Neck's Specs

I made the very first purchase toward the guitar!  The EVH D-Tuna in black came in from Musician's Friend (extra fast on ground shipping, too).  I'm going to test this thing out on my Jackson Soloist, with an extra careful eye not to ding the body since I intend not to block the trem system.  My gear is currently stashed away in a super secret safe place as I type this, so that means it's not at home.  I won't be able to install the thing until next week.

Having this thing in my hands, though, is producing three trains of thought: 1) Holy moly this is actually happening!, and 2) Why wouldn't I just order the flush-mount-style body?  I already have a floating-trem guitar and it's a pain in the @$$ to keep up with the maintenance, and 3) I could write a song where the riffs are structured specifically so that I could only play it by changing the low string mid-song from E to D or vice versa.  I could go back and forth on the floating trem body routing idea, but I think I'm learning to trust my gut on this, at least until I can try this thing out next week.

So in the last post, I was stopped dead in the tracks over the issue of the Strat headstock shape for the neck.  I'm mostly clear on the other stuff I'm looking for, so I'll attempt to move down the Warmoth custom build page with a brief description why:

1. Construction Type: Warmoth Pro Construction
A double-expanding truss rod for more stability, which adjusts on the side of the neck close to the body, is a winner in my book.  Ever tried doing a truss rod adjustment behind the nut when your Floyd Rose is already locked into place?  It's stupid.

2. Shaft Wood / Fingerboard Wood: Birdseye Maple
Because it's beautiful and will keep the brightness of the guitar.  Warmoth offers a "standard" grade and AAA grade birdseye maple.  I'd really like to go with the latter.  The difference in price jumps from $193 to $357.  Yowzers!

3. Unique Choice
This section allows for buyers to choose a specific plank of wood that Warmoth may have on hand in their shop.  I may call them to clear up some confusion, but I don't expect to need to opt into this.  As long as I've got birdseye maple for the neck and fingerboard, I'm golden.

4. Nut Width: 1-11/16" (43 mm)
Whoa.  This is perhaps the most important tech consideration as this (along with the size of compound radius) will determine the correct nut complement to the Floyd Rose bridge.  1-11/16" is considered the standard size for most guitars.  I checked and my Jackson does have this configuration, so I'm happy here.

5. Orientation: Right Handed

6. Back Contour: Standard Thin
Warmoth's Standard Thin contour runs from .800" at the first fret to .850" at the twelfth.  I like a slim, fast neck—but not too slim, like the way Ibanez RG's are.  The Wizard profile does look interesting, though (.750" to .820").  I'll need just to do just a bit more research on my own guitars, including my incredibly comfortable Gibson Explorer, before sticking to anything.

7. Fingerboard Radius: 10-16" Compound
YESYESYESGIMMEGIMME the compound radius!  This means that the shape of the neck flattens out as you move up, which makes it comfortable for chords in the lower register and better suited for soloing in the upper register.  It's one of the reasons why I love my Jackson so much.  Their standard compound radius size sits at 12-16", but I'm expecting Warmoth's 10-16" compound to be a little more forgiving on my fingers.
This is also a factor that affects which nut I will need to order for the Floyd Rose.

8. Fingerboard Length: 22 Frets
Warmoth's standard.  No more than 22 frets needed.  I don't intend to go all Marty Friedman on this thing.  Keeping a standard fingerboard length will help me with matching the body and pickguard, which I've already picked out.

9. Scalloping: HELL NO.

Hey Yngwie, did you catch the time?  Yeah, the '80s are over.  Put the leather away.

10. Binding: ???
My gut reaction tells me no because it might detract from the look of the birdseye maple for both neck and fingerboard.  Also, the $110 charge is pretty hefty.  I need more time to think through on this one.

11. Fret Size: Stainless Steel Jumbo (SS6150)
The stainless steel adds $20 to the cost, but hopefully should save money in repair costs in the long run compared to standard nickel/silver fret wire.  The jumbo size matches my Jackson.  Warmoth does offer a specialty SS6115 jumbo which adds an extra peak at .004"...  I think I should just stick to what I know.

