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Need hardtail strat info

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9/12/1999 4:07 PM

Need hardtail strat info

I'm toying with the idea of converting my strat (actually a G&L Legacy) to a hardtail version since I never use the vibrato bridge. The problem is that I can't find any info on the dimensions of the hardtail replacement bridges so I don't know if I'm going to run into problems with the vibrato's routing. Does anyone know where (or actually know) the dimensions of the original HT bridges? Ideally what I need to know is the dimensions of the bridge, along with the distances between the centers of the mounting holes.

As for other issues: Any other advice here? Am I going to run into problems because of the rout?

Thanks!

MJ

9/12/1999 7:09 PM

MJ:

Have you considered just blocking the bridge? Maybe someone can post all of the details (I've just screwed down the springs so that the trem block rests against the body, but that trick only works right with the vintage style trem bridge w/ the 6 screws on top. If the bridge pivots on 2 posts you would want to secure it so that the bridge was relatively flat.)

Steve Ahola

P.S. BTW EC's "Blackie" had a blocked tremelo and that sure sounded nice... (How could he sell it??? It would be like selling your own mother!)

9/12/1999 10:56 PM

Actually my bridge is already blocked using a piece of alder inside the cavity. I honestly don't know if it's made a difference tonewise; if it has it's subtle.

The reason I'm interested in going to a fixed bridge is that I'm planning on adding a piezo bridge... unfortunately G&L's pivot points are farther apart than the ones on Fenders which is what both Fishman and LR Baggs make their bridges for. Thus, I r have to redrill the pivot points, but I thought going to a hard-tail type bridge would be a bit easier (a few small screw holes rather than 2 big holes where the old pivots used to be). However, I think I'm just going to end up going the vib. bridge route since the hard-tail is going to be mounted directly over a rather large cavity and I'm worried that this is just going to kill the sustain completely; at least the vib. bridge has some added mass and is coupled to the body via the springs.

As for EC: I was under the impression that Blackie wasn't one of the ones that were auctioned (he did choose a few to keep)...

9/14/1999 5:16 PM

For approximate dimentions of the hardtail bridge, look at the vibrato bridgeplate. Imagine the extra "ear" on the right end for the trem arm being sliced off, so the right end now looks exactly the same as th left end. The mounting screws for the fixed bridge plate are in the same line as the screws that fix the vibrato bridge plate to the sustain block underneath. Where are you going to mount the holddown screws?

In order to realize the greater sustain of a fixed (hardtail) bridge over a spring balanced pivoted system (vibrato tailpiece), the bridge plate has to be mounted on solid wood, AND the string ends have to be secured against string ferrule cups on the backside of the body (like a telecaster).

In order to convert a vibrato routed strat body to a hardtail, the routed cavities need to be filled with wood. This is a serious pain in the ass job of cutting out tightly fitting puzzle pieces that will get glued & clamped into position. It can be done, but it's a lot of work. You might consider just buying a replacement hardtail body (StewMac have some nice sunburst bodies), bridge, and string ferrules, and mounting all the rest of the components from your current vibrato guitar onto the new body. You could always switch back if a reason occurred.

9/15/1999 4:22 PM

Doc,

Thanks for pointing out what I suspected; I've already concluded that converting to a hardtail would be a much bigger pain than I want and probably wouldn't offer any type of advantage. I've decided instead to just drill the extra 2 holes for the new LR Baggs bridge and take the easy route.

As for buying a new body: I considered doing that. I can get a prefinished body from Warmouth for $245, but that basically doubles the cost of the whole project. I also like this guitar. It's got a really resonant body and a great acoustic tone, which should work ideally for the piezo bridge.

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