FCH-4BCHR - Babicz FCH 4 Bass Bridge. Chrome

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FCH-4BCHR - Babicz FCH 4 Bass Bridge. Chrome


FCH-4BCHR - Babicz Full Contact Hardware 4 String Bass Bridge. Chrome. A direct replacement upgrade for Fender Precision or Jazz style bass bridges. Mounts with the Fender 5 hole screw pattern. Installs in minutes and offers a "saddle housing lock" feature for added saddle stability. Includes all necessary screws, instructions and adjustment wrench.


Babicz Full Contact Hardware Bridges


The 'Full Contact Hardware' system now offers "full contact" between the vibrating string and the body of the instrument. Babicz designed FCH with the intent of gaining the maximum amount of direct string coupling to the body of the instrument, with over 50 times more contact surface per saddle compared to conventional saddle designs.


With FCH, string height or "action" can now be set with more precision. The "eCam” saddle allows for instant "action" adjustments without ever adding space or air gaps between the saddle and the body of the guitar, and conventional string height action adjustment set screws are eliminated. With the Babicz FCH design, the bridge saddle can never "sink" or "shift" while playing. Each FCH eCAM saddle also includes a specially designed “String Height Lock” feature, which keeps your string height setting in place…even during extreme saddle vibrations over time. Precise intonation adjustments are also easily attained and in most cases include a “Saddle Housing Lock” feature.


'Full Contact Hardware' is being distributed by KMC Music in the US (Kaman Music Company), and as such the product will be available to a network of literally thousands of dealers throughout the country. We greatly appreciate your interest in this innovative new technology developed by Jeff Babicz.

Babicz Guitars welcomes our newest FCH retailer, Guitar Parts Depot (GPDUSA.com)

Buy online NOW at: http://www.gpdusa.com



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Switchcraft®...U.S. Manufacturer of Industrial and Pro Audio/Broadcast Products Since 1946.

Switchcraft®...U.S. Manufacturer of Industrial and Pro Audio/Broadcast Products Since 1946.

 

Switchcraft® is a U.S. manufacturer of connectors, jacks, plugs, molded cable assemblies, patchbays, and switches. Our products are used in a wide variety of industries including medical, GPS, process control, transportation, homeland security, broadcast and pro audio. In 1999, Switchcraft® acquired Conxall, the leading manufacturer of harsh environment connectors and custom molded cable assemblies. Together, we offer top quality custom and standard products. We can provide you with the right solution to meet your needs.

Company History 

Switchcraft, Inc. was established in 1946 to manufacture jacks, plugs, and switches. The original plant was located on West Diversey Street in Chicago. The company moved to a larger facility at 1328 North Halsted Street in 1948 and in 1958, the operation moved to 5555 North Elston Avenue, which is still the headquarters of the corporation. 

Switchcraft is a leading supplier of a broad line of components for the audio, video, telecommunication, computer, medical, military, appliance, transportation and instrumentation industries. 

In the 185,000 square foot Chicago facility, Switchcraft manufactures electronic and electromechanical components including:

Jacks

Connectors

Jack Panels

Power Cords

Switches

Plugs

Jackfields

Patch Cords

EAC Power Receptacles

Molded Cable Assemblies

With a basic line of over 5,000 standard products and thousands of variations, Switchcraft is proud to offer a limited warranty on all products. 

Switchcraft markets products both domestically and internationally through a network of manufacturers' representatives and independent distributors. 

Read On: http://www.switchcraft.com/about_us/capabilities.html

So please check out your order TODAY w/ Guitar Part Depots' OnLine Service 

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

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.

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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

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.

GuitarPartsDepot.com Blog is here to keep you informed so that when buying guitar accessories, you have a better understanding of the equipment at hand.