daveq

Does anyone know enough about them to explain what they are intended for? I was wondering if they are intended for people who don't have much in terms of overdrive/distortion in their rig or is it intended to improve on the distortion they already have? I'm just not sure who uses these things and why / what situations?

I shouldn't have said "replacement". What I meant to say is that they are selling the metric nuts which leads me to beleive they are intended for guitars similar to Ibanez and others. Please let me know what you find concerning the nut and bridge radius. I'd really like to know what they are. Thanks, Dave

I bought a Floyd Original from Warmoth and put it in a guitar with a body of 1 3/4" thickness. It was a recess installation. I just barely had enough room to recess the trem cover on the back (just over 1/16" recess for the cover). For a 1 1/2" body, you might have to do something like westhemann said. For me, the 1 1/2" body would not have worked. I'd really like to know where you can buy these blocks separately. I always thought I was stuck with the large block size and was a little pissed when I saw how short my Ibanez block was. I hate it when the big manufacturers get all of the breaks but it turns out that I was just missing out on this one.

Where can you buy the shorter blocks?

Wow, those prices are outstanding! Any idea if that 42mm nut is a 10" radius or flatter? It almost looks like they are selling replacement bridges for guitars like Ibanez (who I think uses 42mm) and others. Do the low-pro bridges have any significant advantages over the others?

I'd be interested to hear if you have heard of problems with EMG's reputation if that's what you meant. I have read some reviews about the HZ line and it does seem as though most players don't care for them. I tried an ESP with the HZ's in it and didn't care for it much. It may have been the guitar also but the whole thing just seemed lifeless to me. The active (81/85/...) pickups are excellent. You just need to be sure that the type of music you play matches with what they were designed for. They are not versatile in my opinion but are top quality for the thick- harmonic rich distortion type of sound.

What brand are you using? I have noticed that the Schaller unit has a deeper block than the Original Floyd. I will check when I get home but I remember the instructions on the routing saying that the mounting holes should be drilled at about 25" from the nut for a 25.5" scale guitar. I'll double check this later today.

Has anyone here used something similar to the Black Ice product that stewmac sells? Is it intended for players who don't have a good distortion/overdrive rig or is it intended for use with an already decent setup? If anyone knows what it does (electrically), please let me know. I think Brian was working on something similar recently, right?

Oops, I guess I should have told you that I'm an Electrical Engineer - I could have saved you a lot of typing. I just never bothered looking at a wiring diagram for a guitar before. I guess it's kind of like the mechanic who drives a p.o.s. Thanks anyway.

For a volume pot, when it is set to be a short circuit (0 ohms) is this the full volume position or is the 500K or 1M the full volume position? I've never actually paid any attention to this before - I guess I've been getting lucky with my wiring so far. If the full volumne position is the 0 ohm position, then you would need to turn your guitar down a little to hear the difference between a 500K and 1M so maybe it's the other way around?

I have always clamped for at least 24 hrs. Maybe that helps explain why TitebondII hasn't been a problem for me? I have switched to Titebond Original but since the manufacturer plainly stated it won't make a difference in terms of creeping, I will be looking into getting some of that "Extend" someday.

I forgot to mention that the shims can be found at AllParts.com and are used under the saddles. From what I have heard, it's a fairly common solution to this problem of bridge to fretboard radius difference. I'd just be nervous that messing with the fretboard would result in an uneven surface or something like that - just more work to do when fretting/leveling that could be avoided.

Up until now, I have not used a 5-way switch in any guitar I have built. I am building one with a maple top that will need this type of switch. My question is, what do you use to cut the slot for the switch? I'm thinking about finding a Dremel attachment that would cut a 1/16" slot but I don't know if this is the best way to go?

I would also agree that a bandsaw is a very big help. I have a 14" JET bandsaw and really love it. I'm not sure about the smaller 9 or 12" models. I have heard mixed reviews on these due to the weaker motors and smaller cutting capacity. The 14" is just right for cutting a body blank. I usually use the bandsaw and then clean up the body shape with the router using a body template. This step could be skipped with some sandpaper, scraper, ... The bandsaw and the router are my most used power tools . I wish I had a better table saw .

Don't forget that the locking nut will most likely be a 10" radius. Stewmac sells replacement locking nuts that are 14" radius but the nuts that come with the Floyd are 10" radius. You don't need to radius your fretboard if you don't want to. I would actually favor shimming your bridge to match the fretboard radius - less work and less prone to mistakes that will cause buzzing and all sorts of crap later on. Messing with the fretboard is dangerous in my opinion. Let me know if you need more info on this. I ran into this same issue when I first started. Actually, this was back when stewmac claimed that the bridge was a 10" radius bridge incorrectly. They corrected it after I complained. Good luck.

