Hmmm... I found the progress photos but I didn't take any before the black coat so not sure. But I think I did prime it and I think it might be needed, so Duramax might be the go. Fortunately I already have a nearly full can of hot lips from the IB7 I recently re-worked.
Christmas hath come early. Have checked all the parts are there but since I won't be using many of them, it wasn't are thorough check. Will leave this boxed for a while as I have a couple of "no going back" decisions to make about how I want to approach this.
Last edited by m0j0; 29-09-2021 at 10:16 AM.
Quick inspection shows the body in pretty good condition.
This knot in the body is a bit ugly, but given the solid colours it shouldn't be an issue as long as I prep correctly.
This tiny ding on the horn should come out easily enough. That and a little nick around the edge of the humbucker route are the only bits of damage I could find so far.
Back of the body looks good.
Very thin bit of wood between the humbucker route and control cavity is probably normal but looks weird to me. Can't help but think it would be easier if it wasn't there at all. No such separation between a single coil version and the control cavity. It might get removed.
Neck looks OK to me. Dots seem to be aligned. Not that my eyes are any good anyway.
They've done the general flat pickup rout and then done the extra rout for the humbucker pickup legs, without then tidying up the remaining wood. I'd definitely remove it as it serves no purpose and removing it helps with cable routing.Originally Posted by m0j0
Very thin bit of wood between the humbucker route and control cavity is probably normal but looks weird to me. Can't help but think it would be easier if it wasn't there at all. No such separation between a single coil version and the control cavity. It might get removed.
However you might want to fill those extra leg holes if you plan to direct mount the pickup to the body. There is very little depth of wood between the bottom of those routs and the trem cavity, and I wouldn't like to use really small screws to hold the pickup in place.
Not quite sure why they've also routed similar leg holes in the single coil routs. They don't look wide enough to fit Gibson-style mini-humbuckers in. The mini-humbuckers from my Firebird are 27mm across and the mounting legs are really short with about 2mm depth to them so wouldn't need the extra routs.
I don't think you'd need to do any particularly special routing for a Floyd Special. On the GST-1 Hexacaster, the 2-point trem had the same bottom of plate depth to top of saddle dimensions as the Floyd has (10mm according to the Floyd dimension pdf) and I got that floating without the need for a shim. I did fit a shim at first, but then removed it as unnecessary. The GSR-1 should have identical body/neck dimensions. I did file down the ends of the post inserts so they didn't stick through into the trem cavity, but that was about it.
You can always use a mini-toggle switch for pickup selection, which is less obtrusive than a full-sized toggle or lever switch. Or you could a rotary switch and have two knobs instead of one. If you didn't want a blower switch, you could use that as the pickup selector, or if you didn't want a mixed pickup position but just neck or bridge, then a mini-toggle with more poles could probably act as a bridge/neck/blower selector.
Or even fit a 3-way lever switch but don't put a toggle on the end, and round over the edges so it's more comfortable to use. That wouldn't be too obtrusive, especially from a distance.
So the decision I have to make. I'm leaning more towards doing a Frankenstrat tribute rather than a Frankenstrat clone. I want to have something that looks pretty much the real deal on first glance to the untrained eye, but I also want to have something that's playable with less of the hacks. So, the differences I'm looking at compared to a clone:
1) I think I'll drop in a Floyd Special, but I feel like I want to route it out so it sits as designed rather than having to add a shim to the neck pocket to get a decent action.
2) Keep the design as close as I can get it, but forego the standard relicing. I'd be happy if it got worn down through use however.
3) Not put any reflectors on the back. I can imagine that wouldn't be overly comfortable when playing.
4) (this one I'm not too sure of) Wire up the neck single coil. I won't be using the kit pickup but I have no idea what I will put in there yet. Of course, this will mean having to install a selector switch. The more I think about this, the less I'm inclined to do it, but I'm leaving it here as a placeholder.
5) I've already got the Grover upgrade rather than going for the Schaller tuners. Even if I were going for a clone that would be good enough for me.
Hello! Here's some thoughts, feel free to ignore!
So the decision I have to make. I'm leaning more towards doing a Frankenstrat tribute rather than a Frankenstrat clone. I want to have something that looks pretty much the real deal on first glance to the untrained eye, but I also want to have something that's playable with less of the hacks. So, the differences I'm looking at compared to a clone:
1) I think I'll drop in a Floyd Special, but I feel like I want to route it out so it sits as designed rather than having to add a shim to the neck pocket to get a decent action.
That works, and you can have it floating too. Probably a more difficult job than shimming, as it is straightforward to set up as the strings don't need to be removed, just loosened so the Floyd can be lifted from its pins
2) Keep the design as close as I can get it, but forego the standard relicing. I'd be happy if it got worn down through use however.
Fair enough, I like the relicing so i don't have to worry about a case
3) Not put any reflectors on the back. I can imagine that wouldn't be overly comfortable when playing.
You don't notice them, at least I don't
4) (this one I'm not too sure of) Wire up the neck single coil. I won't be using the kit pickup but I have no idea what I will put in there yet. Of course, this will mean having to install a selector switch. The more I think about this, the less I'm inclined to do it, but I'm leaving it here as a placeholder.
Yes great idea. I did that, with a micro switch in the place of one of the tone controls. I also coil-tapped the humbucker, with a push-pull on the volume. Gives loads of tonal variations. You could put a 3-way in the slot instead
5) I've already got the Grover upgrade rather than going for the Schaller tuners. Even if I were going for a clone that would be good enough for me.
You might want to hang on to them if the kit machine heads are OK (most are), as the kit ones are the correct shape, and as you will be reliant on the locking nut and violin style tuners on the Floyd for fine tuning the Grovers might not be best utilised there (assuming you have other projects they might work on, if not, great excuse to buy one!)
If I was planning on ignoring thoughts, I wouldn't post here. The more input, the better because I always assume my ideas are flawed at best, if not completely idiotic. Like I said, I haven't made a decision on anything. I've got too many on the go at the moment to even think about starting on this one right now anyway.
I think I might have to just get the Floyd and see how it sits without routing. Not particularly concerned about having it floating, was just thinking of dive-only but sitting flush. Will just have to line everything up and see what's what. To be honest, I'm more of a hard-tail fan myself. I'm not good enough to be able to incorporate well timed and in tune trem work in my playing and I never will be.
As for the tuners, I was thinking the same about them being wasted behind a floyd nut. I am in the middle of another ST build which I didn't get Grovers for (I don't think I did - too many parts floating around). Might be better served there. And then I'll have two sets of kit tuners to pick the six least crappy from.
I prefer to mount the FR on the body. I'm a hack on guitar, and if I press down on the FR with the heel of my hand and it is floating the guitar is out of tune. It's way easier to mount flat on the body than to faff about trying to tidily rout out the hole to the correct depth, remember the hole would have to be PERFECTLY flat at the bottom and exactly the right depth or you will have to float the trem or shim the neck anyway (or possibly both). Just start with a heavy gauge pick hard up against the heel of the the neck pocket and you will be close! With the brass block I'd say the sustain would be similar to a hard tail, as the FR is very heavy and locked back against the body with serious spring action too.
At school I have been part of 50++ kit builds with the kids, and probably had 5 or so crappy tuners. When they are good they are better than fine, I'd say you should find enough there to do the job.
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