12. Tuner Hole Size: ???
I just want whatever will correctly fit the same tuners that are on my Jackson (I bet you're sick of hearing about this guitar by now, eh?).  The tuners on that are smooth acting, not ornate, and never touched after I lock at the nut.  I'm pretty sure I'm looking for Schaller tuners.

13. Inlay: Dots
Oh gosh, I totally had no expectations for this one and there are a whole bunch of options...  Dots this time around; no sharkfin inlays.  One can't go wrong with black dots on a maple fingerboard, and it would match the black hardware intended for the guitar, but on the other hand, abalone does look pretty sweet...  Need some more time on this one.

14. String Nut: Floyd Rose R3 Prep
The R3 prep will match with the 1-11/16" neck width and work with the 10" radius as part of the compound radius configuration.  The nut itself would come in directly with the Floyd Rose bridge rather than pre-installed on the neck.

15. Mounting Holes: Standard 4-Bolt

16. Finish: Clear Gloss
I've read and heard the debates over whether a player of the Shred persuasion should choose a satin finish for a "faster" feel.  I've only recently come to understand how/why players go for that, but I think it looks ugly, or plain at best.  Also, players tend to talk as if gloss finishes are evil because they claim that their sweat sticks to the neck.  However, I've always loved the look and feel of a gloss finish and I don't have corrosive sweat.  The birdseye maple will look exceptionally sweet with gloss over it.

It's late and I'm tired.  Enjoy this new Failure jam.

The Headstock: Go Big Or Go Home

I have a window of opportunity in July to purchase the body of the guitar, which will cost me $405 without any hardware.  (I just dropped $555 on a community college math class last week, so for those who may be concerned, please understand where my priorities are.)  Before I do that, though, the plan is to get that Floyd Rose D-tuna piece in as soon as possible and try it out with my floating Jackson setup.  This will help settle my mind on whether or not I will ask Warmoth for that extra custom routing job on the top of the body.

The rest of the pieces will be ordered in increments over the next six to nine months.  The Sustainiac and the Floyd Rose bridge each will cost over $200.  The Duncan Distortion TB-6 will cost about $80.  I'm expecting the pickguard and hardware(s) together to cost me about $60.

The last thing for the design phase, then, is to choose what features I want for the neck.

Oh boy.  I thought this was going to be the easiest part.  Definitely not.

SO.  If I'm going to have a maple body, it only follows that I would have a maple neck with a maple fretboard.  I haven't owned a guitar with a maple neck fretboard and in the past few years I've been interested in trying it out, given my playing style.

Let's take one step back.  I recently acquired this old Charvel Strat from my buddy Andy.  He's had it kicking (and kicked) around his practice space for a long time.  We think it's from the early '90s.  He wanted to sell it, so I agreed to take it home and clean it up for him.  It was DISGUSTING.  Years and layers of dirt, oil, dried sweat, cobwebs, and who-knows-what-else caked on it and in all of the crevices.  I completely dismantled the bridge and got rust off of all of the individual parts with WD-40 and a toothbrush.  Something rotten was all over the neck and fretboard, so I cleaned that up, too.  I put everything back together and while it still could never be sold for more than $50, it turned out to be a somewhat playable and fun guitar.  This would be perfect to put some stickers on and throw it around in a punk band.

Andy agreed to let me have this Charvel.  I still owe him a portion of a nice bottle of Japanese whiskey that I've got.  Fair trade.

I've been banging out some power chords on this thing at home and paying attention to how its maple neck affects the tone.  Bright and...  spanky.  Is spanky a word?  That's the best description I can come up with.  The strings practically jump off of the fretboard.  I like the lively feel of this guitar and would be happy to implement it into a much higher-quality instrument like what I'm expecting with Big Riff.  Not as much sustain as my neck-through Jackson, but that's a given.

