any Hipshot trem users out there? Recessed rout?

[stubhead]

I snuck into Warmoth and made off with the steal of the year...



$125... bout all I can see is that the boards may be joined off the centerline, big deal. I think maybe the 7/8 guys don't sell well? I'm surprised - 24.75" scale plus 24 frets, love it.

I've had a hankering for a whammy git for a bit. So I bought a Hipshot Contour trem. The folk at Warmoth say that that bridge needs a recessed route? I looked over the bridge carefully, there's no protrusion beneath the plate... so I am wondering - does the Hipshot have the strings at an unusually high position coming out of the saddles? Because my first instinct there would be to redimension the neck pocket floor a bit (after at least a few months and a few string changes playing around with shims so I can properly "gauge the gouge" so to speak).

The Hipshot people believe their bridge to be a direct shoo-in replacement for the two-point Fender. Anyway, I have sent the bridge off to Warmoth to have the studs put in, easier than finding a drill press to borrow right now. But I did tell them NOT to do anymore routing or anything, I have to mock it up with a few sacrificial strings to find out where to go. I had found a couple actual pictures of guitars with the recess, and it's nothing that can't be done in 20 minutes with a chisel. At least on unfinished swamp ash, if it was a $800 Exoto Booli Booli finished top, I'd get more nervous.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/BridgeRoutingOptions.aspx

I'm kinda wondering if Warmoth recommends the recessed rout because for them on a production line, it's easier to click that in on the CNC, than it is to deal with the delicate neck pocket shave? (Which is just about foolproof* on a non-production line, if you're sitting there with the neck in one hand and the body in the other, and can check the angle in real life as you go along, it's really hard to blow it.*)


*(Yeah, I know I know I know: people can be amazing.)
*(Ditto)

 

[Cagey]

I don't know that the Contour bridge needs to be recessed. Looking at the drawing (.pdf), it appears that the saddle height ranges from .30" to .46", which is shorter than where a couple of my bridges are sitting without angled necks or recess routes. Of course, that's assuming you want the bridge sitting flush to the body. If you want any "up" range to it, you'll have to float the thing, which will add some height. But, nothing that will require compensation.

I haven't actually used one of those bridges, but the possibility exists that the "sustain" block will hit the front wall of the trem route if you pull up on the wang bar. If that's the case, you'll need to move that wall forward a bit. But, that's both easy and hidden from view. If you're going to do that, you might also want a slight recess cavity for the bridge not to lower the bridge overall, but to give you room to pivot. Between those two moves, you could get Floyd Rose range out of the thing if you wanted to go crazy.

 

[stubhead]

I don't expect to be turning Beckisms all over the place, and the way into that isn't from recesses anyway. He's got the back end of his whammy raised up a good 15 or 20 degrees. I don't know if he uses two springs, maybe extra length screws to hold the claw?



You can see in the back corner of that picture how weird his setup is. He "can" bend his G string up a fifth - to a D - but he will be the first one to tell you he breaks a load of strings all the time, and he goes out of tune all the time. It has nothing to do with technique or equipment, just metal fatigue. I'll try to be cautious... :toothy11: My main objection to the whammy is it's one of the three great equalizers = the wahwah, the Digitech "Whammy" pedal, and the wang bar all have a tendency to make everyone sound alike. Especially wah - there's really no way to use a wahwah pedal that doesn't immediately remind me that Clapton (with) Cream and Jim Hendrix already figured out all it's good for. Quite a ways back.... :evil4:

And while "Nadia" and "Where were You" are permanently stuck in my head as the finest whammy work ever, I don't get free strings. :sad1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u167l8qWTh4

 

[Cagey]

Whatever you end up doing, I'll be interested in hearing about it. I like the looks of that Hipshot unit and it seems well-designed, but I keep forgetting to use one.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I just want to say that comparing anything to how Jeff Beck does it is a complete waste of time because his playing technique also includes actual real life magic, which you probably can't do.