Tuning...MAKE IT stable!

[Chris O]

Even though my ESP/LTD EC-1000's are head & shoulders better than a real Gibby in terms of tuning stability, they still left a little bit to be desired.

I picked up a couple EVH Wolfgang Special HT's recently, and while I scratched my head at first on why a hard tail guitar would need a locking nut, I was pleasantly surprised at how ROCK-SOLID the tuning was. I could play quite a bit before I needed to tune at all. Even more tuning stable than a well-set-up Floyd. The Schaller tail piece makes it EASY, and there is enough room to adjust from Standard to Drop D, etc...



Anyway, I picked up some Schaller fine-tuning tailpieces, and some Kahler strings locks. The Kahler part made it pretty easy - just drilled a few holes, so no major mods there.

Here's the finished product:

 

[billsbigego]

Willie Adler approves.

Those ESP's are growing on me.

Is that a stop bridge with fine tuners on it? Fuck me, where have I been under a rock?

Are they universal? I want to put one on this.

 

[Racerxrated]

Nice. The main reason I play floyded guitars is intonation. Without a locking nut, no guitar I've ever played will stay in tune very long. And I hate that. It really irritates me when I play out. LP, Tele.....doesn't matter....they won't keep intonation. I do have a $200 Washburn X50 that has a Buzz Feiten tuning system that stays in tune better than any other non floyded guitar I've had...but the locking nut is a must for me.

 

[billsbigego]

So you guys just slap one behind the nut eh? I'd have to hack the truss rod cover, that exposed hole there on the LTD is making me twitch.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Those fine tuner stop tailpieces have been around a looooong time. Before we knew better, we would wind up dulling the bridge saddles going from standard tuning to drop-d and back a lot. Now there are roller saddles on the bridges.

 

[anomaly]

I've heard good things about the new Evertune bridge system, they supposedly stay in tune forever. Some new ESP/ltd's are coming out with those new bridges.

 

[billsbigego]

That evertune thing seems cool. Looks like a lot of moving parts though. Folks seem to like it from what I've read, but damn what a footprint.

 

[billsbigego]

I guess it doesn't look too back on the guitar.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Badass...I just got the Stealth and you're right; stays in tune for ever.

Might have to do this on my LP too...how much work involved? Looks pretty good man!

 

[Chris O]

Willie Adler approves.

Those ESP's are growing on me.

Is that a stop bridge with fine tuners on it? Fuck me, where have I been under a rock?

Are they universal? I want to put one on this.

Yep - those are fine tuners. Schaller makes them. The stock tail piece was a Pro-Tone, and I think the spacing is pretty much the same on most. All I did was pull the studs, and pop the new ones in, string up, and go!

So you guys just slap one behind the nut eh? I'd have to hack the truss rod cover, that exposed hole there on the LTD is making me twitch.

Yep. I just hand-held it where I wanted it, and used a Dremel to drill the holes "quick-like".

Lol... I hate truss rod covers. They're like pubic hair - just get them out of the way and do what you gotta do!

Badass...I just got the Stealth and you're right; stays in tune for ever.

Might have to do this on my LP too...how much work involved? Looks pretty good man!

Thanks!

It was super easy - like I said, I just held it where I wanted it, drilled 4 x 1/16" holes using the nut as a template/jig, and then screwed it on. It's pretty hard to screw it up, and it doesn't have to be super-precise anyway, since it's behind the nut. That said, my inner-Type A really wanted me to find a way to clamp it for drilling, but I didn't have anything that would readily work.

The tail-piece was just a simple swap-out.

 

[billsbigego]

What's there to setup? I'm just asking, not being a dick. A LP has a tailpiece and the tuners. You stretch the strings properly and I usually lock the strings around the tuner posts and I'm good. I don't have a LP but just speaking about these stop tail tunomatic setups.

Around here it's 80 1 day and 40 the next. The only guitar I didn't have to tune daily was a composite acoustics carbon fiber guitar I had.

