Ok, so, all y'all who are familiar with the ZR know the deal here with the flaws on it.
First flaw - Tremolo arm holder is weak and does not hold up to heavy use.
Solutions - Manufacture a replacement holder, or buy a floyd rose arm and holder and replace it.
My choice - I replaced it with an OFR bar. Its all good now!
Second flaw - The ZPS bar makes everything stiff, and kills a little sustain.
Solution - Remove it!
My Choice - Done!
Third Flaw - The sustain block isn't big enough so the bridge has, in my opinion, some issues with sustain. Removing the ZPS helps with this, but at least on my personal guitar, I was still getting dead notes and stuff.
Solutions - Replace the neck with a stiffer one, with more mass and a tighter fit to the body, Replace the tremolo block with a bigger, heavier one, possibly with a better matched mating surface.
My Choice - DO BOTH!
The neck will be a 3 piece maple neck with ESP thin U specifications, ebony fretboard, stainless steel frets, and graphite stabilizing bars. I've also asked the guy building it to match the neck to the pocket of the guitar so that a shim won't be needed, which should make it mate a little better, compared to the shimmed up wizard II it has now.
But the trem block...where to find such an item? You can't just BUY them...So I've decided to make my own from
brass, from scratch.
The only problem is this:
Where do I get some solid brass from, and whats the best way to work it? I want a block slightly bigger in all dimensions, to take advantage of the spare space in the cavity now the ZPS bar is gone (The block is only as thin as it is because if it were wider, it would foul the ZPS springs. With those gone, theres more space there that could be used)
I know so far, a few things I'll need.
First - Taps for the screws that hold the springs in, and the screws that fix it to the baseplate. I have the original block available, so whats the easiest way to determine the threads I need?
Second - Some way of making the top surface of the block as flat as possible, to give it a good mating surface on the baseplate.
Third - A decent way of cutting brass! I know a hacksaw will do the job, but its difficult, takes ages, and doesn't give a great result.
Any and all advice appreciated!
----------------
Now playing on Winamp:
Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
via
FoxyTunes
