the "maple" tone as the strings primarily resonate on the neck. It's all a sort of voodoo though; each piece of wood and guitar is different.

My project parts guitar (and my only one of alder) is a dramatically different beast from all my other guitars. It's a Floyd-rose equipped bolt-on with a Jackson maple neck and rosewood board, attached to a NOS alder Kramer or Charvel S-style body. Pickups are an EMG 85/SA/SA with volume and two tones, but there's also an LED wired in there that may be affecting the sound somewhat. I'm not totally sure since my father designed the wiring diagram for that part. It's got an amazing and defined sound with great "chunk" for metal and incredible sparkling cleans, even on the 85 bridge humbucker, and it really (depending on amp settings) sings or sears on leads, with a more precise "modern" touch.

Contrarily, I have an EMG 89 neck/ 85 bridge (volume and tone knobs) modified Jackson SLSMG Superlight Soloist (amazing guitar) that is very different in materials and construction, and thus results in a different 'flavor' of guitar tone. The guitar itself is mahogany, with a mahogany neckthru (really slim neck) with ebony fingerboard and Tune-o-matic string-through-body. The lead and rhythm tones through the 85 (same pickup) in the bridge are more middy, with some great honk that sounds like a non-flabby and more focused Les Paul. It doesn't have the bite or immediate snap of the alder-bodied Superstrat, but has a really crushing rhythm tone and a slightly more "classic" sound.

Also note that the 89 splits into an SA in the neck, which sounds dramatically different from the neck SA in the parts guitar... the neck SA in the alder guitar sounds like a great glassy Strat (think Gilmour) but the split SA in the SLSMG sounds very acoustic-like.

Note that these differences are most likely due more to the neck attachment methods and bridges, but they also do tend to follow the "accepted" tonal qualities of the body woods.

Sorry for the essay, but I felt I had to qualify myself and explain where my reasoning came from.