Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Antag on March 22, 2009, 01:41:10 PM
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Question says it all really.
I'm thinking more about maintenance rather than repair/modification - so things you would expect to do reasonably often to a guitar rather than major changes like wiring new pickups etc.
What got me thinking about it was that my 12-string desparately needs new strings. It's had 1 (yes, one) string change since I bought it in 2001. I just find restringing a 12-string to be the most soul destroying ball-ache imaginable & as a result keep putting it off :oops: But now I want to record some 12-string & it sounds like cr@p with it's dead/rusty strings... :(
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intonation...
thankfully you just gotta do it once, every couple of decades :P
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I don't do much myself. restringing locking trem is the worst IMO
Cleaning doesn't happen :lol:
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I don't have a 12 string (it would have very limited use for me), but seeing as I voted "Restringing anything" I can feel your pain! :lol:
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I quite like doing typical set up stuff. Its a bit like tinkering with an old racing car ;)
What I don't like is going through the process of trying different pots,pickups and wiring configurations in an awkward sounding guitar. Its expensive, soul destroying, and takes months.
Setting up a poor quality floyd is pretty bad too.
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we really need setting up a transtrem on there ;)
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I said "restringing anything". I can actually do it pretty efficiently nowadays (and there aren't many things I can do efficiently :( ) but I hate doing it. Which is why most of my guitars have locking tuners.
I don't use them, but I REALLY hate setting up and string-changing on a Floyd Rose. I don't know how anyone has the patience to use those things.
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Truss rod adjustments for me, it's the one thing I don't have confidence in doing.
Although, the most stressful moment of my life was when my band was supposed to be onstage in 5 minutes and my mate says to me "Baz, I need to tune my guitar, can I borrow your tuner?"
Not so bad, right? But he has an Edge III and has zero knowledge of floating trems. I broke a sweat trying to get that thing in tune.
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For me it's cleaning frets. :shock:
Mine seem to get quite dull and cruddy in a fairly short space of time, but everything feels so much better when they're shiny. Steel wool is ok but I have a hard time keeping the bits away from the pickups even if I mask them off, and scratch remover/polish works well but some always gets left on the fretboard next to the fret and I can never clean it out.
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But he has an Edge III and has zero knowledge of floating trems. I broke a sweat trying to get that thing in tune.
but why? that is one of THE finest trems in the universe these days.
yeah, right...
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Intonating licensed Floyd Rose bridges. The proper ones are ok as I have a tool for that, but as for some of the others, oh dear god...
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we really need setting up a transtrem on there ;)
:)
but lets get that neck in position before being too hasty in taking down the ease of use
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Intonating licensed Floyd Rose bridges. The proper ones are ok as I have a tool for that, but as for some of the others, oh dear god...
What he said!
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Intonation, I can never get it right.
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Now that I've sold it (not to anyone on here!) I must say that the Wilkinson VSVG tremolo was a pig to set up.
As soon as you release the screws which hold the saddles to the baseplate, they can move in all directions - forwards and backwards, sideways, at an angle... so getting both the intonation and the string spacing right was a real pain. I'm sure the VS-100 must be the same.
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I went for truss rod adjustment.
I hate having to unscrew that natty little cover and then try to turn the allen head without breaking the strings behind the nut (though I have been careful and this hasn't happened just yet.).
Putting the cover back on is even more arduous.
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I don't really do any maintenance once it's all set up to start with. Apart from changing strings of course. Maybe that means that all guitar maintenance is my least favourite.
I also rarely seem to keep a guitar long enough to need anything else doing !
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Intonating licensed Floyd Rose bridges. The proper ones are ok as I have a tool for that, but as for some of the others, oh dear god...
What he said!
one of my saddles slipped ages ago and I've been putting it off sorting it out for agessss
changing strings on a floyd doesn't bother me at all now, I think I've just got used to it
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we really need setting up a transtrem on there ;)
:)
but lets get that neck in position before being too hasty in taking down the ease of use
quite right... i think it will be a lot easier once we sort that
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Now that I've sold it (not to anyone on here!) I must say that the Wilkinson VSVG tremolo was a pig to set up.
As soon as you release the screws which hold the saddles to the baseplate, they can move in all directions - forwards and backwards, sideways, at an angle... so getting both the intonation and the string spacing right was a real pain. I'm sure the VS-100 must be the same.
VS-100 is easy - they have screws into the back besides the locking screw. I've sort of got used to Floyds now, though the first was a pain. I used to restring 12 strings all the time without electronic tuners, so now they are a breeze! Since I got the right tools most tasks are easier, so the one that I have to go for is changing pickups on a 335 or other semi.
