RAI6

keep ur johnson

In my opinion, you should always keep your Johnson....

I believe Warmoth has the body.....

If your not in the mood to do the body yourself, that is.......

There is really only one reason for having your fretboard hang over like that.

And that is if you have a 22 fret guitar, that you convert to 24 (even though that would be quite an overhang!).

That's why you see it on Strats.

They were originally 21 frets, but when they decided to step up to 22, they just added the overhang.

No need to modify the neck pocket, or the manufacturing of the neck.

oh yeah and heres the paint gun thingy

I don't think that qualifies as a "Spray gun" in Jeremy's book.........

It didnt say on the auction.  I dont think its the Wilkinson because they only have 1 screw or whatever.

A Wilkinson most certainly use TWO screws.

How else would it work, if it only had one screw/post to rest against?

:o

Why don't you go and check out Warmoth's site?

They have almost blueprint like images for all trems they sell, including all measurements for posts and bushings and so on....

So, just on!

Erm...

What's a drop top?

:ph34r:

A "Drop Top" is when you have an unusually thick top on a guitar, that actually follows the curves (such as the armrest) of the guitar. Normally, if you add a nice quilted top to a guitar, and then start to carve it, sooner or later you'll "run into" the body wood.

And to bend a 1/4" thick piece of wood isn't easy...

But it's do-able.

Now, as we're on the subject of Andersons, can someone explain why they're so expensive???

Erm...

What's a drop top?

:ph34r:

A "Drop Top" is when you have an unusually thick top on a guitar, that actually follows the curves (such as the armrest) of the guitar. Normally, if you add a nice quilted top to a guitar, and then start to carve it, sooner or later you'll "run into" the body wood.

And to bend a 1/4" thick piece of wood isn't easy...

But it's do-able.

Now, as we're on the subject of Andersons, can someone explain why they're so expensive???

Yes, alot of work to achieve the look of neck-through.

All you have to do is make a 3-piece body, using the same center material as your neck (maple, for instance).

Add mahogany wings, and your in business!.

A bolt-on neck that looks like a neck-through.

At least from the front.......

Actually, the type of bridge you use has nothing to do with the type of neck you have.

Sort of....

Just because you have a neck-thru, doesn't mean your limited to use a certain bridge, and vice versa.

If you already have a guitar with a TOM bridge, it's very likely that the neck is at an angle (to compensate for how "tall" the bridge is). If you put a standard "Fender" style bridge, it will be too low.

And if you have a guitar with a "Fender" bridge and decide to switch to a TOM, then your bridge will be too high.

If you're starting new construction, then it doesn't make a difference.

Of course, you have to approach your project differently, depending on the style of bridge you go with.

And if you decide on one, but change your mind in the middle of your project, you'll probably be screwed...

if you want to hear a fretless guitar in action listen to the artist known as "bumble foot."

Isn't "Bumblefoot" Ron Thal?

Just a thought if you already have a spring cavity in the back of the body 

If it's a Kahler flatmount, not much of a chance to have the spring cavity in the back.

But the idea of cutting down the block for the Floyd is a much "smarter" idea than adding more wood to the body. That sounds like alot of work!

If you add a new top, then you have to rout all the p/u cavities, match it around the neck pocket, drill all new control holes, and you would then have to flip it over and rout the control cavity deeper, so that the pots actually reach through the top. And finally, rout the cavity for the springs.

With cutting the block you only have to do the spring cavity.

I'd go for option #2........

For myself, I have a multi-step plan.

I have yet to do anything when it comes to building guitars (need to find some time...), but this is what I figured I would do:

1. Get a good quality kit (like Carvin), which comes with a body already prepared for finishing.

At least this will give me some idea how to work on the finishing part, and I get to set up a guitar that has never been set up before. If the finish comes out like crap, at least it's still a decent guitar!

2. Head over to Warmoth and get all the parts from there.

The finishing has to be done from scratch, and all the wiring needs to be done.

Once again, the finish may look like crap, and the wiring need to be re-done, but it will be a decent guitar.

3. Get a finished neck, build the body from scratch.

4. Go all the way........

Any input on my plan???

Floyd Rose, I heard you had to completly disasemble it if a string breaks.

Completely disassemble?

Not quite.

Your guitar will go out of tune, and you need to have some allen wrenches handy to replace a string.

You unlock the nut, and you unlock the "pad" in the bridge itself, snip off the ball end of the new string, insert it into the bridge, tighten the "pad", feed the string through the nut (unless you remove the locking pad completely), feed the string into the tuner, snip of the excess, wind it up, stretch the string (repeatedly, for tuning stability), tune, lock the nut, and you're good to go.

Back in the day, when I was really up to speed, I could change a complete set of strings, and intonate the sucker in about 15-20 minutes.

With a good quality "Floyd" (one that stays in tune, no low-end cheap crap!) the only drawback is that you go out of tune when you break a string.

ANyone tried Elixir strings?

Years ago...

They sent me a set to try out before they went on the market.

Unless they've changed anything, I don't like 'em.

They have a protective coating to make them last longer, and they sure feel like it.

As for what Steve Vai uses....

He used to have D'addarios, then went to Dean Markley, and is now using Ernie Ball.

Over and out!

except the first batch of UVMC's which was done by some dude in japan

I believe it was the other way around.

Darren did the swirl originally (like the UV on the cover of P&W, which is a prototype, not a production model), and then when it came to mass (ive!) production, they took the swirling over to Japan. There is a HUGE difference between Darren's swirls, and the Japanese.

The Japanese are totally lifeless, with somewhat "mushy" colors, but Darren's are bright and vivid.

If you ever come across an original UVMC, that's how you know if it's an ATD, or a Japanese "knock-off".

MILLED ACRYLIC BALLS

Personally, I'm looking for some of those.....

Billy Sheehan all the way, baby!

Warmoth has a pretty good illustration on their site, if I remember correctly....

Godin recesses theirs to.

There are ususally some pretty good close-up shots of the Godin's in their ads in GP.

But I think they have their strings set up as thru-body, so they only have to recess one piece.

I'll speculate that it's a "material top".

There is quite a selection of holographic designs available on adhesive vinyl (or whatever the base might be).

I have actually played with the idea of buying some, and apply it to my axe.....

Could look cool!

I'll guess VH-Guitar.....

I cannot remember where I saw it, but recently I saw one of Vai's axes that had been converted to an AANJ.

Of course, with Ibanez luthiers on call, it makes it a little bit easier.

Most probably, they took an AANJ neck, and re-worked the body...

But as you can see from the JEMSite link above, it looks like it could be done.

Good luck!

Just take one with you when you go to pick up your new ones, that way you'll be pretty darned guaranteed that what you get will fit.

They're not that expensive, so swap away!

If you install a "Strat"style bridge, you don't need to angle the neck. You can easily adjust the neck pockets depth if you need to, by 1 mm or so, to help with height.

Also, that type of bridge is installed perpendicular to the strings.

For a "Gibson"style bridge (aka Tune-o-matic), you would need to angle the neck, as this bridge sits very high over the body.

The saddle portion of this bridge is angled slightly, in relation to the strings, for intonation purposes.

The "string anchor" section sits perpendicular.

Now, if you go for a string-thru, you can put the strings in any design you want where they enter the body, as you are not limited to a piece of hardware...

(Now for the people that really know this stuff, did I cover most of the essentials?)

Due to legal issues, I doubt you would find anything ready to buy.

Copyrights and stuff, ya know...

But if you already have an RG, just make a good copy of that logo, and then take it to a sign making place, and I'm sure they can make you a vinyl sticker in no time.