New Bridge & Neck on Westone Spectrum DX - Advice Needed on Neck and Bridge Replacement

I have an Westone Spectrum DX with all original equipment. It sat in a closet for 20+ years. I've decided to take up guitar playing again and want to use this essentially as a project guitar, essentially just using the body - new neck, pickups, bridge, swirl paint job, etc. Essentially the only thing original left on this will be the body.

My question: I've read through the forums and have seen where the Gotoh Floyd Rose Bridge is a suitable replacement for the Bendmaster FT but that the Guitar Fetish Floyd Rose, while dropping right in, will not intonate correctly. Would this carry over to the Bendmaster DX as well or is it specific to the Bendmaster FT? If i'm going to have major issues I don't want to take on a project that won't work toward the end.

Would replacing the neck, as I want to do anyway, with a neck specifically for the Floyd Rose fix this issue? Or is intonation issue directly tied to where the posts are on the body and neck will not have any impact?

As it is I've narrowed down to a neck and bridge that, if I get the answer I hope to get, I will purchase and install. If not, not biggie and I'm not out anything. But I think it would be fun, educational, and have something unique if I were to get it up and running.

This is my first time doing this, am in no rush, and am doing this strictly for fun because I turned 40 and apparently science suggest as we get older we take up projects that take long amounts of time. On the other hand I have a Bendmaster DX that, while rusted along the rollers, appears to be in near perfect shape, though I'm missing the whammy bar.

Your thoughts?

Please dont take this the wrong way, im not having a dig at you but I can't imagine why you'd want to do that with what is, i assume, a perfectly good Westone. 

Why not just sell it & buy the parts to put together the guitar you want.

Truthfully, just personal preference.

I've decided to move forward with this with eyes wide shut. I'll use this forum, if the moderators are amenable, to post progress and experience.

What I will end up with is of course not a modified Westone but...maybe a Frankenwestone?

It will be a swirled patriotic paint job, Floyd Rose bridge, probably Seymour Duncan Dimebag pickup in the bridge and Seymour Duncan Distortion bridge pickup in the neck (I did this with another guitar and it sounds amazing). I'm happy to hear thoughts and recommendations from others.

The question I imagine some are asking is "why?". Essentially - I want to. I've been wanting, as a project, to customize a guitar for my own edification.

Here's a before pic of the guitar and what I want it to look like. The next few pics will document my progress. I hope to be done in the next 60 days or so.


The before picture.

And what I want it to look like:


The next post will come later today documenting the stripping, filling in wood chips, and priming/sealing the body.

Many of us have refinished, modded, and changed out hardware, etc on our Westies. Sometimes out of preference, other times out of necessity. But it is seldom we would see a completely radical change of the sort you're proposing here.

The Spectrum line has a lot of fans here. In particular, the neck, which for me is one of the best neck designs ever made. To replace that seems like a step down. Similarly, the Bendmaster is a solid, reliable design. I don't see any advantage in replacing it with a FR. Chances are you'll be into a world of hurt trying to make it work correctly.

If you're interested in building/modding your own guitar, you might be better off grabbing something less well designed and keeping the DX intact. You can always swap out the pickups, etc without ruining the integrity of the build.

But in the end, it's your guitar and you can do as you wish. We'll watch your progress with interest. Good luck!

Barry, your point is well taken and I appreciate your input.

I did struggle with this and as backup I've kept all the original hardware and will put it back in, including the neck.

The BMDX bridge is in great shape, but needs the rust on the rollers removed which is easy enough. The neck is badly discolored and I don't know why, which, while not affecting the playability, made it bit of an eyesore.

I can say 4 hours into stripping it I was regretting it. :-)

I'll keep you posted...

Day Two: finished filling dings, pits, and gouges; sanded with 150, 220, 320, and 400 grit sandpaper. Sealed and primed with a white shellac oil sealer/primer so I can use the oil based paint for the dip.

I finally see daylight on this. Next weekend will be the dip.

