1986 Model 3 - JBE pups, NOS bridge, Tremel-No

[Coolidge]

Finished this project and thought I would post some pics.

1. JBE HSS noiseless rail pickups installed. I looked at many pictures of the Model 3, the strings didn't line up with the pup posts vary well back in 1986, no longer an issue with the rail pups.
2. NOS Khaler 2520 bridge w/hardened steel bolt on leading edge, see below for why.
3. NOS locking nut.
4. Tremel-No installed
5. New strings, fret board cleaned with lemon oil and full setup.

Here's the NOS bridge, got lucky in that is has the hardened steel leading edge vs the non hardened original. The original was mushroomed due to the knife edge screws not being seated into the slot, instead the bridge was riding on the shanks of the screws. The JBE pups were drop in fit, though oddly the humbucker came with much smaller screws. The packaging says it came with (improved screws) which I beg to differ. I may drill them out and tap for the larger proper screw one day.



I could not get a decent picture of the fret board indoors, here's the best I could do. Its really a nice striped board I like it. That's the NOS locking nut, the old one was okay but the lock for the two bass strings wasn't working quite right.



Tremel-No okay does it work technically yes. It has a design flaw though, see those black set screws on the trem claw block those are so you can lock the trem from pushing forward on those screws, FAIL! The screws have a tapered shank, as you attempt to tighten the set screws it pulls the trem claw block forward towards the headstock and away from the screw head. Hence I opted not to tighten them.

[contilon]

Nice work and that is a beauty!!!

[kamanda]

Looks great!

[lefty]

Great job! Congrats!

[Number Of The Priest]

You did a killer job with that! I was following your other Model 3 thread.

Wow I didn't realize that Kahler's sustain block was so thin.

On the Tremol-No, I can only presume that keeping those black set screws loose means that the Tremol-No trem claw is free to "move" like any other standard trem claw. I can see why Tremol-No included those set screws in their design, but if they're not doing their job then I presume it's really not a big loss since the majority of players don't have trem claws that can lock in place. I've actually been considering buying a Tremol-No for one of my guitars to try, and then if I like it, buy more for the remainder of my trem-equipped guitars.

[Coolidge]

You did a killer job with that! I was following your other Model 3 thread.

Wow I didn't realize that Kahler's sustain block was so thin.

On the Tremol-No, I can only presume that keeping those black set screws loose means that the Tremol-No trem claw is free to "move" like any other standard trem claw. I can see why Tremol-No included those set screws in their design, but if they're not doing their job then I presume it's really not a big loss since the majority of players don't have trem claws that can lock in place. I've actually been considering buying a Tremol-No for one of my guitars to try, and then if I like it, buy more for the remainder of my trem-equipped guitars.

Thanks. Yes thin and required the Tremel-No Small clamp version just fyi. Realistically the sets screws for the trem claw block is mostly a non-issue. You would have to pull up on the whammy bar to move that block forward on the screws and even then the spring tension would keep it from moving. My goal was to keep the trem from moving down during bends which the Tremel-No will accomplish.