Vintique Parts

[nickvig]

What are your guys opinions of the Vintique parts. I'm not trying to be a Gatton clone, but he had some great tone. I'm toying with the idea of the stainless bridge conversion that they make for my '52 RI Tele. Have any of you tried it? My only problem is the two extra holes I have to drill for the bridge plate. Do you think it would hurt resale at all? The stainless bridge would be good for me, though, because I tend to sweat a lot and really dirty up my guitar bridges.

The knobs he makes are pretty cool too. I'm tempted to go all out and get the control panel as well. If anyone has tried this stuff please let me know if you think the tone improved.

[qtipburst]

The V word usually sparks quite a thread. I know most feel that while they are very well made . Their parts are very expensive over 200 clams for the bridge and they take forever to get , a three month wait is not uncommom . I wouldn't spend for it , but that's just me. Q

[Phil Jacoby]

Jay is local to me here in MD. I've got his hardware on one Tele, purchased back in '96. Its extremely well made, no doubt about it. This was before I recall folks using compensated brass saddles, so that was a selling point for me. And I absolutely love the knobs, so much that I am considering building up a stash of 'em. But that's my personal thing...I run into Jay once in a while and we keep saying how we'd like to get together, but everyone is so busy these days, shop, family etc (hell, I missed my mom's bday, I feel like a heel!).

If you are worried about corrosion, Jay's bridge won't corrode at all. I saw a picture of Bill Kirchen's Tele once and his appeared all tarnished, but Bill is an active guy and probably hasn't wiped that hardware off...probably just gunk accumulating. The knobs will color a bit as they are brass with a plating (nickel?).

As for the holes at the front of the bridge, IMO it makes the bridge PU sound "tighter", esp in the bass and also moderates some of the squeal that a bridge plate can contribute to (high volume, single coil, plate not fully mating to top =microphonic; try taping on the plate with your pick at stage volume sometime). In short, I like it and I do it, even on my other Teles. It is a better mechanical joint and that is part of the aim of improved hardware. If you decide to take the bridge back off and sell the '52 RI, the holes will be under the plate. Function over form without obvious detraction to the latter. Go for it.

Jay's stuff is expensive, but stainless is tough to work with. The bridge plate isn't just stamped; he has to heliarc the corners. And unlike a stock unit, there are no rough edges. And it is totally polished up. Lotsa work. He's not making stuff for the masses and admits it; its a special thing. That said, I have other hardware on my other Teles, each guitar is an old friend, unique.

A concern for you on any guitar would be bridge screws: height, intonation and plate. If they rust they can be a bear to deal with, so stainless screws would be a good idea.

Best wishes and have fun!

[Mike R.]

I have Jay's neck kits on my guitars (Am Std Tele and Relic Strat). They are installed very well and they improved the tone of the guitars. Worth the money for sure. Plus Jay is a cool guy to deal with and knows his stuff.

[John Catto]

Nickvig did you see these I posted further down the page from the El Dorado strap people. They also do a matching hand engraved "ashtray" bridge cover that would be SO cool. Add a set of compensated Brass saddles and you're in total custom shop land.

http://eldoradostraps.com/products4.htm

[GuitarsfromMars]

I have a 52 Tele that Jay did the whole DG Mod to....neck kit,stainless bridge plate,oversize knobs,Bardens,rewired electronics...I have had this particular guitar for about 7 or 8 years and have no plans in this lifetime to sell it....the mods were all very carefully thought out by Danny and Jay over several years of hanging out and trying out many different things...Jay is a world class welder(he did some work on the space shuttle prototype for NASA) and is probably one of the best fabricators on the East Coast. That being said,his parts take forever to get,he does not suffer fools lightly,and like most very intelligent people,he will try his darndest to sell the product he makes...so,yes the stuff is fabulous, yes it takes forever to get if you don't go to his doorstep/shop,yes he can be a pain to deal with,finally, yes, the shit is very expensive....
I believe it is worth it.
GFM

[Tonesnob]

I think i'll be springing for some of his knobs, sometime in the near future.

[Black Bear]

I have always wondered about the neck plate kits...

[Marcondo]

You can make your own neck insert kit all you need is sharp drill bits and a good drill press. The parts cost about $5-7 and if you want to get one of the thicker neckplate those are about $15-18.

One of my friends did this to 4 of his guitars it helped 1 of them no difference at all on the other 3.

In my opinion this is a good mod if your removing your neck alot otherwise forget it.

[nickvig]

John:

I saw that stuff from el dorado you posted in another spot. Those are some seriously cool parts!! A little bit too ornate for my '52 RI Tele, though. I'm staying plain and simple. The tele plays fine right now, and I've got some other projects I want to finish first.

BTW - Thanks for the links the other day!!

[Phil Jacoby]

Yeah, those El Dorado parts are cool! I always wanted to do a Las Vegas Caster, just to be outrageous, even put "Thank you" upside down on the back for playing with your teeth at the end of the night (crowds love that cheesy bullshit - been doing it for years as it makes me laugh!)

On the whole neck kit thing:
Some guitars do seem to benefit more than others. Seems to me that medium-to-heavy weight guitars with a good solid neck joints have a certain solidness of note and attack and amplitude. Lighter guitars or ones with weaker necks (big fan of stiff necks - love non adjust read-pre-1986-Martin tone, more more and more!), or somewhat less coupled neck joints benefit the most from the neck kit. Keep in mind that a bolt on neck only really mates on one surface, as opposed to the true 3 surfaces of a properly fitted and glued set neck (end grain don't count - no bond). The tightness of the sides of the pocket don't mean shit. This is evidence by the plenty of sloppy pocket guitars that sound great - and yep, they're out there! Necks shift and lose string energy/tone/sustain because the one mated surface is inferior. The sides of the pocket are icing on the cake, but I wouldn't depend on it. Tight pockets side to side look good from a workmanship standpoint, but do they really aid the coupling/adhesion/transfer? Its a simple mechanical joint.

All this said, a more efficient guitar may sound harder or "brittle" the individual. On guitars where it makes a significant difference, It seems to add more top and bottom and sustain. This isn't exactly the same as warmth. It ain't for every guitar or every player IMO.

[Phil Jacoby]

Wanted to add more to my discourse without getting timed out (hate that, happened to me the other day).

Think in mechanical terms about tone:

suspend a string at pitch between tow steel poles embedded in concrete and strike it. It will ring longer (sustain) with more (or all) frequencies present as there is nothing to absorb or filter them.

When there is something in the system of the vibrating string that absorbs, or alternately absorbs some (disapates) and reflects harmonics/overtones, something is subtracted so the absence creats emphasis for that which remains, much like scooping mids in a graphic EQ for clarity.

Conclusion: A more efficient mechanical system will yeild more frequencies and sustain. Since the human ear picks up on trebles first (usually) it can seem brighter. Lots of Tele inexperienced folks make this general observation and they never notice the tight, cast iron bottom and anchors it all. So a more efficient system/tone/more of everything may not be for some folks and if the guitar already has it, then a neck insert system won't add anything much discernable to the party. Just mechanical notes on the Tele/strings/etc.

Food for thought..

[Sonar]

SO........Uh........Phil -- how much you charge to anchor my Tele bridge and tuners in concrete?

Isn't this rather expensive mod already done by a Maryland company called VINCRETE or CONTIQUE or something like that?

Bwahahahahahah!

[Phil Jacoby]

You'd have to use the heavy concrete, not gunite or any of that light weight stuff...the tone (weight) would kill ya!