Simon's Frankenstrat EVH tribute guitar

[Andyxlh]

Last one. The headstock was the wrong shape, here's the fixed shape.
I have also replaced the cheap floyd with a fr special and got the reflectors.
All finished.
Thank you to Simon for letting me piggyback on his thread.

[wokkaboy]

good one Andy looks great and authentic

[Simon Barden]

I hope the trem is set up for downbends only. VH doesn't like floating trems (or at least he didn't in a 1991 interview I've just read) as he rests his picking hand hard on the trem and if it floats, he's always out of tune.

[Andyxlh]

Yes indeed! Flat all the way across the back. Funnily enough, if I have it totally square and flat it goes out of tune when depressed, as the front of the trem plate sticks forward of the posts, so as it levers forward the trem rides up the posts as well as rotating and doesn't sit quite perfect when it goes back, can't see why, other than I guess the tiniest positional difference result in tuning alterations. I put a tiny lift on the front edge only, less than half a mm, which seems to largely fix the problem. I guess grinding a little off the trem plate or rounding the edge on it might fix that, but I'm not sure how else it can be done, unless some f r trems have a shorter bottom plate?

[Simon Barden]

I'm no expert on FR trems - only got one guitar with a locking trem and that an Ibanez version of one. But any instability is normally to do with the pivot blades not being sharp enough or notches occurring in the pivot screw edges. You said that you bought a cheap FR style trem, and these are the areas where the cheap ones suffer as they often use non-hardened steel for these parts. If you want a good FR trem, unfortunately you have to spend the money either for an original or else a very good licensed copy.

[Andyxlh]

Hi Simon,
Yes I replaced the trem with a Floyd Rose Special model, so that should be ok, it is their licenced one made in Korea to FR specs. Hardened steel base plate. Decent bolts and hardware too.

[stan]

ripper work Andy, this is a very nice job, well done

[Andyxlh]

Thanks Stan! This guitar actually isn't for me, it's a gift for a guitarist I used to play with 20 years ago. We used to do loads of van halen, he has loads of expensive guitars but has always wanted one of these.
I have a second set, so now I'm going to build a second one for me 😊

[Andyxlh]

just a little update on this one - I did build a second one, here it is! Same kit, ash body, FR Special trem, Artist BullBucker pickup. Made a couple of mods on the one I made for my friend, this one has a coil tap in the volume and a functional Alnico front pickup on a mini switch on the scratch plate. Makes this guitar way more useful if you play in a covers band as I do - it stops it being a one-trick pony so to speak!

[Zandit75]

So what's the go with the reflectors? I've never heard why they are on there.