I'm gluing my first maple top on soon. It's a bookmatched 1/4" curly maple top being glued to a mahagony body. I already made a slight arm-rest area in the mahagony and will be steaming the maple top to fit it (per Scott Rosenberger - thanks for the hint!). I'm not sure if I should have the glue sitting on it when steaming or steam then glue once it is shaped? I'm thinking of going with the glue while steaming. Should I use more or less glue than I normally would for something like the fretboard? To hold it in place, some screws in places where it wont matter? Thanks for any tips you may be able to provide. Dave

Thanks for the pic of that stagger cfg roli - that pretty much sums it up. canuckguitarist - I have an RG550 that has that setup (with just the 5-way) and I do like it. I don't find myself using the single in the middle much and I have read somewhere where others have complained that it is useless. I wouldn't go as far as calling it useless myself but what do you think? Does the middle single coil get much use by any of you guys? If so, what type of music?

Thanks for the suggestions- I'll check into those Andersons and those strat pickups. Derek, The pruple heart is the same that I was talking about earlier. It's jus two strips 1/8" each to border the mahagony. My first guitar I built has the EMG 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck. I'm very happy with them but I want to try some others. Thanks for the suggestion though. George used to use something called a "Stagger Strat Left" single coil if that means anything to you. I think the ESP's come with something else (ESP brand) if you buy from them. Maybe they are the same, I don't know. If anyone knows what "Stagger Strat Left" means, please let me know. I'm not sure if that is a brand or type of pickup? Thanks again, I'll check out the types suggested.

I think the fuzzy edges were said to be desirable when gluing the fretboard to the neck. Maybe it has something to do with what Setch said about different woods? Who knows. As for the table saw, I know what you mean Derek. I would never use my table saw blade as the final prep for joining anything. I don't know if it improves with a higher quality table saw but mine really sucks.

I was of the impression that a smooth edge is not as important as a straight edge. What I mean is that it is important that the two edges not angle away from each other or have large gouges. The surface can be rough when gluing, and I heard (I think from Dan Erlewine's video) that a slightly rough edge (from low grit sanding) will actually look better when glued because it will help hide the line. Of course, a perfectly smooth surface wouldn't be best for gluing anyway. Anyone else remember reading/hearing this? I don't know for sure about this but I do know that the edges need to be straight. I guess the smooth part is arguable.

I'm building a couple of guitars. Each one is being built for a different style of music. The first is intended for a hard rock/metal player and I think I'm going with the screamon demon and a single coil (?? don't know what single coil yet). The second is intended to be a more versatile guitar. Something that can be used for clean/dirty sound. Blues/hard rock/blah,blah,blah... It's a honduran mahagony body with maple top, birdseye fretboard, and laminated neck (purple heart, mahagony, maple - very little purple heart). If anyone has suggestions for the single coil for guitar #1 or any ideas in general for guitar #2 I'd like to hear them. Guitar #2 keeps bugging me. I don't know if I want to go with 2 HB's or HB/S/S or something else. That's why I was asking about the single coil sized HB earlier. I know this is a very subjective issue and everyone will have their own opinions, I'm just stuck on guitar #2. I really can't commit and need some help with some ideas. Thanks, Dave

I also put my neck HB's about 1/4" away but not for my EMG's - they are as close as I can get them. No particular reason though. Derek, I'm not familiar with direct mounting other than I know what it means. When you direct mount, are you saying that there is no way to adjust the pickup to go closer to the strings? Is it common to put something under the pickup like foam or something else to help give some adjustment? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated - I think I'm going to be doing this soon.

Very exciting time, huh? I hope it turns out to be alot of fun for you. After the glue has dried, how are you planning to smooth the surfaces (top/bottom)? Do you have access to a 13" planer? If not, a block plane will do a good job also. I always wondered why non-guitar players always say guitar as "geetar"? I think that's what you said that the wood working teacher called it, right? That's always driven me nuts! Dave

I was surprised also - I thought he would tell me there was nothing to be concerned with and the creep issue was a myth. He actually did not try to sell me on anything. In my first email I told him I was going to switch to another glue but didn't tell him what I was switching to. In his reply, he didn't mention any of the other products. I sent the second email to ask if the original Titebond was any better and that's when he suggested the other product. Anyway, I have not yet seen any problems with either product but time will tell, I guess. If anyone else has personal experience with these glues (good/bad), please reply. I agree that personal experience is the best when trying to judge these things. Dave

Any heat involved when it failed on you or did it just go on it's own?