Friday, January 29, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Haywire Custom Guitars Neck, Shaft And Fret Board Woods
Haywire Custom Guitars Neck, Shaft And Fret Board Wood
Guitar Neck Tone Wood
From plain white maple to colorful tropical exotic wood, we offer a rainbow of musical instrument woods. There is no one “best” wood. The choice you make should be based upon your application and personal taste or preference.
Part of the beauty of wood is the uniqueness of each piece. There are wide ranges of color, striping, streaking, figure size, interval, etc. All photos are for general reference only.
Birdseye Maple / Birdseye Maple
Maple, Birdseye
Maple, Birdseye
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Maple, Birdseye (Acer saccharum):Birdseye is a type of figure found in Hard Maple wood. It shows best in flatsawn wood. There is a wide variety of sizes and shapes in the “eyes.” Under a gloss finish, the Birdseye takes on a 3D look for a beautiful visual appeal. There seems to be a recurring rumor that Birdseye Maple is unstable and not suited to guitar necks. Having made tens of thousands of Birdseye necks, we can assure you that it is no different in stability than plain maple. AAA grade means it will be a bit more figured than our standard.
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Mahogany / Malagasy
Padouk
Padouk, African (Pterocarpus soyauxii):Bright vivid red color which oxidizes to a warm brown with use. With an open grain wood texture like Rosewood, the sound is very similar to Maple; well balanced and tight. It is very stable in use and requires no finish. Feels very natural to play on.
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Flame Maple / Flame
Maple, Flame
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Maple, Flame (Acer saccharum):While there are several maple species that show the flame figure, the only one hard enough for making necks is Acer saccharum. Identical to plain Hard Maple, except for the highly prized flame figuring. For even more flame figure, AAA grade can be requested. A different species of Flame Maple is used for body laminate tops.
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Kingwood
Kingwood (Dalbergia cearensis):Affectionately referred to as “the wood of kings” and for good reason! From South America, this wood is very hard and dense with a fine, smooth texture to it. Sonics : you can expect great articulation, fast response and ample sustain. Often the grain is highly figured and varies in amazing ways. Truly an excellent fret board choice and a customer favorite.
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Maple / Roasted
Roasted Maple wood
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Maple, Roasted (Acer saccharum):Roasted Maple is maple that has been heat treated to remove sugars, moisture, and other impurities that can affect its stability. The result is a neck that is slightly lighter than normal and extremely stable. Because of its enhanced stability a finish is not required, making it the maple of choice for those who prefer the smooth, quick feel of natural . The roasting process also brings out a beautiful caramel color in the wood.
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Rosewood /
Indian Rosewood
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Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia):Here we have the most popular fret board! Indian Rosewood has the warm “rock-n-roll” tonality you’ve heard on many of the most famous rock albums in history. The warm wood tone is also a favorite with blues players. Rosewood contains natural oils so a finish is not required. The feel is also smooth and fast. Colors range from brown to dark purple to lighter purple with yellows and sometimes hues of orange and green.
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Pau Ferro
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Pau Ferro (Machaerium villosum):An excellent dense, hard wood with a very tight pore structure. This means it’s fast, smooth and extremely durable. An excellent choice for fret less fret boards. Not only is it resistant to wear, but often the wood figuring is striking with variations in color from light tan to a dark coffee. The tone is brighter than Rosewood yet warmer than Ebony with plenty of articulation and attack. One of our favorite woods for fret boards! No finish required!
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Ebony
Ebony guitar wood
Ebony guitar wood
At additional cost, and subject to availability |
Ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon):Ebony has a smooth, fast feel, a bright tone, and fantastic sustain. Its inherent hardness has made it a preferred choice for fingerboards for centuries. It is especially well-suited to fret less necks. The pure black color most often associated with this species has become exceedingly rare. Today’s Ebony is usually black with light brown or gray streaks, or dark mineral spots – beautiful in its own right, and still highly-prized by instrument makers the world over.
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Ordering From Haywire Custom Guitars
If you would like to order this or any other custom guitar, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your guitar needs.
