The Different Styles of Grover Tuners

The Different Styles of Grover Tuners

ORIGINAL ROTOMATICS®

These guitar machines are a triumph in engineering and style. The housing provides a maximum bearing for worm gear and string post. Gear Ratio is 14:1. Worm and gear are precision-cut for perfect meshing. This eliminates backlash and slippage. Countersunk tension tension screw permits players to regulate turning tension to any degree. Gear box has a special lubricant for lifetime, trouble-free service. Includes 5/8' washers, bushings and wood screws.

ROTOMATICS® WITH 18:1 GEAR RATIO (102-18 SERIES)

The original Rotomaitc® with an improved higher ratio gearing. The 18:1 ratio provides for finer tuning and greater stability. The finer gears provide smoother tuning and a higher degree of backlash elimination. This new version of the Rotomatic® uses the exact housing as the original. Only the gearing has changed. Includes washers, bushing and wood screws.

SUPER ROTOMATICS® (109 SERIES)

The super Rotomatic® has a 14:1 gear ratio. The 3 step button gives the machine a distinctive look and the seated-in lubrication assures smooth gear-and-worm movement for the life of the machine

MINI ROTOMATICS® (205 SERIES)

Totally Proffesional in design and performance. Small, lightweight, this precision machine fits guitar headpieces that will not take full size machines. The mini buttons provide more space for player’s fingers (even larger fingers) to tune strings. Gear ratio is 14:1. Sealed in lubrication keeps mini perfect for a lifetime! Includes 5/8” washers, bushings and wood

MID-SIZE ROTOMATICS® (305 SERIES)

A mid size Mini Rotomatic, with all the advantages of the original Mini Rotomatic, but with an 18:1 gear ratio for finer, more precise tuning. Includes all necessary mounting hardware and the famous Grover lifetime guarantee.

ORIGINAL LOCKING Rotomatics® (106 SERIES)

The introduction of the new Grover Locking Rotomatics® gives you the ease of use provided by a standard tuner and the positive locking of our internal cam post. Simply insert the string through the string hole, pull to tension by hand and begin tuning. As you start to tune, only the locking cam in the string post turns. Once the string is locked, the string post begins to turn allowing you to bring the string to pitch. In less than one revolution of the string post, you will be in tune, to stay in tune. Gear ratio is 18 to 1.

MINI LOCKING ROTOMATICS® (406 SERIES)

The same innovative engineering and classic design as the original Rotomatics, but with smaller buttons for 6-in-line guitars, or for those who prefer a little more space for their fingers. Gear ratio is 18:1.

Vintage

http://www.grotro.com/Mainvintage.html

US PATENT NUMBER 6,078,001

Grover's patented locking tuners have eliminated the obstacles of other locking devices. Since there are no external mechanisms to initiate the locking action, the machine head's appearance is like any other. The entire locking mechanism is self-contained and self actuated.

http://www.grotro.com/Lockingtunerinstructions.html

Original Fender® 4-way Tele mod

Used on many Custom Shop instruments, this switch allows you to change your Telecaster's pickup wiring from Series to Parallel wiring for increased output and a fatter tone with the flick of a switch.

If your serious about tone and finding the right upgrade for your Tele this is the one you've been waiting for... It will give a added dimention of tone you will not be able to find in any other guitar. The 4th position puts the pickups in series producing a "humbucker" or "fat" sound. The combination afforded by the 4 way is wonderful.


Check out this forum that talks in-depth about the Original Fender® 4-way Tele mod: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-tech/107613-thought-about-fender-4-way-mod.html

Getting More "Oomph" from Your EMGs

The simple $.79 mod that may save you from buying new pickups

I find it interesting that EMG's have seemingly fallen out of favor with most modern bassists. I've been using them for more than 10 years, and with the exception of my killer Hoyt fretless 6 (which has a Lane Poor and piezos) all of my basses have had them. And I'm very happy about that, and have no plans to change them.

Please Read On: http://home.comcast.net/~mgollihur/emgmod.html

Talk about Guitar Legends

Hey Y'all,

My name is Scott Thomas and I manage this blog for my good friends over at GuitarPartsDepot.com - I must confess, I took this job because I'm all about helping people who love playing the guitar. Well... the owners are really cool too! In addition, we also have those aficionados who just like having a guitar around the house. No matter, it's all for the appreciation of the guitar.

