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jstrat1967

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Everything posted by jstrat1967

  1. Do you remember what type of vibrato was being used in those cases?
  2. Sorry, I kept meaning to take some measurements and pictures, and finally got around to it today. Here are some measurements for you. The screws for the Bigsby B7 are approximately 5 3/8" from the bottom of the guitar, and a little less than 4 3/4" from the side. https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPc5DnorI09JV9iyyVpEgp2t3x8-NtRbz2gEk-p/photo/AF1QipO1cK-w5f5IBgxrg_OAsV8q9VYnDrDoX37Dj9FC https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPc5DnorI09JV9iyyVpEgp2t3x8-NtRbz2gEk-p/photo/AF1QipOmLWEbpIM8DxIAIkE2l_OH_l3H5y548A5IUcjb There are three routes in the back of the guitar. The solid part of the guitar (unrouted) is perfectly under neath the area where the screws are. https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPc5DnorI09JV9iyyVpEgp2t3x8-NtRbz2gEk-p/photo/AF1QipOxnRAmQmKcGextijkvle5qziUr4ZpLV4rE3GIm There are "channels" running between the battery compartment and the outer routes (for the board and for the knobs), connecting the three routes. The wire harness runs through the channels. The "north" end of the channel is only 4.5" from the bottom of the guitar (compared with the screw which is 5 3/8" from the bottom of the guitar). https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPc5DnorI09JV9iyyVpEgp2t3x8-NtRbz2gEk-p/photo/AF1QipNEL4B0LvfB-w5w6d7VZEL-LgnNTZqZrRayQfhY From these measurements, I can tell you that the two Bigsby B7 screws do not enter the routes, and they do not touch any wires. I am convinced they are into solid wood.
  3. Toasterdude, what are you doing with the neck and body?
  4. It's holding up great. I love it. You might notice that I first tried a GFS tremolo, before I went with the B7. The one I tried was the shorter floating one. If you use the GFS trem, you need to use the one that screws down, the longer one. I don't know the measurements of the longer one, but it doesn't look like it would lend itself to being cut down if it's too long. GFS has a good return policy, so you won't be out much if you try it. If you do, post your story here so we can all see how it goes. Jon
  5. If my Korean JTV59P goldtop was stolen, I'd buy another one as soon as I could. The fit and finish are pretty typical of nice Korean guitars. I put a Bigsby on mine, and I'm going to replace the tuners with locking tuners from Guitarfetish to help with tuning stability. Otherwise, the tuners aren't really that special. (The best tuners I've ever had were on an Agile LP, 18:1 ratio, smooth and stable for literally weeks.) The nut is GraphTech, so I should never have to change that out. Strung up with .011s. I'm not a P90 expert, but the pickups in this guitar make me happy. I have no desire to replace them. I can hear strat in them, and I can overdrive them into humbucker territory if I feel like it. Because of the Bigsby project, I had to do a complete setup on it. But the action is low, no buzzing frets, and intonated. I couldn't be happier.
  6. Here's one way to do it: https://pietrosquared.wordpress.com/2-voice-guitar-and-the-variax/ A friend of mine downloaded Pietro's patch, and now he uses a version of it as his main patch for worship. He uses two expression pedals, I believe.
  7. Thanks, guys. I'm a happy camper. The .011s are a nice change, too. My finger tips can tell the difference on the high strings, but bending notes feels pretty similar. Now, to record some music!
  8. Well, I have good news tonight. After thinking all afternoon about modding the top of the studs or the bridge, etc., I went home and just started fiddling with the neck on the studs, seeing where it was loose, where it was tight. Remember when I pushed the bridge all the way forward, to give clearance between it and the Bigsby? Well that's when I created my creaking problems. When the bridge is fully seated forward on the studs, it has no give at all. That is its tightest setting. Tonight when I pushed the bridge backward toward the Bigsby, I found that it actually rocked and wiggled on the post. I went back and looked, and every other picture of a Bigsby on a JTV59 that I've seen, the bridge has been pushed farther away from the neck and more toward the Bigsby. So, I made the decision to notch my B7 in order to let me push the bridge all the way back. And guess what, it rocks! It wobbles nicely, front to back. Here's what I ended up with: Notice a few things about this pic. The bridge is now pushed back as far as it can go and still give me access to adjust the post with an allen wrench. Secondly, I have notched out the B7, to allow the bridge to go back that far. Third, I have moved the saddles forward again for proper intonation. I ran out of .010s, so I decided it was finally time to put the .011s on there. Using the under/over stringing method (less than one turn per peg) and generous amount of nut sauce in the nut, I strung her up, and took her down to the HD500x. Put on earphones, tuned her up, and I could tell immediately, this was the right setup. There is no more creaking(!), the action of the Bigsby is smooth and quiet, the tuning is stable. The .011s have softened up the trem arm nicely, even with the nylon bushing under the spring. So many twists and turns, and the key points of my installation have emerged: --Raise the front of the Bigsby to get the strings up off the bridge and soften the trem action --Move the bridge back as far as possible to allow maximum rocking of the bridge --Nut sauce in the nut --Proper stringing method (under/over, one loop) --.011s to reduce the tightness of the B7 I'm so happy with it at this point, I think my little hijacking of this thread is about finished. I'll still get locking tuners sometime, and I'll try the soft spring when it comes (from Reverend). But at this point, the install is done and commissioned! Again, I really appreciate the comments from both of you guys. I might have been chasing my tail for weeks without your input.
