Fred
Well-Known Member
By way of a backstory, I've spent the past few months trying to work out whether to sell my Nightswan or my RGA32. I was erring towards the Kramer for a long time, on the basis that I haven't played it in absolutely ages, because I really cannot stand floating trems. I change tuning a hell of a lot, and a Tremol-No just didn't cut the mustard for me (really nice idea, but no way near strong enough to take any serious changes in tuning).
However, I've always had a seriously soft spot for the Kramer, and so the RGA32 went to another home, with the plan being that I would block the Nightswan's trem properly and maybe indulge in some more mods further along the line. So I spent the morning hacking up a nice piece of mahogany and got to work!
This is the result. The little sliver on the spring side was only a temporary job until my housemate and his junior hacksaw came back to enable me to cut a piece with more precision than my tenon saw allowed. I've since fully blocked it on both sides of the trem block, but these pictures were taken before doing so:
So happy I did this... Now I remember why I fell in love with the guitar in the first place, my sustain has notably improved, and I can actually change tunings without losing the will to live in the process. Excellent news all round.
While I was in the mood for photos, I grabbed a few snaps of the Kramer's big brother (in terms of scale length and nut width, if not age!), my new USRG10AM. Both guitars have a Tone Zone in the bridge at the moment, but have a noticeable tonal difference, and an extremely noticeable difference in terms of feel. I couldn't compare them, other than to say I don't see myself being rid of either in a hurry!
Oh... and by means of a cautionary tale, this is why you should wait until the hangover wears off before wielding an unnecessarily sharp tenon saw:
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
However, I've always had a seriously soft spot for the Kramer, and so the RGA32 went to another home, with the plan being that I would block the Nightswan's trem properly and maybe indulge in some more mods further along the line. So I spent the morning hacking up a nice piece of mahogany and got to work!
This is the result. The little sliver on the spring side was only a temporary job until my housemate and his junior hacksaw came back to enable me to cut a piece with more precision than my tenon saw allowed. I've since fully blocked it on both sides of the trem block, but these pictures were taken before doing so:
So happy I did this... Now I remember why I fell in love with the guitar in the first place, my sustain has notably improved, and I can actually change tunings without losing the will to live in the process. Excellent news all round.
While I was in the mood for photos, I grabbed a few snaps of the Kramer's big brother (in terms of scale length and nut width, if not age!), my new USRG10AM. Both guitars have a Tone Zone in the bridge at the moment, but have a noticeable tonal difference, and an extremely noticeable difference in terms of feel. I couldn't compare them, other than to say I don't see myself being rid of either in a hurry!
Oh... and by means of a cautionary tale, this is why you should wait until the hangover wears off before wielding an unnecessarily sharp tenon saw:
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
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Nightswans.