About the Author: Rick Mariner
Mr. Rick Mariner Owner and Founder and CEO of Haywire Custom Guitars
Inc.
He is a member of The Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
(A.S.I.A.) as well as a guitar player. Rick holds a bachelors degree
from University of Md.and a Masters degree from George Washington
University. Rick developed his exclusive 8 – Point “Gig- Ready” guitar
process that allows for Custom Guitars that are “GIG-READY”. With Rick’s
many years of development and guitar set-up experience, Haywire Guitar
shop “Builds satisfied players… one Haywire guitar at a time”.
Haywire Custom Guitars-Neck Replacement and Back Contours
Haywire Custom Guitars Neck Replacement and Back Contours-You Can Choose from Super Wide and Fat Guitar Necks to Thin and Slim
Haywire Custom Shop Guitar Neck Replacement and Back Contours Options
The following three paragraphs are also in the "neck shaving" section as well but bear repeating here.
Neck
thickness should be chosen for what best fits your hands, not the
"tone" it has. That should be the major consideration in the choice of
your new neck. The timbre of a fat neck is noticeable however, most of
the tone comes from your playing technique-not
the wood. On an electric guitar tones are affected by everything from
the pickups and amplification to pedals, picks, string gauge and
speaker enclosures. In a live playing situation "wood tones" in an electric guitar will become even less noticeable. The overall sound of your guitar may be noticeably affected by a fatter/ thicker neck but generally only when you are playing without the guitar plugged in to an amp. So remember high gain electric guitar tone is very much dependent on a players technique, control and comfort with his instrument and not the thickness of a neck.
However, comfort affects your playing ability, which is an important factor your in technique. Neck tone is an issue that no empirical evidence has ever put to rest.
Start with finding a guitar you love to play with a neck that makes playing a joy. Then, either send us the specs or simply send your neck to us at the Haywire Custom Shop and we'll duplicate it for you.
Guitar Neck Back Contours |
 Back Contour is the profile or grip shape of the neck. How much wood does it take to fill up your hand? Too little equates to quicker hand fatigue. Too much is even worse, you can't reach around it. Do you play thumb over? Check out your favorite guitar and compare its neck thickness, (fingerboard face to the back of the neck), to the ones below. |
Standard Back Contours |
1st fret |
12th fret |
Similar back contours |
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0.800" | 0.850" | Fender® American Standard Strat or Tele |
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1.0" | 1.0" | Vintage Tele® (52 Reissue) |
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1.0" | 1.0" | Vintage Fender® Deep U |
Custom Neck
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1st fret |
12th fret |
Similar back contours |
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0.835" | 0.970" Asymmetric contour |
Early Fender® Stevie Ray Vaughn signature Strat |
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0.850" | 0.940" | Early Fender® Eric Clapton signature Strat |
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0.815" | 0.940" Asymmetric contour |
Peavey® Wolfgang® |
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0.750" | 0.820" | Ibanez® Wizard II neck |
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0.860" | 0.960" | 1959 Gibson® Les Paul |
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All product names used in this webpage are trademarks of their
respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with
Haywire Custom Guitars, Inc. These trademarks of other manufacturers are
used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose
dimensions were studied during product development. In other words,
credit where credit is due. Thanks to Warmoth Guitar Products for
providing this very informative back profile chart.
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In some cases, it may be better to replace a guitar neck rather than replacing the entire guitar. Cracking finishes, worn frets and warping fret boards are common ailments of guitar necks and replacing a bolt-on or bolt-in guitar neck is often a considerably less expensive option than repairing the damage or replacing the whole guitar.
We listen-we hear you!
We’ll help you with the following:
1-Help
you decide on the best materials, neck profile for your technique,
comfortable frets, finish and nut for your style. We can use your
existing tuners or replace and upgrade them as necessary.
2- In performing a 4-axis alignment of the guitar neck your new guitar neck will be checked and adjusted to be true and straight to ensure proper alignment on
all 4 axis. This step ensures proper action and allows for more
accurate and easier guitar tuning and playing. A full set-up will then
be performed in the following steps.
