How much to have a body rerouted?

Hertz32

There's a guy selling an Ibanez FX edge bridge on facebook and I'm wondering whether it's feasable to reroute the body for it? It would be going from a string thru hipshot esque bridge to effectively a floating floyd route.

Hertz32

@WezV @FelineGuitars

jd0272

This is one of those fabled 'Buy A Router And Have A Stab At It' moments.

Hertz32

I would if I had the space! And if it wasnt my Agile 8 string! Love it too much to be amateurish over it

jd0272

Hertz32 said:

I would if I had the space! And if it wasnt my Agile 8 string! Love it too much to be amateurish over it

Oh it's only amateurish if you place the router jig in the wrong place, and routers don't take up much room, no more than a pair of hip trainers chap!  

WezV

depends on a few factors, not impossible but not the sort of job I normally take on willingly

Dalefty

Make a simple jig and do it yourself, you'll probably find for the cost of getting somebody else to do it for you that you can buy all the tools you need to make a jig, or actually buy an acrylic jig off of Amazon - I've seen jigs for most styles of bridges made of acrylic for sale on there for cheap, as well as a decent router or Dremel with all the fancy bits and plunge router attachment and have change.  Screwfix is one place that sells cheap and cheerful routers, and next day postage is about a fiver I think.

DaLefty

Hertz32

Alright then! If the string spacing turns out the same between the two bridges then I'll go for it. Should be okay as long as I dont rush, measure twice cut once etc. Normally they use a locking nut, but the nut is too narrow for my guitar so I'll have to make do... Might swap out my tuners for some better Schaller ones while I'm at it too.

Loobs

Do it yourself. You're more than welcome to borrow my plunge router (portable) if you can get over to Epping in Essex (on the tube) and pick it up from my Mum's place. It's not so hard to use.

Dalefty

Hertz32 said:

Alright then! If the string spacing turns out the same between the two bridges then I'll go for it. Should be okay as long as I dont rush, measure twice cut once etc. Normally they use a locking nut, but the nut is too narrow for my guitar so I'll have to make do... Might swap out my tuners for some better Schaller ones while I'm at it too.

Practice on some scrap wood first, and have a look here for templates:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_gnr_fkmr0?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aguitar+templates&keywords=guitar+templates&ie=UTF8&qid=1428351184


DaLefty

ICBM

I have a bad feeling about this...

WezV

ICBM said:

I have a bad feeling about this...

same here

mainly because of this

Hertz32 said:

I would if I had the space! And if it wasnt my Agile 8 string! Love it too much to be amateurish over it

Hertz32

I would practise a load on wood scraps as Dalefty suggests, and try and get a template + measurements wherever possible. I would rather someone professional did it though, I dont trust myself not to screw it up either really

ICBM

To back that up I should admit that when I was much younger I ruined my original Aria RS Standard by routing the body for a couple of different trem systems and a guitar synth controller among other mods, and although I made a reasonable job of it, it was never the same. I eventually sold the parts and spent the best part of fifteen years looking for a replacement one, which I finally found a couple of years ago.

No matter how well you do it, it will never be the same guitar - you simply can't remove wood like that without changing it, in an unpredictable way - and unless you've practiced extensively on other projects you're unlikely to do it all that well either. It's not a simple thing to get right at the first attempt.

If you want a guitar with a Floyd, buy a guitar with a Floyd...

Hertz32

It isnt a floyd though, it's a fixed bridge thats got a route out the body like one. It's basically a blocked floyd functionally, with fine tuners and clamp blocks.

WezV

ICBM said:

If you want a guitar with a Floyd, buy a guitar with a Floyd...

... or make a guitar with a floyd

if your agile is a bolt on neck it makes much more sense to make a whole new body for the new trem than destroy the original.   

If you can route a floyd, you can make a guitar body.... and the opposite also applies, if you can;t make a guitar body you should not be trying to route for a floyd

also the bolt on neck would allow you to do more with the neck angle to get the best floyd set-up.   if you are planning to do this to a fixed neck neck (set or through) you are constrained by the existing neck angle

littlegreenman

Hertz32 said:

It isnt a floyd though, it's a fixed bridge thats got a route out the body like one. It's basically a blocked floyd functionally, with fine tuners and clamp blocks.

Not sure what the benefit would be if that's the case, I thought you were looking at a wobbly Edge 8, á la:

http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/blog/tonymacalpine.jpg

Better machineheads would seem to be a more elegant solution?

jd0272

ICBM said:

To back that up I should admit that when I was much younger I ruined my original Aria RS Standard by routing the body for a couple of different trem systems and a guitar synth controller among other mods, and although I made a reasonable job of it, it was never the same. I eventually sold the parts and spent the best part of fifteen years looking for a replacement one, which I finally found a couple of years ago.

No matter how well you do it, it will never be the same guitar - you simply can't remove wood like that without changing it, in an unpredictable way - and unless you've practiced extensively on other projects you're unlikely to do it all that well either. It's not a simple thing to get right at the first attempt.

If you want a guitar with a Floyd, buy a guitar with a Floyd...

But, you then had the opportunity to have the experience of learning something first hand 'in your time'. Not that I'm suggesting he drops a knacker, just worth a (albeit canny complex I'd think?) go. I'm quite reckless though.

Loobs

Why do I want (need) this bridge, is what I'd be asking myself.

Hertz32

Loobs said:

Why do I want (need) this bridge, is what I'd be asking myself.

Improved intonation range and fine tuners really.

Hertz32

Probably easier to improve the tuners as littlegreenman suggests. Currently have those tiny grover rotomatics, what would i need to do to fit some schallers?