I also work with bands that have some really awesome guitarist too... Please check out this interview below of The Screamin' Lords. They just had their Hard Rock/Metal CD released on Ant Hill Records. Please go to their Myspace Page and have a listen to their music for yourself.
www.myspace.com/thescreaminlords So... If you like shredders like George Lynch, Chris Poland, and Gus. G. Then this is the band for you.

And please... check out the interview ***above.*** The Red & Jerry's Rockin' Metal Revival interviews The Screamin' Lords.

Once agian, GuitarPartsDepot.com is here for all your guitar's needs. We have a friendly and courtious staff on hand and ready to help you: www.guitarpartsdepot.com

Please, sit back and enjoy the interview


Peace,

Scott

New AHB-1 Blackouts Active Humbuckers

Seymour Duncan Goes Active

New AHB-1 Blackouts Active Humbuckers

Guitar Players love the tone these humbuckers produce which is stellar, the output is more then you could ever hope for, and Seymour delivers when they say it runs quieter than any EMG out there.


Santa Barbara, California - After the resounding success of their active Dave Mustaine LiveWires humbucker last year, Seymour Duncan, the Santa Barbara-based pickup giant, follows-up that success with the launch of Blackouts, a new range of 9-volt active pickups for electric guitar. Before Duncan started designing Blackouts, they did a little market research. They found that while lots of guitarists love active pickups, many wanted a tone that was less compressed, with a more extended frequency response. In their efforts to solve those issues they discovered that some of the most popular active pickups have a critical design flaw in their circuit architecture. They use unbalanced inputs in a differential preamp. The problem is, an unbalanced differential preamp is not very effective at cancelling hum. Duncan's engineers figured out how to capture the tone that players want in an active design while using balanced inputs.

The result is that not only are the new Seymour Duncan Blackouts active humbuckers up to 14dB quieter than the competitions', but they also have more lows, more highs, and more output. Simply put, the Blackouts have more tone than other active pickups. Players will notice the benefits of the reduced hum when they record, especially if they're around computer monitors or fluorescent lighting. As for the benefits of having more tone, well those will be apparent everywhere.

Some of the many A-list guitar artists who have switched to Blackouts include Mick Thompson of Slipknot, Dino Cazares of Divine Heresy, Corey Beaulieu of Trivium, Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir, Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour, and Rob Trevino of Helstar.

Aesthetically-speaking these pickups look awesome. It looks like a black EMG, but just with the Seymour Duncan logo on it. These things are EMG KILLERS!!!

application

9-volt active humbucker for aggressive playing styles. Recommended for old school metal, garage, punk, thrash, drop tunings, and other heavy rock styles.

description

The "other" USA-made active humbuckers use unbalanced inputs in a differential preamp. The problem is, an unbalanced differential preamp is not very effective at cancelling hum. Our engineers figured out how to capture the tone that players want in an active design, but using balanced inputs. The result is 12dB to 14dB less noise, plus more lows, more highs, and more output. Simply put, Blackouts have more tone than other active pickups.

complete setup

Blackouts are available in individual neck and bridge models, or as a two-pickup set. All versions come with all necessary mounting hardware, including pots, jack, and a battery clip.

guitars

For all humbucker guitars. The blade magnets make this pickup suitable for both humbucker and Trembucker string spacings.


http://www.seymourduncan.com/images/products/electric/humbuckers/gwreview.pdf

The Floyd Rose Tremelo - Part 3

The Floyd Rose Tremelo - Part 3

Black Original Floyd Rose - With Fine Tuners

Black units were first used around the 1983 timeframe on the Pacer Carerra and Pacer Imperial. The black Floyd was also first used on the 1983-1984 early Barettas with the non-angled headstock. Generally, the black trems hold up pretty well under abuse. The gold Floyd's (not shown here) are one of the worst when it comes to pitting and rust. The black Original Floyd Rose also features the hardened steel fulcrum points.Some OFR units have more thin baseplates that other models, and are not very common.

