Gasalcoholics anonymous? whoever said this was a help group?

[Gone Fission]

In: Guyker version of the Les Trem for my Epi LP. I’m not really sure WTF I’m thinking because I’m happy with it as a fixed-bridge guitar. But it’s a non-permanent install. I’ll probably break some strings before figuring out if I dig it and then see about attacking friction and tuning stability.

[dubkitty]

if you're using a tremolo on a guitar with a Tunomatic i strongly recommend domed bridge adjustment thumbwheels. this was Gibson's way of allowing the bridge to "rock", the diametric opposite of the rounded bottom of the Gretsch "rocking bar bridge." this fixes the annoying problem of wound strings hanging up on the bridge saddles and the guitar holds tune much better. you know how everybody hates the Maestro Vibrola? with domed thumbwheels you can do Cipollina/Verlaine shit. i used to have to hunt them down as used items, but someone's making them and selling them on Reverb. they allow an ABR-1 with the wire spring holding the bridge adjustment saddles down to work with a fairly steep angle. you'll want to run the trem up high enough off the body that the strings don't drag on the back of the bridge on their way over. this is Not A Good Thing.

if your guitar is specced in metric you'll need adapters to American 6/32 thread. Advanced Plating makes them in a number of colors, and also sells adapters for Asian and Nashville bridge mounts.

this is another thing that'll go in my Favorite Guitar Project Tricks and Tips post.

https://reverb.com/item/77424627-advanc ... ibson-gold

[Gone Fission]

Noted. The annoying thing is that there seems to be no variant of the thumbwheels that work without changing over to an ABR bridge. Is there something about the geometry of the narrower ABR-sized screws that's essential?

[dubkitty]

it’s what the wheels are threaded for.

[dubkitty]

the bouzouki case arrived. it's really quite nice for $90, noticeably better-made than your typical Rondo/GFS/Temu hard case. it's much deeper than the body of the bouzouki which is really thin (1.5"/38 mm at its deepest) compared to an electric guitar. in fact, it seems deeper than a typical acoustic Irish bouzouki. i had some foam left over from rationalizing the window AC mounts last summer, so i cut a block to fit the lower curve of the case and it works fine. without the block the body sits so low in the case that the neck pokes up and keeps the case from closing. i'm reasonably pleased...it's not perfect, but it'll do, and it wasn't $250 with shipping like the ones from Hora in Romania.

i found some reasonably-priced 18:1 F-style mandolin tuners on Reverb that'll fit to replace the stock tuners which are pretty awful. it was a bitch finding high-ratio tuners with black buttons that weren't StewMac Golden Age ones @ $250 the set. this should be a big improvement because those unison courses really need to be accurate.

if i want to get persnickety about it i could replace the nut because one of the top 2 courses is a bit too close together, but i really don't feel like messing with it right now.

[dubkitty]

waiting for the email drop for the Stylophone Drone Synth. i'm really excited about this one, which should be great for loops and atmospheres.

[John]

That bouzouki is hella cool

[dubkitty]

i searched for one for over a decade. in that period one showed up on Reverb but sold immediately. i got the notification for this one at 4:30 AM and bought it immediately.

Luna also made an electric 12-string that i only ever saw one example of with the same mini-hums.

[Zork]

Wow, that's really cool! I made a bouzouki once from my Telecaster, but the neck was too wide and string spacing too. Looked cool, though:

[dubkitty]

indeed. i like the Bigsby concept, but it must have neen a bitch to keep in tune. good pickup choices too.

[dubkitty]

i got an email from StewMac that among other things offered a set of double-sided nut files for 50% off. the Chinese eBay set i have is awful, so this should help me get better nut and bridge slots sorted.

[chuckjaywalk]

Les Paul Hunt 2025 continues. I'm headed to Dayton to test out Heritage H-150s. I love the idea of a Les Paul with a Bigsby and the price point for Heritage is attractive.

[dubkitty]

i would be really tempted to put a B7 on my Tokai Les Paul if i didn't already have the 335 with the retrofitted Bigsby.

[Blackened Soul]

Les Paul Hunt 2025 continues. I'm headed to Dayton to test out Heritage H-150s. I love the idea of a Les Paul with a Bigsby and the price point for Heritage is attractive.

Good luck! I’ve played some good H-150s and one or two great ones, one thing is I’ve never seen one that didn’t have the skinny 1960 neck shape.. I’m sure they aren’t all like that but at least in the pnw they have been or.. maybe you might like that shape?

[chuckjaywalk]

Les Paul Hunt 2025 continues. I'm headed to Dayton to test out Heritage H-150s. I love the idea of a Les Paul with a Bigsby and the price point for Heritage is attractive.

Good luck! I’ve played some good H-150s and one or two great ones, one thing is I’ve never seen one that didn’t have the skinny 1960 neck shape.. I’m sure they aren’t all like that but at least in the pnw they have been or.. maybe you might like that shape?

Precisely why I'm gonna try'em out. If the neck is too thin, I'll stick with Gibson. I wish the Gretsch Silver Jets were American.