thedoctor

Maiden, it is simply called "quality control". Jack Daniels does it, why can't I? You know what they say: what's good for the goose is........I guess good! Or sompthin.

The two Krylon rattle-cans that will take a beating and stay flat/matte are: P/N S03725 Semi-flat P/N S03727 MaxFlat Both are very durable and black. Greg, the chopped liver post wasn't aimed at you. I have been getting ignored a lot lately and am getting kind of a complex about it. Bout time to shut up for a while before I develope a real problem.

Yeah, buy one and put it in.

Boy, am I glad to see that isn't me! Had me totally freaked for a minute!

Teacher! Teacher! Can we help pick out what pickups to buy?? PLEASE?? No, I really wanna help there. What kinda tunes does y'all play? My 7-string pickup choices are diverse according to the music you play.

I think MR ALEX has the correct demeanor to be a MOD, don't you? Could give WES a run for his money.

So, that makes me and my reply , what, chopped liver?

And this is not a TREND? How many 7-strings were in the catalogs 5 years ago? The growth is not exponential or even startling but it is outstripping the market-growth of everything except drum kits. Go figure. Drum kits. Cheap ones, at that. Wow, got time to edit to respond to Maiden. Cool. Yeah, that is what I mean about suppliers catching up to 7-string folk. They treat it like some wierd thing until they see the market potential. SOME HELP on aisle FOUR!! We got another 7-string wierdo!! A 7-string TOM is probly more than I would ask for, just yet, but folk like Hipshot and WD are beginning to see the potential. I would hope more people see these as something other than a baritone or a fluke because I see them as niether. Good place for them to sell more stuff. I don't play a 7-string in public cause I have a VERY ugly axe but players should give them a shot, just to see what they can do. By the way, wasn't this topic supposed to be about top-string-ferrules? My bad!

Back me up on this, please, BlueP. If you were to consider a passive pickup that has real character but no availability, it would have to be the Gibson mini humbuckers put on EB-3s and EPI Allen Woodies. The EMG HZ can't hold a dim candle to them IMHO. Fender has never made a bass pickup that would be considered an UPGRADE from any other type of pickup so, to me, it seems to make the choice, although VERY personal-preference tilted, quite binary. There are system-based bass pickups with their matched preamps and such that are quite flexible and, even, remarkable but if you want to buy a pup based on it's own merits, you need to listen to the whole spectrum. Active, passive, systemic, pres added to passives, etc. I hate to repeat myself but.......no, that is a lie. I love to repeat myself. To each his own, enjoy the difference and diversity of people and, as they say in Texas: "It don't take all kinds of people to make the world, it's just we gots all kinds of people".

I am very sorry to say that my average on hardtails HAS to be .187 or less. I know, pretty pathetic but at least I am honest about it. "Hello, my name is thedoctor and I am a poor bridge installer". Group: "Hi, thedoctor".

Small market for 7-strings? I THINK NOT!!! Ask any string manufacturer and see if they are interested in a 13.3% increase in sales. The answer would be a definative, absolute, resounding.....what the heck are you talking about? 7-strings? Marketing is supposed to follow trends, not current sales. The trend towards 7-strings is a juggernaut that Carvin has seen and realized has to be part of their product line. Fender? Gibson? I don't think so, but I am famous for bad thinking. By the way, I am not picking you to dump on. I just wanted to dump on SOMEBODY about it. Well, I guess that kinda means I DID pick you to dump on. Pretend it was WES. He won't mind!

Maiden, getting big companies like Carvin to respond to demand is like breeding elephants, if you catch my drift. I would like to see 7-string stuff developed that follows the good 6-string stuff in every way. If they make a cool product for 6-strings, I want to see it in 7-string. I am not really unhappy with using rails for pickups and SD makes some nice 7-string JBs and such but how about a larger selection of bridges, trems and neck hardware? This is a recent trend that the manufacturers need to pay attention to. SHIELDS UP!! IMHO

Yeah, you measure from the zero-fret, if you have one, or the front (towards body) edge of the nut. Create a centerline for the neck all the way down the body with soapstone, chalk, pencil, kitty litter (seriously) and generate a perpendicular line at the measurement provided by the fret calculator. Then, divide your post-to-post TOM spacing by half and mark that distance each way from the centerline across the perp. line and set the bass side .12407793" (just kidding) 1/8" further away from the neck than the high E side. Remember, this advice comes from a guy who can't install a hardtail right the first time but I can read installation instructions with all but the best of them. Sorry, my stupid humor is lost on quite a few but this should work fine. My batting average on TOMs is .987. Not too shabby! A lot better than my hardtail average.

No, I don't think it will be that tough as long as you start with a solid plan. Determine the scale-length of the neck you intend to use, determine the position of the bridge on the body you wish to use, based on the first determination, and see if you have any conflicts. If not, proceed. I expect to hear from you at that point.

OK, you people asked for it and here it is. I think it is great, also. Shows you what the voice of the people can actually achieve. Never be timid with your wants or needs cause noone will respond if you don't scream. (Hemmingway, BTW)