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Since I got the right tools most tasks are easier, so the one that I have to go for is changing pickups on a 335 or other semi.
Never attempted that, but I know it would be horrendous!
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restringing anything... :lol:
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All restringing is evil, though it varies by degree. For me the scale of evil goes like this:
Quite evil : Tune-o-matic Les Paul type
Reasonably evil : Strats
Pretty fiendishly evil : Floyds (though mine's flat against the body which eases the pain a tad)
Excruciating b-astard evil : My slotted head-stock acoustic. The strings slide around on the posts whilst attempting to stab you in the thumb as you try to tame them. One of the main reasons that guitar gets treated to Elixirs is that it increases the intervals between this self-inflicted torture.
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I went for restringing a Floyd. I hate them. I changed the strings on my Yam Drop6 this week, for the first time since I bought it in 2004 (I think - might be longer). It took me an hour and a half - a normal string change on a trem guitar, including cleaning the neck, normally takes me half an hour at worst. :roll:
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Intonating a Floyd rose is a big pain in the arse. It's much easier now I have a Tremol-no but it's still awkward.
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Intonating a floyd. You get a feel for how much the saddles have to move after a while, but till you have it dialled in its a PAIN.
After that my least favourite was correcting for an incorrectly set in neck (bowedback at the heel so that 22nd fret was about 0.5mm higher than 12th) to get the action that the customer wanted by taking the frets down (after explaining to him that this is a non-optimal way to correct the problem, and the alternatives, its what he wanted)
One after the other
Each lower than the last
By exactly the right about (1/20th of a mm) to get the surfaces in correct line with the strings.
Hated that.
Oh, it was on an Epi Zakk wylde. Avoid. Or do not purchase without thorough inspection.
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Intonating a Floyd for me, pain in the arse!
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Intonating a Floyd rose is a big pain in the arse. It's much easier now I have a Tremol-no but it's still awkward.
Get one of these and it makes it much, much easier.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Bridges/The_Key.html
However it doesn't work on Edge trems, and some licensed trems. Those are the ones I find to be life numbing to do.
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My own stock / genre does not include Floyd Rose adjustments ( I feel your pain by proxy ) - but anything involving cleaning the pots - or similar in a semi-Acoustic / Archtop guitar with only the 'f' holes for access is worth considering.
Also starting all over again with the whole intonation procedure if you let a floating bridge on an archtop move / fall off ...
Peversely, I usually enjoy re-stringing / truss rod tweaks for string gauge changes / intonation though; as it feels like part of the 'ongoing bonding process' - like King Arthur sharpening / polishing Excalibur ... :)
( Not meant to sound grandiose ) .
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After re-stringing my Feline with Sperzel tuners, Floyds take twice as long even 3 times. So that would be my least favorite but I'm kind of used to it after 20 odd years now.
I don't go near truss rods. I don't want to mess anything up. I wouldn't have the patients for intonation!
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I enjoy working on guitars but if there's one thing that can get me annoyed it's getting rid of buzzing.
Sometimes it's hard to find out where the buzz is coming from.
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I enjoy working on guitars but if there's one thing that can get me annoyed it's getting rid of buzzing.
Sometimes it's hard to find out where the buzz is coming from.
Actually yeah, I'm with you on that one. I managed to reach the philosophical stage of "if it don't come out of the speakers it's not actually a problem, is it?" many years ago...
But if you're always playing in the living room at "managable" volumes (as I am now) it's mighty hard to stay philosophical sometimes!
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I enjoy working on guitars but if there's one thing that can get me annoyed it's getting rid of buzzing.
Sometimes it's hard to find out where the buzz is coming from.
Actually yeah, I'm with you on that one. I managed to reach the philosophical stage of "if it don't come out of the speakers it's not actually a problem, is it?" many years ago...
But if you're always playing in the living room at "managable" volumes (as I am now) it's mighty hard to stay philosophical sometimes!
Agreed! Buzzing is annoying and at home practice volumes it can still be heard. Ring Jonathon as that would eat into practice/drinking in pub time for me!
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After a couple of years of Bigsby abuse, the TOM on my Gretsch started to buzz and rattle.
I have invested in a rattle and buzz free bridge:
(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3171/imag0031.jpg)
(http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4415/imag0026.jpg)
With 11's the intonation is near spot on. Say 98%
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Read all about the Tru-Arc bridge in the latest may issue of Guitar and Bass Magazine.
