NGD: Schecter Corsair 12 Limited Edition for project

[SignoftheDragon]

Alright- so I've wanted to try out a crazy but persistent idea that I've had, but haven't wanted to put any holes into my precious surfcaster 12s to try it out.

The idea is to add a trem to one of my 12 strings, but only have it active on the octave-course strings so I can mess with the resonant warble between the in-tune strings and the tremmed ones. I was thinking a Bigsby B-5 for the surfcaster install, but don't want to commit one of those until I know I like the effect enough to be worth the 4 holes the Bigsby requires.

So I've been on the lookout for a cheap 12-string with sufficient quality to test this idea out on, and I came across the Schecter Corsair 12 Limited Edition on Ebay. (Only 16 of these made? Seriously? I'd love to confirm that.) Made a half-serious offer not thinking I'd get it, but they accepted! Free shipping, full warranty, everything but the hardcase- which Schecter doesn't offer for this model anyway. She arrived today, and looks great! Gotta wait till after work to tune her up and take some pics, but here's the catalog shot:



The body style lends itself better to the trapeze-style B-70, so I've got one on the way. I figure that If this works, I'll keep the Schecter until I decide to mod up one of my 'nice' guitars. If it doesn't work, then I've got a few small holes in a cheapie-but decent guitar.

Anyone have any experience with Schecter's semi-hollows?

[SignoftheDragon]

Here's the idea mockup:

[VitaminG]

interesting idea. The Bigsby looks good on it too

[Nightbat]

that looks like it's gonna be hard to pull off with the different stringheight

[SignoftheDragon]

How so?

[VitaminG]

tunomatic bridges (which you'd normally use with a Bigsby) stand taller than a traditional hardtail bridge, like on your Schecter.

[SignoftheDragon]

Ah, yes- I did check into that a bit when I was thinking of putting a B5 on one of my Surfcaster 12s. The models with the tension bar like the B5 and the B7/B70/B700 push the strings down far enough to still run the strings through the existing holes on the back of the bridge. I figure it should be the same on the schecter, as they both have the same Diamond-style 12 saddle bridge. The schecter's arched body will add another couple degrees to the string angle where it enters the bridge, so I'm even less worried about that for this project.

Here's a close-up of the same bridge (I still haven't taken pics of the schecter in real-life):




So the strings that will be active on the trem will just be run through the same holes to the saddles and beyond, but the ball-ends will be mounted at the bigsby.

I finally settled on the B700 model in Chrome- it's on the way today. I'll post process and final pics, and maybe even some sound clips when she's all done and set up.

[SignoftheDragon]

Bigsby'd!

Holds tune well, but haven't had a chance to plug her in for the full effect. More on that later- here's the pics:

[Hellbat]

Looks good, might you not get friction where the wound strings go through the bridge? I guess some nut sauce or something would help that.

[VitaminG]

Looks good, might you not get friction where the wound strings go through the bridge? I guess some nut sauce or something would help that.

wonder if you could fashion a teflon grommet to take care of that?

[Nightbat]

Nice Job SotD

Would love to hear how it 'warbles'

[SignoftheDragon]

Took it to the closest local music store today- mostly to see if they had a case that would fit it. (no luck, BTW) Plugged her into a Vox combo- wow. This thing's got a HUGE range of tones to explore. So far I am completely floored by the quality, fit & finish, setup, playability, and tone of this guitar.

The trem works as I had hoped- I'll have to mod it just a bit to fix a couple small issues:

1) The afforementioned wound-string issue shows up very slightly- a minor 'plink' with any bend beyond a quarter-tone, and another when it comes back into tune. Fortunately, there is only one wound string to deal with on the octave course- the low 'E'. I'm considering switching it out for a plain string if I can find one with a suitably heavy gauge. (specs on the D'addario set I've got installed call for a .026 in that position) Alternately I suppose I could switch that one to a flatwound. The Bigsby instructions recommend using graphite at the contact points, so I'll try that first.

2) The trem unit was designed to accomodate the tension associated with a full set of strings at concert pitch, so the counter-tension spring is a bit too beefy when it's only working against the smaller octave set. Not too big a problem, but a softer spring in the right size may be hard to come by. The only real issue this causes is that the trem bar's 'at rest' position is a bit too far from the body for my taste.

Other than that, everything runs perfectly. I'm impressed enough with the guitar and Bigsby combo that I think I'll just keep this one for the trem, and leave my precious surfcaster 12s alone. I guess the acid test has yet to be done: assimilating it into my concert setup.

I'll see if I can get some sound/video clips put together to post the effect for the curious.