Another First Build

[Cagey]

I favor the 6115 for my personal use, and it is NOT a "medium jumbo."  It is narrower than what usually passes for jumbo, but with similar height to a jumbo.


Cagey, that maple neck with the beauty mark that I sold you has 'em (unless you pulled 'em and refretted, which I wouldn't put past you)  - how would you evaluate them vis-a-vis jumbo-larity?

They're a pretty good sized fret, just shy of the 6100s so I don't have any trouble with them.

The sizing charts are a handy reference.

 

[Lukie]

Thanks to all who replied.  This was exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to hear!
And also thanks for making me feel welcome!
Lukie

 

[stratamania]

If you have any questions fire away there's usually someone with an answer or idea.

 

[Lukie]

"The 6 point Fender bridge is a piss-poor mechanical tone-sucking design with limited range that doesn't want to hold tune the very first time you use it after tuning up. Why anyone still uses those things after all these years is a mystery for the ages. Eric Clapton used them because he didn't have any choice. They were as good as it got back then.

Today, you don't have to fight like our heroes did.

Now, you want something with a two-point knife-edge fulcrum. Everybody who's anybody has a version of that design out, because it works. Floyd Rose had the first version of that design, but it's more or less obsolete now due to its overall ridiculous complexity. Some people still use it, but then again, some people still build Jaguars/Jazzmasters with the idiotic bridge Leo came up with for those fiddles. In any event, Fender, Schaller, Wilkinson, Gotoh, Hipshot, PRS, et al all make nice stuff that won't eat your life and work extremely well even if you float them without locking pains in the ass nuts."

Please forgive my ignorance, because I honestly do not know the answer, (remember it's my first build), …….but if I start with a vintage body that is pre-routed for a vintage bridge, can I still upgrade to one of the modern bridges, or does the body have to be pre-routed or re-routed for the modern bridge?  Meaning will a modern bridge fit in the routing for a vintage bridge?

Lukie

 

[Cagey]

It would be tough to do cleanly.

But, there is a bridge out there designed to retrofit the old units should you already have a body drilled/routed for one. They're called "Bladerunners" by Super Vee. There's a short review of them here.

 

[line6man]

"The 6 point Fender bridge is a piss-poor mechanical tone-sucking design with limited range that doesn't want to hold tune the very first time you use it after tuning up. Why anyone still uses those things after all these years is a mystery for the ages. Eric Clapton used them because he didn't have any choice. They were as good as it got back then.

Today, you don't have to fight like our heroes did.

Now, you want something with a two-point knife-edge fulcrum. Everybody who's anybody has a version of that design out, because it works. Floyd Rose had the first version of that design, but it's more or less obsolete now due to its overall ridiculous complexity. Some people still use it, but then again, some people still build Jaguars/Jazzmasters with the idiotic bridge Leo came up with for those fiddles. In any event, Fender, Schaller, Wilkinson, Gotoh, Hipshot, PRS, et al all make nice stuff that won't eat your life and work extremely well even if you float them without locking pains in the ass nuts."

Please forgive my ignorance, because I honestly do not know the answer, (remember it's my first build), …….but if I start with a vintage body that is pre-routed for a vintage bridge, can I still upgrade to one of the modern bridges, or does the body have to be pre-routed or re-routed for the modern bridge?  Meaning will a modern bridge fit in the routing for a vintage bridge?

Lukie

Sometimes you can put better screws in the outer holes and leave the inner holes open, but if only works out if you can fill the holes before finishing, so that you don't end up with an eyesore. (Unless of course, the holes don't bother you.) This will work for certain bridges whose studs are in the same locations as the holes, that screw in. Most bridges have studs with inserts that press or hammer into larger holes, to allow adjustment, so you will have to buy screw-based studs, if that is the case.

As you may have guessed, the cheap saddles on vintage style six-point bridges are only a minor inconvenience, since they can be upgraded, but the real trouble is the fact that there are six screws instead of two. The bridge plate is up against six screws, which creates a lot of friction. This is compounded by the fact that the screws have flat surfaces, where the bridge comes into contact with them, and the bridge plate is fairly flat where it contacts the screws, as well. All of this friction means poor tuning stability, and to make matters even worse, the screws can get bent, and throw everything out of whack. Further still, aggressive whammy use usually shifts the bridge around on the screws, affecting not only the tuning, but the action. (Depending on tension.) If you study a modern two-point bridge, you can see that the bridge plate (usually) has hardened steel knife points, and the mounting studs taper into a sort of hourglass shape that guides the knife points to their centers. This greatly minimizes the friction between the two surfaces, and ensures that the bridge cannot move around on the studs.

 

[Prometheus]

I had a few things to say about bridges, particularly the things you hear about 2-point vs. 6-point, and why one is better than the other. But rather than getting Lukie's thread irretrievably hijacked, I started a new thread. Lemme know whatcha think

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=24049.0

 

[stratamania]

The strat body Warmoth sells isn't just one that has a six screw tremelo. Instead of writing the differences here is a link.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Stratocaster/VintageStratocaster/

Unless you want to limit yourself to a vintage bridge and have less depth for pickups that you may want to change etc you are limited essentially to a vintage design and parts. Nothing wrong with that if it's what you want to build. But if later on you want to experiment with more modern parts and pickups a vintage body isn't going to really accommodate them.

So with the vintage body go into it knowing you are vintage all the way for whatever the reasons but if you are not sure you might want to reassess.