ryanb

That problem with the broken arm holder on the ZR trem is a well-known problem and is pretty common. It is the biggest issue with the ZR trem. As mentioned, the replacement part is like $10, but it isn't always very easy to come by (some shops may be stocking them now since it has been fairly common). Getting a new part from Ibanez can take a long time. The idea of replacing the entire bridge to fix this is just ridiculous. I don't think you have any real responsibility to fix this before you turn it in, especially since you had insurance to cover these sort of things. Tell them what happened. There are lots of cases on the Internet to back it up as a design flaw. If they argue, give them the ten bucks (of course the insurance should cover it) and call it done. If anything, they should pay you the ten bucks. After all, you didn't rent a guitar to have it fall apart when you were using it.

IMO, you don't need a new soundboard at all. A sharp chisel, some sandpaper, and a little care will make those braces nothing more than a bad memory. New brace wood is cheap, as are a chisel and sandpaper at the local hardware (which you need anyway). Consider it good skill practice for your next build.

The JEM pyramids are clear acrylic with colored paper underneath them.

Interesting. I was looking at that tutorial on his site about a month ago. It was still up then. The point of the jig is not to make the neck straight with no strings on it. The point is to recreate the shape of the neck when under the stress of both the truss rod AND the strings ... which depending on the particular neck may be more or less different than the neck shape without any string tension and the truss rod backed off. That allows one to level the frets and/or fretboard in the shape it will have under tension. Does the difference matter? Often no. Sometimes yes. It also plays a role for certain tricky repair tasks. Do you need it? Probably not if you are building new and have strong, stable necks. But I wouldn't call it pointless.

He should just post it here in the tutorial section.

You CAN mount the Hot Rod in that application "upside-down", with the adjusting nut on top at the headstock. The down-side to this is that adjustments will be reversed from normal ... i.e. clockwise for more relief, counter-clockwise for less relief. If you can live with that restriction, then it is a nice way to package it in a straight headstock. (I will be doing a number of those myself.) Otherwise, you could always go with a traditional single-action rod, with more work. The LMI, etc. rods are a LITTLE less deep, but they still have the same issue in your case. I've already "suggested" to Stew-Mac that they make a left-hand thread version of the Hot-Rod for those of us who want to do that very installation. So far no luck. Maybe if we all complain they will get the idea. I guess I should just make my own ... it wouldn't be that hard.

Use bore oil on the fretboard.

I would recommend that you forget that idea. It can be done (and has been), but it is a lot more work than you think. A Strat-style neck has a thicker heel and (depending on the number of frets) has frets 22 and higher on a fretboard extension over the body. The Ibanez AANJ is a shallower pocket that extends all the way to the end of the neck. (Plus, I am assuming you mean an RG-type 24-fret body, while the Warmoth neck is probably 22 fret.) You have to cut some of the thickness off of the heel. Then you have to laminate more wood on to extend the heel back to the end of the neck pocket ... which is the end of a 24-fret neck. If your new neck is 22-fret, this would really look stupid. It has to have a headstock-adjustable truss rod too, or you will bury the rod forever. There's also shaping, etc. to do. I would have some concerns over the strength of the neck too, depending on how the work was done. It would be less work to just make a new neck from scratch. Of course, you could always buy one used, or from a number of vendors making Ibanez replacements.

Well, a Gibson wrench is 5/16" (0.3125"). Your Ibanez wrench is probably 7mm (0.275"), or maybe 8mm (0.315"). It's unlikely you have something in between. Maybe the nut is damaged slightly (or just off). Is the Gibson wrench too big to fit the headstock, or the wrench socket is too big for the nut? Since this is a USA guitar, it should have an inch-sized nut. Find a set of deep sockets and see if you can find something that will fit. I'd take another look at that Gibson wrench though.

Ibanez has started selling some limited parts on their web site. Otherwise you are often better to go somewhere like ibanezrules where the parts are in stock. The dealers should do a better job of keeping parts in stock. If you are a pro and can't do without your guitar, you'd better have backup guitars and stock up on parts your are likely to need well before you will need them. Of course, the big names and endorsees aren't going to have any trouble getting parts in short order -- one call to the custom shop should take care of it. We don't have that luxury. P.S. If you find a source for the piezos, please let us know. There are lots of other people who would love to make the same modifications.