3- We level and polish the frets to insure that all of the guitar frets are level, eliminating any possibility of fret buzz due to unevenness.
4- Next, we radius the guitar strings. Most
guitar necks have a curved contour over the top of the neck called the
radius. We adjust the strings to make sure the height of each string
perfectly follows the contour of your guitar neck. Once we determine
the contour and then set the radius of the guitar strings, it’s time to
adjust the overall height of the strings from the top of the frets to
the bottom of the guitar strings accurately.
5- At this point we can re-check the
overall guitar string height and the action all while maintaining the
radius just created. The truss rod adjustment is then able to be made
here. The strings will be parallel all the way down the fret board and
neck straight.
6- The last step is to set the guitar intonation. This
step is done twice. The intonation is set two times with a 24 hour
"seat-in" period in between to allow the guitar to properly re-seat and
settle in with the new adjustments. Ordering From Haywire Custom Guitars
If you would like to order this or any other custom guitar, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your guitar needs.
The total Neck Replacement Option cost is only $75 plus return shipping and the cost of your neck.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Haywire Custom Guitars #1 Guitar Players Blog: Haywire Custom Treble Bleed Circuit Modification (...
Haywire Custom Treble Bleed Circuit Modification
Haywire
Custom Treble Bleed Circuit Modification A Treble Bleed Circuit
Modification allows you to roll off your volume without losing the highs
Haywire Custom Treble Bleed Circuit Modification
A Treble Bleed Circuit Modification allows a guitar player to roll off your volume without losing the highs. We’ll add a treble bleed circuit to your guitar. It preserves the high end guitar frequencies and improves the guitar taper when rolling back your volume control. It’s all about guitar sound preservation.Electricity searches for ground. We manipulate it and make it do things on its way there. When a guitar’s volume is turned down, it allows some of the current to go to ground as opposed to going out to the amp to make sound.
Would you like being able to use the volume control without sacrificing tone?
As your volume decreases, the frequencies that leave first are the high ones. Your tone is now muddy and thick, without any “edge” on it. The way to avoid this is by adding what’s called a treble bleed circuit. It’s called this because it prevents the treble frequencies from bleeding off. It allows some of the treble frequencies (the ones we want to keep) to move around the volume pot. They then go to the output, rather than go through it and get lost to ground.At Haywire Custom Shop we simply install a 220K resistor in parallel with a 470pf capacitor. If you’d like-we will add one to your guitar to preserve high end frequencies. It will also vastly improve your guitar taper when turning your volume down. There is no charge for this treble bleed circuit option. Simply let us know you’d like it added when your purchasing your new Haywire Guitar or if we’re just repairing yours! Haywire Custom Shop will add a treble bleed for free!
About the Author: Rick Mariner
Mr. Rick Mariner Owner and Founder and CEO of Haywire Custom Guitars
Inc.
He is a member of The Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
(A.S.I.A.) as well as a guitar player. Rick holds a bachelors degree
from University of Md.and a Masters degree from George Washington
University. Rick developed his exclusive 8 – Point “Gig- Ready” guitar
process that allows for Custom Guitars that are “GIG-READY”. With Rick’s
many years of development and guitar set-up experience, Haywire Guitar
shop “Builds satisfied players… one Haywire guitar at a time”.
Haywire Custom Guitars Blog: The Haywire Blocked Tremolo or Hard Tail ? Which Do You Prefer?.
The Haywire Blocked Tremolo or Hard Tail Tremolo
The Haywire blocked tremolo makes the bridge behave more like a hard tail
Well, simply put, they are all blocked tremolo style with the exception of the Floyd Rose models.
Why does Haywire block the tremolo?
Aside from the obvious fact that the outdated tremolo design has been used since the early 1950’s, here are some more real good reasons why we use a blocked tremolo as a “standard” feature:
Tremolo Headaches:
1- If all strings are removed at once it is time consuming to re-tune the guitar.
2- When one string breaks, all other strings go out of tune.
3- Intonation is a much longer and inaccurate process.
4- String bending can cause other strings to go slightly out of tune and sustain is lost.
