trem to hardtail conversion?

dimefan90 · #1 04-16-2008, 07:19 AM

has anyone ever converted a guitar from trem to hardtail. i have looked at the tutorial on project guitar but i will be converting a vintage style trem route.
will the process be any different if so can someone help me out?

**elcid** · #2 04-16-2008, 07:44 AM

why not just block it or set it so it only dives?

Ibateur · #3 04-16-2008, 08:10 AM

I didn't know that vintage trems actually could pull up. I guess if you tried hard enough...

Anyway, I personally think the hassle of filling the cavity (must behave) too big. If you have a standard strat (you didn't say) maybe you can think about either buying a replacement body or building one yourself. If you have the woodworking skills/tools to create the blocks that would fill the cavities, you probably can build a body with the same skills/tools.

neptoess · #4 04-16-2008, 09:29 AM

you can do it the same way as on project guitar but i wouldnt route it any more, with a vintage style route you can just use 2 pieces of wood.

wixomwhat · #5 04-16-2008, 03:21 PM

I just filled in the route on a RG550. Its not really that hard or not as hard as everybody says. Most people that claim it is hard have never even attemped to fill a trem route so dont listen to them.

djohns74 · #6 04-16-2008, 04:37 PM

I transformed an old RG320 body to an RG321 body using that tutorial, mainly just for kicks and a little practice with the router, not because I thought I'd get a great guitar out of it. It wasn't too hard, but you do want to make sure you use decent quality wood. I just used some crap that was sitting around Home Depot, probably pine or something equal awful for a guitar. On the plus side, it was easy to work with and that's about it. The guitar plays fine, but any semblance of tone it ever possessed is gone.

Otherwise, the process went well enough. The thing is, it probably isn't worth the trouble except as an experiment on a cheapo guitar, and isn't worth the risk of ruining the tone of a nice guitar.

dimefan90 · #7 04-16-2008, 11:28 PM

i need to do it because im building a pgm replica out of a grg170dx.

ColinMmmmm · #8 04-17-2008, 12:39 AM

You don't need to do anything. Just leave the trem arm off, and block the trem. Get a chrome sticker and put it over the hole the trem arm fits in and noone will know the difference.

dimefan90 · #9 04-17-2008, 02:58 AM

this is the replica im making. you can see why i need to do it.

i would like it to be perfect and for me that means no trem cavity in the back.

nuno · #10 04-17-2008, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimefan90

this is the replica im making...i would like it to be perfect and for me that means no trem cavity in the back.

right, but that also means you have to strip the body, fill the cavities, sand flush, give a coat a sealer and re-paint it. not what i'd call a quick home job...

Vim Fuego · #11 04-17-2008, 07:33 AM

Ha! if you look at the bottom right corner of this pic you can see that the first non trem pgm guitar was one with the rem rout filled and a fixed bridge fitted!

So... for the really authentic look you'd have to do as bad a job as that!!
Jim

toneboy · #12 04-17-2008, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimefan90

this is the replica im making. you can see why i need to do it.
i would like it to be perfect and for me that means no trem cavity in the back.

To be blunt, the closest you will ever get to perfect will be to get a hard tail body to begin with OR have a professional luthier, with verifiable proven track record, do the work for you. However, for the price of the second you can get the first and it's a lower risk option.

Unless you have the time and skills to do all the work yourself, there's no cheap road to perfection or any semblance there of.

marianozz · #13 04-17-2008, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vim Fuego

Ha! if you look at the bottom right corner of this pic you can see that the first non trem pgm guitar was one with the rem rout filled and a fixed bridge fitted!

So... for the really authentic look you'd have to do as bad a job as that!!
Jim

lol that wasnt the 1st.... but yeah, all of Pauls converted hardtails look like crap up close

, that 300, the red RG, the Telesavalas...

The 300 even has the standard locking nut with no pads in it

Vim Fuego · #14 04-17-2008, 08:04 AM

marianozz thanks for the correction, I just assumed you'd bodge it on the first and then do all the others properly!!!
Jim

dimefan90 · #15 04-17-2008, 09:54 AM

the rg170 was my best option because i wanted sharktooth inlays and it was cheap.
time doesnt matter and i have some skill. i really like the idea i have, and i really want to see it through. the only problem i have faced is were to get some basswood or maple in my area, as for the difference between vintage and fr style trems, i have decided to route out a bit from the top, just enough to pass the screw holes so that i can fill it in.