Andy Eagle ( Guitar repair tech for 30 years )
- Thread starter Eagle
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Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
Carvel Art series; the ones Ed taped and played.
In for a full EVH set up because this get played.
The original setup has serious issues.
The Floyd has no clearance under the leading edge and the bolts cut in to the finish underneath.
The last fret is high because the fingerboard has pressure from underneath on the overhang.
In for a full EVH set up because this get played.
The original setup has serious issues.
The Floyd has no clearance under the leading edge and the bolts cut in to the finish underneath.
The last fret is high because the fingerboard has pressure from underneath on the overhang.
Eagle
Rock Star
- Messages
- 7,061
The issue was known because the pick guard was filled to fit under the overhang.
The damage under the Floyd.
This gave me the opportunity to look at the pickup and meter it. It’s basically a prototype Wolfgang EVH on a Fender platform.
The guitar would need a small shim to get the clearance and Also lift the overhang. Even with a modified pick guard.
Done.
The damage under the Floyd.
This gave me the opportunity to look at the pickup and meter it. It’s basically a prototype Wolfgang EVH on a Fender platform.
The guitar would need a small shim to get the clearance and Also lift the overhang. Even with a modified pick guard.
Done.
gearJunkie
Rock Star
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- 2,911
sandmannn69
Groupie
- Messages
- 47
Had a brand new Player 2 Telecaster (22 frets) with same problem. After shimming neck pocket to verify source of problem, I used a dremel to thin the back of the pickguard under the overhang so I could remove the shim.
SillyOctpuss
Rock Star
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- 4,444
I was 14 the first time I saw a Parker Fly. I thought it was the ugliest guitar I'd ever seen, however, the older I get the cooler they look to me. I've never gotten to play one but I'd like to.
Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
I used to have two Nightflys and a Deluxe. I like them but didn’t want to be the one trying to glue the frets back on or get hold of impossible parts down the line . Support is completely absent now.
SillyOctpuss
Rock Star
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- 4,444
I'd mostly just like a go on one at this stage.
SillyOctpuss
Rock Star
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- 4,444
Wow, I've never seen one of those.
Chocol8
Rock Star
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- 3,532
That would have to be the worst neck to have to refret! If you could get the old ones off cleanly, and I am assuming that could be a big if, I am thinking you would probably want to build a jig to hold all the new frets perfectly spaced and aligned. Do you know how they did it at the factory?
Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
It would never actually need a refret . They had a jig that put the frets on the fingerboard before it was fitted. The frets themselves are by far the hardest on any guitar. Substantially harder than the stainless steel wire you can get. I have glued frets that have come off a few times but that’s it . I’ve never seen anything like wear in them.
Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
That was just sold to a collector for 10k . It was bought in a small shop in Paris just over 10 years ago for €850. Nobody wanted Parker at the time .
The Bronze was even cheaper £695.
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Indeed the hardest frets ever put on a guitar. Here is Ken’s response when asked about it…
The fly frets were SO much harder than the gooey stainless wire you can buy in the usual tanged style now.
I don't like the new SS wire at all, as you suggest, it doesn't wear as well as you would hope. I greatly prefer the "EVO" wire available from Jescar. It works better, and seems to last longer than their stainless wire.
The Fly wire was a half-round shape, just like SS cotter pin wire, which, incidentally, I used for the first tests way back when in Seymour, CT. (I lived and worked in Seymour from 1983 - 1990, and developed the Fly guitar there, did repairs, etc.)
For the production wire, I found a great wire company who was willing to work with me and render the toughest wire that can be rolled on this planet.
It's primarily toughness, not hardness that you want in a fret. It needs to resist abrasion in order to stand up, especially to the unwound strings. The SS raw material that the Radcliffe Wire Company supplied was so tough that there was NO possible way for it to be rolled into a standard tanged fretwire shape, believe me.
I asked, and got a laugh from the owner, who said, "Ken, we can barely roll this stuff from round to half-round!"
They were using solid Carbide dies, and even so, it was a tricky job for them.
They ran a closed shop, so I was never able to see their machinery or setups. Apparently wire rolling is extremely competitive, and if I'm not mistaken, they had the contract to roll wire for HeliCoil, so I can understand their unwillingness to tour inventors!
I understand that some modern players have drunk the SS Kool Aid, and have inflated expectations thanks to the magazines, etc. Sorry about that. When I was a kid the Kool Aid flavor was brass nuts. In the final say, we're all crazy.
I quite like the feel of my Vega trem. It does have a softer, more sensitive touch, like a Kahler, but it somehow feels more “connected” than the Kahler cam trems I’ve tried. Worth trying in my opinion…
Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
It’s the different pitch response and the lack of increased resistance that makes it an outlier. If you listen to demos almost nobody manages to play it musically. Vibrato that is unmusical and unrelated. Yes that’s their fault but it illustrates just how different it is.
Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
Stainless steel frets are still a considerable improvement over nickel . The players that wear frets are the ones with a heavy pick attack Ime . Thanks for the information.
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bucephalus
Shredder
- Messages
- 1,010
Or cowboy chord divs like me with a heavy touch from playing acoustic solely for 30 years before getting into electric.
Eagle
Rock Star
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- 7,061
Wear is mostly the picking hand . A sledgehammer fretting hand just makes you go out of tune or destroy your strings. Bending wears strings quicker too and old tarnished strings wear you frets out the quickest if combined.
