NBRD: LTD ST-213

[donaldr]

New Bridge Day. My LTD ST-213 is back from the luthier with a new Gotoh 510 tremolo and black Tusq XL nut, full setup. Play soooooo well and look so nice all in black
STK-S7 bridge, STK-S4 neck, dummy middle, 3-way switch.

 

[Mincer]

I've been reading about these bridges for a possible Warmoth project. Let me know how it goes over a few weeks.

 

[playas]

That's a really cool looking guitar.

Should be a great player now. Enjoy!

 

[donaldr]

I've been reading about these bridges for a possible Warmoth project. Let me know how it goes over a few weeks.

It's the same Gotoh 510 bridge as installed on Suhr guitars but vintage 6-screw instead of 2-post.

 

[playas]

..so the spacing is standand and it's a drop in replacement?

 

[donaldr]

2 1/16" string spacing is modern MIA, MIM and import standard. 2 1/8" string spacing is MIA, so will be a drop in replacement on a MIA Fender Strat.
My luthier had to fill holes and makes new ones for the bridge. It was the cheapest solution in my case, here in Canada, for a quality tremolo bridge.

 

[jeremy]

nice looking guitar! like the pup selection too

 

[Adieu]

How's the fretwork?

They always seemed interesting, but the way they rank it 200-series (out of a possible 1000) made me wonder


Seems like a nice ash body though? so maybe not so budget-end as the numbering might suggest

 

[Artie]

nice looking guitar! like the pup selection too

Me too. But I'm curious . . . why the dummy middle? Another STK-4 would be sweet in there.

 

[donaldr]

How's the fretwork?

I would say very good, or as good as my Fender Strat, my Les Paul or my Godin. Don't know how to say it, but the end of the fret is also filled on the edge of the fretboard.

 

[donaldr]

Me too. But I'm curious . . . why the dummy middle? Another STK-4 would be sweet in there.

Because I already have an SSS Strat and wanted something a bit different, I like the middle position (neck and bridge).

 

[donaldr]

Seems like a nice ash body though? so maybe not so budget-end as the numbering might suggest

I would say it's a very nice guitar, but you need to shop to find such a good one in the 200 series. There's not a lot of guitars under $1000CAD with such quality parts and it's impossible to find an ESP Vintage Plus here (Montreal, Qc, Canada).

 

[Artie]

Because I already have an SSS Strat and wanted something a bit different, I like the middle position (neck and bridge).

Good answer. I love that sound too. In fact, I've contemplated doing a twin-single axe, with both pups hardwired in parallel. No switch. Just Vol & tone.

 

[formula73]

Nice. Gotoh IS quality.

 

[Lewguitar]

Looks great. Is that actually a dummy middle pickup or a regular Strat pickup that is not connected?

Might sound a little better if you cranked it as far away from the strings as possible.

Or used a cheap pickup with a ceramic magnet glued to the bottom and then pried that ceramic magnet off of the base and threw it away, so there was no magnetic pull on the strings at all.

The guitar might sustain better. If you're not going to use the middle pickup anyway,

 

[donaldr]

Lewguitar Nice advise, will try to remove the magnet next time I play under the pickguard
Actually, it's a very cheap pickup I bought on Amazon, like $5. The pickup is sitting flush to the pickguard, so as far away as possible before looking weird

 

[Artie]

I almost forgot, that I've done this before. But I mounted a plastic piece with a 2-terminal screw block so that I could swap in different tone caps instantly. The switch was so that I could select between the "test" cap and the one installed. It was fun for awhile.