Right off the bat, Warmoth's custom build portion of their website forces The Issue:

Traditional Strat headstock style...

or 1970's CBS fat headstock style.

When I was fifteen and learning to play on my Squier Affinity Strat, I was unimpressed at the time with the large headstock and wondered if/when I would own a "real" Fender with the normal headstock.  But then I got away from Fenders altogether, and years later, I now know the story of CBS's ownership of the guitar brand and the change in the Strat headstock design.

My inner Romantic is scratching its head.  Do I move away from my old Squier years and CBS headstock (which I covered up with an American flag sticker) or do I boast it loud and proud?

Enter my next guitar hero: Billy Corgan.

Say what you will about his, erm, eclectic range of interests (pro wrestling, tea, animal shelters, etc.), but this man is carrying the torch for not only the '90s alternative rock we know and love, but '70s big arena rock and prog as well.  With the drama of the first incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins long over, Corgan is still committed to the passion of the electric guitar.  His main guitar approach is usually based around some combination of a Marshall [or Diezel these days] half-stack, a fuzz box...  and a Stratocaster with that big headstock.  There's just something big and defiant about it.

Strike the power stance, bend a wide note, be as loud as possible.  I'm getting the CBS headstock.

More on the neck design in my next post.  For now, enjoy some of the classic fuzz that helped to define a generation:

Contrasts And Components

It's been about a month since I last posted.  I went through what I called Music Madness May: Moog's marketing director contacted me and offered to send me all five pedals in their new Minifooger line, for free, in exchange for making new demo videos for each and putting them up on my YouTube channel.  A friend helped me with a film shoot for six demo videos and I recently just uploaded the first one.  Aside from that, I worked on some new material with my friend Jackie who is getting a backing band together for her singer-songwriter thing, went to see one of my top favorite bands, Failure, play on their Tree of Stars reunion tour, watched my friends over at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar play a kickass Weezer cover show under the moniker My Name Is Jonas Brothers, and got to hang with producer Steve Evetts and Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman at CreativeLive in Seattle while they taught a taught a two-day class on guitar recording.  All of this on top of the usual balance of work and school.

Everything is cool when you're part of a team!...

Yikes!  June is most definitely a period of necessary rest, so here I have some time at home to be back at the blog...  In between bouts of editing and uploading the other Minifooger videos, that is.

Alright, so I left off my last post having chosen the wood and solid color for the body of the guitar.  A heavy maple body for a bright sound and fast attack, matched with Warmoth's seafoam green because I've always wanted a fun surf-inspired color in a Strat.  The last thing, then, is to choose what hardware I will put on it before I start designing the neck.

Aaaaaaaand it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, that in keeping with my metal interests, I should want all of the hardware to be black.  Black Floyd Rose bridge, black strap pegs (I use Dunlop strap locks), black screws, et cetera.  My one exception is that the pickguard should be a three-ply black-white-black because EVERY pickguard should be multi-ply.  It gives extra dimension to the look of the guitar and honestly, the angle of the cut is forgiving on the picking / strumming / windmilling hand.

Here it is...  VOILA!

I present to you...  BIG RIFF!

See how striking the black looks against that seafoam green?  In the past I've always joked to my friends about how I need my guitars to be "lookers", but it's true.  Wherever I perform, I want someone who watched it to walk away remembering something about the experience, which I just poured my heart and soul into for them.  Of course this primarily means the way in which I approach playing my instrument, but the look also matters.  The guitar needs to have character and draw attention to itself, so I can communicate what I need through it.  I see that I'm crossing over into nonsensical territory.  However, just remember: the classical and the romantic are always intertwined.