5- Action with a “floating synchronized tremolo system” changes constantly and frustrates players.
What is a blocked tremolo, how does Haywire accomplish it and why do it?
A blocked tremolo requires tightening of the inertia block with the two tremolo claw screws at the back wall of the tremolo cavity to prevent it from moving. This makes the bridge behave more like a hard tail bridge, eliminating common headaches. Remember this unit design has not changed since 1948 but playing techniques have. Players are more aware of out of tune problems today.What is a blocked tremolo
Long ago electronic tuners that were not around back then. Fortunately this change does not modify the instrument, nor is it permanent. It can always be reversed, making it ideal for collectible instruments that need to stay original. The Strat bridge is blocked and basically tightened with the claw screws under the tremolo cover plate in the back of the guitar body. The springs are so tight that the tremolo will not move thereby rendering it a hard tail or a “blocked tremolo” or “decked tremolo”.Why not just use a hard tail bridge?
Well two reasons: The re-sale value is much better if we don’t physically change anything that can’t be reversed since lots of players still want a tremolo or whammy bar. On your guitar just loosen the 2 claw screws that have been tightened in the back under the tremolo cover. To put the tremolo back into service and have a usable tremolo system once again, just loosen. Finally, there is a bit more added sustain with the tremolo bridge because it has a great deal more metal that a small hard tail bridge. It also has the benefit of the springs which add even more sustain….so…There you have it! My suggestion, if I may, Try a blocked tremolo for yourself and you’ll love it because it stays in perfect tune and the whole process is not permanent or invasive to your instrument and it’s completely reversible!Blog Home
What Is A Custom Guitar Shop?
What Is A Custom Guitar Shop?
Through the years, we've realized that many guitar players really have very little understanding of the scope and purpose of a custom guitar
shop. We discovered this quite accidentally by listening closely to
some of the questions received over the last few years. For example,
one question that still comes up often is, "Nice guitar-but how does it
play?"
That question always puzzles us. Why? Because our job as a Custom Guitar Shop
is to simply make every guitar we sell play exactly how the player who
buys it wants it to play! We are the experts, and can make any neck
modifications, electronics changes, or custom changes that you like.
Unfortunately,
most guitar players are so accustomed to traveling from store to store
looking for the right instrument rather than making the decision to
create their perfect instrument at a custom guitar shop. A custom
guitar facility is a smarter way to get what you need. We can take all
of the attributes of all your favorite guitars and combine them into the
guitar you've always dreamed of having. If you like a Gibson style
neck, but prefer Custom Single Cutaway
electronics, only with active pickups, and would rather have a
Stratocaster style body ... it's not a problem! On the other hand, if
you see a guitar that you like in our shop, you know it's going to be
perfect. Before a guitar leaves our shop,
it undergoes action adjustments, intonation checks and proper string
adjustments to make sure that you have a great playing guitar that plays
EXACTLY how you need it to play as a guitarist. What could be simpler?
Active Guitar Pickups - What Are They?
Active Guitar Pickups – What Are They?
Guitar pickups that are active can make a huge difference in your sound
Active guitar pickups are reliable, clean, in addition, sound great
Active guitar pickups are reliable, clean, in addition, sound great and utilize an internal pre-amp (inside the pickup). As a result, not only makes the pickup louder, hence reduces the noise and they were made to be active! In EMG’s the pickups have higher output than traditional passive pickups. The internal preamp is the most efficient way to operate an active pickup. All connections are shielded. The output of the active pickup cable is low Z. Activation makes your pickups less susceptible to noise. Also, it avoids sloppy loose connections in a guitar and installation is easy. Easy installation. They have also introduced “solder-less” connections for players who want more simplicity. If you feel more comfortable with solder, cut the connectors off.The output of the active pickup is low Z
Some find that the output level of your EMG pickup is too hot to get clean tones. The best fix is to reduce the height of the pickup. The proximity of the pickups to the string has a lot to do with higher volume. If that doesn’t do it for you, then use the amp and guitar volume controls.
