ES-3, GR-1SF, and ST-1Jr

[WeirdBits]

Adam, return a PBG kit? Inconceivable!

Lawry, I'll tell you what, if you finally stop procrastinating and mount your Purgatory pedal in an enclosure... I'll start working on the ES-3 along with my other current builds
And, re the photos: a compact digital camera that I carefully inserted into the cavity before turning it on and extending the lens.

[Gavin1393]

ES-3 purchased, Ad's will be sending you a commission!

[lawry]

/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from WeirdBits on May 26, 2014, 22:35
Adam, return a PBG kit? Inconceivable!

Lawry, I'll tell you what, if you finally stop procrastinating and mount your Purgatory pedal in an enclosure... I'll start working on the ES-3 along with my other current builds
And, re the photos: a compact digital camera that I carefully inserted into the cavity before turning it on and extending the lens.

Deal! I'll get into it this weekend and post updates as proof. In truth, I really do need a kick up the bum to finish that thing

[gavinturner]

That ES-3 looks awesome. I've built one from a US-based kit supplier in the past and it's a great guitar. I'm saving my pennies for one of these now! Thanks so much for the rundown Scott! Adam should definitely be paying you commission on this one .

cheers,
Gav.

[adam]

Hey Guys, I've just checked the other GR-1SF here and that one also has the bridge holes not lined up over the block. And Jarrod's also has this same issue. I'm wondering if they are meant to be this way. It seems strange the Chinese would get all 5 I ordered so wrong. They've been making these for some time.

All the ES-3's I've seen do have the bridge holes over the block.

As the GR-1SF has a Bigsby style trem arm, I'm wondering if the block is in that position to support the bridge and take the trem arm screws?

Anyhoo, I'll send Scott's excellent photos to the supplier and ask what they think.

[dingobass]

My two cents worth on the block is they screwed up..
I would have thought that the block should be wider to accomodate the trem and the bridge lugs....

[Gavin1393]

Agree with DB, they stuffed up. Chinese quality control as I've said before only goes so far as to count the correct number of screws etc. the poles would tear that top/soundboard in a matter of days they way they have it.

[WeirdBits]

Adam, the block isn't back far enough to support the trem either, so if it was intentional then it's not really helping the bridge or the trem. As Gav said, the bridge post bushings wouldn't hold for long in just the ply especially with the trem's sawing action of the strings over the bridge. The supplied tremolo has two top mount screws in addition to the tailpiece screws, rather than a true floating unit used on fat bodies like a B6/60, so those top screws would also just be pinned in the ply.

I took some more internal pics and it definitely looks like the block was positioned where it was marked, I just think it was marked incorrectly. The ES-3 has the same pencil marks for the centre of the block but in that case they are in the right spot. Images are bass side first, then treble side.





And, here I have a piece of paper showing the actual size and position of the block. As you can see, it doesn't support the trem or the bridge, so it will be interesting to get the manufacturer's response.

[WeirdBits]

For comparison, here are pics showing the ES-3's block position and marks (bass side, then treble).





And, for those interested, here's the ES-3's tail block.

[adam]

Hey thanks Scott, they are excellent photos. I'm not defending our Chinese friends, it just seems odd they would get all of them wrong, as I think they've been knocking these out for a while. However, it could be a "new guy" problem or something else.

Anyhoo, I've sent an email to my factory contact, so we'll see what they have to say. If they say "they are meant to be that way" then we can go back and instruct them to do it differently.

Scott, does your GR-1SF have a tail block like the ES-3?