After stripping, filling dings and gouges and sanding with 50, 80, and 150 grit sandpaper:




After sanding with 220, 320, and 400 grit sandpaper:





And after it's been sealed and primed:




Project for next weekend - the dip.

Oooh... yeah; those DuPont finishes take some shifting, eh!!

Keep'em coming!!

Finally decided on a "Starry Night" swirl motif. Though there are 5 main colors in starry night I ended up sticking with Reflex Blue, Primrose Yellow, and Black - I ordered 1Shot paints through Dick Blick, which seems to be a higher quality paint, and should be for the cost.

My goal this Saturday is to get a large container - say a garbage can with a wide opening or a storage storage bin large enough to completely immerse the guitar.

The basic idea from what I've been able to ascertain via research:

Borax - 1.5 tbsp per gallon of water
Water - approx 78-80 degrees.

Use pipettes to drop the paint onto the surface of the water, let it spread, insert, and let dry.

I'm hopeful, so we'll see. Next post will be Saturday with post-dip results.

Yikes! 

I'm ordering the neck this week and have identified the Floyd Rose bridge.

I understand and have learned through the forums that intonation is a problem with a new bridge on the old neck, but that a Gotoh or, interestingly, a floyd rose-similar floating tremolo from Guitar Fetish will work with a little tweaking. Either way is fine and I'm going to be measuring from the fret to the rollers to make sure I can get it as accurate as possible and hopefully install the neck once. I might have to shimmy it or cut it or whatever, but I'm prepared and have the patience to do that, I think. I guess we'll find out. :p I guess what I'm getting at is I'm not going to get mad and deem it a failure and wig out.

But, today's focus is on the neck - I've identified a neck that fits the specs I want, has the "Tree of Life" inlays (think Steve Vai) with a Schecter-style 3-on-a-side headstock on the front in black with a natural finish on the back.

I toyed with getting a raw neck and swirling the headstock and finishing it myself, but I'm not hung up one way or the other on it.

The paint should be delivered tomorrow - I'm very excited about that. I will take pics and maybe a video of the swirl as it happens, but def pics. My Plan B if the swirl doesn't work is to paint it white and do a blood splatter design on it.

Thought you would have cut a hand grab cutout in the upper bout.

Noooooooo....I'm keeping cutting to a minimum on this project. I haven't had to do any, though I suspect, based on what I read I might have to do some adjustment on the neck. 

Today I ordered wiring and electronics (except for the pickups) and all gold-toned hardware for it - knobs, jack, machine heads, strap locks, etc.

I think for the pickups I'm going to order a Seymour Dimebucker in the bridge and maybe a Seymour Distoration bridge pickup in the neck.

I'm excited about this...

Take no notice of Westbone; he's our resident curmudgeon and has a forthright sense of humour!! This  should be interesting; Westbone suggested a swirl finish for a guitar I was restoring some time ago and I was tempted momentarily. In the end I opted to go a different direction so looking forward to seeing the process....
Gold hardware, eh?! Personally, I loathe it because my gigging guitar which I have had for 25+ years looks awfully tatty because the plating wears off with enough hours wear and tear, and I've modified a very nice APII LC 440 from gold hardware to black, which improved the looks 150%.... IMO!! 
Anyway.. liking what you're doing so far....

I appreciate the support. I'm really excited about it all. I do look forward to sharing everything with y'all!

corsair wrote:Take no notice of Westbone; he's our resident curmudgeon

Carefull!!! don't act like a Hori...

akinschris wrote:I appreciate the support. I'm really excited about it all. I do look forward to sharing everything with y'all!

When your finished it can be added here...
http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t5346-rogues-gallery

Westbone wrote:

corsair wrote:Take no notice of Westbone; he's our resident curmudgeon

Carefull!!! don't act like a Hori...

 Hee hee hee... I wonder how many others in here will get the reference!!

...or want to...  

I hope I'm not too late to chime in here... use a Gotoh 1996t trem.  It is one of the most stable, fluid and smooth floyd's available. 