The Floyd Rose II - With Fine Tuners

The II units were used on some of the later model overseas Strikers, Focus, 100, and 1000 series Kramers While these trems are not necessarily "crap", they are not as good as the original since they are cast iron. They rust much easier, and the fulcrum points are metal inserts as opposed to being hardened and part of the actual trem metal itself. If you see a Kramer with one of these, it is NOT an American Series. Additionally, if you try to use one of these on a guitar that originally had an OFR on it, you'll have some bad action because the base plate is thicker than the OFR's. Also worth of noting, a Floyd Rose III exists that is actually a non-locking trem made in Asia that Kramer wanted as an affordable piece. It is slightly different to the Floyd II, with the III featuring a different base plate.

The Floyd Rose Pro

The Pro units were installed on later model Kramers. Most notably, they can be seen on Nightswan II's, Pro-Axe guitars, and some Showsters. They differ from the standard units in that the inntonation allen screws are in front of the fine tuners as opposed to the OFR which has them behind the whale tail. Also, the "whale tail" is at an angle versus its OFR relative making the trem a lower profile for players who rest their hands on the unit while playing. The spring block that extends down into the body is shorter as well, keeping the block at the right depth for recessed routed trems. Generally, they work the same, and stay in tune under the most rigorous "whammy" conditions. They cannot be used on traditional OFR "non recessed" routes.

The Les Paul Floyd Rose

The LP units were created by Floyd and Kramer to be installed on Les Paul guitars with little to no modification. However, the literature didn't state that the neck would have to be modified in order to install the locking nut. These are very rare, and are occasionally seen on ebay for sale.

Click Here and let our wonderful staff assist you in your need for reliable Guitar Parts.

The Floyd Rose Tremolo - Part 2

The Floyd Rose Tremolo - Part 2

The use of the Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo was popularised by Richie Sambora, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith (from heavy metal band Iron Maiden) Vinnie Vincent and Eddie Van Halen. Many modern electric guitar players, such as Avenged Sevenfold's Synyster Gates , Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Allan Holdsworth, Shawn Lane, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho, Brad Gillis, Trivium's Corey Beaulieu, Freak Kitchen's Mattias Eklundh, and Dragonforce's Herman Li, make heavy use of the whammy bar.

I don't know about you, but I think I get the picture on what these Floyd Rose Tremolos can do.

Many guitarists use these system to create new sounds that were not practical to achieve with traditional tremolo systems:

Joe Satriani uses his whammy bar to raise the pitch of a pinch harmonic, usually on the open G string, in order to do his signature "Satch Scream".[3] He also lowers the whammy bar while sliding up on a string in order to do his "Lizard Down the Throat" technique.

Dimebag Darrell, formerly of Pantera, and Damageplan, made use of the bar for his signature "Dime squeals". This requires a flick on the open G,B, or E string while the bar is being pulled towards the body, then a natural harmonic over the 1-12 frets and a rapid pull away from the body for a high-piched squeal.

Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave uses the whammy bar in conjunction with his pickup toggle switch and Digitech Whammy pedal to create sounds reminiscent of hip hop.

Karl Logan of Manowar is known for simulating sounds of bike engine burn-in — this "guitar versus bike" duelling effect is particularly used on Return of the Warlord track of 1995, although the effect is probably better known from Todd Rundgren's playing on the 1977 Meatloaf song "Bat out of Hell" Herman Li and Sam Totman of DragonForce use the system to create video game-esque noises.

Chrome Original Floyd Rose - With Fine Tuners

Chrome Original Floyd Rose - With Fine Tuners
This original unit was featured on overseas Focus guitars around 984-1987 and was used on American Kramer's as an option on all guitars after 1983. This is probably the most famous of all the Floyds in that it was used on Edward Van Halen's 5150 and Frankenstrat. Chrome tend to be the most durable of these Floyds when it comes to rust and pitting. Note: Most Kramers utilize the screw in trem arm on their Floyds, not the "collared" trem bar seen on the newer Floyds. The Original Floyd Rose features the hardened steel fulcrum points.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 3 - Please check out GuitarPartsDepot.com’s selection of Floyd Rose Tremolo Systems.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call so we can show you our excellent service first-hand. Toll Free: 866-631-4473

The Floyd Rose Tremolo - Part 1

The Floyd Rose Tremolo - Part 1

Floyd Rose is the organization that licenses, distributes and manufactures the Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo invented by Floyd D. Rose. Made by Schaller in Germany, the Floyd Rose tremolos are some of the best, if not the best tremolo offered on guitars back in the 80's. Even today, most "metal" guitarists will agree there is no better locking tremolo on the market than these trems. Floyd and Kramer (a young guitarist/machinist), worked together to develop and distribute this unit. In fact, Kramer was the sole distributor of Floyd Rose trems in the 80's, even ones that were sold individually (not on guitars).

