guitar2005

In terms of Wilkinson vs Hipshot, having tried several of both, Hipshot is the way to go. The quality on the hipshot stuff is second to none.

Don't cheap out on the trem. A lot of times, the cheaper trems are made of softer alloys with loose tolerances. There is a definite difference between the budget Wilkinson and the higher grade Wilkinson stuff. After having used both, there's no way I'd go back to the cheaper stuff (Wilkinson/GFS and the like). In fact, I've removed those trems are replaced them with proper ones. Trem arm, springs, pitch are all better on the higher grade trems.

I now use Hipshot trems.

In terms of rollers, there's no real need for them IMO. I've got a few strats, one of which has non-locking Gotoh tuners, a Tusq xl nut and a regular 2 point strat trem. I can dive bomb the trem and it will always come back in tune. Locking tuners can help but the nut and trem/springs quality are the most important.

The Graphtech saddles are nice. They'll change the tone somewhat vs all metal saddles but they now have metal saddles with tusq inserts which sound closer to metal saddles. Again, if you on a budget, just get a good trem and leave the saddles alone.

@ Prostheta: I was going to match the fretboard wood to the headstock wood but I think that a jet black fiber board will work better as its stable and the logo with contrast well over it.

I really don't have time in my building schedule to start making Micarta. It would make more sense to just use a wood overlay if I were to make it myself and paint it black.

I like the idea of the Micarta overlay. I'll try to see whether I can find some locally.

So you go with the paper grade stuff? I was thinking of selecting the linen/canvas grade stuff.

Well, there are a lot of different products that combine paper and resins that aren't Micarta like Formica.

Is it a fiber based Micarta or something else?

I'd like to try a fiberboard overlay on one of my next builds vs a wood overlay.

What does Gibson use? Is it Micarta or something else?

How do you glue it on? Simple wood glue?

Having a buffer as outboard sort of defeats the point unless it is meant to drive a much longer cable run. An onboard buffer eliminates high end cable loss. Gain is not always a product of buffering, for example the ones I use are specifically unity gain.

You're the one that brought up the buffering, not me... and I never said that gain is a product of buffering so I don't understand why you bring that up.

...whereas guitarists want a tutu, deep-sea diving helmet, clown shoes, lipstick, deely-boppers, Vulcan ears, false teeth, fake plastic boobs, cardigan, shaved legs kind of setup. Then add more on top of that. Guitarists like dancing about in pedal minefields like a Morris dancer on crack.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Some guitarists are ridiculous with effects but some are not. Regardless, this has nothing to do with the original topic, does it... or am I missing your point?

Would I add a preamp to my guitars? Maybe.... it depends... With a preamp usually comes more gain, which drastically changes the sound and dynamics. If all you're interested in is a buffer, you can achieve that with a pedal pretty easily.

With Bass, we're taking about a different application and different amplification, effects, speakers etc..

Prostheta - The thing is, a low output pickup works well with the input impedance of most amps. Loading down a single coil is usually a good thing. Guitars are not hi-fi devices and a purely engineering approach doesn't always work.

Is there a difference in two identical guitars built from different timbers? No doubt, yes.

Is it earth-shatteringly different? Not particularly.

Could a different pickup or amp settings make the same degree if not more of a difference? I reckon.

That's a simplistic view.

Do speakers make a huge difference in tone in an amp? For example, try out a V30, G12T75, G12M greenback, G12M blackback, or G12-65.

The amp is the same but the final tone will be vastly different. Can EQ tweaks make the amp sound the same across all speakers? No, because they all have an inherent character that can't necessarily be dialed out.

Another experiment. Try an amp loaded with Tung Sol preamp tubes and then, swap 'em out for Shuguangs or JJs.

The same applies to electrics. Certain basic characteristics can't be dialed out of the basic tone of the guitar. Pickups can attenuate to exaggerate certain aspects of the tone.

I don't buy the 90% is in the pickups, unless you install high output pickups, like the EMG, in which case, a plywood body vs honduran mahogany wouldn't really make a difference.

Your assumption is that everything contributes to the final tone in fixed amounts i.e. pickups are 40%, body is 20%, neck is 10%, frets are 10%, bridge is 20% etc. It doesn't work like that. Take the same guitar and install nickel roundwounds and nickel flatwounds and tell me the difference isn't noticeable enough to make a BIG difference. Then, there's the steel strings, coated string, large core strings, the DR strings, Ernie Ball's Cobalt strings.... they all sound pretty different to my ears.

