Soloist Build Finally Complete!! ...Almost

rorycosgrove

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*Sorry if this is the wrong place to post since most progress is already done, I didn't see a place for completed builds besides gallery, and I have a few kinks to work out anyway*

Finished my first build awhile ago but I wanted to fix some issues before posting, I think now is a good time though. When I first set her up, I was getting lots of buzz around the 14th fret, and I have no experience doing fretwork so I took it to a local tech. The tech solved the problem, but I still have a few issues.

1. Some strings seem way too high compared to others; I removed the stock shim from my Floyd but it still seems too round for my straight 16 radius, so I ordered a few saddle shims yesterday.
2. Bending from a 17th fret A to a B on the high E is getting choked out, maybe some shaving needed on the 18th fret?
3. While I am using an unorthodox combo of a locking trem and a Tusq nut (with locking tuners), I'm having way too many tuning issues. When I bend, strings tend to go flat and when I dip the bar they go sharp. I have a strong hunch it's a nut issue, and I didn't take any steps to prep the pre-installed nut before stringing. Might the slots need widening, or maybe that pencil lead trick? I'm a nut n00b, most of my guitars have locking nuts lol.

Otherwise though, this thing plays and sounds beautifully! It was a fun project to build for the first time, and I learned a lot with a few hiccups along the way. I'm going to post a full unboxing/demo video when I have the time to edit it as well!

(First pic was taken by the tech)
 

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Glad you are enjoying your guitar.

You need to shim the Floyd to somewhere around an 18.5 inch radius to work with a 10-16" compound neck or with a straight 16" it needs to be 16" or a bit more. A standard Floyd Rose with the stock shim is 10" and without 12". There are shims available to go under each saddle to make the adjustments you need.

The nut if not adjusted for the gauge of strings and properly lubricated will lead to tuning issues.

Spot fixing issues means you will just end up chasing your tail. So the neck probably could benefit from a properly being levelled etc and a full set up including the Floyd shims etc.
 
Beautiful!  I love the warhead/ soloist combo.

Don't give up on the nut slots. Tusq is supposed to be self-lubricating, but with a tremolo moving the strings, adequate room matters more. It took many takes at filing them slightly larger to get all tuning issues to disappear for me.  The good news is that patience and an inexpensive file set did the trick: https://www.amazon.com/Geesatis-Ukulele-Acoustic-Electric-Accessories/dp/B08FT672J3
 
stratamania said:
Glad you are enjoying your guitar.

You need to shim the Floyd to somewhere around an 18.5 inch radius to work with a 10-16" compound neck or with a straight 16" it needs to be 16" or a bit more. A standard Floyd Rose with the stock shim is 10" and without 12". There are shims available to go under each saddle to make the adjustments you need.

The nut if not adjusted for the gauge of strings and properly lubricated will lead to tuning issues.

Spot fixing issues means you will just end up chasing your tail. So the neck probably could benefit from a properly being levelled etc and a full set up including the Floyd shims etc.
Thanks for the tips! I thought that the setup I brought this guitar in for would solve all of those issues but it seems like the tech only leveled one fret and did other basic stuff. Even if I wind up chasing my tail I think I just wanna learn to do everything myself at this point. I have the shims on order, and I’m going to do a lot of research on nut treatment. I use standard 10s btw

ChronoTrigger77 said:
Beautiful!  I love the warhead/ soloist combo.

Don't give up on the nut slots. Tusq is supposed to be self-lubricating, but with a tremolo moving the strings, adequate room matters more. It took many takes at filing them slightly larger to get all tuning issues to disappear for me.  The good news is that patience and an inexpensive file set did the trick: https://www.amazon.com/Geesatis-Ukulele-Acoustic-Electric-Accessories/dp/B08FT672J3
Thanks! I have a lot of patience and I’m gonna look into the proper treatment for these nut issues. Fortunately I can at least play my guitar in the meantime!
 
rorycosgrove said:
I have the shims on order

Where did you order them from?  I need some.  I looked and it seems that very few people carry them, and the ones that do are backordered.  I have the same setup - 10-16" compound with OFR, so....yup....E/E and A/B need shims.  I made some temporary ones, but would like to get some proper ones installed. 
 
ChrisMC said:
rorycosgrove said:
I have the shims on order

Where did you order them from?  I need some.  I looked and it seems that very few people carry them, and the ones that do are backordered.  I have the same setup - 10-16" compound with OFR, so....yup....E/E and A/B need shims.  I made some temporary ones, but would like to get some proper ones installed.
Haha it took so much searching but this site had them, I haven’t installed them yet so I can’t vouch for the quality, but seems hard to mess up something so simple

https://www.axcessories.com/Floyd-Rose-Saddle-Shims-6pcs
 
That is an awesome build, looks really nice! Is that the aquamarine dye? Looks great with that neck and fretboard. Very well done!
 
SeaGroomer said:
That is an awesome build, looks really nice! Is that the aquamarine dye? Looks great with that neck and fretboard. Very well done!
Thank you!! And it’s washed blue dye!
 
Update: here is a quick unboxing/demo video I made! I had little time to edit this so please tolerate the quality 😅
https://youtu.be/1KdTdCn36Qc
 
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