The Floyd Rose Tremolo is a full (floating¦ tremolo, pivoting on two large screws in the face of the guitar body, that allow upward movement as well as downward. It was best well known for its ability to stay in tune even after the most demanding of abuse. The Floyd Rose tremolo, contrary to popular belief, does not require the cutting of the ball¦ at the end of the string. However, it is held into place by six, vice-like clamping assemblies, one within each of the saddles. You can string the Floyd by placing the ball ends into the Tuner on the headstock as a "stop" and place the other end of the string in the base unit, then wind. Its fine tuners also have much better access since they are on the top of the unit, just past where the hand would rest on the tremolo for the muted effect.


The History of the Floyd Rose

Picture a freezing Reno, NV, practice room in the dead of winter, and a Hendrix-loving, whammy bar-crazed guitarist whose '57 strat just won't stay in tune. "This has got to stop," he says to himself disgustedly, and shlumps home determined to solve his problem once and for all. "I started at the E string" recalls Floyd Rose, inventor of the locking tremolo system, "and noticed that friction at the nut prevented the string from returning to pitch. My thought was that the string shouldn't move at all. So I glued it! This worked, but of course it wouldn't be practical for very long. But since I was making jewelry at the time and had lapidary tools, I got some brass and whitled a nut with clamps that held two strings each. With that, the instrument almost returned to tune, so I figured the bridge end was causing the rest of the problem."

Although tougher to solve, the hitch was the same-how to reduce the friction caused by metal-to-metal contact? Suspending the bridge in midair was impossible, so Floyd tried drilling two inverted cones into the underside of the bridge block and balancing it on two sharpened pivot points. This was an improvement but adjusting the height of the strings now became too difficult. The third and most workable choice was to use a fulcrum system, where the whole bridge assembly balanced on a single knife-edge and rocked back and forth with an action similar to a Jazz master’s "floating" bridge.


Rose drew up a patent design using a Les Paul, modifying its Bigsby tremolo with parts cast at the foundry where he worked. For his third prototype, though, he wanted machined parts and was shocked when a shop wanted $600 for the job. "I was so broke my parents had to pay," he admits sheepishly. "It worked really well for about 15 minutes, until the knife-edge went dull. I realized then that I needed to experiment with tougher materials, so I started studying metallurgy; and, after watching Mr. $600 work I decided to improve my shop skills too."

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2

Please check out GuitarPartsDepot.com’s selection of Floyd Rose Tremolo Systems.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call so we can show you our excellent service first-hand. Toll Free: 866-631-4473

EMG Pickups

EMG Pickups

"Our mission is to be the undisputed technological leader in the pickup industry, creating exceptional products that empower musicians around the globe to explore and express their passion for performance."

History

In 1974, I started EMG in the back of my parents' garage by building various electronic gadgets and repairing amplifiers. I had played around with pickups as early as 1969 but didn't get around to "business" until a few years later.
We got our first business license under the name of Dirtywork Studios in April 1976. In 1978, we changed the name to Overlend, because we were overextended on credit and it sounded nice.
In 1983 we became EMG, Inc. (the big time) and haven't looked back. Through all the company name changes the pickups were always known as EMG Pickups. Not many people know why we called them "EMG", but we'll let you in on the secret now - EMG stands for Electro-Magnetic Generator!

WHY EMG PICK-UPS?

Easy Installation - EMG's are easy to install. Each pickup features EMG's own Quik-Connect header and mating cable for quick installation. Included with each pickup are pre-wired volume and tone controls, battery clip, output jack, and diagrams. All models are designed for direct replacement into most standard instruments. There are instances where "direct" replacement isn't possible, but a minimum of work should be required.