Different components will bring more or less to the final result depending on what they are made of and their design. Saying that pickups is 90% of the final tone is way too simplistic way of viewing or explaining an instrument's tone. Its like saying a Porsche 911 handles great. That may be true, but it won't handle as well with cheap tires as with Pirelli P-Zero tires and that little difference will have a HUGE impact on the car. Does that mean that 90% of the handling of the car is in the tires? No, because without the mecanics behind it, the better tires mean nothing. The car has to be able to exploit the tire's capabilities to the fullest. The same thing applies to pickups (or any other hardware) vs the guitar they go in and vice-versa. The sum of the parts is what make the final tone.

Over the years, I've come to appreciate lower output pickups. Why? they let the guitar's character shine through. If you need more gain, you can add it later. Sure, pickups alter the tone and give off their own character but they should also let the basic tone of the instrument come out.

Take an alder strat and compare that to an ash strat, both with maple necks and maple fretboards. I built both and tried the same electonics in both yet they sound vastly different. The pickups are Van Zandt Blues and I also tried the David Allen Echoes set. Every time, the ash strat had more top end and bite while the alder had a more more of a mid scoop and less sparkle. When you play the guitars acoustically, you can notice the same thing. This basically means that the pickups are letting the guitar's character shine through.That's why selecting the pickups appropriately for a specific guitar is very important.

The same thing applies to the old Les Paul Custom with the T-Top humbuckers. The acoustic tone is distinct and those pickups don't mask the guitar's basic tone.

Another thing to consider is tap tone. Tap a piece of wood and listen to the ring. cut it in half and each half with ring differently. Same piece of wood, different resonance. matching pieces of wood for similar resonance, in my opinion, will enhance the guitar's basic tone and resonance, which can play a big factor into things like sustain.

Then, there's the actual player. The way he frets the notes and his picking technique... and what about the amp? The amp and how well its macthed to the player and guitar has a huge impact on tone. Then, there's speakers.

Would I build around pickups first? No way. Try building a guitar around Maple vs Basswood or Northern Ash vs Alder or Swamp Ash vs Mahogany. If you can't hear a difference, there's a problem. For example, if you want a '70s rock tone with tons of mids, what would you choose for woods?

If wood doesn't make a difference, why not build with birch plywood, put a nice veener on top of it for looks and be done with it?

One thing I'll say is that there's no such thing as only certain woods are good "tonewood". Every wood can be good "tonewood", depending on what you're after.

In my opinion, those preamps can alter the tone to the point where you lose the bass' character. Of course, not all preamps are created the same but when you take great care and attention in building an instrument, you want its character to come through the speakers.

To me, its like using EMG actives in an electric guitar. It doesn't matter what the guitar is made of when you use EMGs because they completely mask the guitar's character.

The distance is from the edge of the nut i.e. the start of the fretboard to the full scale length.

Their calculator includes the treble and bass post positioning.

If you don't want to trim the binding thickness on the guitar, sand it down using a drill press sander or thickness sander (assuming you have one or the other) before you glue it on.

Doing it on the guitar is more accurate IMO but each his own, I guess.

Cutting a piece of binding is pretty simple.

Start with a board of thesame species you want for the wood binding . You need and make sure that the edge is flat and smooth i.e. Jointed.

I use a bandsaw to rip a thin piece off of the edge but you can also do it with a tablesaw. You'll easily have a strip of binding this way. Glued the smooth (jointed) surface of the binding to the guitar. You'll leave the rough part visible but that can be cleaned up easily once the glue has set.

You can clean it up with a sander or with a router. If you decide to use a router, be very careful and use a sharp bit.

So just make a 5/16" binding strip. It should be simple enough.

Why not get thicker binding, or stack it with layers to create a cool effect?

What happened?

Man, warmoth has almost doubled the price of fretwire in just a few months! Last time i ordered it in the summer it was around 6 or 7 bucks per neck length. Now, 13 bucks! That really sucks. I always thought that was the best deal.

You should buy direct from Jescar. Much cheaper and excellent quality.

Why not rout the shelf while the fingerboard is still flat. That's what I do and it seems to work just fine. Doing it after seems like more work to me.

Can't go wrong with the DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF Pro combo IMO.

You should measure conductivity between the saddles and the posts before you put everything together on the guitar.

Why not call/write to Delta and complain to them directly?

You can try and see what they can do to help out. Be courteous and polite. Delta has always been good to me.