86barettaguy

A HM Strat is very different from what is on offer now. the main differences were the kahler trem and the 25 inch scale.

you can find more info at http://freespace.virgin.net/john.blackman4/hm.htm

my kramer/allparts project is nearing completion. all that's left is attaching the neck to the body and putting a pickup in there (ok, I admit it, I'm a slow worker when it comes to these things).

anyway, I was browsing the net looking for cool guitars. and I remembered the HM strats. they are pretty damn cool guitars IMO. but does anyone know where I can find more info on them? some place where I could find pictures and enough dimensions to make a simple drawing of the body and neck?

I'm not sure the floyd nuts are designed specifically for use with a 10" fretboard. if they were, I think most manufacturers would have been forced to custom order nuts. I think you can safely buy a standard floyd nut. if you're feeling uncertain, why not get an Ibanez locking nut instead of a floyd original one? the people at Jemsite could probably help you with that.

all that's left of my first guitar is the body and it is in need of some restoration. it's been hurt pretty bad but I think it could be repaired. the question is, is it worth it? one thing that makes me question this is the neck pocket. it's the right size, except it's too deep. I noticed this when test-fitting a 22-fret neck (it used to have a 21-fret neck). it's about the thickness of a pickguard too deep.

the things making me consider restoring it are:

1) it was my first and I destroyed it out of stupidity (major mojo thing there)

2) it used to sound pretty good unplugged

3) I want a strat to go with my superstrats

4) if I succeed, it will cost me less than buying a new body (money that can be invested in a scalloped neck)

5) I already ordered and payed for the wood (not much money, but what will I do with the wood if I don't restore the guitar?)

If I do it, I'm doing it the same way brian converted that RG body into a hardtail, except I plan on putting a vintage-style trem in there again.

need some input on this operation.

just noticed I have 5 more days before I'm internet-less...

if that's a bolt-on, you could buy a used neck (with headstock, tuners and locking saddle) just so you can get to playing it sooner. if it's neck through, I'm thinking you have an expensive wall ornament until the fr speedloader is available...

it looks pretty nice, but still not what I'd want to be looking at before dinner

you could get a steinberger trem for it? musicyo sell 3 different versions.

no tuning needed. well, ok, slight tuning is included in the set-up, but it's not like on a normal guitar. you set the tuning range of each string by tightening or loosening a screw of some sort... fine-tuning works like on any normal floyd.

I'm guessing you adjust intonation the same way you would with an OFR. does anyone know if "the key" works with the speedloader?

I'm guessing they're making them available on ready-made guitars first before letting us buy them separately. but what do I know about these things? it would seem logical though to let people make up their minds about them while properly installed on a good instrument before letting them do bad installs on mediocre ones

I'd love to see pics of that neck in the wall

I wish there was a luthier around here who could teach me what I need to know to set up my own business...

I like it! very nice! did you make it from scratch? tell us more about it!

if you want to use bars, there are several things to consider.

1) you need them to sit deep enough in the neck and body. so forget about having a neck pickup.

2) they need to be fastened at both ends so you'll have to find a way of doing that.

3) they need to be stiff enough not to bend. so what material are you going to use? what shape? And with those bars in there, how are you going to adjust the truss rod? those bars will be acting against the truss rod...

4) how are you going to make the holes? a normal drill isn't accurate enough. do you have a drill press that can take the neck? do you have any way of getting the holes in exactly the right spots?

5) how much will this cost you? I think you'll find that it will be less expensive to just buy a through-neck and replace the middle section of your guitar. and it will definitely be a better guitar.

I say you should forget about turning your bolt-on into a neckthrough. it's not worth the trouble compared to building a neck-through from a ready-made neck.

I think warmoth uses cnc machines. seems like the only practical way of doing it.

I've given it some thought though. you could make a compound radius sanding block from some polystyrene or similar material using a hot metal wire and 2 templates (one 10" and one 16" or whatever radiuses you're going for. model plane builders have done this for years). The hot wire acts as a knife and if you follow the 2 templates (one at each end of the block) you'll get a nice compound radius.

I would suggest you check up on this technique over at some RC forum, they're bound to know more about it.

if you make a long compound radius sanding block, keep in mind that you'll have to move it across the fretboard as opposed to sanding along the length of it.

these last tutorials have been really good. short and with nice pics. gotta like that.

so, are there any plans for a "how to install a floyd rose trem in a guitar routed for a fender trem" tutorial?

a hardtail bridge could be recessed as well. not sure how good it would look, but it's possible.

nice

funny how it seems that some parts from these new tutorials will come in handy for my projects. almost like someone's reading my mind

ok, 17 days to go...

just ordered the wood to repair the strat body (using the trem --> hardtail tutorial but re-routing the trem-cavity and whatever else disappears).

what do I need to know when routing for the trem? how do I know where to place the rout?

most strat-style guitars are made so that you can easily swap necks and bodies.

question for all the do-it-at-home scallopers: are you all using jumbo frets or is there anyone who has scallops with smaller fretwire?

how high is the bridge? how high is your fretboard above the face of the guitar? If the neck angle is slightly large, I suppose you could shim the bridge. if the neck angle is slightly small you could recess the bridge slightly.

180 * 280 cm is quite large... maybe you meant 180 * 280 mm?

anyway, yes, you can make the whole body from aluminum. I don't know if it would feel or sound good, but it is possible to do it.

I would imagine you install the hardware exactly like you would if the body was made from wood.

personally I'd be worrying about galvanic corrosion. but maybe that's really a non-issue...

hmm... having a hard time understanding this... must be the heat...

so are we talking about making a bolt-on with an extended heel (kinda like the extended fingerboard thing except now it's the heel)? I'm thinking you might want to consider not having a neck pickup in that case as it would sit in the heel, weakening the construction. You might get away with using only 4 bolts, but you might want to place them further apart. 6 bolts is another option but that would probably mean that you couldn't even consider a neck pickup (with 4 bolts you could place the pickup between the two pairs but with 6 bolts that area would probably be used by the extra bolts)

I think my brain is malfunctioning...

What effect would this have on tone btw? I mean, if you were to do this on a 5-piece body you would suddenly have a 7-piece body... maybe the effect would be larger on a 1 or 2-piece body? And if you don't know what wood was used to make the body, what wood would you use?

maybe if I do a deeper rout I can restore the trem cavity on my guitar using only one piece of wood... it's worth thinking about...

Ritchie Blackmore use(d?) scalloped strats. Several Yngwie-style guitarists as well, although I'm having a hard time remembering any names...

I don't think there would be any point in scalloping an acoustic. you hardly ever do any bends on those anyway...

I've been told to drill most of the holes before finishing. this way you will be able to cover any mistakes up. if you take the drill to work on a finished body and suddenly realize that you ****ed something up, you're not gonna be able to cover it up completely.

kinda depends on how hard you press down when playing chords. personally, I'd probably go with a full scallop mostly because I really just think it's a matter of getting used to it.