Andy Eagle ( Guitar repair tech for 30 years )

Rex said:
Hmmm... I'm not an antiquity expert, but here are some impressions....

- The crazing in the first picture looks legit, though I've seen well-crafted crazing with a similar pattern. It also shows a row of dings that I associate with a relic job. But there's also a ding that matches the pattern of the crazing, so that suggests legit. The dings appear to be finish-only, with rolled edges that are hard to replicate with abrasives.

- In the third picture, the knobs and pickups look like years of accumulated crud that's been given the once-over with a cleaning cloth. But the pickguard looks like it came from a different guitar with much less wear.

- Ditto for the fourth picture. This shows some interesting wear on the heel end of the fingerboard, but also some staining on the face of the heel that looks like there might have been some solvent there. The heel face also shows some uneven discoloration in the finish.


Whichever one is a replica, the work was done with care.
Click to expand...
The top two are my replica the bottom two is a 56 .
 
Rex said:
How did you pull off those nicely-sculpted edges on the finish dings?
Click to expand...
The dings are with a set of keys on a chain. Dropped swung or thrown at the area I want the damage depending on how hard. Work from a set of photos of originals. Put generic damage in the areas it naturally occurs. Never second guess or reference other relics. You build the story from the beginning with thin nitro applied with the same process as the original only thinner.
 
@Eagle .... Ok Andy, here's another non-Floyd trem question. I have 2 EBMM Silhouette Specials.
Both have SS frets and bone nuts, (work performed by Pete Skermetta in Austin, Tx.)

On one he replaced the original vintage trem with a Gotoh 510, and I love that trem.

On the other however, still has the stock trem that's been blocked. Later on sometime, I'm thinking of upgrading the trem with something a little different.

Here's my question...I have it narrowed down to Vega Trem or the Wilkinson with locking saddles...what say you ?
(I'm leaning towards the Wilkinson...)

Thank you for your input... (y)
 
You should also look at the Wilkinson VS1300
Is is made by Gotoh and higher quality than the one you usually see.
VS1300;
IMG_4748.jpeg

WVS130;
IMG_4749.jpeg

The bolted down saddles and staggered holes in the block in the VS1300 are definitely better as is the build.
 
I have both the WVS130 and the Vega. The Wilkinsons will give you the traditonal limited range of a typical vintage bridge, while the Vega is more like a recessed floyd rose, and it feels a lot softer in use. They're quite different. I love the Vega!
 
Blix said:
I have both the WVS130 and the Vega. The Wilkinsons will give you the traditonal limited range of a typical vintage bridge, while the Vega is more like a recessed floyd rose, and it feels a lot softer in use. They're quite different. I love the Vega!
Click to expand...
This is a consideration but I still recommend the VS1300 over it. Nice bridge though and a good option if you’re fitting it on a vintage style Strat.
 
Eagle said:
This is a consideration but I still recommend the VS1300 over it. Nice bridge though and a good option if you’re fitting it on a vintage style Strat.
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Yeah I wouldn't put a Vega on a vintage-type strat, but for something more modern I definitely would, and did :)
 
I bought one of these cheap Chinese necks ($88) on eBay. SS frets, flame maple, FR nut included. My expectation was low to start with, it was more of an experiment to see whether I could go here instead of to Warmoth in the future (I guess that's a "no").

It looks *really* good and the woodwork seems fine, but the fretwork is very shoddy. Some frets are short (don't go all the way to the edge), a lot of sharp fret ends, and quite a few high frets. I can try and smoothen out the fret ends, but my worry are the high frets. Like the one in the picture below, it's pretty clear that it is not seated all the way down, this one even had some foreign material stuck between the fret and the wood. Should I try to hammer them down some more? (I don't have a fret press). Thanks!

1750972200652.png


Really nice-looking neck otherwise!

1750972457913.png
 
The neck does look nice! If it feels good, I would probably just bite the bullet and refret it which sucks to have to do, but nothing else is going to fix short frets or what looks like excessive bevels on the ends.
 
Henry said:
I bought one of these cheap Chinese necks ($88) on eBay. SS frets, flame maple, FR nut included. My expectation was low to start with, it was more of an experiment to see whether I could go here instead of to Warmoth in the future (I guess that's a "no").

It looks *really* good and the woodwork seems fine, but the fretwork is very shoddy. Some frets are short (don't go all the way to the edge), a lot of sharp fret ends, and quite a few high frets. I can try and smoothen out the fret ends, but my worry are the high frets. Like the one in the picture below, it's pretty clear that it is not seated all the way down, this one even had some foreign material stuck between the fret and the wood. Should I try to hammer them down some more? (I don't have a fret press). Thanks!

View attachment 47627

Really nice-looking neck otherwise!

View attachment 47628
Click to expand...
Warmoth is worth the $

giphy.gif
 
Chocol8 said:
The neck does look nice! If it feels good, I would probably just bite the bullet and refret it which sucks to have to do, but nothing else is going to fix short frets or what looks like excessive bevels on the ends.
Click to expand...
This but it may also not have a particularly effective truss rod and the heel is likely to be 56mm wide which doesn’t fit a standard USA fender pocket. I often find the heel not to be true either. As nice as these necks look you often end up having to basically remake them and even then you might still have issues. I would refret that or send it back because of the fret ends bevel.
 
Eagle said:
This but it may also not have a particularly effective truss rod and the heel is likely to be 56mm wide which doesn’t fit a standard USA fender pocket. I often find the heel not to be true either. As nice as these necks look you often end up having to basically remake them and even then you might still have issues. I would refret that or send it back because of the fret ends bevel.
Click to expand...
Got it. Lesson learned!
 
Warmoth and Musikraft are the best custom necks available. It you want vintage spec or don’t mind doing extra work yourself Hosco/ Allparts necks are also good but far more limited in options. They do tend to be 1/2mm too wide at the heel ( for an exactly built USA spec fender pocket) so don’t buy a finished one unless you’re prepared to do all the fitting work to the neck pocket.
 
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