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Post by ChrisK on Mar 4, 2007 17:54:09 GMT -5
................'cept when they don't. New Highway 1 Strat. Nitro black, Alnico3 pickups SSS. Greasebucket tone control circuit. The salesman asked me if it was named this because of some sort of special lubrication on the pot shafts. I said, uh, { Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah} yeah, fer sure, man. This alone made it worth the trip in. ( I just love it when a salesman really knows his products.) Including the gig bag it was $520 (normally $750 pre-barter). The neck was installed crooked and the strings didn't line up over the pole pieces (this is why the Strat has a neck heel radius - so ya kin adjust them Sparky!). It had been setup by a drunken sailor (apparently this is what folks do with a drunken sailor). 10 minutes of minor tweaking and all is good. It will be the testbed for; guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=schem&action=display&thread=1163395682 |
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Post by UnklMickey on Mar 5, 2007 9:45:52 GMT -5
.....Greasebucket tone control circuit. The salesman asked me if it was named this because of some sort of special lubrication on the pot shafts..... if he's like most salesmen, he's probably busy right now, trying to find out exactly what that lube is..... ....and how he can get some, to use on his customers. |
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Post by Ripper on Mar 5, 2007 11:15:07 GMT -5
Dont new guitars come with a free set up? I know all of mine did.
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Post by ux4484 on Mar 5, 2007 12:12:55 GMT -5
Dont new guitars come with a free set up? I know all of mine did. heh....that may be......but I've never seen any salesdrone at GC EVER offer to do a setup on any guitar costing less than $400, even then it's not usually the salesman offering, it's usually the buyer asking for it to be done. The usual answer is: "Sure, you can pick it up next week"....which is something most of aren't willing to wait for (well....I know I never can). On the other hand, I've seen the guys at Sam Ash do set-up's while the customer waited, even on Squire's and Epi's....but then again....you are usually paying a few $ more at SA. |
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 5, 2007 12:33:19 GMT -5
Or on..........................
Yeah, if'n ya don't mind a drunken sailor working on yer guitar.
I tend to feel that setting up one's guitar is akin to tying one's shoes....................
.........as in do it yerself!
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 8, 2007 1:31:00 GMT -5
Hmmm, so I'm somewhat bummed. The Highway 1 made in the USA guitars switched over to Mexican vibrato bridges in 2006.
It ain't in the catalog (specifies "synchronized tremo'Leo, but the pics show the wider USA bridge),
or on the website (specifies "Vintage style tremo'Leo bridge, but the pics show the wider USA bridge),
but the Callaham site knows all about it.
To upgrade with Callaham's stuff, you need to order the Mexican bridge stuff.
The outside strings are barely over the outside pole pieces on the neck pickup.
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Post by sumgai on Mar 8, 2007 17:17:12 GMT -5
Hmmm, so I'm somewhat bummed. The Highway 1 made in the USA guitars switched over to Mexican vibrato bridges in 2006.
It ain't in the catalog (specifies "synchronized tremo'Leo, but the pics show the wider USA bridge),
or on the website (specifies "Vintage style tremo'Leo bridge, but the pics show the wider USA bridge),
but the Callaham site knows all about it.
To upgrade with Callaham's stuff, you need to order the Mexican bridge stuff.
The outside strings are barely over the outside pole pieces on the neck pickup. Bummer! But I'm not sure I understand that last sentence. Are you saying that the Mexican parts are the ones that cause the strings to be too narrowly spaced? And if so, then why would I order Callaham replacements for such? Wouldn't it make more sense to order American-sized parts, and spread the strings back out over the pickup pole pieces where they belong? sumgai |
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 8, 2007 21:22:09 GMT -5
It's a quagmire of less than optimum solutions. A vintage bridge has a string spacing of 2 7/32" which places the strings too near to the fretboard edges. The 2 1/16" Mexican (I call it that only because it's used on the 013- Mexico built guitars) bridge places the strings too far together for proper alignment over the outer neck pickup poles. An optimum spacing is probably 2 1/8", which just might explain why the Am Std vibrato (tremo'Leo) bridge has that exact spacing. The new Highway 1 bridge "0072290000" is actually of unknown origin. www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/stratocaster/0111160_62A/SD0111160_62APg2.pdfThe original Highway 1 bridge "0054619000" is referred to as a "Vintage Ping" on the BOM for the Dlx Dbl Fat Strat 013-3300, which is a Mexican (013-) build. www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/stratocaster/0111100_02B/SD0111100_02BPg2upg1.pdfThe new bridge still has the same mounting hole spacing as the regular 2 7/32" one, so changing it may be that simple. I bot a (origin unknown) 6-screw vintage bridge for the Holy Koa project (the body and stuff arrived Monday). guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=repair&action=display&thread=1172196911I still am considering a Callaham for it, so this bridge may go here. It's interesting in how the Highway 1's have evolved. The latest ones have three different pickup part numbers depending on installation position. And of course, that wonderous "Greasebucket" self-lubricating tone control. |
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Post by sumgai on Mar 8, 2007 21:52:22 GMT -5
Chris, Ahh, I see. If I'm not mistaken (and I'm not gonna search two years plus worth of postings here), you use a slightly larger fretnut width, don't you? That would explain why the wider spacing seems to let the two E strings go over the edge, if you're not extra careful. I too want to go an 1/8" wider for my next neck, but I confess, I hadn't thought this far into the process. Please do keep us posted as to which bridge works best for you on this thing. Like they say, the Devil is in the details!  ;D sumgai |
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 8, 2007 22:34:56 GMT -5
Well, slightly wider means 1 3/4", so it's a leetle wider at the heel. If I'm widening the string spacing 1/16" at the nut, since the bridge isn't moving and the heel is around the 24th fret (3/4 of the way to the bridge), the spacing gain is only 1/64" at the heel. Levers are.
It's still noticeable with a 1 11/16" nut width.
The neck spacing gain at/near the pickups or neck heel is much more significant for changes in bridge spacing.
When I used the 1 7/8" nut widths, the heel comes widened over 1/16" on each side just for this reason.
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 15, 2007 23:13:50 GMT -5
....and in the end, I've decided that I really don't like the guitar all that much, so it's a'goin' back.
I played my PRS Soapbar SE against it as well as my other Strats (and copies thereof) and, well, it's just dull sounding in comparison.
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Post by sumgai on Mar 16, 2007 1:56:14 GMT -5
Hehehe....... The Highway is hittin' the........ highway!
Sorry, couldn't help myself. ;D
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Post by ChrisK on Mar 16, 2007 17:18:45 GMT -5
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;D