Bendmaster Deluxe alternative?

If I cannot find a replacement Bendmaster FT, is there a suitable alternative trem bridge to install on a Spectrum FX?

Hello Cancelman and Welcome!

I'm not 100% certain on this one but I do know that there is a thread in here about the exact same thing, if you can be bothered to trawl through everything. If not, I'm sure that one of our resident guru's will come up with the appropriate alternative for you.

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Hello,

I recall on another post that colt933 said that you could replace a Bendmaster Deluxe tremolo with an older Floyd Rose. I don't know if it would work with the FT, it might.

Welcome, and good luck finding your parts.

Cheers

there's a bendmaster deluxe on ebay usa at the moment:

link

Hell, that's getting up there in price, eh!! The one I got here in NZ was NZ$30; about US$16!! Still, where are you gonna get another these days?! I don't know whether the Deluxe will retrofit into the FT - anyone else know?

I was wrong.

While it is true that the post spacing on imported licensed Floyd Roses is the same as the Bendmaster Deluxe, the saddles are farther back on the Floyd.

This means that you cannot properly intonate the Floyd on the Westone guitar. With the Floyd saddles in the farthest forward position, you will still intonate low.

Upon taking measurements, I find that on a 25.5" scale Westone guitar (Pantera X-390CB oddball that came with factory Bendmaster Deluxe) with a Floyd and all saddles in the farthest forward position, the distance from the 12th fret to the saddle is about 13", which is about 1/2" too long. Ideally, with the saddles in the middle of their 1/2" adjustment range, the distance should be 12.75" to intonate properly.

Ask me how I know.

The solution? Plug the Bendmaster Deluxe post holes and mount the posts 1/2" farther forward. The problem with this solution is that you are now inside of the bridge pickup cavity or almost inside it.

I REALLY wanted to put a Floyd with a D-Tuna in that guitar and have it WORK. I have the Floyd and the D-Tuna, but the intonation sucks and is basically unusable - unless you squeeze really hard on the strings and pull them sharp.

I may investigate the possibility of having my machinist re-cut the knife edges on the Floyd a little farther back. But this would probably put the tremolo block in contact with the body of the guitar inside the tremolo cavity or nearly so (which is not a bad thing if you're using a D-Tuna).

Any ideas?

^ Colt, that's some fine information there! And this may be a dumb question.....but I always thought (at least on a OFR equipped guitar) that you measured from the 12th fret to the center of the bridge posts. Is there really that much difference, on a Bendmaster, in distance from the knife edges to where the saddle would be moved as far forward as possible? I need to get my Westone outta the case and have a look. Never really thought about it on that trem. 

halo71 wrote:^ but I always thought (at least on a OFR equipped guitar) that you measured from the 12th fret to the center of the bridge posts.

To get the scale right, you would measure from the 12th fret (or the nut and divide by 2) to the center of the bridge saddle's adjustment range. Using the center of the adjustment range allows you to compensate for intonation an equal amount sharp or flat. That's how guitars are built. This works for any type of guitar and any bridge system.

On a 25.5" scale guitar, you should get 12.75" from the 12th fret to the center of the bridge saddle's adjustment range (or 25.5" from the nut).

The reason that I stated my point in this way - distance from either 12th fret or nut to the stud/post is so I could see if there is a difference in the placement of the stud/post on a Floyd and a Bendmaster. I believe there is a difference.

The correct measurement for a Floyd on a 25.5" scale guitar is 25 1/8" and for a 24.75" scale guitar it is 24 3/8". For the 12th fret measurement, divide either of these by 2.

Please do me a favor (because I have no Bendmaster Deluxe to measure). Please draw an imaginary line from the center of one post/stud to the center of another. Then measure the distance from this imaginary line to the point on a saddle where the string breaks over it when the saddle is in its forward-most position. This will tell me how far I need to move my stud/posts forward to get this to work.

Thanks!

Some of you Westone purists out there may think that I am blasphemous - for putting the Floyd on it in the first place - and also for considering a permanent modification to the guitar. My reasons for this are simple and understandable. I got this particular X-390CB REALLY CHEAP. Its headstock had been broken and repaired (pretty well), the repairer spray painted the headstock with rattle-can black (thus removing the Westone logo), the back of the guitar is pretty dinged up, and one coil on the neck pickup is dead. So it's a beater/relic. But aside from these issues, it's still an X-390CB with great frets, a great neck - a really fabulous guitar. The top is good and it has THAT NECK (that you can't buy anywhere)!!! And since it is worth nearly nothing to a collector, then I feel that I can modify it to suit my needs/tastes and come up with something FAR BETTER than I can go to a music store and purchase. Also, it sounds FREAKIN' FABULOUS with a Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge.

double tap

colt933 wrote:Some of you Westone purists out there may think that I am blasphemous - for putting the Floyd on it in the first place - and also for considering a permanent modification to the guitar.

Mate. I'd never be that presumptuous - it is your guitar! Besides, the regulars in here know you and all realise that you wouldn't be doing this on a mint guitar, and, you've been a help to me - and no doubt others - in here over time, so I for one am keen to see how this whole thing with the FR and the D-Tuna works out!!

Oddly enough, I have a bridge on the bench now - the only piece of Westone gear that has followed me here!! - so will set to and get some numbers for you soonest...

After doing some measurements on a guitar with a factory Floyd installed, I have determined that I need to move the posts 3/8" forward and all will be well intonation-wise.

This will not impact the pickup cavity (barely), but it may possibly impact the actual tremolo rout. I'll keep everyone posted on how this turns out.

colt933 wrote:Please do me a favor (because I have no Bendmaster Deluxe to measure). Please draw an imaginary line from the center of one post/stud to the center of another. Then measure the distance from this imaginary line to the point on a saddle where the string breaks over it when the saddle is in its forward-most position. This will tell me how far I need to move my stud/posts forward to get this to work.

Sorry 'bout the delay, Colt - I make the distance 4 or 4.5mm depending on how you look at the rule. That's a line from centre post to centre post, and the distance measured on the A saddle, with the saddle tightened down in the front hole...