napalmdeath
Well-known member
Came yesterday, and it's simply gorgeous! After unboxing it, I did see a few minor finish flaws, but overall, nothing to really gripe about.
Setup was excellent. Out of the box, it was in tune! Granted, E-flat, and .009's, but it was spot on. Fretwork is fantastic.
I immediately got to work putting .010's on it, oiled up the fretboard, and some fret polishing. Now, it only came with 2 springs, so I added a third. TOO stiff. So, I'll have to address that.
Here's my only reservations. With just the 2 springs, it's too spongy. So much so, when you do bends and such, (without the whammy bar), you can here the bridge "pop" on and off the body. With the whammy, even moreso. Now, I understand that it's non-floating, and flush-mounted, but they should put some kind of dampening device, (foam pad, soft rubber, etc.,) under the bridge, on the wood to eliminate this annoyance. However, I have some ideas.
Initially, I had issues with using the whammy, and return to pitch going way sharp. I think I have this fixed. I, of course, had to compensate for more tension with the .010's, but what seemed to look good, apparently wasn't enough, so I cranked the spring screws in even more. Seems much better.
Overall, I'm impressed with the pickups, (neck may be a tad muddy), but the bridge absolutely screams through my Yeti. Harmonics just fly off this thing. And, you can dial the action in absurdly low. It plays really well. To me, it smokes the Pro Mods for ease of set up. I never had to touch the truss rod thumb wheel. Just lowered the bridge, and it took to it like a champ. The D-Tuna is a piece of cake to set up, and works like a charm.
For those curious about the neck profile, its very comfortable. It's got a little more beef than the Pro Mods, yet somewhat thin. I certainly wouldn't call it flat.
Anybody with experience with these bridges, I'd like to know what's worked for you to quiet it down smacking the wood, and/or if you've tried heavier duty springs.
Well, I thought I had a couple kinks worked out. More spring tension knocked out the issue with the bridge tapping against the wood, but I still cant work out why returning to pitch after tremolo use always goes way sharp. In addition, after tuning up, locking down the locking nut, both my low E and A go sharp. It's annoying the piss out of me. Initially, I assumed the lock nut issue was the string tree needing cranked down a bit to get the strings flush in the nut, no dice.. Any ideas?? I think tonight, I'll go back to three springs, and try III set up, rather than\I/ with the springs. Maybe this will give me more stability, better return to pitch, and less tension than the two outers angled.
I really love the guitar. I'd hate to return it, but I bought it new, so I can definitely exchange it. But, I think trial and error will fix it.
Setup was excellent. Out of the box, it was in tune! Granted, E-flat, and .009's, but it was spot on. Fretwork is fantastic.
I immediately got to work putting .010's on it, oiled up the fretboard, and some fret polishing. Now, it only came with 2 springs, so I added a third. TOO stiff. So, I'll have to address that.
Here's my only reservations. With just the 2 springs, it's too spongy. So much so, when you do bends and such, (without the whammy bar), you can here the bridge "pop" on and off the body. With the whammy, even moreso. Now, I understand that it's non-floating, and flush-mounted, but they should put some kind of dampening device, (foam pad, soft rubber, etc.,) under the bridge, on the wood to eliminate this annoyance. However, I have some ideas.
Initially, I had issues with using the whammy, and return to pitch going way sharp. I think I have this fixed. I, of course, had to compensate for more tension with the .010's, but what seemed to look good, apparently wasn't enough, so I cranked the spring screws in even more. Seems much better.
Overall, I'm impressed with the pickups, (neck may be a tad muddy), but the bridge absolutely screams through my Yeti. Harmonics just fly off this thing. And, you can dial the action in absurdly low. It plays really well. To me, it smokes the Pro Mods for ease of set up. I never had to touch the truss rod thumb wheel. Just lowered the bridge, and it took to it like a champ. The D-Tuna is a piece of cake to set up, and works like a charm.
For those curious about the neck profile, its very comfortable. It's got a little more beef than the Pro Mods, yet somewhat thin. I certainly wouldn't call it flat.
Anybody with experience with these bridges, I'd like to know what's worked for you to quiet it down smacking the wood, and/or if you've tried heavier duty springs.
Well, I thought I had a couple kinks worked out. More spring tension knocked out the issue with the bridge tapping against the wood, but I still cant work out why returning to pitch after tremolo use always goes way sharp. In addition, after tuning up, locking down the locking nut, both my low E and A go sharp. It's annoying the piss out of me. Initially, I assumed the lock nut issue was the string tree needing cranked down a bit to get the strings flush in the nut, no dice.. Any ideas?? I think tonight, I'll go back to three springs, and try III set up, rather than\I/ with the springs. Maybe this will give me more stability, better return to pitch, and less tension than the two outers angled.
I really love the guitar. I'd hate to return it, but I bought it new, so I can definitely exchange it. But, I think trial and error will fix it.