you can snug these pickups high right up under the strings
Unlike a traditional passive volume/tone system, the low-impedance EMG system lets you turn down the volume with very little effect on the tone, so you won’t sound muffled when you back off the volume knob. This is much like the Haywire Treble Bleed Option for passive style pickups. Especially relevant you can snug these pickups high right up under the strings so they’ll hear much more subtle sounds, harmonics percussive notes other pickups fail to hear.Active guitar and bass pickups require a battery. The EMG has the “Select” models which are passive and don’t need one. The pre-amp in the active pickups styles, located inside the pickup encased in epoxy, and is powered by either one or two 9 volt batteries. The EMG active pickups after-burners, numerous effects and EQs are powered by a 9 volt (IEC 6LR61/NEDA 1604A) battery.
Active guitar and bass pickups require a battery.
We recommend normal alkaline batteries (Eveready or Duracell, for example) for best results. These are easy to obtain, inexpensive and the same batteries that you would use in an effects box or wireless unit. Rechargeable batteries in EMG systems are not recommended. Although they are compatible electrically, They be problematic and have some “memory” issues.Active Guitar Pickups Use Electronics To Improve The Sound of Your Guitar
EMG Active guitar pickups, EMG effects and EQ units can run off a single battery usually with no problems. Because the power drain on EMG products is very low, you can get long battery life. Furthermore, unplug when you’re not playing to maximize battery life.. If you have room for multiple batteries in your guitar, you can use two batteries wired in series to power your onboard circuitry for a total of 18 volts.the power drain on EMG products is very low
The output level will not increase, but you’ll have more headroom and crisper sounds. This is excellent for percussive/slap bass styles where you can generate large instantaneous power levels across the entire frequency spectrum.You can also wire two batteries in parallel to provide a regular 9 volt supply but with much longer lifespan between battery changes. Most of EMG’s products are rated for 27 volts they recommend a maximum of 18 volts. Any benefits of 27 vs. 18 volts are negligible.
jack included with all models has a switch that disconnects the battery
All EMG pickups and EQ systems are designed for extremely low power drain. The pickup jack included with all models has a switch that disconnects the battery when the guitar is not plugged in. So, unplug when you’re not playing as a good housekeeping measure to maximize battery life.Each of their pickups requires about 80 microamps (uA), except for the Vintage Series pickups which require 220 uA each. EMG active EQ circuit requirements vary widely but are higher than pickups. NOTE: a standard 9 volt alkaline battery provides 580 milliAmpHours (mAh) of power. That means that it will provide 580 milliAmps for 1 hour or 1 milliamp for 580 hours. There are 1000 uA per mA. You can figure the approximate battery life of any setup by adding up the individual power requirements, then dividing 580,000 by this total. Here’s an example:
1 – EMG-81 = 80 uA
2 – EMG-SV = 220 uA*2 = 440 uA
1 – EXG = 410 uA
——–
Total required = 930 uA
Total life = 580,000 uAh/930 uA = 623 hours
If your guitar stayed plugged in day and night, the battery would last a month. Under normal playing conditions, you would probably be looking at changing the battery once or twice a year. Of course, you should always carry a spare battery and not try to drain it! Because EMG pickups are designed operate as Active guitar pickups, they’re not very functional without power.
you should always carry a spare battery
When the battery weakens over time, the output level will reduce and sound from your guitar will become more distorted. This is a sign to change the battery now. Below a certain voltage, the onboard active circuitry will stop working. At that point, you will hear little or no output from the guitar. Remember: Unplug your guitar because of the output jack and battery relationship when using active pickups. Disconnect the cable when your guitar is not in use. This will prevent premature power loss from the battery.
All About Guitar Frets
All About Guitar Frets
When
discussing frets at the Haywire Custom Shop, the discussion really needs to be divided up into two
separate parts. The first part to consider is whether or not the frets
are properly installed, dressed, and maintained. The second part to
consider is if the frets that are on your neck are the right frets to
match your style of playing and have the feel that you are looking for.