 

[Ventura]

thats funny. my Les Paul is almost always in tune, and stays in tune even with the most aggressive playing. Its all about the proper setup

Yep, gotta concur... When I read the opening line:

Even though my ESP/LTD EC-1000's are head & shoulders better than a real Gibby in terms of tuning stability, they still left a little bit to be desired.


I was a little

 

[zuel69]

A real Gibby is head and shoulders above junk knock off's..for every reason.

 

[Ventura]

A real Gibby is head and shoulders above junk knock off's..for every reason.

+1 if it's a good one and properly set-up

 

[audiomidijace]

A real Gibby is head and shoulders above junk knock off's..for every reason.

+1 if it's a good one and properly set-up

Guys, that's just not true anymore. An ESP at 1/3 the price of a similar, currently manufactured Gibson is equal to or better in quality.
You're over-paying for a name and have been for YEARS now.

 

[Ventura]

A real Gibby is head and shoulders above junk knock off's..for every reason.

+1 if it's a good one and properly set-up

Guys, that's just not true anymore. An ESP at 1/3 the price of a similar, currently manufactured Gibson is equal to or better in quality.
You're over-paying for a name and have been for YEARS now.

I own 3 Horizons and many Lesters.

In my humble opinion, different tools for different jobs. Both excellent.

 

[snowdog]

A hard tail with a locking nut is retarded. Sorry.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

thats funny. my Les Paul is almost always in tune, and stays in tune even with the most aggressive playing. Its all about the proper setup

I was surprised to see all the love on this OP as I was thinking the same thing. The best part about moving from my Jem to a LP was no more locking nut and awesome tuning stability.
I wonder if the tone would be depleted as I like the sound of open strings on my choice of nut, much different than locking nut resonance

But it seems to make a lot of people happy, so wdik

 

[Chris O]

Jesus H...here we go... I didn't envision this turning into a shitshow, but I guess when the butt-hurt is so strong with this crew...

Clearly there are some people who just can't handle the beloved LP being called out for an issue almost everyone who's ever owned one has had at one point or another (unless you're the luckiest person on earth...). That said the purpose was not to dish on Gibsons. That said, a Gibson BETTER be set up better than my lowly LTD...it cost 3x as much!! I mean GEEZ - why should I have to throw down for a nut job on a $2000-2500 guitar right out of the gate, especially when "PLEK-ing" is supposed to be so awesome?? Inconsistent doesn't even begin to describe today's Gibson. That's just a fact. And I *LIKE* Gibsons!

Anyway...my LTDs were/are GREAT!! Super consistent, super playable. For less than $600 a piece! Hardware was /is arguable better than stock Gibson too. I just wanted them to have the killer stability that my Wolfies have. Trust me - I thought it was pretty weird too...until I TRIED IT. The Wolfgang Standard HT's blew me away - I was more surprised than you could ever expect! I thought the same thing as some here have..."alluded" to.

A hard tail with a locking nut is retarded. Sorry.

But hey, one man's retard is another's genius.

I've had a few Gibsons that were great too, but I've had more that were duds as a percentage of total ownership - probably about two-thirds have needed significant work. The best ones I've had were mid-90's Studios - go figure! Set-ups are pretty damn easy on a LP...but again, a guitar costing that much shouldn't need a nut job the day you buy it either, and it's not like every store out there will do that for you when you buy it, and unlike all you "pros" here, I don't have my own personal guitar tech/roadie...

But hey...back to your regularly scheduled bashing. Have at it!

(I wonder when someone will call me fat like Wolfie?)

 

[Chris O]

You don't need to "get it" Reza. That's the beauty of it all.

I buy mine "off the shelf" these days, and then make it my own. YMMV. I'm not in a place to spend $2-3K on guitars to rock the masses in my bedroom. The $500-700 guitars will do just fine for me, thanks. An extra $1-2K on top of that doesn't make me sound 3x-5x better. Been there - the return on investment wasn't that good.

It's all good though. You don't have to like what I buy or what I do. I'm not doing this to satisfy you or anyone else. I just enjoy playing, tinkering & doing my own work, and sharing with others - you know...humble like that. Too bad the egos around here just can't wrap themselves around that.