FuzzFace

On 7/27/2022 at 6:53 PM, Bizman62 said:

If your fretboard is designed for the 25.5" scale then basically yes. The scale is measured from the very edge of the nut to the very edge of the saddle, inner edges if that makes any sense. Due to thick strings having a longer "dead zone" the bass side saddles need to be moved farther away from the nut. Thus it's recommendable to move the saddles all the way to the front and measure from there - maybe leaving some ½mm or 20% adjustment range forward in case you'd change to a lighter gauge.

Yep that all makes sense to me. I ended up deciding not to dive in and buy anything yet, have been studying other builds an a lot of routing videos ie for Floyd Rose properly. 

Where do most people buy cheap blanks from?

On 7/18/2022 at 6:34 PM, Bizman62 said:

The neck pocket and the bridge placement

Just on that point. If Im changing from a fixed bridge or a vintage trem, to a Floyd Rose. How do I work out the placement? Is it 25.5" from the nut to where the strings touch the Floyd Rose saddles?

Do you know of any good cheap places for bodies, kits etc?

I been looking around, there is a plethora of cheap squiers and such that I could use, I just need to figure out about the behind the nut lock for the strings. Although some people now, with graphite nuts and saddles are getting away with locking tuners, it seems the thicker gauge strings need string trees, where the problem with vintage trems is the G string getting stuck in a nut, but graphite nuts seem to have fixed that.

Id like a neon paint, where would I source such paint from, Im assuming not a hardware store? I love the Rainbow Crackle effect, but that might be a bit hard for my skill level.

On 7/18/2022 at 6:11 PM, curtisa said:

What about if you buy a kit guitar and modify it to your requirements? Some of those can be quite reasonably priced. There's also plenty of Youtube vids detailing how to take a cheap kit guitar and pimp it up.

Oh Ive rebuilt a number of guitars. But routing and adding a floyd is a bit more of a challenge. I find most of the kits tend to be a bit over priced, but you are right some are not too bad. You can buy cheap guitars from Harley Benton which are better than well known brand names, in fact their pro series you can buy a guitar for $600 that could cost $5k+ at another company. 

Im trying to find the place that does the cheapest pre cut floyd rose bodies or kits. Still considering using a GnL or Squier for the project. Have a few more ideas on the electronics I want.

Will need help on here to get the pain effect Im after

I was looking around at cheap Routers and Drill Presses today.

I had no idea there were Drill Presses that you can attach your power drill into and you can do your holes perfectly straight, for $50 !!!.  I know, not as good as a $500 proper drill press table, but when you are starting out thats not bad. There are cheaper ways but if your body is arched it makes getting level too hard with "drill guides" etc. Although if the body is too wide for your drill press, a levelled drill guide on supporrted level rails or similar above the body might be the only way o get the hole done?

As for routers, I see them for $60-70 with bits at the hardware store, so I imagine you could get a semi decent one for $50 2nd hand.

I think sawing bodies might be a bit passed my ability and I definitely cant afford a quality jig saw and then Id need one of those hardcore bench belt sanders?

On 7/12/2022 at 11:01 PM, Bizman62 said:

Or, you can drill the corners of the cavities and use a chisel.

I saw someone who did their floyd rose recess by drill and chisel, it came out very neat, they just put dowel in the old post and redrilled new post holes as nobody looks under your tremolo and it was sanded then pained so couldnt see anyway.

Who is the cheapest place to buy bodies and necks predone? That could be a good start for me, then I can get exactly what I want, provided they dont charge the same as a premade quality guitar haha.

On 7/11/2022 at 6:31 AM, Bizman62 said:

. Do you need tons of files? 

Yep, I get your point. The other thing is, there are so many companies with pre routed cheap bodes out there.

I was going to make a post about this, but if anybody knows, who provides the absolute cheapest already routed bodies? I do love Ash..
 

DOH ! darn alarm, this time I thought I hit snooze but must have hit dismiss. Th sa260fm went for $140usd. ugggh. It wasnt as new condition, just some paint chips around the bottom button id say to being placed on it rather than a stand indefinitely.

I have read one thread though say the posts are 74.1mm, I dont believe it as one of the more famous youtubers said they do not fit like for like. So Im trying to get some info on the t102 Ibanez trem and its pole distancing. Would be too funny if all this time they are the same, but I doubt it.

Either way im not too worried now, what Im planning is to buy another guitar I really like, and then just wait for a semi decent strat/super strat to start this hobby off with. I have another sa260fm, he wants $185 USD.

Id still be interested in a cheap body to mount the double locking gotoh and using one of the nicer flamed maple necks with stainless steel fretwire etc.

So on to tools, Thommans offer basic Luthier tool packs, more for setting up guitars etc, is there a link on here what kind of tools I need for the wood working side of things? I presume a router, a drill press, some chisels, have a semi decent sander already.

