kp247
Eventually finished my Frankenstein this weekend. Got the Floyd Rose perfect, got the neck aligned very sweetly, after much soul searching and spec comparisons and price consideration finally put Toneriders in; Classic Blues middle & neck, Generator in the bridge - awesome combo! 24hr door delivery - fantastic!
Just wondering whether there's someone out there with a similar setup but with Alnico II or IV or Rocksong in the bridge!
[deleted]
Hey, KP. Yes, I've got a Strat (HSS) with a Rocksong in the bridge, and it sounds great. I wanted slightly lower output (than the Generator), and I think the Rocksong really does well in the relatively light basswood body of that guitar. Lots of everything I wanted from it - creamy tone but with bite; plenty definition from under any distortion; and not much nasal "gonk". I am extremely fond of this Rocksong pickup. (I chose Pure Vintage for the single coils. I'm very happy with those, too.)
My other Strat - a much heavier hard ash body, SSS - naturally has a completely different character, but I'm equally happy with the response of the Pure Vintage I put in there. The magnets were surprisingly strong and I had to set them pretty low, and they give off a much cooler, woodier tone than my HSS Strat (I don't want my two Strats to sound identical, anyway). Overall, I've been suitably impressed with what I've got out of the whole Toneriders experiment. I think I made good choices for the tones I was after.
Are you considering swapping your Generator, or looking for other options?
kp247
It could be that the generator is a bit too hot when mounted in a HSS config with the Classic Blues, similar to an EMG 81 that I had with 2 Fender noiseless pups in another Frankenstein, but I don't want active stuff anymore. Simpler is purer!
I've got the generator on a coil split through a push/pull and it's a great single coil sound as well - clear highs with big low end! In single coil mode it also works sweetl in position 2 on the 5way toggle! Very versatile.
I love the sound of the guitar now but I'm just wondering about it.
kp247
I've got a buzzing E string, only buzzes from A right up past the 12th fret. The frets are good and even but I cannot get rid of the buzz unless I take the string up and then it feels like it's too high in comparison to the other strings. THEN I have to take the others up as well to make it feel balance but then the guitar feels hard to play. I use 9 to 42's.
Has anyone else had this problem before and can give some advice on how to fix it? It's been re-fretted with Jumbo's and has a 12 inch radius. The frets have been checked by a pro and dressed but the problem is still there.
I like a low action but the only string that buzzes is the low E. ??? Should I perhaps use a heavier Low E?
evolucian
got the same setup as you kp... have to agree... it rocks
AlanRatcliffe
Be aware that a certain amount of buzz is common with a low action and light strings. The important thing is that the pickups and amp don't hear much of it.
Things to check:
- First try slacking off the truss rod a little. Buzzing in the middle of the board usually means the board is too flat.
- Bridge v. neck radius. Floyds have a fixed radius (traditionally 10", but often 12" with the "licensed" models), and if that's a smaller radius than the fingerboard, the outer strings sometimes end up too close to the board. Solution is to reradius the board and refret or if there is enough meat, dress the frets to the correct radius.
- Also if it's a single coil neck pickup, make sure that the neck pickup is not too close to the strings causing crashing (the powerful magnets pulling the strings down, making them "crash" into the frets - affects the thicker wound strings first).
tonerider
I go with Alan.
It sounds like KP has a good idea what his doing already, but if I can add something from experience is that before you touch the truss rod adjusting screw take a permanent marker and draw a thin line on the top of the bolt. This will allow you to return it back to it's original position (zero point) if it doesn't work out.
Before adjusting the truss rod do the following:
With your guitar fully stringed, tuned and set up, using your left hand, fret the 3rd string just behind the first fret and keep it there. Next, with a finger from your right hand, fret the same 3rd string just behind the body fret (usually the 16th or 17th fret) Now you got to look at this string at a position approx. center between the two fretting fingers. If the truss rod is correctly set there should be a gap of around 0.5 - 0.8 millimeter between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret.
If the gap is more than a millimeter you can tighten the truss rod in small increments until the gap is correct. Remember to re-tune the guitar between every incremental truss rod adjustment.
If the string is lying flat on the fret it means that your neck has a slight back-bow. (This is probably your problem!) In this case you can loosen the truss rod in small increments until you have a gap appearing. Remember to re-tune the guitar between every incremental truss rod adjustment and continue this process until the gap is correct.
Take note that the truss rod is not there to set the guitar's action but only the relief of the neck. Normally one would check relief if you're changing to a heavier or lighter string gauge.
Hope this helps! ?
tonerider
Alan, something I missed in you post. You are 100% correct about the radius issue.
I've had excellent results using one of my favorite guitar accessories - X-ray paper. Firstly I remove both the Floyd Rose E-string saddles. Then I trace them out on the X-ray paper and cut the shapes out with a sharp utility knife. Finally I insert these under the two outer saddles and tighten up the two allen screws.
Raising the 2 outer saddles a fraction doesn't really affect the Floyd's radius THAT much but helps to improve the action on a mismatched radius/neck combo, as in KP's case. You can even double (or triple) up on the material on the E strings and insert similar single pieces under the 2nd and 4th string saddles if you want to experiment a bit. If you don't like it you can easily remove it again.
kp247
Hi MR TONERIDER & Alan.
I did the exercise with the fingers on the 3rd string first since it's easiest to do. The string was right flat on the frets. I used a permanent marker to mark the cross-cut screw and it took me about 20 minutes to get it perfect. I had to remove the neck twice because the screw sits at the end of the neck at the body. I've got a gap of about half a millimeter now.
Thanks Alan, the Floyd is indeed a 10" radius. I completely overlooked this obviously important issue. I got a piece of x-ray paper from a bud this afternoon and it worked perfectly. Single strips under the 2 E-strings did the job.
I can't believe the difference these settings have made to the guitar. The action is lower than before and there is just NO buzzing.
Thanks guys - What would I do without the guitar forum. ?
AlanRatcliffe
Glad you came right. Funnily enough, although I've never heard of the X-ray film trip, I've often used old photo negatives for quick shims - basically the same thing. Glues nicely to the underside of nuts and saddles and doesn't affect the tone. Great minds, eh Andre?
tonerider
I echo Alan. Glad you got it sorted and happy that I could be of assistance. I always think a bit harder when I see the word Tonerider in a post! ?
Alan, I thing photo negatives are slightly thinner but its essentially the same thing. Both will work fine!
kp247
André Meyer wrote
I echo Alan. Glad you got it sorted and happy that I could be of assistance. I always think a bit harder when I see the word Tonerider in a post! ?
Hi Mr Tonerider, I see you've marked down even further from today and that's awesome and I have serious GAS. In your opinion what is the best combo for an HSS config like mine: Rocksong or Generator?
tonerider
KP,
Yes indeed - lower than during Christmas time! (we can't talk about that here though)
Rocksong or Generator in an HSS config with Classic Blues? - If you like the power of the Generator with the coil split then you probably have the ideal combo already! I agree, the Generator is a fantastic sound in single-coil mode. Your earlier description is also dead-on. I happen to like Alnico V (5) magnets myself so the Generator does give a nice and powerful single coil sound and if you hit a nice clean E chord it rings really nicely!
The Rocksong bridge is a bit more refined and even sounding than the Generator and I have noticed that (in humbucker mode) it balances a bit better in volume with single coils in a HSS config. It's obviously less powerful than the generator and has an Alnico II magnet. Having said that, if you want the Generator to be a little more gentle move it just a bit further away from the strings. It cleans out really nice then - experiment a bit!
So stop wondering about it KP, you've got a great setup there! ?
kp247
Thanks man, I'm a happy dude! ?
