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Author Topic: New Pickups & Bridge Day  (Read 3198 times)

FELINEGUITARS

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Re: New Pickups & Bridge Day
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2010, 12:36:22 AM »
:lol:

I've got used to the pickguards on my Roadworns - they attract krud off of me very well and look quite righteous now... so I'll probably not be replacing them.

I think the bridge unit isn't "BKP's" per se, or Fatboy's, or Feline's - my understanding now is that they're sourced from a fine chap who makes them from scratch in the UK (I also got the impression he does aging if required?). I might be wrong about all this though - it's  based on the decision making process I went through over the last few weeks. Jonathan happened to have one unit in stock, I was ordering Apaches through him anyway, so I decided to sort out the CIJ bridge at the same time. If the 6 screw holes on the base-plate hadn't married up, plan B was that Jonathan would send the plate and/or block off to the guy that makes the units so that he could machine a steel block that would replace the zinc one in the existing CIJ unit. I was quite keen on replacing the saddles etc as well so a complete unit was a preference, but the highest priority was a steel-block that fitted, and I really didn't want to start messing with the six screw holes in the body!!. (For those who haven't gone down this path, there's a whole minefield of "metric versus imperial measurements" and "various configurations of holes drilled in the block" to trip up the unsuspecting strat owner.)


I sourced that bridge via BKP and as far as I know so do Fatboy Guitars, although I have spoken directly to the engineer here in the UK that makes them for Tim as I have had him do some other stuff for me (steel Floyd Rose sustain blocks - awesome!)
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AndyR

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Re: New Pickups & Bridge Day
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2010, 08:22:39 AM »
Thanks for that Jonathan, I wasn't sure I was getting my facts straight.

Gwem, yes, I have a funny feeling that Sultans could do a very nice job for you (considering some of your strat-influences, etc).

Everyone else - steel blocks and stuff is the way to go if your geetar doesn't have them and it's slightly "less" than you'd like... you know, that nagging "if only..." doubt about an otherwise yummy instrument. The difference isn't huge, it doesn't turn it into a different guitar tone, it just makes the thing more responsive and you notice, after a while, that you're no longer tw@tting about with the amp controls so much trying to squeeze a bit more "something" out of it.

Anyway, CIJ going very well - bridge bedded in nicely and wanging like a veteran, and the Sultans sounding very good indeed now :D.

I've actually been doing some recording with it instead of the other strats (I wanted the wang bar) and was surprised that it gave me exactly what I wanted with minimal messing (I was expecting to need the Apache'd roadworn for the sound in my head)... and I've even recorded with an amp instead of using a modellor!!!! :o Turned out loads easier than I was expecting... :lol:

It's ended up doing a very Knopflery job on the track. I'll probably post a link to it when it's finished - but be warned "clip" fans, the song dictates quite a bit of post-tracking trickery, so it's not that accurate a representation of raw Sultans :lol:
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gwEm

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Re: New Pickups & Bridge Day
« Reply #17 on: October 20, 2010, 10:59:24 AM »
Gwem, yes, I have a funny feeling that Sultans could do a very nice job for you (considering some of your strat-influences, etc).

if you ever fancy having a strat jam let me know. i've three - 23 fret strat with slowhands, the "70s" strat with sinner/trilogies and my "jolly roger" strat with BG50/IT
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AndyR

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Re: New Pickups & Bridge Day
« Reply #18 on: October 24, 2010, 02:17:37 PM »
I've posted the finished item in the Players section now: http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=22543.0

I'd be interested in taking you up on that Gwem - but as usual, it's finding the time to do it :lol:
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