General concensus (as i've heard it anyway) is that Duplicolor pretty much takes FOREVER to dry ... especially if you get it too thick. Warmer should be better, but I think you just need a whole lot of patience.

There is one theory (coming from violin makers, I believe) to assemble the braces as mentioned ... glue the curved braces to the flat top, and the braces will pull the top into an arch. The intent (as I understand it) is to make the top more responsive from the start due to the stress on the top. But most guitarmakers seem to agree that this is a bad way to go. Over time, the braces will relax and the top will then fall (flatten) -- so as the guitar ages, its sound will get worse instead of better. Violins are meant to be taken apart and have the braces replaced when this happens, but guitars aren't designed this way. Of course, the easy solution would be to just get rid of the workboard. If you just clamp the braces to the top (cauls are ok, just not a solid workboard) from the center out, the top will curve to the braces just like it will in a radius dish. It is clumsy though. Of course, don't misunderstand me -- I definitely think the radius dish is the way to go without question ... you will need it for more than just gluing braces, and everything will be more accurate.

What? You mean not everybody has one of those in the backyard? If that's the craziest thing your neighbors have seen you do, you haven't even gotten started yet.

Cool. I definitely like it better that way -- especially the 12th fret. (I'm an engineer too.) Of course, pick the one you like best. The stainless ones look good, but that seems like it would be a nightmare to inlay. You can't hardly 'sand it down flush', and I would think that getting (and keeping) a good smooth, flat inlay to fretboard joint could be hard. Here's an idea ... how about a chain of gears (Rube Goldberg style) running all the way down the fretboard? ... different types of gears going all directions of course! Hummm ... that has potential ... I may have to work on that idea....

I have both and they both are good. I'd say get both -- but if you are on a budget go for the videos first. IMO, seeing someone actually do it is more informative than reading about it. They are not advanced videos, but good information. The book is particularly good if you are trying to match vintage finishes -- they have a lot of recepies. It also has good color and mixing charts if you are using StewMac dyes/pigments.

I agree with unclej, but before you do that, cut the finish around the nut with a sharp knife (if that guitar has finish onto the nut). The poly on newer Fenders will hold the nut in, and you don't want to rip off a chuck of finish knocking the nut out. Also, be very careful not to break off the sliver of wood behind the nut (on the peghead side).

The production guitar does not have a Floyd. It will have the FXEdge8 trem (as in the picture), which is a locking, fixed bridge with fine tuners. It will have EMG pickups. The color is reported to be a grey-ish black (big suprise). The picture you have there is a custom-shop guitar for an endorsee from last year's NAMM show. The new one will be the same specs, except for color pretty much.

I have the stainless template and I don't have any problem with play either. You could use a larger diameter pin, or just press it to one side as mentioned.

Thanks for that link. I have been thinking about a vacuum bag setup lately too. Good information.

I really like the idea, but I think they are too dark. I know you wanted subtle, but I think it would be better if you made them out of MOP or something and made them really stand out.

Put an LED behind it and it will be.

You could always do zebra black/cream ... but I vote for black too.

You still haven't really said though what the new finish will be like, other than it being "graphic". You could (as Mickguard said) sand down through the black, but stop before removing all of the clear sealer underneath. My original comment was to not bother sanding off all the black and clear ... just scuff sand it, then spray on your new basecoat and whatever graphics you are doing, then clearcoat. It depends on what you want. Do you just want to add graphics over the black? Do you want a white or other color base under the graphics? You could always strip it all the way down and refinish. I was just suggesting that you save a lot of effort and make use of a good existing sealer coat, if possible.

That's going to be one blastproof guitar stand. Why such heavy material? 3/8" aluminum tube and a good TIG welder would work better. But I digress. Interested to see the pics.

Even if you do use epoxy, the anchors can still be removed using heat if necessary. However, I would plug with dowels and redrill them. When you measure the anchor, make sure you aren't measuring the ridges on the outside. You need the hole the base diameter of the anchor so that the ridges or teeth can still bite into the wood. Plus, drill bits (and drill chucks) often have some wander in them which can lead to oversized holes (as can not clearing the cuttings from the bit). That's where the test holes come in. If it is a soft wood, like basswood, you will want to undersize the holes more than in a harder wood.