So
let's talk about the first part for a minute, whether or not your frets
are properly installed, dressed, and maintained. This is easy enough to
determine. First, check for any wear on the frets where the strings
might have created grooves in certain places, any nicks or
irregularities that might catch a string and so forth. If you find any
of those things, you might want to consider some maintenance to correct
those problems.
If
you have checked your frets and found them to be well maintained
without any noticeable wear, but still think that your neck doesn't feel
just right for your style of playing, you might want to consider a
different fret possibility. Frets come in a variety of heights and
thicknesses, and each one will cause the neck to feel just a bit
different under your fingers. The bottom line is that frets do matter.
If a guitar plays well, it has the right frets. If it's hard to bend a
note, that instrument probably doesn't have the right frets for
challenging solo work.
Now let's talk about the different types of frets that are available.
Standard Nickel/Silver Fret Wire
The
composition of this fret wire, while called "nickel/silver", contains
no silver at all. The ingredients are brass and nickel. Apparently, 18%
nickel is sufficient to make brass look silver! For general reference
we use Dunlop's fret numbers, however, actual fret dimensions vary
somewhat from batch to batch.
Fret Model Width x Height Description
6100 .112" x 0.55" Huge! This is big stuff for the almost scalloped feel.
6105 .096" x 0.47" Narrow and tall. A very popular choice.
6130 .106" x .036" Often referred to as "medium jumbo". This is the size found on many Gibson® necks.
6230 .080" x 0.43" This is the smallest fret wire. Used on older Fender® necks.
6150 .103 x .046" A true "jumbo". It is about the same width as the 6130 but a bit taller.
Stainless Steel Fret Wire
If
you want an extra slick feel along with super smooth bending and
playability, stainless steel fret wire might be just what you're looking
for. Stainless steel is harder than the standard nickel/silver fret
wire, so it takes much longer for these frets to show wear from your
strings, and typically last much longer than standard fret wire.
Fret Model Width x Height Description
SS6105 .102" x .049" A true "jumbo". It is about the same width as the 6130 but a bit taller. POPULAR!
SS6230 .080" x 0.43" Small vintage Fender® size. Needs frequent dressing and leveling
SS6115 .107" x .052" A true "jumbo" wire.
Almost Gold Color Fret Wire
New
Gold colored fret wire is a tough copper alloy without Nickel and the
color is similar to 12k Gold in appearance. This is not the same brass
color as Warwick wire. This is not just a "plating". The color is solid
throughout. It's very rich looking wire. Gold alloy wire works and
wears about the same as the standard nickel / silver fret wire.
Fret Width x Height Description
61GD .090" x .055" Narrow and quite tall. Fret Model Width x Height
Fret Width x Height Description
61GD .090" x .055" Narrow and quite tall. Fret Model Width x Height
Thank you Warmoth Guitar Products Inc. for providing the fret info!
Haywire Custom Treble Bleed Circuit Modification (to use the volume control without sacrificing tone)
Haywire Custom Treble Bleed Circuit Modification
Would you like being able to use the volume control without sacrificing tone?
A Treble Bleed Modification
allows you to roll off your volume without losing the highs. We'll add a
treble bleed circuit to your guitar. It will preserve high end
frequencies and improve the taper when rolling back your volume control.
Electricity
searches for ground. We manipulate it and make it do things on its way
there. When you turn your guitar's volume down, you're allowing some of
the current to go to ground as opposed to going out to the amp to make
sound.
As
the volume decreases, the frequencies that leave first are the high
ones, which make the tone seem muddy and thick, without the "edge" on
it. A way to avoid this is by using what's called a treble bleed
circuit. It's called this because it prevents the treble frequencies
from bleeding off. It allows some of the treble frequencies (the ones
we want to keep) to walk around the volume pot to the output, rather
than go through it and get lost to ground.
At Haywire Custom Shop
we simply install a 220K resistor in parallel with a 470pf capacitor.
If you'd like-we can add one to your guitar to preserve high end
frequencies and improve the taper when turning your volume down. There
is no charge for this option-simply let us know you'd like it added when
your purchasing your new Haywire Guitar or if we're just repairing
yours!
