General Music Chat

I need some ideas guys.

Ive got a strat that Ive been thinking of putting a whammy system on, and also want to put a gibson humbucker like my LPs in.

I guess my main question is Floyd Rose versus Kahler? Whats the pros and cons of each?

Any other comments on this please add.

Thanks

I've got the Kahler Spyder on my Strat, not sure if they even make them anymore. I remember at the time I was told that Kahler was "better" than FR but who knows.

Thanks Jimmy, Ive been listening to Halen so much I thought I might hot rod my ole strat out with a t-500 Gibson Humbucker and a Whammy and dont really know which way to go. I would like the pickup cause I feel that way I can just leave my amp set for the LPs and this guitar, but who knows?

EVH always used a Floyd Rose. I generally hard tail my guitars so I don't have personal experience with it. As to pickups, a Duncan lil 59 sounds amazingly like a vintage Gibson humbucker. For guys looking for a little heavier "Les Paul" tone from a Strat, the Duncan Hot Rails works well.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/e ... ils_for_s/

There are several things to consider when choosing a whammy. 1) how well do they stay in tune. 2) Tone. Some have better tone than others. I have prefered the FR on guitars I have played in the past. I have a fender whammy that came on my American standard. The tone is really good. When I change my strings I always rub pencil (graphite) in the string slot in the nut! That allows the string to slide in the nut freely. If you have a single coil in the bridge position I HIGHLY reccomend a Seymor Duncan JB Junior. That pickup is frikken amazing. That is what I am using in my strat! The Fender stock whammy sounds good but when you do a dive bomb Wayy down you have to wiggle it a bit when you come back up to get it back in tune.

I like the right (pick) hand fine tuners on the FR Harmonics don't lie!

The Kahler has the same fine tuners. One small issue with it is that if you break a string you're pretty much f'ed, the rest of the strings will be badly detuned. I have a Washburn Wonderbar on one of my Les Pauls, each string is individually locked so if you do break a string the rest stay in tune. I don't think they make that system anymore either.

If installed properly, the Floyd rose is the best design out there
installing a FR on an existing guitar is an expensive prospect.
it will require routing on the neck and body and a complete refinish of the guitar.
if you are not willing to go to this expense buy a mexi strat most are routed for humbuckers already and pick guards are cheap
I would buy an Ibanez from www.ibanezrules.com
if I were you

I have Wilkinson's on all 7 of my Strats. I didn't buy them because they were cheaper than others, just that I found that there was no need to get anything more expensive. Actually, I did some work on factory Strat with a 6 hole Fender stock vibrato and it also stayed in tune. However, I did remove the 4 inner screws and trim the nut.
My Wilkinson's do not go out of tune, and I use them constantly. My Strats have various compound nuts on the necks from graphite to plastic compounds. Nothing special on any of them. You simply need to know how to properly trim the string groove so that they don't pinch the strings. That is what will cause a guitar to go out of tune.
As far as locking systems go, I tried tuning a Rose, and it truly was a real P.I.A. But as said previously, with any of them, if you break a string they all go out of tune.

I love those Wilkinsons, but I don't have any guitars with them on it. They have super fine tuning controls, but the finger nuts are bigger on the Floyd rose. Both have three point height adjustments. Yes, you would have routing involved, no, it can be done without mar or repainting. Simplest wammy you can put on a guitar is the Bigsby Short Tail. It is the smallest, and if you don't like it, you can replace the $60 Bigsby investment with any larger unit. GC has them in stock. You can get them in Brush, High polish, or gold anodized. They have a voluptuous flat bar that makes a good rest, and the inside of your pinky will thank you because you can lift your wammy as well as swell down. Not all wammys are the same. I have one on my series 10 that will swell down but only goes up to zero tune (stock, not Bigsby). A Bigsby can be installed w/o routing because the spring is on top. You can do the Bigsby yourself. For the others, I know someone that can help!

If installed properly, the Floyd rose is the best design out there
installing a FR on an existing guitar is an expensive prospect.
it will require routing on the neck and body and a complete refinish of the guitar.
if you are not willing to go to this expense buy a mexi strat most are routed for humbuckers already and pick guards are cheap
I would buy an Ibanez from www.ibanezrules.com
if I were you

SWEET! You like your Ibanez' like I like my Washburns. But i have a question... Other than color, what's their differences? All are 24 fret. All have wammys. At least one is a 5 pick up, can't see the others well enough to make out. Are they back up's for each other in case a string breaks? Do you tune them different?

I need some ideas guys.

Ive got a strat that Ive been thinking of putting a whammy system on, and also want to put a gibson humbucker like my LPs in.

I guess my main question is Floyd Rose versus Kahler? Whats the pros and cons of each?

Any other comments on this please add.

Thanks

Jw , You might want to review this blog...(Rose Vs Kahler on a strat)
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/archive/inde ... 89829.html

well,
the egen18 has a split coil over 3 pick ups on a 5 position switch and a tonestyler, giving it about 40 unique tones
the white rg550 is a midi only synth controller,
the 7 string is extended range; tuned down a whole step also with a split coil switch and a tonestyler and
the BKV77 is a JEM, the 1st Ibanez I bought back in 91 when I dumped my strats. it's pretty much stock cept for a split coil switch
I got tired of the constant attention the stratocasters needed to stay in tune and sound good.

my style of playing is extremely abusive to a setup and fret longevity

an example
my last strat was a 62 reissue it was pretty average where stability was concerned, semi floating trem, shaller tuners , teflon nut and pro set up. it would stay in tune for about 3 songs,
any one of the guitars you see here will hold tuning for 5 to 6 hrs of hard playing with only a minor tweaking the following day.

in the case of fret wear i do miss the old strats but American made steel is a thing of the past anyway so even the US guitars aren't what they used to be.

I said I bought all the guitars I wanted. Not altogether true. A nice store in Columbus closed about 3 years ago. They had an Ibanez that was laid out kinda like a telecaster. A sweet axe for not much more than $400. Instead, I took advantage of another windfall at the time and got my 12 string. Guitars almost talk to me when they want me to take them home. Then, the ole' lady wants to have a talk. I haven't bought another one in about 3 years.

I said I bought all the guitars I wanted. Not altogether true. A nice store in Columbus closed about 3 years ago. They had an Ibanez that was laid out kinda like a telecaster. A sweet axe for not much more than $400. Instead, I took advantage of another windfall at the time and got my 12 string. Guitars almost talk to me when they want me to take them home. Then, the ole' lady wants to have a talk. I haven't bought another one in about 3 years.

I'm just the opposite
I find very little in the stores that appeal to me, i certainly don't have everything I want but I haven't found then next candidate yet