  9. I did a little dissection during lunch, to see what's inside the bridge. You can easily see that the stud and bridge have a V-channel. The set screw has a point as well. The net effect of sliding the studs into the channel groove and running the set screw up against the stud, and then stringing the guitar, is to "lock" the bridge in place. There is very little wiggle in the bridge when it's all assembled (and when it's at its lowest setting). By backing the set screws out of the bridge (a few days ago), I basically had the studs seated all the way back into the bridge, so I removed the set screws entirely today, knowing that my intonation will still work that way, in hopes that it would allow some more play in the bridge. The studs need to be backed way out of the body for the bridge to slide off (to give clearance for the wire harness to clear the body). I noticed that when the studs are backed way out, the bridge has an adequate amount of play, and would actually rock quite well, I think. However, when I run the studs back into the body (alternating one turn on each stud all the way down), the bridge gets increasing tighter as it gets closer to the body. When the studs are fully lowered, the bridge is solid again, even without the set screws, and even when the studs are at the same level. I need to play with it a little more to figure out why that is. Possibly the bushings are not parallel, and as the studs are driven in, they naturally create friction inside the bridge (by being slightly crooked from each other). Not sure yet. Sorry if this is boring. I'm documenting my steps for anyone else interested in putting a Bigsby on their JTV59. Hope it's helpful for someone. More to come...
  10. I believe the creaking is directly related to the strings sliding on the saddles. I basically eliminated just about every other possibility. I put the nylon washer in, padded the top of the spring, I even removed the spring and used the trem without it. Finally, I put some nut sauce on the saddles. No matter what, the same creaking can be heard when using the piezos. Without strings, the B7 seems to have fluid, quiet motion. So, I have demonstrated that a fixed bridge with piezos is not a perfect match with a Bigsby. I broke a string last night, so when I take the strings off tonight I'm going to take a closer look at the bridge to see if I can imagine any kind of mod that would allow it to rock. I might take some pics of the posts and inside of the bridge and post them here to ask for some additional perspective or ideas. Regardless of where I'm at with the piezos, the P90s are sure fun to play with the Bigsby. Silent, smooth operation. I ordered a "Soft Touch Spring" from Reverend, to give a slightly spongier feel. I want to try that before I move up to .011's and have to set up the guitar for heavier strings. Steve, thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
  11. My wife just texted to tell me a package for me was delivered this afternoon. She was curious what "nut sauce" is. ;)
  12. That's the method I've been using, but I definitely have more than one wrap per post. I'll have to shorten my strings and rewind them. What do you use, about one finger thickness over the nut as a starting point as you wind the string? Last night I took a close look at the bridge to see if it had any play as the trem arm was worked. It actually does rock a little. The saddles don't move much inside the bridge, if at all, but the whole bridge does rock slightly. I don't actually see any string movement or sliding on the saddles--I'm wondering if the creaking I'm hearing is actually from the spring itself. I'm going to put the nylon bushing in under the spring, and maybe put a piece of felt or something on top of the spring. I think I'll hold off on putting nut sauce on the saddles for now to take advantage of the slight rock in the bridge, and see if quieting the spring helps eliminate the creaking sounds coming through the piezos. I also learned something about the "sponginess" of the trem arm while doing some reading last night. The tightness or sponginess of the trem correlates inversely to the tension on the strings. The lower the string tension (lighter strings), the stiffer the trem arm. The higher the string tension (heavier strings), the spongier the trem arm. At first that sounds illogical, but then it makes sense, because the string tension is pulling against the trem arm and balancing it out. I have .010-.046 on it right now, but I have a fresh set of .011-.049s I could put on.
  13. With the screw near the neck and a standard Les Paul bracket. I have a little pad behind the bracket protecting the guitar body.
  14. Somebody's gotta pave the way with this newer bridge. :) Stepwise, I'll try: Nut sauce on the saddles Raising the B7 Lowering the B7 Flat wounds Disassembling the bridge to see about modding it to rock
  15. I don't know how I would achieve that, if the bridge needs to rock. Maybe the posts could be modded, rounded on the bottom edges or something. I'll cross that "bridge" when I get to it. I would need to look into getting some bridge posts from Line 6, in case I screw them up with the mod. Edit: I have some round wounds that I might try next...
