GEdwardJones

What is, restring and retune his guitar, Alex? I'm not sure where you are, but tuning to "B" is still quite popular for hard rockin' bands here in the US. Granted, not as popular as it was 18 months ago, but popular nontheless. I can think of a dozen bands off the top of my head that tune to B or lower. When I was learning how to play those many moons ago, that's exactly what I did. Every time I learned how to play a new song I had to retune my floating trem having guitar (note to young kids out there, even if the guitars were RECORDED at A440, there's no guarantee that what's coming out of your speakers is actually at A440. This was especially true in the days of cassette tapes). It didn't kill me, sure it was a pain in the tookis, but I learned how to play a lot of great songs, something that I doubt I would've been able to do if I hadn't retuned my guitars that many times Only if the majority of the songs he wants to learn are in those two tunings (see above about a dozen bands)

While Black Mariah's method is a good work around, remember, any issues you have with intonation WILL become apparent when tuning using this method. If you can afford to do so my suggestion is that you go buy an actual chromatic tuner instead of a "Guitar Tuner."

Well, unless you want to modify the body we'll have to start with "one that fits." There's a pinned thread somewhere around here with some measurements of popular Floyds. This'll help narrow down your search some. You might find that neither of them fit your guitar.

Go to DiMarzio.com. They have a wiring schematic up for something similar to what you're looking for (it's the qiring scheme for most 2 humbucker IBZs)

Nah, you're still right. Seriously, what are the chances that ANYONE would have a plan for that guitar? It's a pain even getting plans for a strat.

Edited because I'm sleepy and even as I typed "redwood" I thought "rosewood." Ignore me, there's nothing to see here.

We used the Wagner power painter to paint my infamous hotrod flame walled office. It's GREAT for painting walls, the paint goes on pretty smoth and thick (we used latex, but you can use anything with it). I guess you could paint a guitar with it, but it wouldn't be my first choice (although Coen proved that you can get a GREAT finish with a roller and the thought did cross my mind).

Every year Kevan tries to talk me into coming down and every year I don't. I was gonna play bass with Sands' band two years ago, but my work schedule got hectic. Maybe next year. Who am I kidding, nah...

I painted some helmets for my nephew not to long ago. When buying the paints I asked "What's the difference between $15/pint and $50/pint?" The answer was the $50 paints had better UV resistance, but if you used a high quality clear you could get away with using a cheaper color. Which is exactly what I did. Only time will tell if he was truthful, but it's something to keep in mind.

started playing bass when I was 7, guitar when I was 12.

For those of us with no particular love for tubes they're a good alternative.

Feh Back in the 80s Ibanez had a couple of 540 series guitars, the one that comes to mind first is the 540P, which is the guitar that Joe Satriani used before switching to the Radius/JS guitars I have NO idea how that number scheme works out. Also the original RG570s were called RG517s. That designation was changed to make the numbering convention more universal. For the most part, tho, what I said above is accurrate for guitars sold in America.

yeah i got one of those...not a 520 though... I've never actually seen an S560 Custom, but it would make sense. My first real guitar was a Peavey Falcon Custom. Which, in Peavey parlance at the time meant "A Falcon with the neck and the bridge from a Nitro."

Nope all solid state all the time with tube emulation technology. I think the higher end models actually have a switch that let's you control how "tube-y" you sound.

For future reference. For Ibanez, each model has three numbers after it. The first number is the "level" of guitar, the second number is pickup configuration, the third number is bridge type. The levels run from 100 - 1000 (The thousand levels are prestiege models and those seem to be fairly random). Levels: 1 and (I believe) 2 are indonesian. 3 is korean 4 and above are Japanese Caveat, pre-1997 4 series guitars are Korean. 97 and later 4 series guitars are made in Japan, but have a mix of features found on the higher level 5 series and lower level 4 series guitars. Pickup configuration: 5 - Hum/Sing/Hum with a pickguard 7 - Hum/Sing/Hum, no pickguard 6 - Sing/Sing/ Hum 2 - Hum/Hum Bridge: 0 - Trem 1 - Fixed So, an RG520 is a double hum guitar with a trem made in Japan. Recently Ibanez re-named their "5" series guitars as "Prestiege" models (which, previously had been available almost exclusively not in America). It works about the same. A Prestiege 1550 is a Prestiege guitar, made in Japan, with H/S/H pickups mounted on a pickguard. A 7621 is a Seven string guitar, made in Japan, with two hums and a fixed bridge. A 7321 is a seven string guitar, made in korea, with two hums and a fixed bridge. By the way, if you ever see an S520 Custom be aware that "Custom" does NOT mean the same thing in Japan as it does here. An S520 Custom is simply the top of the S range, it does not mean it was custom made, it is a mass produced guitar.

Ibanez uses 14 degrees, I think.

squared

And so that people know EVERY reply from Kev in a year has been "you'll be getting yours in about two weeks."

Nope, "Kev is hyping the coolness of his invention every day for two years" math. It's like your parents telling you you're gonna get a Ferrari for your 16th birthday when you're 14.

Oh no, I don't blame you for the anomalies. Just pointing out my experience. So far teh T-No has done what I've wanted to. my preference would be about 1/8" more on the thumb screws to make them easier to grab thru the springs. Also, you told me it was on it's way for 8 years. You can imagine my surprise.

