gummibearheads

Tom Anderson Guitar Strap Buttons

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-10-12

This is such a brilliant idea! Ton Anderson guitars include 2 strap buttons so when you put it down and lean against an amp or something, the strap buttons form “feet” so it doesn’t tip over!

Teenycaster

Teenycaster Frets and Tuners

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-10-05

The Teenycaster neck needed some attention. The frets sucked (they are dull, the ends are sharp, and some are high and buzz) and the tuners suck (they are wobbly and the ratio is too low). I bought an inexpensive set of Wilkinson tuners that are really nice. They are much better quality than the tuners that come on most inexpensive guitars and they don’t cost an arm and a leg.

First it is time to fix the frets…

Use a fret rocker to mark out the high spots on the frets.

Use some special fret files (and a trusty triangle file) to knock down the high spots ad crown the tops.

Polish the frets to a mirror finish using some high grit sandpaper and micro polishing pads.

Now it’s time to address the tuners.

Old cruddy tuners with loose posts, sloppy gears, and too low of a ratio.

New tuners with tight tolerances and an 18:1 gear ratio.

Tuner booty shot. These are thicc, but were a drop in replacement for the originals.

Teenycaster

Teenycaster Bridge Upgrade

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-10-05

I hate Telecaster bridges.

They have the stupid lips to attach a cover that nobody uses.
They only have 3 saddles so you can’t get the intonation right (especially on a short scale like this)

Time to upgrade.

I bought a new replacement bridge with six saddles so it can be properly intonated. The new bridge is a “string through” bridge which should make it sound better too. Also, the new one is thicker metal so it should resonate some more.

Time to install it. The first step is marking the location where the strings will go through the body. Then I need to drill the holes through the body as straight as I can without a drill press (spoiler, they are crooked). Then some counterbores on the back side and then installed the ferrules to hold the ends of the strings. Next up is installing the bridge and voila!

Teenycaster

Teenycaster Size

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-10-05

I’ve been working on the Teenycaster again after a hiatus, and doing some upgrades as well. It’s a lot more fun that I initially thought. For giggles, here is a photo comparing the Teenycaster to my normal size PRS.

Teenycaster on the left, PRS SE Custom 24 on the right.

The Teenycaster has a ~16″ scale length compared to the 24″ scale length of the full size PRS. After my upgrades I hope to get it tuned to E standard tuning.

music

Mac Sabbath – Pair-a-Buns

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-09-22

This oozes with coolness

Vangaurd

Kramer V Paint Color

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-09-22

I think I have settled on a color for the V. My friend’s daughter has a Squier Telecaster that is bright orange and I love it. Her guitar is orange with a white pickguard and chrome hardware. It looks like an orange creamsicle. As everyone knows, orange and black look really cool together so I think I’m going that direction.

A company named Createx makes a line of water based paints that can be used on guitars and purchased in small amounts. The have a some really cool metallic colors that can be used with their clear orange. The video below shows all of their candy colors applied on 4 different basecoats. I love the orange applied over a charcoal metallic basecoat.

Metallic orange has a cool 1980’s vibe with a cool “heavy metal” twist with the dark metallic undercoat. Slap some all black hardware on that and it will pop.

I think I also want to paint the black part of the headstock with the same orange metallic and add the same logo back except in black.

The black headstock will be the same orange as the body, and the Kramer logo will be in black.

stuff

Royal Blood – Sad But True

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-09-21

This is friggin awesome!

Vangaurd

Tremolo for the Kramer

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-09-21

I picked up a new Floyd Rose tremolo and locking nut for the Kramer Vanguard. Bombs away! It seems like a drop in replacement for the original tremolo (that’s what I was hoping for).

Vangaurd

Flying V Pickup

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-08-30

A friend donated a pickup to me. It’s a wicked nasty Seymour Duncan Invader.

Seymour Duncan Invader humbucker

I measured the resistance of it and it’s 18k Ohms which is STUPID hot! It’s going to be a flamethrower.

~~I’ll prolly fill in the neck pickup rout with wood and run this as a single pickup guitar.~~ Edit: I decided I’ll buy another one of these for the neck position.

Vangaurd

Kramer Vanguard Guitar

Post author By Mark
Post date 2021-08-30

I’ve always wanted a flying V guitar. My friend gave me an old one that he had laying around for a bunch of years.

This is the assembled guitar. My friend wanted to convert it to a hardtail and disassembled it and then lost interest.

Assuming all the parts he gave me are correct, it’s a Kramer Vangaurd. The serial number on the neckplate dates it to 1985-1986 according to vintagekramer.com. The included pickups are Schaller brand which jives with the date. The tuners are also Schaller and are stamped with “Made in W. Germany”. The tremolo is a licensed Floyd Rose.

This page has some info on Kramer Vangaurd

I want to put a cool flashy paint job on it and some newer parts to get it back into playing shape.