  16. Thanks for the tip on the locking tuner string length. I'll remember that when I finally get them. That's another counter-intuitive step to take. You and I were thinking alike this morning. After I posted above, I left for the hardware store and bought some rubber washers, enough to give me a bunch of lift. I also picked up some better screws... I bought #6 metal screws (foreground), for the end bracket. Compare to the three originals to the right, which were stripping out. The big one in the background is a #8 metal screw (I think 1 1/4"), to replace the two screws at the bridge end of the Bigsby. I countersunk all the screw holes in the B7 to accommodate the slightly larger screw heads: All the adjusting I've done has changed the location of the endpin screws slightly, so I filled a couple of the holes with toothpicks, which are now drying. You can see them above. Those will soon be redrilled and screwed in. I like the look of the larger screw heads better than the little bulging ones from Bigsby. I stacked two of the washers for each side, raising it probably 1/4", which is quite a lot. Yes! The strings are off the bridge. You can get a good idea of the break angle with this pic: The tuning stability and sponginess of the B7 are way improved from just two days ago. This works so well that I think I'm going to cancel my order for the Biggsfix, and see if the nut sauce will be enough to get me the last little bit of tuning stability. The P90s play perfectly with the Bigsby, but the piezos are still picking up a bit of creaking. Really got my fingers crossed that the nut sauce will help reduce that. If not, I'll consider raising the B7 even further, to reduce the break angle and string tension even more. I hope I don't need to do that. So there she is. Complete with the shoulder strap my wife gave me for my birthday a couple days ago! Loving this guitar.
  17. I toyed with the idea of using a Bigsby B3 with a Towner Tension bar, like this one, to avoid crowding the bridge, decreasing the break angle, and having an adjustable tension bar: I would have needed to install a pair of posts to mount the Towner tension bar. If the B7 doesn't work out, I think that would be my next option.
  18. I wondered if you would pick up on that E string. ;) Here's a better angle (I didn't use this one above because it's slightly blurry--call me OCD): The trem is centered equally from E to E strings. Interesting that your saddles ride up high enough that your strings don't even touch the bridge. Mine are laying right on it. My saddles also don't have much play at all. You think I would be safe putting a touch of nut sauce on them?
  19. I'm still working the kinks out of mine. Have some nut sauce on the way from Amazon. The locking tuners from GFS are out of stock, so I opted into the waiting list. One key to making this work is that the Bigsby and the JTV bridge cannot be touching. If they touch, then all sorts of creaking and groaning gets transferred through the piezos. That's very bad, I can attest to that. My solution was to loosen the Bigsby and tilt it up, so I could back out the little set screws in the bridge. The set screws adjust the location of the bridge on the posts, front to rear. By backing the set screws out, I was able to slide the bridge toward the neck about 3/32", enough to give a nice gap between the Bigsby and the bridge. I had to move the saddles back and intonate it again, but that was easy enough. It actually looks better this way, will be easier to string (with the little gap), and the creaks and groans are gone. Before and after: Now the saddles are at the rear of the bridge, and I have a nice 3/32" gap between the bridge and Bigsby. You can see the set screw now: This little adjustment smoothed the feel out a lot. But I know already that I want the Bigsby to be spongier than it is. It's quite tight. So I went ahead and ordered the Biggsfix. This will further reduce the angle of the break in the strings over the saddle, and hopefully give a spongier trem feel.
  20. The B7 came today, and I installed it tonight. Here's how it looks: I loaded a bunch of pictures to this album if you want to see the steps it took https://picasaweb.google.com/109941283827892756771/JTV59PGoldtopVariax
  21. Bigsby sighting over on Harmonycentral: http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-130/31111685-custom-line6-jtv-59-new-black Interesting idea to put a 1/4" block at the strap lock. Sounds like the V.Block system.
  22. You think setting up one guitar in 1981 qualifies you to say you "know what you're doing with tremolo installs"? Just kidding! That was a fun read. Fascinating life you've led. Thanks for giving your feedback on my project.
  23. Stevekc, you were correct about the Xtrem not fitting right. There is just not enough angle over the saddles to hold the strings in place. And I can't think of another "no drill" method to get a trem on there. So... Bigsby B7 on the way. I'm still a little concerned about how stiff the B7 will be with the steep angle down to the tension bar. If it's too much tension, I'll look into a Tuning Stabilizer:
  24. I couldn't find one anywhere, so I had to make one from raw pickguard material.
  25. I think adding a guard makes a big difference, for the better. I made a guard and added a trim ring for the selector switch. After this pic was taken, I added the pickguard bracket, and changed out the trim ring for one that says RHYTHM and TREBLE on it.
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