I forgot to ask, is there anywhere that does budget bodies? I was looking at a video on tone woods and the prices on the bodies seemed awfully cheap !!!!

The video was from New Perspectives Music - Guitar, Reclaimed, Bass Guitar

But the prices on the bodies were far far less than retail.

Who sells the cheapest bodies?

21 hours ago, curtisa said:

Your best bet is to check the dimension drawings of each and compare the sizes and shapes of each bridge. Floyd Rose publish the dimensions of their bridges on their website.

So GnL never got back to me, but I read somebody else had the same problem. I dont get it, they sell their bridges, why not just provide a diagram like everyone else.

So sadly, the guitar FINALLY sold. A bit sad as I loved the blue stained ash body. 

HowEVER, the Ibanez is still on auction and finishes first thing tomorrow morning, that is the basswood flamed maple SA260FM. Currently it is $65 US lol, Im hoping if it sells for under $200 USD, because you have made me realise posts do not really matter, they can be replaced even if they overlap. This would make for an awesome gutar, more of a modern C neck, with a double locking trem, whoop, thats what you buy an Ibanez for, fun and exploration.

On the other hand there is a PRS Standard, the guy only wants $300 USD for it, these are the original SE's and they were not cheap. But they used proprietary bridge not a tonepros but Im trying to find out the posts. I dont love (or hate) the colour, Im wondering if Mahogany stained looks ok?

A PRS with a Gotoh double locking would also be very unique. You can get Floyd Rose ones, but they start at $1000usd. 

I think if Im going to do this, I will want to have my main guitar and have a project guitar on the side, nothing worse than rushing to fix something. In saying that I have my acoustic which I play a lot, but want to upgrade it as its a budget brand the Mrs had and its time for something that frets out nicely etc. I think the pocket needs a re shim, its not worth the hassle, it frets out on the 13th E string.

17 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

You can. Getting the minimum wage can be tough, though. Better keep it as a hobby.

How coincidental: I'm a self employed computer repair guy, making house calls only. There's plenty of people who can't carry their gear to a repair shop, not to mention that many issues are a combination of the Internet connection, the computer and the user. The best example of this is the lady who was sold a full monty service pack with a new laptop, doubling the price. Yet she had to call me: They hadn't connected the computer to her Wi-Fi... For me this is something between a job and a hobby. I make enough to pay my share of the household maintenance plus most of what we eat and the car and gas. Some heavier advertising might bring in more jobs and money but I like to be available within a day or two.

 

Somebody told me 25 years ago I should just work for myself helping people who do not understand what is going wrong with their computers. I worked my way up through IT both in IP engineering and Software engineering until I was no longer technical, money was good but the stress was too much. But yeah, Im fixing stuff for people all the time, like how you get demo software which is often bloatware, which can impact usability, all they need to do is uninstalll all the bloatware from factory, heck even though I use software for some stuff, windows provides everything now anyway. As for OSX, if people having issues with that software, I know they need to attend a computer course lol. But fixing internal iMacs involves a lot of of work. Its not hard, you just need the right tools, getting the screen off etc and replacing the foam means having the right tools. But this is a bit like Luthier or making/modding guitars, you probably build up tools as you need them. I found a Ryobi router for $60 USD, its not flash, but it just shows there is a way to start small. and the funniest thing, when we bought the house, the guy who owned it prior is a major Pacifica wood carver, awesome work. He left blocks of wood under the house I got no Idea what they are. BUT, he won a $4k wooden work shed and that came with the house, its sitting empty. It has brackets, even a cut out vice bench attached to the walls. Can working on gutars be destressing? Thanks Bruv.

 

56 minutes ago, curtisa said:

Your best bet is to check the dimension drawings of each and compare the sizes and shapes of each bridge. Floyd Rose publish the dimensions of their bridges on their website.

Still wating on the GnL for an official diagram, but we know the dimensions for the GOTOH double locking, 74mm. GnL as you said, Ive seen posted too says its 73.1mm post to post.

Another option Im interested in is a cheap PRS SE Tremonti. Now the Tunomatic with Stop Tail, it is 73.5mm post to post, Im thinking thats getting close enough to work with if I went that route,

2 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

I suppose most of the forum members are hobbyists. There's some that have expanded their activity to professional building and some have even gained world wide attention with their innovations but the vast majority build just for themselves. Building bespoke guitars isn't a gold mine if you count the hours!

If you earn money without daily personal contribution, you have a business. If you're self employed and your input is needed daily for the income, it's a job. If the income barely covers the materials and tools, it's a hobby. Or, should a luthier win big in a lottery he'll continue building instruments until he runs out of money...

 

You can earn money from this? What a dream job even if it was minimum wage. I use to earn 5x the avg in my country as an IT branch manager, but the stress caused auto immunity, now my partner wants me to go back to that life, but I want to find some things doing what I enjoy, like fixing phone and computers, hands on stuff.