Somehow I feel that this touches on another point that I want to make.  I love to straddle the lines between rock, punk, and metal.  As soon as I move a little far in one direction, my brain wants to kick in reverse and do the other thing; kind of like the difference between the wave and particle theories of light.  When I was playing with Overcome, I always sort of insisted on being the least metal dude in the band.  When the situation called for a traditional metal look or ethos, I performed better when I approached with more of a punk spirit.  The contrast just fit right for me.  I usually performed with a collared shirt on because I think there's something neat and smart and punk about it.  Where the rest of the metalcore bands we played shows with were trying to look tough with their sleeveless shirts and synchronized moves and LTD Viper guitars, we would spaz out and throw our Jacksons all over the place on stage.  I distinctly remember the times where I would turn on one of my Moogerfooger pedals during a break—the head of every chatty and bored person in the room would snap to attention.

Think of a whole room full people wearing black metal t-shirts, making this face: "What in the blazes is going on?  What is that noise I'm hearing?!  I think I shall faint, or die!"

The same is true in the opposite sense.  I've played music in churches for something like twelve years by this point.  I'm more experienced as a live musician doing praise and worship music than anything else.  But every time I come in to play, I throw in some little lead line, or flip on a pedal in a place where it isn't expected, or drive my pick a little (or a LOT) harder into the strings, baring my teeth a little and letting folks know that there's a metal edge underneath the surface.  I vehemently reject the notion that I should mimic U2's / The Edge's sounds just because I'm a guitarist who is also a Christian.

And so Big Riff is intended to be equally capable as a rock guitar or a metal guitar in appearance, playability, and sound.  It's not common to see actual Strats in metal anymore, but the black hardware here will give it a proper nod.  And the surf rock color is a high-five to my fifteen-year-old noob self.

By the way, the pickup I intend for the bridge position is a Seymour Duncan Distortion humbucker.  I've used it on multiple guitars in years past.  It's punchy and has a great balance of lows, mids, and highs.  Should react well with the Sustainiac.  Duncan makes both a "regular" version (SH-6) and a "trembucker" version (TB-6) that's shaped a little bit differently to fit Floyd-equipped guitars; I will need to order the Distortion trembucker, then.

Since this is my blog, I get to plug my own demo video for the Moog Minifooger line:

But, um, yeah, let's close with a Weezer song because I just can't get enough of it lately:

All 'Bout Dat Body

So in my last post, I made some decisions about the more technical adornments to be installed on Big Riff.  I was feeling pretty good about my conclusion until my hilarious, uber-talented, and very red-headed Jazzmaster aficionado buddy Mike insisted that I revisit the issue and go for the floating Floyd Rose / EVH D-tuna idea.  (His words: "I JUST WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY!")  More research to ensue on that.  I'm nowhere near ready to order anything yet, except perhaps the D-tuna piece itself for about fifty bucks, which I can test out ever-so-carefully on my beloved Jackson Soloist.  Over the past few days with that guitar, I've noticed that I do tend to pull up on the trem arm for vibrato far more often than I push down.  I have plenty of time to change my mind if I like.

So it's time to shout out what I already know I'm looking for:

Hell yes.  I want the body wood to be dense and heavy for the brightest sound and fastest attack possible.  One of my biggest peeves about about Fender bolt-ons in the past has been the lack of sharpness when I'm trying to play some heavy-handed palm muting.  To me, Fenders tend to have a sag when I dig the pick into the strings, some of which can be attributed to their bridges (Is there anyone else on this earth who hates those Tele three-saddle bridges the way I do?  Staying away from those height adjustment screws is seriously distracting when you're trying to palm mute and haul @$$.), but for this reason also I'm deliberately going to avoid the usual alder and swamp ash altogether.  Also, I know that I want the guitar to have a solid color paint job, so it doesn't make sense to spend extra money on some really exotic wood from, I don't know, Hawaii or Madagascar or the Amazonian rainforest, only to have that rich wood grain covered up.

Classical question: "So Nick...  If you want so much brightness and attack out of your maple body, why cover it up with a paint job?  Wouldn't that kill the kind of resonance you're going for?"

Romantic answer: Because it's cool.  Leave me alone.

