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Screaming Deals Build Underway: Undead Fred

fdesalvo

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I don't know what it was about this Soloist body, but every time I swam through the In Stock pics, I had to stop and gaze at it.  It's got a rugged beauty about it - in fact, it's beautifully ugly.  It just moves me.  It reminds me of the decayed wood I'd often find as a kid exploring the woods/swamps back home. 

Plans: I'm going to run a Gotoh 1996T and make this an HXS killer.  Have a nice 1 piece maple neck with a 59 carve and a Dimarzio Satchur8 and BK 63 Veneer that are going to be direct mounted.  Haven't owned a Black Korina Warmoth before! 

Cheers,

HW25B0q.jpg


Az6utH0.jpg
 
AirCap said:
It's real nice. If it had been a hardtail, I might have jumped on it.

Indeed.  I've been on a hardtail quest, but I just acquired a sweet RG Prestige with a fixed bridge, so I'm all set.  Will install a Tremel-No in this one, so I can lock it/set it to dive only when I need.
 
I totally dont get the vastly overwhelming preference for trems surviving the hair metal crash of 93.
 
Sweet.... :headbang:

Makes me think of...[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlp2MZ7gtpM[/youtube]
 
swarfrat said:
I totally dont get the vastly overwhelming preference for trems surviving the hair metal crash of 93.

:icon_biggrin: People who call the genre, "Hair Metal", seldom understand.  And another thing, it never crashed; it was just buried!  Way down deep.  Really far.  It became a caricature of itself as it carried across into the 90s, a shameful era.  Aw hell, it imploded.

I didn't care for locking trems from 1988 - 2016.  Then, on a whim I bought an older Ibanez S540LTD and had a revelatory experience in 2017; changed everything, my man.  What I once viewed as something akin to a facial tumor on an ugly dog became suddenly beautiful and mandatory.

It's all about performance and feel.  The 1996T is smooth and buttery under the hand and it does everything from subtle to extreme incredibly well.  I don't use locking nuts anymore - an LSR paired with nice locking tuners is a perfect match for a good locking trem.  I can't speak to other locking trems, however.  Full transparency, though: when performing in public, the thought of a popped string seldom leaves my mind when I'm using a locking trem.  There's always that small anxiety lol.  But then again, I'm a dangerous man and I live on the edge. 

DangerousR6 said:
Sweet.... :headbang:

Makes me think of...[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlp2MZ7gtpM[/youtube]

I always upvote Billy Ocean lol
 
The problem so many people had with Floyd was all the cheap crap imposters, the "real" ones are excellent bridges. The cheap crap don't have hardened base plates, which causes problems on the knife edges. Plus they're never set up correctly.. :glasses9:
 
Tons of hard rock/metal played on hard tails up through about '83 before the wave really hit. Yeah, it's fun. I'm not denying their existance. I just think 50/50 or 70/30 would be a much more reasonable mix than 99.99999% of most guitars having them. I exaggerate, but it's pretty extensive.
 
swarfrat said:
Tons of hard rock/metal played on hard tails up through about '83 before the wave really hit. Yeah, it's fun. I'm not denying their existance. I just think 50/50 or 70/30 would be a much more reasonable mix than 99.99999% of most guitars having them. I exaggerate, but it's pretty extensive.

Yeah, no doubt they were in fashion back in the day. Lots of guitars not designed around them had them slapped on like an afterthought.
 
That's a fine one. The burst is really good on it. That'll be fun to put together.
 
Rgand said:
That's a fine one. The burst is really good on it. That'll be fun to put together.

Thank you!  Normally the middle area of these bursts is too clear, but this one’s got just the right amount of blue to tie it together. 
 
fdesalvo said:
AirCap said:
It's real nice. If it had been a hardtail, I might have jumped on it.

Indeed.  I've been on a hardtail quest, but I just acquired a sweet RG Prestige with a fixed bridge, so I'm all set.  Will install a Tremel-No in this one, so I can lock it/set it to dive only when I need.

Have you used a tremol-no before?
I've been thinking of one for my next build and was going to ask here if anyone had any experience with them.
 
Steve_Karl said:
fdesalvo said:
AirCap said:
It's real nice. If it had been a hardtail, I might have jumped on it.

Indeed.  I've been on a hardtail quest, but I just acquired a sweet RG Prestige with a fixed bridge, so I'm all set.  Will install a Tremel-No in this one, so I can lock it/set it to dive only when I need.

Have you used a tremol-no before?
I've been thinking of one for my next build and was going to ask here if anyone had any experience with them.

I haven’t, but I think TFS has.
 
Steve_Karl said:
fdesalvo said:
AirCap said:
It's real nice. If it had been a hardtail, I might have jumped on it.

Indeed.  I've been on a hardtail quest, but I just acquired a sweet RG Prestige with a fixed bridge, so I'm all set.  Will install a Tremel-No in this one, so I can lock it/set it to dive only when I need.

Have you used a tremol-no before?
I've been thinking of one for my next build and was going to ask here if anyone had any experience with them.

They are great units.  I've been using them for close to a decade now.
Most of the time, I leave it in hard tail, like when it's in the case or hanging on the wall, or for most rythm tracks, but for most solo's I leave it freely floating. 
On some songs, I put it either in hard tail or dive only & detune the low E for Dropped D tuning.  I don't really see a need for a D-Tuna as a result.

Leaving it in hard tail when not in use helps keep it in tune all the rest of the time, and it certainly makes string changes (one string at a time) a breeze.  I can have the whole guitar re-strung, stretched, and gig ready in about 15 minutes.

The one thing that folks don't take into consideration when installing one is the attention to detail in the setup, most notably the claw spring adjustments.  Multiple small adjustments, like 1/16th of a turn of the screw is crucial to getting the best performance out of the unit.  If you make larger, fewer turns, you will miss the finesse that this unit can provide.  The cam must be perfectly aligned to work flawlessly, and it when it is, it does.  If you hear drag on the cam, then your angle is off and the unit is dragging on the post and will create yet another friction point in the term system.  When properly adjusted, there is no more friction and the unit performs flawlessly.  When in freely floating, you'll never know it's there.
 
fdesalvo said:
Steve_Karl said:
Thanks Tony!

Indeed!  Tony do you use the pin or clamp type?

I'm glad you brought this up. Also what tail piece?

Wilkinson VS-100 maybe?

The other thing I was wondering about is do you have to use 3 springs or is 4 possible?
I have 5 on both of my VS-100 guitars now.
 
Specific bridge application notes:

http://www.tremol-no.com/workswith.asp

Small clamp suggested for the 1996.
 
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