Questions from a new 1970 S100 Owner

[Groundwire]

you obviously know also u can just yank on the soft tail and not even have the arm on the guitar at all, ala Mikey Houser (tele Deluxe Plus) and Norah Jones (1965 Fender Mustang), among others i'm sure. those 2 have really mastered it (RIP Mikey). I play that way a lot on these, even if the arm is on there. sometimes I tap them both (tail and arm), if I am really feeling it

Cool idea and I’ll give that a shot. Thanks!

 

[Groundwire]

If you want to really get loopy, would a J-shaped arm allow the mounting boss to sit 180° and not clip across the tension adjust screw?

That would look outrageous, but you never know...

 

[Guildedagain]

SRV had the lefty trem thing going on one or all his axes, requires a little routing on a Strat, but this sounds like a bolt on.

 

[Groundwire]

I would like to thank everyone for the helpful info and welcoming comments.
I’m taking my S100 in tomorrow for a refret. I’ll have it back Wednesday and I’ll send some updated pics and post some soundclips/videos. Also, this will be making many future appearances on my YouTube channel and podcast. If anyone is interested in numerous forms of guitar nerdery like
comparing tape delay vs analog delay, Blackface vs Silverface fender amps, etc, you can check out the Groundwire Podcast on all media forms out there or go to groundwirepodcast.com to find all the links.

Thanks again everyone. This is the first online forum I have joined, and it’s been great. I’ve read a lot of threads on other gear related forums and they are not always curteous or even remotely positive or helpful, so it’s cool to see such a great group. I’m glad I joined. Cheers!

 

[GuildedCage]

I would like to thank everyone for the helpful info and welcoming comments.
I’m taking my S100 in tomorrow for a refret. I’ll have it back Wednesday and I’ll send some updated pics and post some soundclips/videos. Also, this will be making many future appearances on my YouTube channel and podcast. If anyone is interested in numerous forms of guitar nerdery like
comparing tape delay vs analog delay, Blackface vs Silverface fender amps, etc, you can check out the Groundwire Podcast on all media forms out there or go to groundwirepodcast.com to find all the links.

Thanks again everyone. This is the first online forum I have joined, and it’s been great. I’ve read a lot of threads on other gear related forums and they are not always curteous or even remotely positive or helpful, so it’s cool to see such a great group. I’m glad I joined. Cheers!

Nice to have you here on LTG! It's nice adding another Lefty to our small tribe. May I ask what kind of frets you are going to go with? I have a S-70 that has maybe 1 or 2 level and crowns left before it needs a fret job.

 

[Groundwire]

Nice to have you here on LTG! It's nice adding another Lefty to our small tribe. May I ask what kind of frets you are going to go with? I have a S-70 that has maybe 1 or 2 level and crowns left before it needs a fret job.

I am fully on board the 6105 train. I resisted tall frets for a long time, but there’s no turning back for me now. They allow you to bend without the other string slipping under your finger (unless you do it intentionally in a Hendrix sort of way), and it forced me to stop being to ham fisted with my fretting hand. I love them on Fender guitars, but my tech talked me into trying them on my 335 when I got it refretted, and it feels so great.
If you play mostly chords, or do a lot of legato stuff, they may not be your jam, but if you do a fair amount of bending and single note riffing, I highly recommend them.

 

[kakerlak]

I am fully on board the 6105 train. I resisted tall frets for a long time, but there’s no turning back for me now. They allow you to bend without the other string slipping under your finger (unless you do it intentionally in a Hendrix sort of way), and it forced me to stop being to ham fisted with my fretting hand. I love them on Fender guitars, but my tech talked me into trying them on my 335 when I got it refretted, and it feels so great.
If you play mostly chords, or do a lot of legato stuff, they may not be your jam, but if you do a fair amount of bending and single note riffing, I highly recommend them.

I have a Strat I got from @Hobbesickles a few years ago with the 9.5/6105 setup and, honestly, as fun and retro as those old Pre-CBS 7.25 necks with tiny frets feel, this is a giant functional improvement. I'm pretty sure I'd put them on anything that I bothered to get refretted.

 

[lungimsam]

How much travel on that arm before bridge actually starts moving?
My vintage style strat bridge the arm moves in the hole before it actually moves the bridge.

 

[Groundwire]

How much travel on that arm before bridge actually starts moving?
My vintage style strat bridge the arm moves in the hole before it actually moves the bridge.

This is a common issue with Strat bridges. Try a few wraps of Teflon tape around the threads for a more snug fit. If you set the bridge to float slightly (the way Leo intended it), it should be very sensitive to touch and you can make small pitch wobbles with very little travel on the arm. The arm shouldn’t be wobbly either.
Ifit’s still loose, you could look at a block from Callahan. They have a bushing inside that keeps the arms from wiggling about. I have it on one of my strats. I like it fine, but a well set up regular vintage trem should be just fine. The key is either having the spring inside the arm hole, or the Teflon tape to keep the arm snug. Then adjust springs for proper float.
If you want assistance with this, let me know. I have a trick for setting the proper float on a Strat bridge. Cheers.