Construction - There is no other pickup built as well as an EMG. The coils are precision wound, matched both resistively and inductively, and finally, vacuum sealed. All internal preamplifiers are Surface Mount Technology (SMT) for quality and reliability. Each pickup is tested for audio quality and reliability before encapsulation and again before shipment.

String Interface - The first choice in design is the string interface. The selection of a bar magnet or individual pole pieces is also an important one. All initial EMG designs use a bar magnet for two reasons - Pole pieces place too much magnetism under the strings and cause the lower ones (primarily low E, A, and D) to go "out of pitch" with a Doppler effect. This is especially true of the Fender Stratocaster* where 3 poles under each of the strings push and pull them through a variety of unnatural movements. Poles can also make intonation and tuning difficult. On the other hand, pole pieces have the benefit of a percussive attack giving the pickup much more of a "plucky" sound. Designs featuring a bar magnet have a much more linear (balanced) output from string to string. Its attack is less pronounced than the pole piece design resulting in smoother distortion, and much better sustain. String bending is smoother because the output doesn't fade when you bend strings. By relying on the internal preamp for gain the bar magnet can also be smaller, further limiting the magnetic "pull" on the strings. And, the continuous magnetic field of the bar allows for any string spacing. Perfect for any multi stringed instrument, and the less conventional instrument. Most EMG Pickups use a magnetic bar. Single coil pickups are available in both bar and pole-piece designs. There are fewer negative attributes to the bar and it's preferable, but if you like pole-pieces for your playing style then there is an EMG model for you.


Magnets - It's not really necessary for a pickup to have a magnet at all, but it helps. The magnet acts as the juice for the signal flow. The shape and type of magnet used in each EMG Pickup is different. Ceramic magnets don't affect the inductance of the coil but have a much stronger magnetic field. Alnico material exhibits less magnetism yet greatly increases the inductance of the EMG design. Each has an affect on the resultant output and frequency response of the pickup. The addition of steel poles (either bar or screw/stud) increase the inductance of the pickup design and further change the results.

Coils - Tall and skinny, short and squat, long and wide, every EMG Pickup has two and they are the basis of each EMG. There are different types and sizes of magnet wire that can be used, combining their attributes with the shape of the coil has a tremendous affect on the tone. A long, skinny coil will have more resistance yielding less low frequency response, while a short, squat coil will have less resistance, and more inductance. It's a balancing act to achieve the style of tone you want. In all cases, EMG Pickups have two coils. This is necessary for noise reduction, while providing the vehicle for the distinctive EMG tone. Coils are sometimes placed side by side, or stacked, but in both cases each coil is treated independently by the preamp. Instead of having the coils in series or parallel with a single output, they are electronically summed so their attributes can be controlled individually.

Internal Preamp - The preamplifier used inside each EMG Pickup is no ordinary preamp. Built directly into each pickup, the preamp is an integral part of the pickup design assuring quality of sound performance, incredible noise reduction, and simplicity in installation. It provides a variety of benefits for us as the designer and for you as the player. A natural by-product of the preamp is gain. It allows us to design a pickup for its particular tone without concern for the pickup's output. After the coils have been modeled, any amount of output needed is available from the preamp.

And many more Features:

• Noise Reduction
• Low Impedence Output
• Power
• Tone Modeling

There truly is no comparison between active EMG's and conventional pickups. EMG's frequency response is shaped much differently. Conventional pickups typically exhibit a dry "peaky" frequency response, while EMG's have a much broader bandwidth that's better for harmonic pull-offs and chord definition. Individual notes have better presence and are dynamic. Playing styles are more pronounced and different techniques can be easily accommodated.
The pickup designs used by the guitar companies are simply old technology. They are easy to design and inexpensive to produce, so there isn't any incentive to improve them. The problem for the player is that those pickups are as outmoded as black and white TV. Until you've experienced playing an EMG equipped instrument, you'll never know how great your playing can be. By using an integrated preamp it's possible to achieve better results than when designing with magnets and wire alone. The internal preamp in each EMG Pickup assures quality of performance, full noise reduction, simplicity of installation, and much greater output.
Professionals all over the world rely on EMG for their performance in the studio and on stage. EMG's are being used for every kind of music, from Rock & Roll to Jazz. Even the best Country artists choose EMG because they need a great performance each and every time.