I've always wanted a guitar with a surf green color.  This goes right back to when I was fifteen years old, enjoying my Squier Affinity Stratocaster and wondering about the new possibilities of the world that had just opened up to me.  Somehow the Musician's Friend catalog made its regular appearance to my house, and I loved flipping through the pages and pages of guitars.  I had no idea what the differences in features or price were, but I felt the passion and the connection with rock and roll...  through gazing at photos of surf-inspired Strats and Teles.  Weezer, punk, hardcore, and metal would all happen to me in waves across the next several years, but for that first year of guitar, it was all about the surf thing.  I never carried it further, but always looked back on it and wondered when I was going to get that dream guitar.  I guess now's the time.

Warmoth offers two versions of a solid green color that both look fun:

Surf Green

Seafoam Green

I'm picking the seafoam green because it will have a bolder contrast with the black hardware I intend to put on the guitar.  I'll save that stuff for my next post.

Also, notice how the traditional Strat input jack hole is right there on top.  (Shouldn't it be called the output jack?  Think about it.)  It shouldn't be a big deal to anyone else, but for some reason in my mind it's simply vitally important that I stick with the original design here.  Perhaps, with as many design liberties as I'm taking with this thing, I should still be able to look at it and properly call it a Strat.

I came across this blog today and loved all of the points offered, except for #6: "Your guitar (and amp) doesn't matter at all".  That's utter B.S.  Building your chops, practicing, and developing your playing style can and should be matched with your gear choice(s).  Start small and work your way up.  My USA Jackson performs in a particular way that suits my playing style.  The fast and heavy palm muting I love doing so much on that guitar can't be done in the same way with the same results on, say, an Epiphone semi-hollow body.  I get Bryan Baker's point that every guitarist should be well-rounded enough to be able to handle any musical situation that comes across, but the truth is, there really is something crucial that happens when you've got an axe in your hands (and amp cranked behind you) that's doing exactly what you want it to do.  It takes your focus off of the gear itself, you feel great, your muscle memory kicks in sooner, and you perform better.

To borrow from the synthesizer world, let's leave it to Dr. Robert (Bob) Moog to describe this mystical connection between the head, hands, and the musical instrument.  Fast-forward to the section between 11:47 and 15:21:

Big Riff's Big Tech Decisions, Compromises

I want to have answers sooner rather than later, because this month alone I have a ton of music-related stuff going on outside of my usual balance of full-time work and part-time school.  I probably won't be able to post again for another three weeks after today.  After some research and deliberation, I think I've finalized how I'll approach the previous two tech nightmares relating to Big Riff's body: Yes, I want the feedback controlling pickup, and yes, I want a Floyd Rose with a D-tuna installed.

I've decided to go with the Sustainiac Stealth Pro.  The circuit board is smaller/thinner, and I would have the freedom to mount the external switches anywhere I like; unlike the Fernandes Sustainer, whose switches are attached directly its wide PCB.  It's a little bit of a shame, because I honestly think the Sustainiac looks a little ugly with its funky diagonal exposed magnet on the top, whereas the Sustainer has a no-nonsense jet black cover.  But it's not a deal breaker at all.  I'm expecting to tuck the Sustainiac's circuitry underneath the pickguard.  More research to ensue on wiring the thing, for there seems to be quite a few configurations, but for the time being I'm happy to commit.

I've tried to read through all of Sustainiac's website.  I appreciate that they're not shy about putting every piece of information available on the site, including what works and what doesn't work with their system(s), but seriously, it made my eyes hurt a little and my brain a bit muddled.  I think the influence of my Seattle design-savvy-extreme-nerd-media-professional friends is rubbing off on me, so maybe I'll ask the company to organize their site better for future users, but whatever.

Sustainiac's website.  Several pages of this.  Organize, organize, organize!