My T-No came in the mail a couple of weeks ago. When I saw the envelope I had a minor stroke. I mean, much like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, this was something I'd heard great things about, but never thought I'd see. I opened up the package and pulled everything out. My wife and I then ran around going "think - scalpel" for 45 minutes, but then we stopped and I began playing with the T-No and discovered <Dramatic Music and Voice>Problem Number One</Dramatic Music and Voice>. Kev put Loc-Tite on the thumbscrews to keep them from slipping out. Loc-Tite, well locks things. So I actually had to grab some pliers to unlock the T-No. So I played around with it some and then I cleaned the garage. Then I worked 10 hour days for 6 days in a row. Then I was tired and grumpy and didn't touch my guitars. So I finally installed it on my Squire Strat. My Squire Strat has the worst fake floyd ever in the history of man. Seriously, a worse bridge has never even been contemplated. It was, in other words perfect. This is where I ran into <Dramatic Music and Voice>Problem Number Two</Dramatic Music and Voice>. Kev once told me that on the assembly line all of the guitar is CNC'd, EXCEPT the screw holes for the trem claw. For that they just give Kim, Hiro, or Billy Bob a drill and say "put them about here." Which for the most part works just fine. In my case, they're about two MM's shy of being "square" with the holes in the T-No claw. It's not a big problem, but it did make installation a smidge harder than I thought it would be (2MM doesn't seem like a lot, but it was enough to make turning the screws a little of a pain). Another installation problem was my fault, I lost my 2MM (? maybe it was the 1.5, either way) allen wrench. Oddly enough, many allen keys start at the next size up. oh well. So I fitted the T-No in another guitar just to see what was up and, guess what? <Dramatic Music and Voice>Problem Number Three</Dramatic Music and Voice>. Because there's no standard to where the screw holes go, the claw ended up just a smidge too high and I can't put the back plate on. That's not a big problem, 'cos, well, I never put the back plate on that guitar anyway. So I put it back on my Squire, got everything all set up and....It's cool. Unlike most people here, I'm using the T-No as a block. I'm not really interested in unlocking my trem. Also unlike most people I use heavy strings, unlike the girly girl strings of people like Kev. As Billy Sheehan said if you want manly-man tone, you need manly man strings. .10 - .52 (sometimes .56) for those who are interested. Yeah, that's for standard tuning. So far, so good, there hasn't been any string slippage. It holds tune well, bends sound better. I'm not going to comment on sustain, because I didn't play that guitar enough pre-T-No to notice any difference. I'll probably slap it on my GTX which is set up the same as my Squire, but with a non-crap bridge (a TRS 101, one of the better Floyd copies IMHO). What would I change? The Loc-Tite thing, there's gotta be a better way to make sure the thumb screws remain secure. The problem with Loc-Tite is, well, it locks tight. Also, maybe I have fat fingers or big springs, but the thumbscrews are just a little too short for me to grab easily. That's it, first impressions, more to come

No, the original JS chrome guitars (JS2?) were made using wood, but only a couple saw the light of day, because the wooe "breathes" and the chrome doesn't have enough give and eventually flakes/peels/cracks over time. In fact, if you check Joe's number 1 chrome guitar you'll notice that it has a strip of gaffer tape between the pickups where the chrome is peeling. So I guess you can, but it won't hold up well.

My first thought would be sanding, very very carefully would be the most easily controlled way to do that. I've removed the laquer on the back of a bunch of necks (but not any tinted paint). This is how I do it. Since you cant remove the neck, mask off the body where you want to stop. You should also mask off any holes and cavities to keep crap from getting them. MAKE SURE you mask off the pickups (this will be important, later). Also, mask off the fretboard (this helps give you a quicky visual, and tactile, reference to where to stop sanding. 1. Start with a heavier grain sand paper, I actually used sand paper labled "coars" which, I believe, is around 60 grit. You're going to use this to take off the paint. Since your paint is colored it will be easier to tell when to stop. That is, when you see bare wood. 2. When you've got the paint more or less taken off you're going to want to smoothen the neck with progressively finer grades of sand paper. you want it smooth to the touch, but you don't want to sand TOO much, because you're not trying to reshape the neck, you're just trying make it smooth again. 3. You can keep going with progressively finer sandpaper. I always finish with steel wool. You want to be POSITIVE that your pickups are either removed or taped off very well if you use steel wool, 'cos you'll end up with it stuck to your pole pieces and, if you're like me, that's just crazy annoying. After you're down to bare wood you have a couple of choices. I've left my necks raw. Some people finish the neck in an oil (lemon, linseed and tung seem to be favorites). Some people would suggest that you spray the neck with a protective coat of lacquer or one of the harder oils (Wes LOVES Tru oil). Fended finishes Eric Clapton's personal strat necks with super glue, which, apparently, leaves the feel of raw wood, but has very good moisture repelling properties. That's all up to you. I'm sure other people have other ways that work for them, this is just how I've done it.

I'm pretty positive the neck is maple. As far as the Edge Pro 2, it's a new design, not a TRS2 (although, it could still be made by TRS, I'm not sure). I'm not sure how easy a retrofit it is, tho.

Didn't they all? If memory serves, Leo Fender used alder because he could get alder cheap, not so much because it sounds good. Everything sounds good to someone. I think whenever you hear someone arguing for or against a different wood you're arguing *OPINION*. Take it for what it's worth, y'know?