Hello Old Friend...Good to See You Again

[shreddermon]

It's been a long time since I pulled this one out of the case. Way too long. This is my first Jackson custom shop order - the one that started it all. For me, at least. '86 Soloist Student, Candy Apple Red, factory Floyd, Ebony f'board, HSS. This guitar is an amazing player.

Something had been bugging me about this guitar for a few years now. That's probably why I hadn't played it in so long. I couldn't quite put my finger on what that was, though. ...Until today. I finally realized that I had just grown to hate the look of the cover on the humbucker. That wasn't original (I had a J80C put in it, a couple of years after first getting her), and it didn't seem right to me anymore. So I yanked it off today. Now she looks just the way I originally remember her, and all is right with the world again. It's amazing what a silly, small change can do to your mind's perceptions.

In celebration, I had to take some new pics. The pics didn't turn out too great. Not too shabby looking for a 24 year old axe, though, eh?

[Leftyzrule580]

Oh man, that nothing less than amazing. It looks absolutely flawless. What kinda nut is that?

[straycat]

Flip lock nut.Man that is sweet.

[Sharkfin]

Cool, I like the large dot inlays. How well does the "clip n flip" locking nut work?

[shreddermon]

It's an old Bill Edwards Finger-Tite locking nut. Floyd replacement, but no wrenches needed. Works just as good as a Floyd nut.

[AndyK]

Wow, very nice! I like the ebony board with the dots - you never see that on a Student! I agree a simple cover on a pickup can ruin the vibe of a guitar like this! Looks perfect now.

I read those flip locks never really worked well - cool idea though.

[shreddermon]

I read those flip locks never really worked well - cool idea though.

Not true! Not true! I though so, too, when I first bought it back in the 80s. But they just need to have the internal set-screws adjusted correctly, to lock the strings tightly. It's literally a 30 second thing, easy as pie. And, once done, they work just as good as an Original Floyd nut. It basically is a Floyd nut - just with a flip-lock instead of the locking screws. Wish they were still being made.

[Luafcm]

Is that logo painted? Dot inlays? I would love to get my hands on that guitar and send it to Mr Lawrence for a pile o skulls. Damn that is cool.

Is there and measurable shift in pitch when you clamp down on those locks?

[AndyK]

Got this from the Kramer Krazy site:

"Also in 1985, an ingenious invention called the “Finger-tite Locking Nut” was designed by a Bill Edwards and was to be offered by Kramer guitars. It was a locking nut design to work with the Floyd Rose unit and allowed “gross” tuning without having to use an Allen wrench to loosen the nut, like when you run out of fine tuning on the Floyd trem. Due to problems keeping the unit to designed specs, very few, if any, made it into the public’s hands."

[Mikey2201]

Flip lock nut.Man that is sweet.

I have not seen one of those for a long time.

[Grandturk]

I would love to get my hands on that guitar and send it to Mr Lawrence for a pile o skulls.

I've heard worse ideas, but not today!

[AndyK]

Here is an interview with Bill Lawrence - not sure when it was done though:

GN: You also hold the patent for the Finger Tite Locking Nut. What exactly is that and what is the story there?

BE: The horror… the horror. This is a truly long story. In a moment of weakness, I actually attempted to relate it to a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was doing an invention story several years ago. I spent hours relating the story in minute detail. Later when I read it, he’d got so many facts wrong that I realized that it was too complicated unless you happened to already know the principles and what they do or did. Just the names of the parties involved – Kramer, Kahler, Schaller, Fender, Yamaha, blah blah… they tend to get mushed together if you’re not in the biz. Suffice it to say that I got screwed blued and tattooed by several industry heavyweights. The device was an improvement on the Floyd Rose locking nut, which I’d dealt with as a frequent repair item in my store. Everyone stripped out the hex screws, or lost the 3 mm wrenches and went nuts because the very thing supposed to keep their gtrs in tune kept them from tuning up. The Finger-Tite Locking Nut was a cam lever operated device designed to eliminate the wrenches, but clamp the strings securely. Again, the idiosyncrasies (and costs) of the legal system defeated this nice little niche product. I spent two years of overtime working out different designs and shapes before I found one that worked. About ten or fifteen companies liked the idea so much they decided to make their own – invariably half-assed – version. In the end they “poisoned the well” of consumer opinion about mine, which was the one that actually worked correctly. I remember my little booth at NAMM and people coming by after having bought the crappy copies and saying “Those things don’t work.” It was a terrible experience. It hurt me and my family badly.

[Hellbat]

Damn, that is some BLACK ebony.

That guitar gets an official Hellbat "Sexy Bitch" award.

[Grandturk]

Great info right from the source! Thanks! But...

Suffice it to say that I got screwed blued and tattooed by several industry heavyweights.

This is the story of this guy's life. When things go that wrong on everything the guy has ever invented... well, there's "them's the breaks" and there's "it's your own damn fault."

[RacerX]

I have not seen one of those for a long time.

+1 - Definitely a blast from the past!

Sweet axe, shredder! What's the ser? Is it from the SD building?