Read my posts about it.  You'll need to slightly mod the trem cavity, as I'd outlined.  And you'll need the maximum length sustain block.   Do not cheap out, if you're going through all this work, get the Gotoh.  I have it on my Dynasty, it is amazing.  And I use it. 

I have somewhat exhaustively outlined the process somewhere... let me see if I can find it for you.

Found it.  Read all of this.  Especially the links.  The trem posts will need to be replaced.   Do this before painting.  

CLICK HERE!

Ugh. I already painted and ordered a Guitar Fetish tremolo. If I need to send it back I can. The budget is a big issue for me. :/

Also, as an update - I did swirl paint and...I'm not totally loving it, but not hating it. 

Not bad, I suppose, for a first attempt.

The back side came out GREAT! The front side...not so much. Blotchy and running. Used too much paint.

Results are here - back side.


Front side:
 

ooops... sand back and start again?? The back looks OK...

I think the vertical hold on my TV just went on the blink...

I'm going to sand it back and try again today. Hope to be done by 1 or 2 PM. If it doesn't work this time....I'll sand it and do it white with a blood splatter pattern or, depending on how bad it is, just move forward.

Fwiw,  less paint,  still the water before entry and move slowly in and out, rotating a half turn on the way in. 
Ive seen folk clear the paint off the water surface with paper towels before  removing the body. 

For the record I have NOT done a swirl, and probably never will,  but I have seen loads of videos on the subject.

Yep - I put in WAAAAAY too much paint. It was hard to gauge...but you are correct and that's my plan - cut it back some. Or a lot.

perhaps you could test it out on a plain piece of wood before you do the guitar body

Did part two today. Interesting the test turned out OK, but the final turned out a lot lighter. The swirl pattern is perfect, but the result is OK. I'm not thrilled but not totally disappointed. I'll keep it and move forward.

Hmmm, getting kinda interesting.
Not my kinda thing, cuz i'm an old fart and this would likely trigger a migraine, but it is different.

I'm excited to share that the 3rd time was the charm on the swirling. It was a little thick and runny in just a few areas, but will deal with that on the back end the best I can. I'm really excited with the results. Wasn't exactly what I had in mind (was hoping for more blue and less black, but the black goes a looooooooooong way), but I'm satisfied.

What are your thoughts? Also, ordered the pickups today - a Dimebucker for the bridge and a bridge Black Winter for the neck position.

Hey Chris

That front now looks alot better. The test I guess will be when she is fully dressed and the neck is on. I would imagine against a plain back ground (and not your workshop) you would also get a better impression of how she is going to look.

Might have to be careful which shirt your going to wear with her on stage though ...job well done

With those pups, this will be a metal machine.

Update: letting paint continue to dry. All the hardware, except the neck, has come in. The pickups are due Monday. The 42mm sustain block comes in today (I measured the sustain block on my Bendmaster DX and it measures in at 42mm) and I'll put it on the new Floyd Rose.

I've ordered, at the recommendation of a swirler whose technique I shamelessly copied, big d guitars, 2k spraymax high gloss two part auto clear coat.

After Erika passes through I will apply the clear coat, let sit for 2-3 days and start smoothing out the clear coat.

I hope the neck comes in soon. I requested it be finished, but I'm not hopeful and suspect that will add a week.

I'm ordering the finishing supplies from stew mac so I can hopefully polish it in one fell swoop and be done with that aspect.

After that will come putting the neck on and making sure it goes on straight.

This has been an enjoyable and time consuming project. I've learned quite a bit and have enjoyed even messing up and having to start over.

Thankfully, my step dad has allowed me to use his tools and work space and I'm grateful for that. I have mostly what I need within arms reach.

1 43/64 inch = 42.4656 mm.

BTW, I'll likely sell this bridge after I get everything installed I'll likely sell this bridge. It's fully intact except for the whammy bar. I absolutely can not find it. Aside from the rollers being slightly rusty it's in perfect shape.

No problem if your springs drag on the inside of the cavity, you can sand that down.  Sounds like a fun project, excited to see it done!