I was just planning on doing this as a hobby

20 hours ago, curtisa said:

You mean a plug cutter? You can probably get a decent one for less than $15. Note that you'd also have to have access to a drill press to use one as they can't be used in a hand drill (this might be putting you off even more now )

Oh thats not so bad. My neighbour has a drill press and a router, I might be able to borrow his to start out. Is this something you do as a hobby? That is how Im starting to see this, rather than just adding a trem to my guitar, do most people on here do this often?

So I found a squier FR HH active pickups, seller has already put EMGs in to to replace the Squier Actives. Is asking about 60% of the new price which I thought is pretty good given its only couple years old and has had a pickup upgrade and I should in theory (just checking) be able to drop a new Gotoh Trem in to replace the Floyd Rose special version, although if it works, what makes more sense is upgrading the saddles to graphtech, those nuts and Tusq nuts etc, just work, well for me anyway.

Something like the mighty might bodies or an actual squier cont floyd rose replacement is about $150US I think.

I dont even own a router haha, I was going to do the work with chisel and my dremel. Im not great financially at the moment to afford a router. I figure if this is something Im going to do properly, its not going to be a one off, as the costs for just one project might not add up?

Although by the time I import the body, its close to what the entire GnL Legacy Tribute will cost me.

18 hours ago, curtisa said:

Not necessarily. The first step is to plan what you can using whatever data you can find about the parts you want to use. Gotoh usually have decent dimension drawings of their products. I think G&L sell their parts to the public - they may be able to provide drawings and measurements if you ask nicely. Use that information to determine how practical it is for you to do the bridge swap first.

That is great advice. I have the gotoh drawings (I just love CAD images haha), thats what Im basing the 74mm on. Gotoh dimensions PDF

So Ive emailed one of the bosses and GnL. 

Im not too worried about how things look around the posts as the Trem completely covers them, plus I wont be leaving it unpainted under it, thats why I thought worst case dowel would be ok, but this against the grain thing has me wondering how I can resolve that or if I need too. How expensive is that tool to take some shavings ? o,5mm each side is next to negligible but I dont want to cut a guitar up and find out Im wrong. Plus I may still use the Ibanez SA. Both have neck that I like. 

I presume there is somewhere you can buy bodies pre routed for a double locking trem etc? But I looked at the price of just necks and you can buy whole guitars for what they want.

17 minutes ago, curtisa said:

If the new holes overlap the old ones you want to use wood plugs, not dowels. Dowels will have the grain running perpendicular to the grain in the body, which will be near impossible to drill accurately in to and will tend to crush more easily if you try to drive new posts in, which may result in loose or leaning trem posts. Normally you'd use a plug cutting bit and cut a wood plug that has the grain running in the same direction as the wood you're trying to fill. Plug cutters usually only come in a small range of sizes, so you may also have to drill out the old holes oversize to match the plug.

correspondingly misalign the strings across to one side of the neck by the same amount.

oh , this is sounding a lot harder than my last one which was just a route job. if I have to buy a tool to make plugs, the costs start to add up. 

will think this over., appreciate your help.

34 minutes ago, curtisa said:

1.The normal procedure is to plug the old holes with timber and redrill. I wouldn't use bog or epoxy as they're too unpredictable to use as filler in structurally-critical applications like trem posts - they might dry too brittle or with soft centres.

2. Don't forget that you may also have to position the Gotoh posts forward or backward from the original post holes to maintain proper bridge placement in relation to the guitar's scale length.

3. 2 7/8" is what Google suggests, or a whisker over 73mm.

Awesome reply.

1. Yes I was planning to use dowel, should I also put a suger glue or wood glue mix in with the dowel, or just find a dowel slightly larger and hammer that in? That makes doing an SA260FM quite possible then if the posts for the new Gotoh will hold.

2. Is this as simple as getting my measure and measuring the length?

3. Bloody brilliant, where did you find this? I been scouring the net, but I dont use google often. 73.025mm. Damn thats close, 1mm is really nothing, I wonder if I try using their posts just to get a gauge, I could then go from there, Not sure if there is a way to borrow 1mm somehow...................... If I wasnt a tremolo addict Id say the dual fulcrum is a damn nice trem, they make good guitars.

I have a couple guitars Im considering to put a Gotoh GE1996T double locking floating trem on, it requires me to insert its posts 74mm apart. Can anyone tell me the following and if most strat dual post trem systems are 74mm apart?

A mahogany Ibanez SA260, problem being post holes are not 74mm apart. Given I have to route down some first, is there any kind of bog that would fill the old post holes and allow me to drill the correct 74mm apart and put the new posts in from Gotoh?

Beautiful Ash body from G&L (Legacy Tribute), this is my preferred body, does anybody know what distance apart the dual fulcrum posts are?

Ive done 2 strat conversions a fair while back and both went OK, I think you learn a little every time.....