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Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars

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Post by Brainfertilizer Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:09 pm

A coupla questions:
1) The Applause and JB Player necks fit in the Kramer Pacer neck pocket. But the screw holes don't line up. Should that bother me? Meaning, does that mean the neck doesn't fit and I should look for a Kramer neck? Or does that mean I plug the holes with dowels and drill new holes?

2) I bought a cheap superstrat for reasons that will become clear after I'm done. Pickups are okay. Body is pretty. But the cheap licenses Floyd Rose doesn't stay in tune. If I drop in a Floyd Rose Special, but use the posts that came with the guitar, will it stay in tune? Or should I buy new trem posts, too?
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Post by gittarasaurus Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:21 pm

Brainfertilizer wrote:A coupla questions:
1) The Applause and JB Player necks fit in the Kramer Pacer neck pocket. But the screw holes don't line up. Should that bother me? Meaning, does that mean the neck doesn't fit and I should look for a Kramer neck? Or does that mean I plug the holes with dowels and drill new holes?

as long as your new screws can get a good bite, then i wouldn't worry about plugging the old holes.
if the new screw is close to the old hole, then maybe plug it if you think it would strengthen the new screw hole.

Brainfertilizer wrote:

2) I bought a cheap superstrat for reasons that will become clear after I'm done. Pickups are okay. Body is pretty. But the cheap licenses Floyd Rose doesn't stay in tune. If I drop in a Floyd Rose Special, but use the posts that came with the guitar, will it stay in tune? Or should I buy new trem posts, too?

one of the things that has given me problems on the cheaper bodies is the post/anchors are not good and solid. either the hole for the anchor is not tight or the wood has loosened around the anchor from heavy use or some such thing.

the other problem i have found on the cheepo version FR trem is, the screw post is not a good fit in the threads, allowing for some movement of the post itself within the anchor. that can cause instability especially if you do pull-ups on the whammy.
the cheepo's may also use lower quality metal on the post too, so check to see there is no damage at the point where the bridge knife-edge engages the post.
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Post by beavis Wed Apr 25, 2012 5:28 am

Having encountered this problem myself when replacing necks (before replacing, luckily), you probably want to check the scale measurements before drilling new holes. It's not because the neck fits nicely in the pocket that the guitar will intonate properly.

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Post by The Chad Wed Apr 25, 2012 10:31 am

beavis wrote:Having encountered this problem myself when replacing necks (before replacing, luckily), you probably want to check the scale measurements before drilling new holes. It's not because the neck fits nicely in the pocket that the guitar will intonate properly.


He just hit the biggest thing, which is what I was thinking too. There's a thread about this on here somewhere...
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Post by Brainfertilizer Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:12 pm

beavis wrote:Having encountered this problem myself when replacing necks (before replacing, luckily), you probably want to check the scale measurements before drilling new holes. It's not because the neck fits nicely in the pocket that the guitar will intonate properly.

Okay, this is scaring me a little.
I thought all you really had to worry about was getting a 22-fret neck onto a 22-fret body.
Is the intonation really that big of a difference between a 24.5" and 25.5" scale?

...although I should be able to find the scale of a Kramer Pacer pretty easily, so I guess I don't have to be scared.

Okay, I'm not scared anymore.
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Post by Brainfertilizer Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:42 pm

Just checked. Both necks are 25.5" scale. But the Applause (maple fretboard) heel is a little skinnier, so too loose in the pocket. The JB Player neck (dark rosewood) fits nicely. So that's what I'll put in there for now.

Here's the Applause body:
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4410
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4409
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4408
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4407
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4406
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4405
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4404
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Post by Brainfertilizer Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:42 pm

Here's the Pacer body:
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4403
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4402
Partscasters/Frankenstrats/Self-Build Guitars DSC_4401
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Post by beavis Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:36 am

Brainfertilizer wrote:Just checked. Both necks are 25.5" scale. But the Applause (maple fretboard) heel is a little skinnier, so too loose in the pocket. The JB Player neck (dark rosewood) fits nicely. So that's what I'll put in there for now.

The scale of the neck is one thing, the measurements once in the new body is another. I will try and explain but others here are way more experienced at this and might be more helpful and precise.

The scale of the neck, here 25.5, concerns the spacing of the frets. If you measure the distance from the nut to the 12th fret, you should get around 32 cm if my memories serves me right. Now, it is crucial that you still have the exact same distance between the 12th fret and the bridge; and here, whether you're neck is 25.5 or 24.75 doesn't really make any difference in my understanding of things.

The explanation to this is logical: 12th fret is the middle of the string, it's the octave. Now, if the distance between nut and 12th is not the same as 12th to bridge, your guitar won't intonate properly.

here is a thread that I started where I bumped in to this problem (you can also realize what a beginner I am at all of this), the action starts on page 2 : http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t1930-rebuilding-a-westone-korean

Now, if the neck turns out to be too short, you can try my way and glue a wooden plot at the bottom (don't know what it's worth yet). If the neck is too long, your lucky, grab a saw and smile.

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Post by Brainfertilizer Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:40 am

beavis wrote:
Brainfertilizer wrote:Just checked. Both necks are 25.5" scale. But the Applause (maple fretboard) heel is a little skinnier, so too loose in the pocket. The JB Player neck (dark rosewood) fits nicely. So that's what I'll put in there for now.

The scale of the neck is one thing, the measurements once in the new body is another. I will try and explain but others here are way more experienced at this and might be more helpful and precise.

The scale of the neck, here 25.5, concerns the spacing of the frets. If you measure the distance from the nut to the 12th fret, you should get around 32 cm if my memories serves me right. Now, it is crucial that you still have the exact same distance between the 12th fret and the bridge; and here, whether you're neck is 25.5 or 24.75 doesn't really make any difference in my understanding of things.

The explanation to this is logical: 12th fret is the middle of the string, it's the octave. Now, if the distance between nut and 12th is not the same as 12th to bridge, your guitar won't intonate properly.

here is a thread that I started where I bumped in to this problem (you can also realize what a beginner I am at all of this), the action starts on page 2 : http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t1930-rebuilding-a-westone-korean

Now, if the neck turns out to be too short, you can try my way and glue a wooden plot at the bottom (don't know what it's worth yet). If the neck is too long, your lucky, grab a saw and smile.

I understand.
Complicating the problem is the Pacer's body still lacks its bridge. So I guess I have to install the bridge before I can measure?

But the JB Player neck seems to be 100% strat standard, as is the Pacer body. I'm pretty sure I won't need to make any adjustments, but your input will help me make sure of that before I mess anything up.
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Post by colt933 Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:04 pm

You can mock it up.

1. Jam the neck in the pocket
2. put the trem on the studs
3. measure from the nut to the approximate mid-point of the travel of the saddles on the Floyd
4. Hopefully you'll be really close to 25.5"

If you're off by more than the travel of the saddles, it won't intonate.

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Post by Brainfertilizer Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:43 pm

colt933 wrote:You can mock it up.

1. Jam the neck in the pocket
2. put the trem on the studs
3. measure from the nut to the approximate mid-point of the travel of the saddles on the Floyd
4. Hopefully you'll be really close to 25.5"

If you're off by more than the travel of the saddles, it won't intonate.

25.5" on the nose.
No problem at all.
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Post by The Chad Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:31 am

Great to hear Brain, get her going!
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