Each EMG-HZ guitar pickup is created for its unique sound quality and includes features from over 25 years of EMG's design experience. Players all over the world agree that EMG is the leading authority in pickup technology. EMG-HZ: advancing the art of the passive pickup.

Please check out our line of EMG Pickups. GuitarPartsDepot.com is here for all your Guitar's needs!

Schaller Megaswitch

Schaller Guitar and Bass Hardware

Schaller has been serving the classical and modern music world for more than 50 years. Whether it is craftsmanship or mechanical high-tech - Schaller stands for high quality to smallest detail.

Schaller Megaswitchs

The Schaller Megaswitch has been developed to get the best possible sounds out of a guitar equipped with a strat-type 3-way or 5-way switch. The best materials, such as solid metal switch housing and gear along with gold plated soldering terminals to guarantee optimum function and long life.


A company with tradition

Schaller’s colorful history now stretches back well over 60 years. Helmut Schaller, who founded the company in 1945 as a radio repair shop, has built the company into one of the world’s leading manufacturers in the music industry.

• Thanks to his inventive talent, Helmut Schaller has had a significant influence upon developments in guitar making. Numerous patents are proof of his untiring search for the perfect instrument, for an inimitable sound.
  




• For many years we have been striving to provide the world’s discerning musicians with performing pleasure through our precision products.
  




• Tradition and requirements demand that each individual component - whether cast, turned or punched - be manufactured in our own factory.
  




• This is the only way we can ensure the highest quality for the innumerable product variants and modifications demanded by our customers.
  

"I ordered a couple of the Schaller "E" megaswitches from GuitarPartsDepot.com and Sounds like it'll do the trick for the Ibanez RG1220, and I may even put one in the PGM500 I'm in the process of rewiring. "

--B Duersch, Cincinnati

Every Schaller employee is a specialist in the manufacturing of his component and, therefore, produces a perfectly coordinated part, which ultimately ensures the excellence of our products. It has been my privilege and duty for the last 30 years as Plant Manager, to utilize my mold-designing knowledge for the development and manufacture of Schaller’s unique products, and to support our customers in the realization of their ideas and patents. For more than 60 years, Schaller has had regular discussions and exchanges of ideas with guitar producers, dealers, and of course with musicians from all over the world. This resulted in numerous good ideas that have meanwhile become a standard on every guitar. We are in touch with numerous professional artists from all over the world - this way we're able to keep track of the developments, helping us to continue to further improve our products.

"Well, I finally got around to installing the 5-way switch on the Ibanez RG1220. Two words:
Kick a$$! "

­-Brent, Virginia

Manufactured by SCHALLER and designed for guitarists, the Megaswitch features heavy-duty die-cast construction, noise-free contacts, and the best "feel" of all our lever-action switches.

The original E-Model is for 3-pickup combinations of single coils or humbuckers, or for 2-humbucker guitars. It allows wiring arrangements not obtainable with a standard 5-way guitar switch, including automatic coil-tapping and special hum-cancelling connections.

Chrome screws, black plastic knob and wiring diagram included. 1-3/8" body cavity depth, 1-5/8" screw spacing, and 1/16" x 1-1/16" lever slot are required.

The P-Model Megaswitch is for two humbucking pickups. This 5-way lever-action switch duplicates the combinations of Paul Reed Smith's rotary control.
Positions:1 Bridge pickup2 Inner pickup coils, parallel3 Outer coils, series4 Outer coils, parallel5 Neck pickup

Chrome screws, black plastic knob and wiring diagram included. 1-3/8" body cavity depth, 1-5/8" screw spacing, and 1/16" x 1-1/16" lever slot are required.

Please check out GuitarPartsDepot’s line of Schaller Megaswitches.

Check out this cool site for answers to your guitar related questions: http://music-electronics-forum.com/archive/index.php/f-9.html

KTS - Titanium Guitar and Bass Parts

KTS - Titanium Guitar and Bass Parts

KTS has a long history of crafting Titanium parts for other products such as watch bands, eyeglass frames, medical equipment and other precision machineries. We took all of our knowledge regarding titanium and our master builder has put in so much effort and time, which would probably equal the effort of creating an entire guitar, into these just small parts.

