Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

jhale667

jhale667

New member
Yep, got her senior year, 1984...one of the first few Kramers with Floyds to hit my rural hometown...mostly becase I mail ordered it, lol...

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Played it for a couple of years, then started building Strats with Charvel (this was back when you could GET Charvel parts, recall) and Warmoth parts, and never looked back. But for some sentimental reason, hung on to the body - I sold that god-awful 'Beak' neck, though...:lol:

Then, as I was in the middle of swapping out pickups in my guitars, noticed it in the closet and decided it was time to give it some love. I knew I wanted it to have black hardware this time, as it was an upcharge I couldn't afford as a teenager...and at first I thought black pickups...

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One think I KNEW for certain, and am not budging on now, is that it HAD to have an Explorer Headstock this time, ala the EVH "Shark" (since this body style is Kramer's answer to Charvel's rip off of that in the 1st place...)

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Was having a big problem finding that..Warmoth, while I LOVE their necks, does not do an exact Explorer head...was going to get one from James at Frankenstraat, didn't seem like he wanted to do a "one-off"...
So looks like I'll be getting an angled paddlehead neck made to my usual specs (1 3/4" R5 nut, compound-radius, trying 6100 frets instead of the usual 6150s) with an Ebony board from Warmoth and having a local luthier friend shape the headstock correctly...

Funny thing happened with the pickups, though...kinda wanted to try the 'Rhoads' combo ala his last two Jacksons...a Distortion in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck...so started poking around on Ebay...found a Jazz TB neck in Zebra...

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Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

So OK, thought, well...it actually might look cooler with a Zebra pickup in the neck...a little more striking...

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THEN I won a Zebra Distortion Trembucker stupid cheap on Ebay shortly thereafter...had bid on it and nearly forgotten about it, expected to be outbid as I didn't bid that high on it...

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NOW it was starting to look interesting...for some reason the double zebras give it more visual 'pop' IMO, and most of my friends agree...

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Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

I have an old Bentley Series 10 that is VERY similar... I need to do the same thing! Dang.
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

good choice on the black hardware and zebras! should be cool when it's done.

if you want to try a real great combo that i've come to love since you're using an 1 3/4" nut width neck, skip the "proper" R5 nut and go with an R4 which is the wide 1 11/16" spacing. that nut on the wider board gives the perfect string spacing/wide neck feel and you NEVER pull off the board. it's the combo that comes on the Lynch ESP guitars. i have it on my GMW and it's one of my favorite guitars due to that R4 on a 1 3/4" neck combo.

-Mike
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

Another thing I did NOT want to do was drill on the now-vintage body...and it had the old-school wood screw inserts for the Floyd...hadn't seen those in YEARS, even Floyd Rose was out of them when I called (they DO still carry them, apparently, but didn't have them that week!) Found some at Warmoth, dilemma solved...Also found a near-pristine older Floyd cheap...:D

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Guess I have to break down and buy the neck and tuners now, and send it to my buddy...:rolleyes:

Made a LOLbuilder out of the pic to bust my own 'nards about it...

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Kinda ran into a stumbling block, as I have to replace my vehicle...but I'm so ready to get this thing DONE...:banghead:
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

XSSIVE said:
good choice on the black hardware and zebras! should be cool when it's done.

if you want to try a real great combo that i've come to love since you're using an 1 3/4" nut width neck, skip the "proper" R5 nut and go with an R4 which is the wide 1 11/16" spacing. that nut on the wider board gives the perfect string spacing/wide neck feel and you NEVER pull off the board. it's the combo that comes on the Lynch ESP guitars. i have it on my GMW and it's one of my favorite guitars due to that R4 on a 1 3/4" neck combo.

-Mike
Click to expand...


Interesting. Never tried that before...I already have a stash of R5s lying about, but something to consider...;)

And thanks for the compliments, guys. :D
 
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Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

Oh, another funny guitar pack-rat thing...still have its original Chrome Floyd, too...:lol:

chromefloydtinypiczo3.jpg



I'm sure I'll find a use for it someday...:scratchch
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

That's gonna look good when it's all said and done.
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

Dilemma.

Keeping it as close to original as possible is good since it no longer has its' original neck (IMO a guitar is never the same guitar with a different neck...) but the black hardware looks SO good!!!