It's mostly dry now, except for a few thick spots. Am sitting in the sun for the next few days, until the remnants of Erika start blowing through.

The Chad wrote:No problem if your springs drag on the inside of the cavity, you can sand that down.  Sounds like a fun project, excited to see it done!

When I changed the bridge on my strat, the springs dragged horrendously, so bugger the sandpaper; I attacked the thing with a bloody chisel!!

.... and back to the weirdly painted Spectrum...

My goal is to clear coat it tonight. Yesterday, the paint was still wet in some thick areas. I scraped and sanded that down where there was a heavy run.

Unfortunately I went too far and hit the primer coat and even a little raw wood (this with wet 1000 grit sandpaper).

It's on the bottom bevel so I'm not to hung up on it. I'm thinking it'll be dry enough tonight to hit with the clear coat. If not, I'll do so this weekend.

Clear coated last night with SprayMax 2K High Gloss Clear Coat. It was a two-part clear coat in a can. Came highly recommended on various guitar forums. At $20/can and high flammable and toxic (cyanide, apparently) it's very high quality, goes on smooth, and dries quickly. I used two cans. According to instructions and others users' feedback you can start wet sanding at 1500 grit. If that's the case I'll use a high quality compound and start with that, since it's the equivalent of 1500.

I did notice some of the paint - despite being dry to the touch - starting to run slightly. At this point the clear coating process has started, so there's no stopping. I damaged the paint in a few spots trying to scrape where it was overly thick, but short of starting over a 4th time I simply accepted it. I'll just say it's part of the relicing process.

I'm going to let it dry until Sunday or Monday. I noticed orange peel already forming, which I expected. Starting Sunday or Monday I'm going to begin the process of compounding and polishing. 

I also ordered the vinyl headstock logo and name. Here's pics of it wet with the clear coat. Pics so far:

I can't help thinking that it would have been better for you to do a  build with your new neck & bridge, ensuring everything fitted properly  / no intonation isdues before tackling the paint job.

Very true, and I thought about that. I have kept the old neck and bridge in case of issues.

OK....wet sanded, compounded, and polished guitar and installed most hardware. Neck is supposed to arrive on Friday.

Things went OK. It's far from flawless, but I brush it off to my first time and not properly preparing some of the gouges in the wood. Also, having a heavy hand with the sanding, where I went through some of the clear coat. :/

I did run into a problem where when I drilled larger holes to accommodate the posts for the new bridge it took out a chunk of wood. Epoxy fixed it and am hoping it will hold. If no..I'll do something different.

I haven't soldered the electronics yet - I'll do that this week, along with neck installation, when it arrives.



Nothing north Florida engineering and epoxy won't fix...



And now....

Starting to look like a guitar, mate!! That swirl thing is starting to grow on me, too!

Are you going to shield the cavities?

atkinschris wrote:Nothing...epoxy won't fix...

'Bin there. Dun that!

Yeah, looking, um, interesting for sure.
I...think...I...would...actually...um...you know...play it...maybe. Sort of. 

I'm really hoping the epoxy will hold. If it doesn't the only thing I've found as a permanent fix is to drill that whole section out and fill it will a new piece of wood, harder than the original.

http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/fender-strat-body-crack-at-trem-stud.

I have a feeling I"ll be doing that, but we'll see. The other alternative is buying a new body, but my Frankenwestie won't be a Franekenwestie anymore, and I've grown rather attached to it.

Corsair, I just ordered some copper tape on eBay. I think that will take care of it.

Update: the luthier i contacted who does a lot of local and regional bands in the Tallahassee-area recommended Loctite X8.

Looking good so far, thanks for the updates!!!

YW, Chad. I'm still mindful of your experience and will keep you posted for this weekend...

I'm still trying to figure out the bridge repair. I just talked to one luthier - he said replace the bridge with a harder wood; the other said to use Loctite X8.

I guess the first few dive bombs will tell.

Lol, yes, that will reveal a lot!  

Epoxy may work, depends on what it has to hold onto. 

I had a strat with a break like yours, epoxy worked just fine.