The results were amazing: Titanium produced an overwhelming longer sustain, clearer tone, more tonal response to picking, and other excellent sound qualities which far exceeded our predictions. KTS's ultimate goal is that, with help of the Titanium Products, every guitar player will be able to bring out the truest and least distorted sound, which their guitars inherently have. As a result, it will greatly enhance their joys and musical experiences, which will then take them to the higher state of creativity.

Here's what you can achieve with KTS Titanium Saddles and Bridges: - Increased sensitivity and stability are very apparent - Vibration and sustain have been taken to the limit - The notes are more focused and the intonation is purer - The harshness was taken away and became clear - String-to-string definition and clarity improved dramatically.

"I am SO sick of digging out cracked block with a screwdriver! It sounds like your Ti-Block is something that is going to make me happy for years! Thank you so much!" - Reb Beach

FACT:

Q: Can you please tell me which Ti saddles will fit my American Gibson Les Paul Standard. It is a normal 2003 model with the Tune-O-Matic bridge?

A: There are two kinds of Gibson bridges. One is the Vintage ABR-1, and the other is the Nashville. Please refer to the photos and check your bridge. If your bridge is ABR-1, our PR-02 will fit it. If your bridge is Nashville, our PR-06 will fit it.

Jennifer Batten and Chris Juergensen at the KTS booth - KTS parts users Jennifer Batten and Chris Juergensen make an appearance at KTS' booth at the 2008 NAMM show. There was a lot of interest in KTS this year at the NAMM show as titanium has been gaining popularity. Thanks to everyone who came by and we hope to see you again very soon.


"These Titanium bridge pieces are the BOMB!! Try them for yourself" - Jennifer Batten

FACT:

Q: Can you tell me which type of your Strat saddles I would need to replace the ones on my Eric Clapton Strat? (American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo)

A: Our "PR-11" will fit your Clapton Strat.

Recap:

By installing KTS Titanium Saddles:

You will enjoy unparalleled durability, an exotic appearance, and best of all, a dramatically improved sound due to titanium's acoustically superior characteristics.

Here are some of the key benefits:

Increased sensitivity and stability
Maximized vibration and sustain
Much more focused notes and purer intonation
Less harshness and improved tonality
Dramatically improved string-to-string definition and clarity

Click Here and let our wonderful staff assist you in your need for reliable Guitar Parts.

How To Buy A Pawn Shop Guitar The Safe Way

How To Buy A Pawn Shop Guitar The Safe Way

So here are some rules for pawn shop guitaring.

1. Never impulse buy

You see something you like, don't just grab it and run (unless you think you can get away without getting caught). Play the guitar for a while. Put it down and come back in the next few days. See if it still feels the same and has the same appeal as that initial reaction. The last thing that you want to do is to buy a guitar that you loved at the time only to take back to the same pawn shop a few weeks later.

2. Have a goal

This follows on from tip number one. Have a goal as to what type of guitar you are after. By that I mean you should a clear definition of what you want to buy. This will help you avoid the impulse buy, and focus your attention so you don't get distracted by all the shiny things in the shop. Going back to my PRS example, I've been looking for a nice guitar with soap bar style pickups now to round out my collection. Don't by a guitar that you don't need, unless of course it is something exceptional.

3. Play with the knobs and know how a guitar works

The ones on the guitar you dirty fiends. Turn all the knobs, waggle the lead, and flick all the switches. Make sure they all work, and if not, have a rough idea if you can fix it yourself or how much it may cost you. You don't want to spend $100 on a guitar and then have to do $300 worth of work on it.

4. Try some different amps

This is very important. The person running the pawn shop will always plug you into a small Fender combo and crank the reverb. I honestly think that those small combos were designed by Fender exclusively for the pawn shop industry because they make every guitar sound great. So try the guitar with that crappy 15W no name amp as well. It will give you a much better idea on the true sound quality.

5. Don't pay for the case

From my experience, the person who pawns off any decent guitar will have had it in a case, and the case will likely be out the back of the shop. Ask about the case, ask if it is included in the price, and if not ask why not. 75% you'll get the case for free, 20% heavily discounted, and the remaining 5% involves you walking out of the store. They want the sale just a bad as you want to buy the guitar so let them chase you.

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