GregP

Did you use a Forstner? A regular bit might wander or start off-centre. I forgot to mention, I also hand-pressed a finishing nail into the starting point just to make sure the drill bit got started in the right spot.

+1 to how easy it is, especially a dot. It's just a matter of putting an "X" from corner to corner in order to find the centre of that space, and using the right-sized forstner bit. I had never "inlaid" (to me, only the pure technical use for the word since no skill was involved!) in my life, and I put dots into a complete fretboard. It's about the easiest thing you could do in an entire build. A diamond wouldn't be too tricky, either. Greg

Ah, I see how they're doing it. That volume lug is normally "bent back" to touch the casing, in order to ground it. So, that's the volume pot's "ground". Possibilities: 1. You're not getting continuity between that volume lug and the casing. 2. If you DO have continuity, as per #1, then your volume casing might not be grounded. Does the volume work? The "Black wire from output jack" has to be soldered to the volume pot casing. Or to put it another way, here's your tone capacitor's signal path as it currently stands: Tone lug --> volume lug --> pot casing --> ground Since it ultimately goes to ground, you can cut out the middle man by just wiring the capacitor right to the volume pot casing and making sure that the volume pot casing IS going to ground ("black wire from output jack"). ---- Additionally, that wiring scheme would make for a very straightforward conversion to "star grounding". I mean, if it ain't broke, you don't have to fix it, but when I change electronics, etc., I always take the opportunity to make a star ground while I'm at it. If you want to give it a try, I'll hook you up with the knowledge needed. Otherwise, try my above advice and see where it gets you. Greg

Oh yeah? Didn't know that.

Let me just confirm: You have the capacitor only going from one pot casing to the next pot casing? Won't work. It has to be attached to one of the tone knob's lugs. Can't remember offhand which one. Greg

Well, it's not exactly a surprise, but nothing's been absolutely finalized yet. I'm not "holding back" just to create an air of mystery or whatever... I'd love to share all the details with you 'n' all that stuff, I just haven't got a handle on how much to disclose publicly as those details are being hammered out. Almost better to wait until it's built. It's an unconventional model, though, I can tell you that. I haven't decided on the final details, but I know that it'll be headless with a compact body and likely EMGs, though I haven't completely ruled out Lace Alumitones yet. Like I said, design considerations are still being ironed out. Greg

xanthus, It would only be the headstock that would need to be surrogate. You could even have a 1-tuner version (tune up one string at a time), but if I did it, I'd personally use 6 tuners in a "paddle", just like a regular headstock. This headstock would somehow form a medium-secure to the headless end of the neck (it doesn't have to actually be a stable headstock), and you would tune up as per usual. You could even muck around for a while and do your best to stretch out the strings, and retune again. Then you would lock down, snip off the excess string, and "remove" (remembering that it's not really all that securely attached to begin with) the headstock. Then, when your strings go flat from further stretching, the Kahler thumbscrews should provide enough travel to bring it back to pitch. I can't afford to pursue a patent, and there's probably already been one applied for.

Could be the pickups... but probably not. A tone pot will still have SOME effect, as long as it's in the general ballpark of guitar-rated pots and caps. A tone pot just bleeds signal to ground. You have to make sure that the lug with the capacitor on it is making its way to ground or nothing will happen. Er.. It should be mentioned that I'm not a wiring expert. Without this disclaimer, the above instructions might seem to authoritative... I'm just a guitar numpty.

Once upon a time, a long while ago when David Grissom was endorsing them, I wanted a PRS. I don't crave one anymore. Since then, the only production guitar I've "lusted" after is a Steinberger GL in good ol' black. The G&L strats and teles got some long looks from me, and for bass I really like MM Stingrays. However, since joining PG, many of the guitars I've lusted after have been built-to-order one of a kind customs, either for the builder himself or for a comission. I've learned that the guitar I lust after is going to have to be built to my specs. Even the Steinberger GL doesn't have the same "lust" appeal for me as some of the guitars built around here. But I totally know what you're saying. If I was getting engaged 10.. even 7 years ago, it woulda been PRS. Now, it's a whole other ball of wax. Greg

So, John... If I had a way to bring the strings up to pitch first (eg., a "surrogate headstock" that's used just for that very job), do you imagine that the Kahler could then "take over" sufficiently, on a headless design? Man... Khaler has the manufacturing capabilities. They could make a small profit on headless trem systems if they designed and sold one. It's a niche market, to be sure. Sales wouldn't be even close to traditional Kahler... but you could make it worth the R&D I bet. --- Regarding installation-- the literature I've read seems to imply that you don't need to recess the trem into a guitar if it has a flat top. It's good to know that's not the case; however, it doesn't make routing quite the "snap" that the literature implies, either. No way to get the baseplate that extra millimetre lower so that it wouldn't be necessary? Greg

Thanks for all your input. I have something in the works that looks like it's going to pan out. The Warmoth and Carvin options are both winners, too, though-- so if the plan doesn't work out for me, I'll have a backup. She likes the Carvin stuff. When it comes time to have a Stratomacaster, Warmoth also sounds like a good option... mind you, at SOME point in time in this danged life, I'd like to make some guitboxes for mesself. Greg

Doh, double-post

Seemed to have killed of Tom Anderson's joy; hence his somewhat recent-ish decision to fly solo again.