 

[lungimsam]

Thanks for the teflon tip!! Good idea! Mine is floating fine except for that. Been thinking of getting a modern bridge with smaller string spacing anyway as the strings slide off the neck sometimes with the wider vintage spacing.

Does the S-100 whammy bar have the same prob as strats or does it move well? I assume the latter since the arm is pinched in place by the set screw.

 

[kakerlak]

The G&L dual fulcrum vibrato with the larger diameter, mid-nineties brushed stainless bar might be my favorite floater. Zero play in the coupling and no bar flex. That having been said, I really don't like floating tremolos and their tendency to drop pitch while bending notes. Makes for goofy double-stop bends and breaking a string can be a show-stopper.

 

[Groundwire]

Thanks for the teflon tip!! Good idea! Mine is floating fine except for that. Been thinking of getting a modern bridge with smaller string spacing anyway as the strings slide off the neck sometimes with the wider vintage spacing.

Does the S-100 whammy bar have the same prob as strats or does it move well? I assume the latter since the arm is pinched in place by the set screw.

Yeah on of the downsides of the vintage spacing is the possibility of slipping off the board. On thing I do is to angle the low and high E saddles towards the middle of the board a bit to discourage this. I also will position the string more inwards on the saddle to buy myself a bit more real estate on the board. I play with fingers a lot so I strongly prefer the wider vintage spacing.
Unfortunately on my S100, the set screw seems to have been overtightened or removed and replaced a lot as the set screw hole has been enlarged slightly so the arm does wiggle around a bit. If you only push down, it is not an issue, but if you raise and lower the bar, the arm will move around in the collar a bit. I’m considering dropping some solder or something in there to tighten the fit. We shall see...

 

[Groundwire]

The G&L dual fulcrum vibrato with the larger diameter, mid-nineties brushed stainless bar might be my favorite floater. Zero play in the coupling and no bar flex. That having been said, I really don't like floating tremolos and their tendency to drop pitch while bending notes. Makes for goofy double-stop bends and breaking a string can be a show-stopper.

I know what you mean. It’s definitely a give and take. I much prefer the feel of the floating trem, but you make some compromises. If you float it just a mm or so and use low action and light strings, you can minimize the pitch drop on bends. Then you just have to lightly rest you palm on the bridge when you do a double stop bend, to prevent the pitch dropping. Or just use a Tele for double stops and play single notes on the Strat...

 

[Guildedagain]

A vintage Strat is something you can adjust almost everyday ;]

I think I finally mastered the vintage Strat trem.

The thread slop in the block is pretty common. I make a copper or beer can shim that goes around the arm where it exits the trem plate, on my '74 (with older style bridge) zero slop. That was quite an achievement actually.

 

[Groundwire]

A vintage Strat is something you can adjust almost everyday ;]

I think I finally mastered the vintage Strat trem.

The thread slop in the block is pretty common. I make a copper or beer can shim that goes around the arm where it exits the trem plate, on my '74 (with older style bridge) zero slop. That was quite an achievement actually.

That’s a great idea. Basically the same idea as the Callaham bridge, but it’s on the arm instread of the hole itself. I like my trem arm to be very sensitive, and so anything to reduce that “thread slop” (great new term you coined there) is a bonus IMO.

 

[Groundwire]

So, my S100 is at the shop getting a refret. I should have it back by Friday. My tech confirmed the bridge pickup does not have an extra terminal, so thre will be no phase switch for me. Hopefully someday I can find a lefty Starfire with a phase switch....
He’s also going to see if anything can be done to tightenup the wobble of the trem arm. I’ll send some follow ups once complete and hopefully post a few video clips as well. Cheers!

 

[Guildedagain]

No need for an extra lug. After beating my brains out on a highly modded Starfire with coil splits that had some goofy wiring and figuring it out, I'm reasonably sure that you can put the p'ups out of phase with each other by swapping the hot/ground leads on the neck (or bridge) p'up volume pot. 5 minutes with a decent soldering gun and you're there.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Groundwire]

No need for an extra lug. After beating my brains out on a highly modded Starfire with coil splits that had some goofy wiring and figuring it out, I'm reasonably sure that you can put the p'ups out of phase with each other by swapping the hot/ground leads on the neck (or bridge) p'up volume pot. 5 minutes with a decent soldering gun and you're there.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes I think that is correct, however it would be hardwired out of phase then I think. I do like tha sound, but I almost always use both P/U’s when playing a humbucker guitar, so I wouldn’t want it to be OOP at all times. Just gives me an excuse to buy another Guild...

 

[Guildedagain]

The thing about purely out of phase is that if you back a pickup off, it pretty much loses the squawk and sound like two p'up's in phase, but better ;]

 

[Groundwire]

The thing about purely out of phase is that if you back a pickup off, it pretty much loses the squawk and sound like two p'up's in phase, but better ;]

This is true and I never have the volumes balanced anyways. It sounds thin and boring that way. I always have the volume higher on one pickup. Maybe I’ll try it. I get this back today.... hmmmm