Time to stop being a baby.  Here's what I'm finding out:

-Installation of the Sustainiac requires that the 9-volt battery is running, even when you've set your pickup selector for your other pickup, which may be passive.  The Sustainiac is itself an active guitar pickup, and from what I gather on their site, it's supposed to sound a little warmer like a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck position.  I'm a longtime user and fan of the '59, so this seems good to me overall even though I'm chagrined by the thought of running a battery down when I may not be explicitly using it.

-When you turn the switch for the Sustainiac on, the pickup selector is bypassed and the other pickup on the guitar is automatically activated for sending signal out.  The Sustainiac switches from its active pickup function to its sustaining function.  (I meant to say "electromagnetic sustaining function", but an active pickup function is, of course, also electromagnetic.)  The guitar returns to whatever function the pickup selector is in when the power switch is turned back off.

-Pickguards will usually have an aluminum or copper shielding underneath them to prevent outside electromagnetic interference (you know, hum) from messing with the internal wiring.  However, Sustainiac recommends removing the shielding from around the pickup(s) because the driver pickup needs to emit an electromagnetic pulse to get the strings to start vibrating.  ...Or something like that.  This is where my attention span trailed off...

-$200+ and it will need to be ordered separately, most likely direct from the manufacturer so I can pick and choose which switch and knob setup I prefer.  For example, I could go with a push-pull pot to turn the Sustainiac on or off rather than have an external mounted switch.

"F***ing electromagnets, how do they work?"

Let's talk about that Floyd Rose.  I called Warmoth and asked them if they could or would do that extra custom rout behind the low E string so that a recessed floating bridge with a D-tuna installed could move freely.  The guy I talked to on the phone told me that they've done it for one customer, who later returned the guitar because he wasn't happy specifically with the way that rout was cut.  I was told that if I absolutely know that I want the job done, I'd have to give them very highly detailed instructions on where and how to cut into the top, and I'd have to swear a blood oath that I would never attempt to return the guitar, all sales final.

After much thought, I've decided that the floating D-tuna attempt just isn't worth the trouble, so I'm going with a flush-mounted Floyd Rose setup to keep the D-tuna function.  This means the bridge will rest flush with the guitar body; I can dive down on the strings, but can't pull up.  I've already got a recessed float setup on my Jackson Soloist and the maintenance for that alone is a bigger pain in the neck than a truss rod adjustment (hahahaha...  get it?).  The trade-off of losing float for gaining the ability to switch to Drop D tuning on the fly is completely fair.  I'm not a heavy Floyd user; I mainly use it for light vibrato and the occasional metal dive-bomb.

If the guitar will stay in tune after pulling a stunt like this, I'm totally happy.  Not saying I'm capable of pulling off stunts like this.

Ah, well, I can't leave off this post without featuring one of my guitar heroes, Ben Weinman from The Dillinger Escape Plan.  I'm actually going to have a chance to meet him in a couple of weeks from now as part of a live recording class.  Check out his signature "Party Smasher" guitar.  Neck-through on a semi-hollow body?!  Brilliant.  If I wasn't so dead-set on having a Floyd Rose and preferred a hardtail instead, I'd very seriously consider having an Evertune bridge installed.  That thing is going to be revolutionary in the guitar world very soon.

Floyd Rose Whoas / Woes

Rule Number One about owning Floyd-Rose-equipped guitar: own a SECOND Floyd-Rose-equipped guitar.

The point of getting a Floyd Rose bridge to work properly is to match the string tension with the spring tension inside the body.  The strings are locked into place at the nut.  If set up correctly, the bridge will "float" in between these two sets of tension.  This means you can lower or even raise a note by pushing down or pulling up on the trem arm, and it will snap back to the original tuning when you release.  It's a mechanical marvel, truly, but there are drawbacks.  If you break a string, the springs will pull all of the other strings sharp, so much as to make it unplayable until you change your strings and reset the bridge all over again.  This is what is meant by the rule at the beginning of this post.

