1984 Ibanez DT 555 Destroyer Replica Build:

Hackmaster said:
I would have taken material off the bottom of the locking nut.
Would have left no outwardly visible evidence.
But different minds see things differently...
And you were able to follow the radius the way you did it.

The clamps will cover the mod when reinstalled so I say Bravo Sir.
Job well done.

By the way, that's one sexy beast.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I debated and thought simply dropping the height of the entire nut would cause the smaller strings to be too close and the bigger strings still too far away.

I have more nuts on hand too, so I can mill the bottom of a different nut if necessary.

Doesn't look like my intonation changed much - before and after bridge pics posted below:

IMG_20170813_33795.jpg

After intonation and new .009's

IMG_20170815_22327.jpg
 
Robert Herndon said:
Guess I can do that with another one. Any advantage???
Click to expand...
With a regular nut, it would preserve the life of the nut because eventually the slots will wear down. With this metal nut, it would preserve the integrity of the original design, but if you feel that your work is an improvement, so be it.
 
RVA said:
With a regular nut, it would preserve the life of the nut because eventually the slots will wear down. With this metal nut, it would preserve the integrity of the original design, but if you feel that your work is an improvement, so be it.
Click to expand...

I just needed to drop the action at the nut. I have a box of Floyd nuts, so I thought this might be an "OK" Method....and it is better than taking .050" off the shelf, but I am open to experience suggestions.
 
RVA said:
With a regular nut, it would preserve the life of the nut because eventually the slots will wear down. With this metal nut, it would preserve the integrity of the original design, but if you feel that your work is an improvement, so be it.
Click to expand...

Give me your thoughts....
 
Ive noticed that only the low E seems to have this sharpness at 3-5 & 7th...getting better as I move up the neck. By the 7th fret I am in perfect pitch.

But, I made a discovery on my low E string. There is an area in the adjustment where the 12th fret will be in pitch - nearly perfect - and remain there without changing - for quite a bit of movement - but in this area, the pitch at 3, 5 & 7 move into almost perfect pitch with the 12th fret remaining in pitch!

I stumbled on this quite by accident!
 
Wow...how the articulation is influenced by near perfect intonation...you can hear the chorus of individual strings!!! Before the intonation was set, it was muddy sounding...only took me 2 days... LOL
 
Robert Herndon said:
Ive noticed that only the low E seems to have this sharpness at 3-5 & 7th...getting better as I move up the neck. By the 7th fret I am in perfect pitch.

But, I made a discovery on my low E string. There is an area in the adjustment where the 12th fret will be in pitch - nearly perfect - and remain there without changing - for quite a bit of movement - but in this area, the pitch at 3, 5 & 7 move into almost perfect pitch with the 12th fret remaining in pitch!

I stumbled on this quite by accident!
Click to expand...

I'm going to get one of the Floyd adjustment keys and play around with mine, now that you've made this observation.
 
So the Wilkinson pickups in the Destroyer are better than I expected. There are (2) 52mm bridge pickups - both are 12.6k and one 50mm neck pickup that measures 6.8k. I don't think they are anywhere near hot enough for live shows, but quiet and very squeal resistant. This Destroyer was wired to my specs and differs from the original schematic. On the original DT555, the middle pickup was always on and could be faded in and out with the middle knob. On my Destroyer, the bottom knob is master tone with a K40Y .015uf tone capacitor, the middle knob is bridge volume and the top knob is a shared middle/neck volume and the three way switch selects bridge-middle-neck positions respectively.

I can tell you, without hesitation, I LOVE the middle pickup. Clean it's really warm and smooth....must have something to do with placement.... :-)
 
Shot this i-pad video last night. Not great sound quality, but gives a little glimpse of the Destroyer's tone.

This is plugged in direct to my Marshall DSL40C - no effects other than reverb - with full gain and volume at about 4 on the amp.

Its pretty loud at this setting, but still very controllable...not at all a "cultured tone," as I am fighting to choke off every note to avoid feedback sitting right in front of the amp, but gives a good "sonic view" of the 12.6k Wilkinson bridge pickup.

Look closely and you can see the camera dancing along the top of the amp when I get into the 'E' phrasing.

What better way to introduce the Destroyer than with a Def Leppard riff??? :-)

 
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