I didn't see much on this subject, so I needed to start a separate thread.
-Edit- can you guys and gals help me with advice?
As my band is on an "extended break" (boo hoo :sad
I'm taking on two dormant projects. I am doing the "Fill and Drill" Where the body has existing routing for a trem, and it will be converted to a Tune-o-Matic bridge. These will be my first attempts at the trem to Tune-o-Matic conversion, and I'm going to do it right! I'm comfortable with the woodworking demands, but I have several important questions.
There are two guitars involved in the project. One is a Rhoads style bolt on kit, routed for a recessed Floyd. The other is an '86 Gibson Explorer XPL, routed for a Kahler Flyer. (which I hate and will not use)
On the Rhoads, I want to set the neck and contour the heel too.
1. Which should I do first, the bridge conversion or setting the neck?
a. Setting the neck fixes the pitch (angle) and position, which I'm thinking would help me get the bridge in the right spot.
on the other hand, say I get the neck set in at either too shallow or too deep an angle? AHH!!!!
b. Completing the fill and drill first will get me an exact range of bridge heights (factoring in the height adjustment of the bridge) but I'm worried that if the bridge is off a smidge I won't have correct intonation.
I'm tempted to set the neck first. That just seems to make more sense to me...please advise me on this subject.
2. Also on the Rhoads, To fill the trem cavity I'm considering buying one of those pre-made "Tremolo Adapter Block" inserts that Hipshot sells. It's a shaped wooden insert that fills in the trem spring cavity and the cavity for the block, ideally extednig up to the top of the body. I have scrap mahogany that can fill the recess on the top no problem. Has anyone actually ever used one of these? Tell me your experience if you have. It seems like a great time saver.
A second option is to buy a few acoustic tailblock blanks from stewmac and shape them myself...more time, but they come in mahogany and may be of a higher quality. Anyway the grain of the filler piece should match the direction of the grain of the body, correct?
3. For both guitars, As far as the location of the holes for the bridge mouting studs...It seems intuitive that I should use a straight line following the angle of the fretboard right? Is it really as simple as doubling the distance from the nut to the 12th fret?
4. I've noticed that each of my existing guitars with Tune-oMatic bridges have the bridge at a slant, not parallell to the strings. How do I determine the correct degree of "slantation" :laughing11:
4. Once the anlge of the dangle is determined :doh:, the final placement of the bridge should be in the center of the distance the saddles can travel, right? this seems to make sense so that I have room to adjust intonation.
I'm sure other questions will come up. I am focusing on the Fill and Drill aspect for this topic. Any help is appreciated.
-Edit- can you guys and gals help me with advice?
As my band is on an "extended break" (boo hoo :sad
I'm taking on two dormant projects. I am doing the "Fill and Drill" Where the body has existing routing for a trem, and it will be converted to a Tune-o-Matic bridge. These will be my first attempts at the trem to Tune-o-Matic conversion, and I'm going to do it right! I'm comfortable with the woodworking demands, but I have several important questions.There are two guitars involved in the project. One is a Rhoads style bolt on kit, routed for a recessed Floyd. The other is an '86 Gibson Explorer XPL, routed for a Kahler Flyer. (which I hate and will not use)
On the Rhoads, I want to set the neck and contour the heel too.
1. Which should I do first, the bridge conversion or setting the neck?
a. Setting the neck fixes the pitch (angle) and position, which I'm thinking would help me get the bridge in the right spot.
on the other hand, say I get the neck set in at either too shallow or too deep an angle? AHH!!!!
b. Completing the fill and drill first will get me an exact range of bridge heights (factoring in the height adjustment of the bridge) but I'm worried that if the bridge is off a smidge I won't have correct intonation.
I'm tempted to set the neck first. That just seems to make more sense to me...please advise me on this subject.
2. Also on the Rhoads, To fill the trem cavity I'm considering buying one of those pre-made "Tremolo Adapter Block" inserts that Hipshot sells. It's a shaped wooden insert that fills in the trem spring cavity and the cavity for the block, ideally extednig up to the top of the body. I have scrap mahogany that can fill the recess on the top no problem. Has anyone actually ever used one of these? Tell me your experience if you have. It seems like a great time saver.
A second option is to buy a few acoustic tailblock blanks from stewmac and shape them myself...more time, but they come in mahogany and may be of a higher quality. Anyway the grain of the filler piece should match the direction of the grain of the body, correct?
3. For both guitars, As far as the location of the holes for the bridge mouting studs...It seems intuitive that I should use a straight line following the angle of the fretboard right? Is it really as simple as doubling the distance from the nut to the 12th fret?
4. I've noticed that each of my existing guitars with Tune-oMatic bridges have the bridge at a slant, not parallell to the strings. How do I determine the correct degree of "slantation" :laughing11:
4. Once the anlge of the dangle is determined :doh:, the final placement of the bridge should be in the center of the distance the saddles can travel, right? this seems to make sense so that I have room to adjust intonation.
I'm sure other questions will come up. I am focusing on the Fill and Drill aspect for this topic. Any help is appreciated.
