Scott Henderson Discussion

[Thumberstrummer]

Dear Scott,
Let me point out once more how much thankful I am for your full-time engagent in providing your helpful, honest and hearted answers to anyone' queries here.
At this point I really can't split anymore the men and the musician, being the latter the most inspiring one I have ever hit since the very first time I listened to one of your solos (it was on the Creeping Terror in Players' CD), many years ago... Not mentioning a couple of never forgotten gigs I attended to (one in Perugia with JZ and one with your trio, well to the bone tour, some years later in a small city in Southern Italy).
All that being mandatorily said, there are a couple of questions I'd like to ask you, raised after hours and hours spent messing around with wiring and tone improvement works on my strats...
1. I have set up my vintage tremolo with 4 springs (3 for bass strings, 1 for high strings) being somehow sure it should be the best compromise between tuning stability and arm softness... In fact I have never had any tuning issues, e.g. when coming out from a deep tremolo detuning, although arm touch has never been that soft. A couple of days ago I broke the tremolo arm (big mess!!), so that now I am rethinking about the 3 springs set up... Any difference in bass and mids response, compared to the tighter tension (and virtually better response) coming from the 4 springs set up, in your experience?
2. Do you have aver tried the so called "vintage" or "50's tone wiring"? It simply consist in hooking up the tone pot to the output of the volume pot, instead of the input (aka 'stock' or 'modern wiring'), same as Gibson and Fender used to do in the past? It seems it should lead to a reduction of tone pot influence on the overall tone, not mentioning an increase on presence and less highs loss when rolling off the volume.... Do any of your guitars sport such a wiring scheme? Any experience with that?

Thanks again for being a lot of ordinary musicians' here their radar in the pros world!

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Scott Henderson]

If you're using the stock Fender arms, I'd definitely use three springs. Those arms are poorly made and I use to break them weekly until I had my bridges modified with bigger arms. I don't know if there's a difference in tone between 3 or 4 springs because I've always used 3.

I haven't tried the vintage wiring but I asked John Suhr about it - he said I wouldn't like it. He knows my tone so I'll take his word for it. I use a very short cable from the guitar to my first pedal, so turning the volume down on the guitar isn't a major issue for me.

[Thumberstrummer]

Thanks Scott!
My problem here in Italy is that, most of the times, especially for some non-ordinary mods, you are supposed to refer to someone abroad, at least in the US, unless you do it by yourself.
Because of taxes and shipping you may pay 30 to 40 bucks only for a cuple of stainless arms...
Yesterday I've checked on Ebay, and it seems there's a guy offering stainless arms engineered to specs provided by the customer, at an affordable price. He's based in the UK, so he could be my man.
They have standard thickness, but they are told being made of a better, harder steel than those poorly-made stock ones.
Thanks again

Fabio

Ps
This is the very first time, in about 40 years, I break an arm. I'm considering this event as the result of a massive exposition to Vibe station, and generally to the most recent SH CDs! (lol)
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Scott Henderson]

He's not your man - stainless steel breaks much easier than normal steel. Suhr makes my tremolo arms and they tried using stainless steel. I could break them with my bare hands. They never lasted more than a day on my guitars. I'd stay with the Fender arms if you don't break them often. If you do, you can get a Gotoh push-in arm which is much thicker, have it threaded, and thread the Fender block bigger. That'll cost you around 200 bucks and it'll last for years.

[Thumberstrummer]

Argh...
This tremolo arm issue looks tougher than expected!
Thanks for your advice, however
My point is that I would like to get a new tremolo arm shaped the same as the broken one, my playing and picking style has got comfortable with through the years.
I already got a Gotoh-ish arm which is way far thicker, looking rugged enough to bear me (90 kg!) hanging to it, but that's not my thing (longer than Fender's, no 50s style bends, no plastic tip....).
Do you know if there's any further manufacturer out there producing a ticker bar with F vintage tremolo specs?
The only B option I see is the Callahm block + its own "virtual pop in" arm. It sports kind of a nylon wrap at the beginning of the arm hole, wich helps keeping the arm steady in place (= less play when using tremolo). Have it mounted on my AM strat, but I don't like the arm shape.
Well, it seems it's gonna be a long search...
Thanks Scott

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Scott Henderson]

Yes, the bar issue is a royal pain in the ass. I like my arms shorter than the Fender arms, and of course thicker, but I like the plastic tip with the vintage feel. So, I had to get them made by Suhr. I should ask John to start selling my version of the Fender modified bridge separately, because I'm sure there are people who'd like it.

I think your best bet is to design your own arm and go to a machine shop and have it made - you're not likely to find it on the market. Once the first one is done, they'll have the specs and the next ones will be much cheaper. A machine shop usually charges from 200 to 500 dollars for making a new item.

[Thumberstrummer]

Yes, but 200 to 500 dollars for a few shitty grams of shaped steel, sound too bad to me....
Probably I'd end up doing so, but believe me, I do not have any idea on where to get such job done here.
In addition to a new arm made to specs, I need also to thread the block bigger, not mentioning enlarging the hole on the plate. That's chrome-plated, so would I need to have it re-plated, afterward?
Are those 200 to 500 bucks covering the whole job? Uhm...
Definitely a sumptuous, superb pain in the ass!
Surfing some blogs, I found a quick & cheap trick, consisting in wrapping teflon tape around the (new arm) shaft near the entry of the arm hole to make it thicker and stabilize it. Guy says that you may have to replace the tape periodically, but it works. Sounds reasonable, as arms break always because of the slop/play when using the bar (people say, including me)...
Many bloggers also mention Callahm bridges (mainly blocks and arms) as a good "mount and forget it" solution. I know these, they are superbly engineered and manufactured... Top notch for sure. Well, do not like much the bar shape, but I could get used to that if it's a good permanent solution.
Seeing how tough is to get this hellish thing fixed, I definitely agree with you - suggesting Mr Suhr to go on the market with a SH signature trem is a very good and likely profitable idea.
Thanks again Scott

Fabio
_________________
Germino Club 40 plexi replica + EJ Strat w Suhr ML st. pups. I'm not asking for more so far (but... who knows...?)

[Scott Henderson]

Machine shops are everywhere, but you may need to go to a big one to have custom work done. For an experienced guy, this job is a piece of cake - much easier than what they usually do there. Yes, the block has to be re-threaded to fit the bigger arm, but the plate doesn't have to be chromed - drilling the hole bigger doesn't damage it. You can probably get the whole job done for 200 to 500 bucks, including making the arm itself - it's only a rolled and bent piece of steel.

The teflon tape idea is OK, but the arm won't swing out of the way when you let it go - it'll just sit there, which is annoying.

I've tried the Callaham bridge - it doesn't sound as good as the Fender, and they use stainless steel on the arms, so they break faster than the Fender ones.

Believe me, I've tried everything. I talked to John and they plan to make a real Scott Henderson model guitar, including the modded bridge. After that, it's possible they'd sell the bridge separately, but for now your best bet is a machine shop in my opinion.