Schecter Stiletto-6 FR

I've just stripped down the guitar and test fitted the new trem. The two areas where I think it will be necessary to rout are behind the corners of the trem on the top (i.e., around the tremolo arm area and on the other side) and the cavity for the block and arm. The part for the block is fine but given the deeper bushing on the Gotoh it will be necessary to rout the cavity below the arm to the same size as the cavity for the block just to retain full travel. The knife edges and studs were pretty stuffed. One stud was loose. Here are some photos.

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Dave,

I noted the large hex on the Tremolo arm bushing on the left assembly. I've encountered issues with that on some guitars where I needed to relieve the body around it in order to be able to drop pitch as far as the client desired.

Also, on some bodies, I've had the thicker sustain blocks limit downward tremolo movement....
 
Dave,

I noted the large hex on the Tremolo arm bushing on the left assembly. I've encountered issues with that on some guitars where I needed to relieve the body around it in order to be able to drop pitch as far as the client desired.

Also, on some bodies, I've had the thicker sustain blocks limit downward tremolo movement....


Yes, I am not surprised regarding the thicker blocks. I think the standard thickness brass block will be fine. It has a lot more mass to it than the pot metal block. I do think it will need to be routed to clear the arm bushing, but enlarging it to the same size as the block cavity should do the trick. The top recess needs to go back a little way there anyway and everything will be covered by the top of the trem
 
Yes, I am not surprised regarding the thicker blocks. I think the standard thickness brass block will be fine. It has a lot more mass to it than the pot metal block. I do think it will need to be routed to clear the arm bushing, but enlarging it to the same size as the block cavity should do the trick. The top recess needs to go back a little way there anyway and everything will be covered by the top of the trem

Looks GREAT!
 
Okay so I have bitten the bullet and placed an order tonight with Bare Knuckle for stage 2 of this build after taking the guitar in for the routing and fitment of the Gotoh tremolo today.

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Hopefully the boss gives me plenty of overtime so that I can pay off my Mastercard bill ... postage was £12.95
 
Okay, so I changed the 5-way switch to a 3-way, otherwise all is the same.

So the final specs on this guitar's upgrades will be:

Bare Knuckle Black Hawk (A5) set
CRL 3-way switch
BKP/Jensen capacitor (0.22ufd)
BKP/CTS 550K volume and tone pots
New custom pickguard for HH configuration with new custom wiring
Gotoh SG381-20 MGT locking tuners
Gotoh GE199T bridge
Gotoh FGR-2 locking nut
DiMarzio ClipLock strap

All installations and setup done by Steve Opitz at Ghostrider Guitars
 
Some progress today.

First, I was finally able to pick up my new Gotoh tuners from the post office:

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Secondly, I got some lunchtime messages from luthier Steve Opitz, regarding the routing he has done for the neck pickup and Gotoh tremolo:

Enlarged tremolo recess rout with Schecter licensed Floyd Rose tremolo in it to show how it was enlarged:

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With the Gotoh unit sitting there showing how there are gaps either side due the fact that the new tremolo is sightly narrower. Black paint will make these less obvious:

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The enlarged neck pickup rout:

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Steve contacted me today to say that Stage 1 of the upgrade is complete and that I can collect the guitar tomorrow. I will be taking back to him in a couple of weeks from now when I have all the necessary parts for Stage 2.

He sent me some more photos:

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With the following comment:

"All done, looks and plays awesome, loves C standard!"
 
Apparently Bare Knuckle have been incredibly busy recently, plus Easter and the snow etc, so I probably won't see my pickups for another six weeks, given Royal Mail and (especially) Australia Post.
 
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