And another +1 for the zebra, it does "pop" better (the double black was perfectly fine but the zebra is better :D)

Me myself I like the wider (1-7/16) string spacing but then again I also like the wider nut as well :D
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

Thanks, but the old 'beak' neck - aside from being 1 5/8" and uncomfortable to an R5 guy like me (and you, it sounds like...lol), it felt like a BASEBALL BAT...in a bad way. NOT wood-inducing wood, if you know what I mean. An R5 compound radius neck would/will be a VAST improvement, even if I would've had to have settled for a Strat headstock! :D

And I agree, it looked fine with double black pickups (which was what it came with, well, the dull off-black that Schaller pickups were at the time - but that was a CC and one of a pair of 490R's I have laying around for the pic), but when I stuck the Zebra set in, it was like "Whoa. Now THAT looks cooler!" The black hardware will just add to the new, more P.O.'d-looking vibe IMO.....:cool:
 
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Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart-Question!

Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart-Question!

One question: I'm betting the Distortion will sound as good as I remember, but how about the Jazz neck in what turns out to be an Alder body (kinda bummed about that, but she's my high-school sweetheart, what did I know then...LOL!)? Would a TB-59N be a better choice? Wanting this to sound kind of old-school ala its' looks, but am looking for John Sykes-type neck tones from a trembucker model...other suggestions?

Also, totally up in the air if I'm going to do a single volume and tone, OR two volumes and skip the tone controls altogether...:confused: Thinking a tone would be more useful for the neck pickup...dunno.
But as far as other neck pickup possibilities, any input - or confirmation the JazzN will do that with a High-Gain Amp (Mesa MkIII Simul-Class)for that matter... if I can find a combo that does that, it might become way more than a wall-hanger...;)
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

There's nothing wrong with Alder man, just look at all these Carvin guitars :D

Now about the Jazz, I've only used it in a Schecter C1 Classic and it was rather drak but I'm thinking in an alder body (that was all mahogany) it'll sound more balanced.
I'd say try it and if that doesn't work the 59 should be a tad on the brighter scale (d@mn, these are two pickups that I've tried all over but haven't really studied since I don't have them myself...)
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

KeeperOS said:
There's nothing wrong with Alder man, just look at all these Carvin guitars :D

Now about the Jazz, I've only used it in a Schecter C1 Classic and it was rather drak but I'm thinking in an alder body (that was all mahogany) it'll sound more balanced.
I'd say try it and if that doesn't work the 59 should be a tad on the brighter scale (d@mn, these are two pickups that I've tried all over but haven't really studied since I don't have them myself...)
Click to expand...

Thanks. Alder's just not one of my fave woods, I'm more of an Ash guy, myself. :D I'm anxious to try the JazzN, but yeah, if I'm not into it, next candidate will be a 59...:friday:
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

(cough, cough)... BUMP :cool:

Scraping pennies together, visions of Explorer headstocks dancing in my head... :D

sh4.jpg


:32:
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

THAT'S THE STUFF!!!

An Explorer headstock but pointier enough to nor resemble a hockey stick! (well, I COULD go a tad more pointier but that's just me :9:)
I approve!!!

Oh man, and am I a sucker for Ebony boards!
I am so envious right now!!!
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

Wow- how did I miss this thread? Very cool axe bro! :D

I've had GAS for one of these for at least a year or so. At some point I'm going to build a "Star", most likely a Warmoth, unless I can find a good 80s Tokai or similar on ebay.

The headstock is tough and "key" for the look on those, IMO. I don't care for the charvel style strat headstock, and would prefer the Kramer beak actually. But it's not an option from Warmoth, so I'd prolly go with a banana (hockeystick) or Explorer (or a reverse version of either) A Jackson headstock would prolly look good as well- or even the "arrow" headstock.

Please keep us updated, can't wait to see the final outcome!
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

Glad you guys approve.
I see Kramer Voyagers going for less than a grand on Ebay, but if you can find a body, Frankenstraat.com does indeed offer a "Beak" headstock neck...and IIRC, the Warmoth bodies are very close...:D
 
Re: Rebuilding my High-School sweetheart

JeffB said:
Wow- how did I miss this thread? Very cool axe bro! :D

Please keep us updated, can't wait to see the final outcome!
Click to expand...

Will do. :cool:

ONE more question, perhaps XSSIVE or some Zerebrus (sp?) or some of the other Floyd freaks can answer...So Mike, if I try the R4 option on the neck you suggested (didn't know that was the standard on the Lynch models, they play okay!), and decide I DON'T like it, am I screwed as far as mounting hole spacing (the neck through, counter-sunk type)of the nut(s)? Wouldn't they be slightly different?

Meh, I have the screws to top-mount them, too...could try the R4 that way first, and if I didn't like it, those'd be easy enough to fill and re-drill if need be, huh? Top-mounting is something to consider just for the structural stability aspect of the (what will be) angled-headstocked neck, also...:33:
 
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