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As a design, that appeals to me a lot, but they say it's not so suitable just as a T-O-M replacement. Maybe I should put a Bigsby on my LP Special....
(Edit: I missed the point of what they were saying. It's not so suitable as a T-O-M replacement on a solidbody because the bridge is fixed so you can't adjust the intonation, at all. Whereas on a Gretsch or jazz box the whole thing is sitting on a "floating" wooden base so you do have some scope for intonation adjustment.)
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You say it has good intonation how you've set it up, and I believe you, but it still looks to me like it just cripples a guitars musicality. Dont like. At all. In the least. Very very bad.
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I wouldn't say that something that gives more body and livelyness to the tone, is a tad brighter, doesn't rattle, increases sustain and is more comfortable 'criples a guitar's musicality'.
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Is that your Gretsch Ratty? Looks nice! 8)
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Yes Johnny, that's mine. It's a Power Jet (semi hollow). TV Jones Powertron pickups, CTS/Switchcraft electronics, locking tuners, straplocks, pinned bridge base, medium jumbo frets and now with a Tru-Arc bridge. In short: a TONE MONSTER.
Here's the article. (Shameless plug)
(http://www.proteuspages.com/TruArc/TAImages/GBTruArcReview.jpg)
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But you cant intonate it.
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he has overall intonation adjustment by moving the bridge backwards and forwards as needed. It just cant be fine tuned - similar to the LP junior with uncompensated wraparound i did recently
doesnt intonate perfectly but its close enough for rock and roll
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he has overall intonation adjustment by moving the bridge backwards and forwards as needed. It just cant be fine tuned - similar to the LP junior with uncompensated wraparound i did recently
doesnt intonate perfectly but its close enough for rock and roll
I agree . With patience, and subtle shuffling of distance and angle relative to the nut - a floating bridge can end up with good enough intonation for even 'proper' music ... :lol: :wink:
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A non-adjustable bridge seems to be OK for 99% of acoustic guitar players....
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believe me....with my procrastination-like tendencies, changing strings can be quite the bitch........
I can turn string-changing into an all-night event if I have to!
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Fret work, re-frets and stoning.
by FAR my least favourite and labour intensive job as a guitar tech.
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I dont mind fret dressing. Quite like it actually.
I've only done one refret. Hated it. Need to work on my technique too - got em level and 90% flush with the board but the edges werent so good.
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steinberger transtrem set-up officially wins the prize for most awkward set-up job.... possibly made worse by the accuracy of my stobe tuner - i wish i still had a cheapo one around here
me and gwEm spent yesterday debugging his and i think we can both call ourselves transtrem experts now. at least 4 hours worth or tuning and detuning trying to get it working intune at all positions!!
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steinberger transtrem set-up officially wins the prize for most awkward set-up job.... possibly made worse by the accuracy of my stobe tuner - i wish i still had a cheapo one around here
me and gwEm spent yesterday debugging his and i think we can both call ourselves transtrem experts now. at least 4 hours worth or tuning and detuning trying to get it working intune at all positions!!
that was a truly a pain in the arse. however, hopefully the marathon 4 hour tuning job will be alot shorter now in future!
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Intonation on a floating trem, definitely. I'm cr@p at intonation on anything, but on a those it's particularly nasty.
I know people hate changing the strings on floating trems, but I generally just change one string at a time until they're all done, so it's very easy to get it back in tune afterwards. I used to use an old cassette box to rest the bridge on and change them all in one hit, but that doesn't work on my Jem with it's recessed floating bridge, so one string at a time works best for me. :)
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Least favorite is fixing this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_TUMkDuQ1M
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Least favorite is fixing this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_TUMkDuQ1M
I really havent the slightest clue why anyone would do that.
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Actually as I posted that I did think hours of work and skill to make and 10 seconds of mindless cr@p to break!
The first people to do this sorta thing were rebelling and sorta cool - when The Who smashed up their gear they ended up flat broke. Nowadays I think its crass and pointless. Peeps that do this have no respect for what they held in their hands - no if they smashed up some other things they had held maybe that would be payback.
oops sorry for thread /hijack
Back on topic posted other becuase I know my least favorite task will be removing scratches which is hopefully the worst damage any guitar I own will face, I am afraid I am not a fan of the worn brigade.
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I dont think its even worth pontificating over - its just mindless destruction, no matter your socioeconomic situation, or the time period.
I also dislike - correcting twists in necks. If possible at all, its irksome. And and slow. I always worry that I'll wait too long while its under a countered load :lol: (like a weekend too long!)