I LOVE my USA Jackson SL2H Soloist.  Such a killer guitar.  The neck-through body, the 12- to 16-inch compound radius neck, the bookmatched flame maple top, the jumbo frets, the sharkfin inlays, the transparent green finish, and the Floyd Rose trem.  Everything about it screams SHRED, and it has continued to be a source of inspiration.  My current green Soloist is actually my second one; my first one had a metallic black finish and I rocked it when I was playing for a metal/hardcore band called Overcome back in 2010-2011.  I sold the black one to help take care of moving expenses to come to Seattle, and missed it so much that I just had to own another.

Overcome at Cornerstone Festival, July 2010.

Right from the moment I had one, I took "proper" care of the Floyd Rose bridge, and it in turn took care of me.  Setup and maintenance on these things can be awfully tedious, and there are a number of shortcuts available to quickly tweak an FR into a basic playable condition.  Jason, the other guitarist in my band back in the Overcome days, resorted to the shortcut method(s), and he usually had tuning problems with it.  During a show, I never needed to touch the bridge's micro tuners; my tuning always stayed dead center, even when I dive-bombed the hell out of my strings (I've chosen Ernie Ball as my lifetime preferred string brand for their strength).  I still broke quite a few strings, but thankfully enough it only ever happened at practice and never at a show.  If you take the extra time to set it up correctly, there are real advantages to be gained.

And so it's no surprise to me that I should want Big Riff to sport a Floyd Rose trem.  The performance characteristics are just incredible and, just like the sustaining pickup devices described in my last post, useful for more than just metal.

One day at a certain major musical instrument retailer I used to work for, I sat down for a demo session with one of the newer Eddie Van Halen Wolfgang Special guitars.  Fast and snappy attack, but flawed with way-too-small frets.  What I liked best was the new "EVH-licensed!" Floyd Rose D-tuna system.  It's a small device that fits on the tail end of the bridge at the low E string to quickly and accurately drop the string's tuning when you want to play in Drop D.  If I remember correctly, in years past Ibanez at least has had this option available with their own version of a locking trem bridge.  Anyway, the EVH D-tuna is an aftermarket part that can be retrofitted relatively easily into any existing Floyd.  It runs for about fifty bucks.  I'm definitely interested in this for my Warmoth Strat.

I do have a couple of glaring concerns with the D-tuna, though.  I've only ever seen the D-tuna installed on a Floyd Rose bridge that isn't the fully floating kind—it rests directly on the body when the trem arm isn't being pulled.

Stock image.  The EVH D-tuna is originally meant to be fitted to Floyd Rose bridges that rest flat against the body.

Warmoth's angled pocket routing option on the left allows for the version of the Floyd that rests on the body.  The routing option on the right is the traditional style that includes space for pulling up on the trem arm, allowing for notes to be raised.

If I try to install the D-tuna on a floating bridge, there may be an issue with the action of setting the low string from E to D and vice versa, offsetting the tuning of the other strings.  Remember how string tension is balanced with spring tension?  Since the "fixed" version of the FR rests on the body, notes can be lowered or dive-bombed, but can't be raised.  I need to know if the float is interrupted by having a D-tuna...  hopefully not.

If I'm in the clear with what I want out of the D-tuna and the FR's float capability, there's a second issue at hand to deal with.  I'd have to have an additional section of wood routed out on the top to accomodate the inch or so of the D-tuna's length if I raise up on the trem bar.  Routing wood like this actually isn't much of a technical issue, but since I want the body to come from Warmoth pre-painted, I'd have to call and ask them if they will do an extra special custom job in this area.  I want the body and paint job looking totally pro.

Google image search: this photo shows exactly the problem with installing the EVH D-tuna on a recessed (floating) bridge setup.  It's going to ding the body if you pull up on the trem arm.

Yes!  I'm hoping it would be possible to call up Warmoth and ask them to rout an additional section of wood as shown here.  Do what I ask and I'll give ya MONEY!

