useful info for folks who want to add a trem to a PRS....

[soldierkahn]

There are a lot of factors. If you're really set on it, take it to a very qualified tech/luthier and see what they think.

its an extensive task but a decent luthier should be able to work with what you have. Ive seen some really thick boards, so you do have some wood to work with, but if you are that unhappy with the birds, why not consider purchasing a brand new board with the inlay choice that you want, and then have the board replaced?

 

[Althos]

After reading your thread, you should be careful about not tunnel-visioning too hard and ending up making a bad decision
Your focus seems to be all over the place, and to be honest, I kinda get it, I can get very stressed/excited at the prospect of new gear, so much that I sometime lose all perspective go way overboard, but these are pretty heavy modifications we're talking about, and you went from asking a custom shop to modify a guitar, to asking custom shops to create a new one from scratch to starting your own small shop.

It seems like you're more excited about the pursuit of new/better gear than playing guitar itself, which is completely fine, but remember that this is probably an endless quest, and that your current Holy Grail may just be a stepping stone in the pursuit of the ultimate guitar.
As Andrew Lloyd Webber said earlier, building your dream guitar will often leave you disappointed because it will not live up to the hype, especially not considering how dedicated you are at the moment.

That said, I hope whichever path you end up chosing will be the right one for you, and damn, I wish I had the funds to even consider a Daemoness, those are pretty much my dream guitars

 

[soldierkahn]

After reading your thread, you should be careful about not tunnel-visioning too hard and ending up making a bad decision
Your focus seems to be all over the place, and to be honest, I kinda get it, I can get very stressed/excited at the prospect of new gear, so much that I sometime lose all perspective go way overboard, but these are pretty heavy modifications we're talking about, and you went from asking a custom shop to modify a guitar, to asking custom shops to create a new one from scratch to starting your own small shop.

It seems like you're more excited about the pursuit of new/better gear than playing guitar itself, which is completely fine, but remember that this is probably an endless quest, and that your current Holy Grail may just be a stepping stone in the pursuit of the ultimate guitar.
As Andrew Lloyd Webber said earlier, building your dream guitar will often leave you disappointed because it will not live up to the hype, especially not considering how dedicated you are at the moment.

That said, I hope whichever path you end up chosing will be the right one for you, and damn, I wish I had the funds to even consider a Daemoness, those are pretty much my dream guitars

Yes I do tend to let my mind run into to too many directions when im typing, and am not one to look back over what i typed before hitting post lol. I do absolutely understand that Im pretty much in an endless pursuit (even Paul always says hes still not done learning and innovating to this day, after decades of experience and some of the brightest and most talented minds in the field to collaborate with), but its actually that never-ending journey that makes it so attractive. Because when it comes to setting a goal... once you accomplish it, its over. You have to find something else. With this, its never over. And I think thats one of the most attractive pieces to it all.

 

[budda]

Ah, annoyingly this one has the American bird inlays that are large and that I don't even like. Could imagine that rules it out.

Sell it and get the one you want then.

 

[soldierkahn]

the more Im studying PRS necks, the more Im learning that replacing the board might be a better option because of the level of glue that they use with the fretwire..... thats gotta do significant damage to the fingerboard to try removing the frets. I might be wrong on this but being someone who always wants different board options/radius options, getting a full board replacement is looking to be the cleanest option.

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

You can just rub the tip of a soldering iron along the crown to melt/loosen the glue holding a fret in, then pull the frets as one normally would. As far as assuming the fretboard and bird inlays are sufficiently thick for chopping off most of the curve then, yes, the prospect of board replacement should be prepared for.

 

[prlgmnr]

As Andrew Lloyd Webber said earlier, building your dream guitar will often leave you disappointed because it will not live up to the hype, especially not considering how dedicated you are at the moment.

I think you'll find Andrew Lloyd Webber said ANY dream will do.

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

“Hole”; not dream.

 

[soldierkahn]

“Hole”; not dream.

ba hahahaha.... lulz

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Ripping out fretboards/fretwire/re-radiusing/etc isn't something I recommend doing with a more expensive guitar unless you actually know what you're doing.
if you're actually serious about building your own guitar, start simple to begin with. practice routing on cheap bodies/scrap wood, practice fret dressing with cheap necks, learn how to set up/intonate guitars if you don't already know how, etc.
if you're confident you can do most of that, build your own neck, but get a kit body and a floyd template to route out the body. worst case you're out a body, then you can practice making a body

I'm speaking from experience where being overly ambitious just turns the process of building into a shitshow. I thought I was going to just take my time and casually build a headless multiscale 8 string for my first from scratch build. It was a complete shitshow. I messed up so many parts that I ended up scrapping the build. I switched to messing with cheap guitars/guitar kits until I got some chops in the areas that caused me significant trouble (fretwork/finish work).

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

being overly ambitious just turns the process of building into a shitshow.

Either way, I want to see this project.