I've never done it myself, but consider: - maple is used for fretboards - cherry is very very similar to maple - many other woods that are softer than maple (and by extension, softer than cherry) are used for fretboards - other woods that are harder than maple (and by extension, harder than cherry) are used for fretboards So, I'd say go for it. I've worked both maple and cherry. The piece of cherry I had wasn't very "distinctive" in terms of colour or grain, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought I was working a piece of maple. Greg

I believe Ry Cooder used open D for most of that movie.

Thanks for the quick reply to the first question on PG! I was hoping Khaler would be my answer, but alas... It's so dang hard finding headless trem parts. Unless you wanna drop $450 for an S-Trem... Greg

Wes, I remember that information in that post; that was the inspiration for the questions. I also need a sense of "assurance" before I buy one of the units in black. Wes, I PM'd you as well, but this thread's as good a place as any-- I know you hate headless, but any personal insight as to whether a Kahler-style trem even COULD be used in a headless system? The issue that was raised to me is bringing the string up to pitch-- the fine-tuners are meant to be that, "fine" tuners. Do they have the muscle? Greg

Ooo ooo, pick me! I was thinking of using a Kahler trem on a headless guitar. Do the fine tuners on a Kahler have enough "muscle" to bring a string up to pitch on such a guitar? They seem like too-small thumbwheels for the job, but it's worth asking. Also, what's the largest string that the low-E saddle can accomodate? Also, what's the return/exchange policy at wammiusa like? EG, can factory defects be easily exchanged without much hassle? Thanks for the offer to help and for stopping by PG! A lot of Kahler fans in these parts, it seems. Greg

$280 shipped, put in some better pickups, and you have yourself a good guitar! Sorry, I won't be the one buying, but *bump*.

I've never had a tone control that worked in any way worth using. I wouldn't worry about it TOooo much, as long as it's not deteriorating your signal. Just leave it turned up. One of my guitars "feels" like it's really just on/off, even though I've confirmed that the wiper is indeed varying the amount of high-frequency bleed... but you don't notice a real difference in tone except between "full up" and "full down," so I never really bother with it. Greg

Hey Chris, Fire me off an email at (making appropriate anti-bot substitutions): d o c t o r -->dott<-- g r e -->att<-- gmail -->dott<-- com no spaces, and the crazy "--><--" substituted with the correct symbols. ... and yes, that's "gre" rather than "greg" and no I'm not a doctor. <chuckle> Greg

I'll happily do it for you. I'm about to walk out the door, though, so let me take care of it tonight? Do you mind if I reformat your headings and subheadings or change the font? I'm interested in dicking around a bit. Actually, I'll fire off an unaltered PDF so that you can just have it, and then I'll dick around a bit to see if you like the changes. If you don't, no harm of course-- it's for my own curiousity only and I'd have fun doing it. Greg

The guitar's wiring may "look" fine on a quick visual inspection, but you'll need to have another look. Somewhere in there, you've got what "should" be a ground wire that's not actually making it to ground. Last time this happened on my guitar, it was from my shielding material-- while I was very careful to make the whole thing continuous, I somehow forgot to solder an extra wire going from the shield to ground. That's just one example-- in any event, something's not making it to ground. Trace the route-- wherever the loop is, it's connected to your bridge, which is touching your strings. So follow the lead from the bridge to wherever it goes... does THAT spot lead to ground? If not, you have a loop. Even with all the wires seeming in place, my understanding is that they won't always go to ground. If the path of least resistance isn't ground, it'll also create a loop. The best solution to avoid this is to ground everything with a "star grounding" scheme. This means taking every single ground, connected them up to one place (the "star" is often just a metal washer), and then from the "star" to the ground lug of your output jack. Greg

tim, you probably have unpotted pickups. If the coils themselves are creating a sound from their own vibrations, they're microphonic... very undesirable. No matter which side of the "finish thickness" debate you're on, what your test demonstrates is that the pickups are no good. You can't pick up nylon strings with a magnetic pickup, of course... and the physical vibrations of the string's wave isn't sufficient to rattle the coils in your pickups.

Wish I lived closer... I'm in Ottawa.