audio-talk

That is one nice looking block

here we are,
just got to set it up now, something I'm not too convinced I can do but youtube will help

Chuck the strings on, tune it up (approximately), then try pressing on the strings. Get the action about right for you, then you'll need to set up the intonation...

Play the harmonic and then the fretted note at the 12th fret. Chances are there's a difference in pitch (you can use a tuner to confirm this) between the two. The screws that adjust the position of the individual saddles are to be turned.

You need to turn them so that the fretted and harmonic are the same pitch. Note that the tuning of the open string will change when you turn the screw, so you'll need to retune when you've changed them.

Repeat.

Have fun!

Chris

thanks for the information Chris,
to be honest it was more about the trem, whether to have it floating or not,

I've had mine floating for a while.

If you keep the same tuning all the time, its great.

On mine, if you go to drop-D (turn the low E string down by 2 semis), all the rest of the strings must be retuned. Not so great. Fine if you've got the patience, but when you're mid-flow in a band practice room and want to get on with the next on the list, a full re-tune is the last thing you need.

Chris

If you're messing about with altered tunings Chris then you need one of these

I've said it before but I can't pass a guitar shop,
a visit to Charlie Chandler's in Hampton near Kingston was too much for me, some wonderful axes, a Gibson 335 in Cherry was stunning but at 6K was definitely beyond me, I should have bought one when they were relatively cheap

what wasn't beyond me was a Callaham vintage S tremolo first time I've seen one, wonderful build quality I couldn't resist it so the credit card took a hammering,
interestingly they don't recommend having it floating but to have it hard on the body to make use of the special block and improve sustain, I shall have to try this on the SRV,

anyway my wife is still in shock

The Callaham stuff looks to be exceptionally well built on their website.
Did you manage to get a gold plated one?
You're lucky if you did - they no longer supply the gold plated ones.

More to the point - are you close to having the SRV ready to play yet?

The Stratmangler wrote:The Callaham stuff looks to be exceptionally well built on their website.
Did you manage to get a gold plated one?
You're lucky if you did - they no longer supply the gold plated ones.

More to the point - are you close to having the SRV ready to play yet?

yep the SRV is playable and boy does it sound good through my Korg Pandora and my cheap Peavey amp, just playing around with setting it up,the intonation is there but I'm a bit confused with the compound neck it doesn't give string height readings, I've got 9s on it I might try 10s to see if it's any better, I understand also because it is a fat neck it's being stubborn relaxing the truss rod so I can get a bit of relief, I spoke to Warmoth who were really helpful and suggested I shim the back edge of the neck pocket to get relief,

have you played with your compound neck to get the action right?

you're right Callaham don't do gold mine is nickel no chrome even

the import unit with the narrow string spacing they do for Mexican strats is chrome but it's another 10 quid,

it is lovely, I've just got to decide what to put it on

I usually find that most truss rod needs tightening up a touch - a quarter to half turn usually does it.
That said I like a straight neck on my guitars, as long as strings don't rattle on the frets things are fine. There again I'm not a particularly heavy handed player either.
And I do use 10-46 strings.
I also set things so that the action at the 12th fret comfortable.

I find that a straight neck and lowish action work better from an intonation point of view.

just had a play with it, I've got 2mm on the low E and 1.6 on the top E at the 12th possibly a bit high but I'll leave it until I put the 10s on,

I got myself one of those notched straight edges, the neck was dead flat when it arrived hence me thinking it needed letting off a bit but I'm quite happy with it straight I'll leave it for now and get some playing done,

one thing that has surprised me is how good the vintage tuners are, I thought they would be trouble not only fitting the strings but keeping in tune,
they don't move,

one thing I did find was that the tremolo has lower saddle screws on the 2 outside strings to allow for a 9.5" radius neck, it is a bit of a problem with the 16" I've got, they are right at the end of their travel, after a lot of hunting about I've now got some long ones just in case

I am quite enamoured with the Texas specials, I can get a really good blues sound, reading about SRV he used some seriously thick strings which was part of his sound, I don't think the 9s do it justice,

the other thing I have to say is the Warmoth neck is great,really well made without one rocking fret and the nut height exactly right

I'd love to build a strat with one of their bodies they do some really nice finishes

Fender's setup guide is useful http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/art ... etup-guide.

I'm pleased to hear that you like the Warmoth neck.

The Stratmangler wrote:Fender's setup guide is useful http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/art ... etup-guide.

I'm pleased to hear that you like the Warmoth neck.

thanks I've got the set up guide, it's very useful in particular the pickup heights, gives you somewhere to start,

lots of information on their forum as well and on the Warmoth one

a couple of photos
I took a bit of license with the transfers on the headstock
hole on the side of the neck is the truss rod adjuster
one of the more difficult things is reaming out the holes in the headstock so the bushes just press in without falling out,

Shoddy!



DTB