One additional thing I need to find out.  On the design section of Warmoth's website, when I add the Floyd Rose, the locking nut is also included, but apparently there are different models listed as R2, R3, R4, and R5.  Never seen this before.  I'll have to look into it (and possibly think of the neck design sooner than I intended) so I get this right.

This and the sustainer devices are the biggest technical details I need to have sorted out for Big Riff.  The rest will come easy, but for now it's

research,

research...

RESEARCH!

Marty Friedman at his Jackson/Floyd Rose shredtastic best.

A Feedback Loop In The Head

It's time to start designing the body, and right off the bat there are some major complications.  In order to gain the most amount of... manipulative flexible potential with the strings, I want Big Riff to have a floating Floyd Rose bridge and a feedback controller like a Sustainiac or a Fernandes Sustainer.  These options mean routing wood out of the guitar and meticulously planning angles and dimensions and such.  Exciting and daunting and annoying all at once.

The Sustainiac Stealth Pro and the Fernandes Sustainer are pickups that can be switched on to act as an electromagnet to cause guitar strings to vibrate continuously, and allow for control of the feedback.  For those players who are familiar with the EBow, pickup feedback controllers are exactly like that except they activate any of the six strings on the fly and of course, are permanently mounted.  They do work on their own as a pickup, and both brands come in single coil or humbucker variations.

I've had an EBow for almost a decade by this point and love the control that it offers, especially when set in the fifth harmonic mode.  Add a delay to that and you'll find yourself floating in the audio equivalent of rays of light.  Fernandes tends to market their Sustainer-equipped guitar line toward metal players, but I think it's redundant since a metal guitarist is more likely than anyone to get feedback from pushing the gain on their amps so hard.  The simplicity and usefulness of feedback control goes far beyond the headbanging chucklehead looking to create noise; it allows for beautiful passages that couldn't otherwise be obtained.

For the layperson, I promise you know what that sounds like:

Anyway, so, using an EBow is rad until you need to set it down and start strumming the guitar mid-song, which takes an awkward five seconds.  A sustainer-equipped guitar will have two small switches mounted on the top: one to turn it on, and the other to switch between natural and harmonic modes.  No mess, just reach down and turn it on or off.  Pretty damn cool.

...Except that this means a battery and circuit board install are required.  Warmoth allows a routing option for placing either one or two 9-volt batteries on the back of the guitar.  Sustainiac and Fernandes single-coil and humbucker versions require just a single 9-volt, so no big deal.  However, that circuit board could cause problems.  I need to know the dimensions of each and determine how to make it fit in the control cavity.

There are two options:

1. Top rout, which is the traditional Strat style and my preferred way to go since I intend to put a pickguard on the guitar:

2. Rear rout, which I'm sure will fit either circuit board but effectively eliminates the need for a pickguard (though I want one):

This is the rout style of my beloved flame-top Jackson SL2H Soloist.

The FAQ section on Fernandes's website tells me the Sustainer circuit board itself is 3" long x 2" wide x 1" deep.  The switches are 1" apart and mounted directly to the top of the PCB.

Pulled this photo from a Google image search; it's the cleanest Fernandes Sustainer install I've seen in a Strat-style body (Ibanez JEM).

The Sustainiac's circuit board is 3.75" long by 1.15" wide by .725" tall, so it's longer but much thinner.  The switches can be wired anywhere.

Google image search result: Sustainiac PCB tucked away neatly into a section which would be covered by a pickguard.  This top rout configuration looks ideal.

It just might work, but I'm already really annoyed skimming through the technical details on Sustainiac's webpage.  So much info to sift through.  Choosing between the two systems will not be easy.

Why does all of this matter?  Because I want to get it right on the first try.  Most guitarists who do the feedback controller thing have to deal with a a pre-existing guitar setup working against them.  I want this to be the foremost consideration in order to have as little wood carved out of the body as possible for maximum resonance.  This post was actually supposed to be about the wood that I would have chosen for the body, but then I got sidetracked.

*sigh*  Time to rest up.