Spare time

[TBurst Std]

So to break up the monotony of job hunting, I've been working on some ideas for my 2 stalled builds. 

For the VIP, I am committed to a tiltback 3 x 3 headstock.  Was going to design my own with a straight string pull nut to tuner, but I haven't quite come up with one that I am happy with.  Plus a call to the W yesterday revealed the starting price has gone up to 65 min, with the avg price being 125.  Hmm

Anyone have a Vortex headstock or Warmoth headstock with locking tuners (no locking nut) on a body with a 2 point trem? How well do they do with heavy bar use? If the Vortex can handle it, I think I'd rather save the 125. 

 

[Cagey]

There's a tilt-back Vortex headstock with locking tuners on the L5S in my sig, but obviously that's not a two-point wang bar. Still, it keeps in tune pretty well for having bone nut and a Bigsby on it, considering they're not famous for reliable returns to neutral. Most of my two-point wang bar-equipped guitars have Warhead or Strat headstocks, and they're as good as Floyds for being able to yank the strings all over the place without much consequence.

I wouldn't expect you to have any trouble. A two-point knife-edge fulcrum with a well-cut nut, locking tuners and a straight string pull is about as good as it gets. If you have trouble with that setup, a locking nut is probably not going to solve it.

 

[TBurst Std]

Yes, but a Vortex is not straight pull.  I guess the little that it is off, does it make that much difference?

 

[Cagey]

It's not perfect, but it's about as close as it comes in a 3x3 headstock. Where you start running into angular problems at the nut is on the wide Gibson book-style or some of the acid trip-induced designs where the tuners are dramaticially arrayed off to one side or the other. The string tends to kink at the turning point and wants to slide back into its original position as the string stretches/relaxes. Not to mention the friction that bend creates.

When you get right down to it, nothing is 100% - not even the Floyds. What you shoot for is maintained consistent playability. Even with the so called double-locking systems, there's still string stretching and temperature changes that will put the thing out a few cents here and there, but for the most part the the instrument is still close enough in tune that nobody notices. Tuners are so accurate these days that they're driving people nuts giving them information that's either outside the range of human perception or impossible to correct due to fret placement. You can always buy a True Temperament neck, but I submit that that's just taking things to a ridiculous extreme. You reach a point of diminishing returns, where it takes increasingly large amounts of money to correct decreasingly small problems.

Just do as Frank says...

 

[TBurst Std]

You reach a point of diminishing returns, where it takes increasingly large amounts of money to correct decreasingly small problems.

I guess that is why I am hoping that someone chimes in that was either of those headstocks and a 2 point trem. Should I really be chasing a $125 rabbit option? LOL

 

[Fat Pete]

You wouldn't consider getting a paddle and cutting it yourself?

When I reshaped the headstock on my baritone, I had my captive scratchplate guy cut me an acrylic template - then it was a pretty painless job, but I did have access to a router table.

 

[TBurst Std]

Well I don t really have the tooling for that. And I haven't come up a design I'm 100% in love with.  Thus my question, is it worth it?  If so, I'll keep working on the design. 

 

[Fat Pete]

Here's the Vortex on Cagey's L5S:

It's really not far off straight, even on the D and G. As the man himself says, it's all about a well cut nut. If it works ok with a Bigsby, you should be fine.

I've tried designing a 3+3 straight-pull myself and not come up with anything I like much either - it's tricky with the offset needed to allow the D and G tuners to clear each other. Having revisited that I tried a 'close-as-possible' design with symmetrical tuners and basically ended up with a Vortex - with just slightly straighter string alignment - I suspect it would make using rear lockers a bit fiddly.

So, worth it? Probably not, but if you're not wanting to get an order placed right now, wouldn't hurt to keep trying.