What Is Guitar Intonation And Why Is It Important?
Guitar Intonation
An obvious question? Yes! Worth talking about? Absolutely!
Intonation
is the accuracy in which an electric guitar or bass can produce a
fretted note and the most important issue with any instrument. Setting
the intonation on a guitar is the act of adjusting the length of the
strings (by moving the bridge saddles) to compensate for the thickness
of the string and the stretching of a string due to pushing it down to
the fret board to produce a note. For our purposes here I will focus
only on electric instruments for now.
To
adjust the intonation of your guitar or bass guitar, you move the
bridge saddles toward or away from the fret board until the 12th fret
note and its harmonic are equal in pitch to the same open-string note,
which are exactly one octave apart. Accurate intonation is critical to
pitch quality. Pitch quality is essential to "in tune" playing.
Poor pitch quality = "out of tune" notes which in turn = poor musical presentation. Wouldn't you want to present your musical talents in the best way possible? Of course, you do.
Now,
it is not necessary for a guitar player to know this at all. It is
essential however that the guitar possess this quality and maintain as
close to perfect intonation as possible. Buying on looks alone can be
very disappointing. If however, you like an instrument for the looks
but realize that you will need to have it worked on to get it playable
then that is fine. It's best to speak to a Luthier or guitar builder
previous to any purchase. It's like to asking a mechanic which car he
would recommend before you walk into the show room to select one. You
can benefit from his first hand knowledge and experience and not have to
go it alone. After all the mechanic knows which cars breakdown.
Ordering From Haywire Custom Guitars
If you would like to order this or any other custom guitar, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your guitar needs.
Blog Home
The Haywire Blocked Tremolo or Hard Tail ? Which Choice For Your Guitar ?
The Haywire Blocked Tremolo or Hard Tail
All
of our guitars at Haywire Custom Shop with standard 6 point tremolos
are easily reversible hard tails. What do we mean by that?
Simply put, they are all blocked with the exception of the Floyd Rose models.
Aside
from the obvious fact that the outdated tremolo design has been used
since the early 1950's, here are some more real good reasons why we
block the tremolo as a "standard" feature:
Tremolo Headaches:
1- If all strings are removed at once it is time consuming to re-tune the guitar.
2- When one string breaks, all other strings go out of tune.
3- Intonation is a much longer and inaccurate process.
4- String bending can cause other strings to go slightly out of tune and sustain is lost.
5- Action with a "floating synchronized tremolo system" changes constantly and frustrates players.
What is a blocked tremolo, how does Haywire accomplish it and why do it?
Blocking
the tremolo requires tightening of the inertia block with the two
tremolo claw screws at the back wall of the tremolo cavity to prevent it
from moving. This makes the bridge behave more like a hard tail
bridge, eliminating common headaches. Remember this unit design has not
changed since 1948 but playing techniques have. Players are more aware
of out of tune problems today because of much better electronic tuners
that were not around back then. Fortunately this change does not modify
the instrument, nor is it permanent. It can always be reversed, making
it ideal for collectible instruments that need to stay original. The
Strat bridge is blocked and basically tightened with the claw screws
under the tremolo cover plate in the back of the guitar body. The
springs are so tight that the tremolo will not move thereby rendering it
a hard tail.
Why not use a hard tail bridge?
Well....
two reasons: The re-sale value is much better if we don’t physically
change anything that can’t be reversed since lots of players still want a
tremolo or whammy bar on their guitars (just loosen the 2 claw screws
that have been tightened in the back under the tremolo cover to put the
tremolo back into service and have a use-able tremolo system once again)
and second there is a bit more added sustain with the tremolo bridge
because it has a great deal more metal that a small hard tail bridge. It
also has the benefit of the springs which add even more
sustain....so...There you have it! My suggestion, if I may, it’s blocked
for you and you'll love it because it stays in perfect tune and the
whole process is not permanent or invasive to your instrument and it’s
completely reversible!
Ordering From Haywire Custom Guitars
If you would like to order this or any other custom guitar, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your guitar needs.
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