ADDING a Floyd or Kahler?

[Marcheville]

Lets say the following is a hypothetical situation -

You happen to stumble across a killer deal on a high end MIJ/USA Jackson guitar. You dig everything about it, the color, tone, playability, it kills. One thing...no tremolo, it is string through.

I am not a luthier so I am wondering...how much of a pain in the ass would it be to have a kahler/floyd added on with the lock, the whole nine yards and to have it done correctly? Is this a $300 job? $500?

Also, anyone know someone who is experienced and professional who can do this in the Boston area?

I mean, if you could get a really killer RR1-T for like a grand and its only $300 to add the EXACT whammy jammy you want...wouldn't that be a good way to go?

March

[El_Kabong]

A Kahler is an easy route (rowt) . You can get a template for it. The Kahler locking device goes after the nut, so you don't need to route a Floyd shelf.

[roodyrocker]

For $1300 you could buy a used Rhoads in nice shape with your choice of Kahler or Floyd. I don't see the point in buying a $1K guitar then spending a few hundred more on top of that to get a tremolo.

Rudy

https://www.wickedrocks.com

[straycat]

Just replace the tuneomatic bridge get it up and playing and trade it for what you want.

[thetroy]

No clue, but it's cool to see another Boston JCF'er

[Carbophos]

String through with TOM means the neck is tilted back, so tremolo is going to be non-recessed. There are fans of non-recessed trems on the board. But for many it is not "the thing"

[Phantom Hawk]

For $1300 you could buy a used Rhoads in nice shape with your choice of Kahler or Floyd. I don't see the point in buying a $1K guitar then spending a few hundred more on top of that to get a tremolo.

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

My thought exactly.

[sl2lover]

Fuck it! It's yours butcher that thing!!

[rocksoldier]

I suppose it could be worth it, if it was a guitar that wasn't avaible the way you wanted it.
But if i was "just" a RR1, then it would propably be easier to get one with a factory mounted floyd?

[jtr]

Sell it and get what you want . Why butcher a guitar when there are many more that are probably less rare out there with the spec you want.

[demeyes]

I'm sure you could get a trade with someone for a trem version easily enough. Would I be right in assuming the are more RR1s with a trem than without?

[leftyguitarjoe]

http://www.projectguitar.com/menu/tutorial.htm

[roodyrocker]

Guys, its not a matter of butchering a guitar or not. The guitar he wants already exists in plentiful supply and when all is said and done he would have spent the same money to buy a non trem guitar and convert it to a trem as he would to just buy a factory Floyded RR1 to begin with. So why go through the hassle?
Don't forget he doesn't already own the guitar to begin with. He is considering buying it for $1K then modding it.

Rudy

https://www.wickedrocks.com

[YetAnotherOne]

Roody's right. There's no point in doing that to a $1k RR because you can buy 'em with a factory trem all day long for just a bit more.

Consider:

The Kahler nut is easy it just bolts behind the existing nut. The Floyd nut needs a shelf but with the headstock beginning to tilt away right behind the current nut you'd have to route down both under the current nut and out in the painted area above it to get a flat surface large enough to accommodate the Floyd nut. But once you've done that you're almost certainly going to find that your shelf is too low so you'll have to cut a block for the nut to sit on and glue it in. Structurally I don't love that solution and visually it would be a travesty.

As mentioned above you might have better luck with a non-recessed Floyd in this application which may or may not be what you want. Similarly if you go with a Kahler you're probably going to have to mount it on a spacer that holds it up off the body to get the string angle right. That will look like ass and might affect the guitar's sustain.

If all of that isn't troublesome there's also the fact that the guitar will look goofy with the string-through plate and a trem. Remove the plate and it will look goofy with a trem and the string-through holes. Of course you could refin the guitar but by that point you'll have spent so much that you might as well have bought a shiny new RR with a trem right off the shelf.

[roodyrocker]

Actually, he was considering buying the guitar for $1K THEN adding in the price of a Floyd and labor to install if he's not doing it himself. So the price is easily going to be $1300+.

Rudy

https://www.wickedrocks.com