NGD 594 Thinline. McCarty bridge question

[Tom Bradovich]

The 594 two-piece bridge is ordained by the gods.

Do the gods require a sacrifice? I could always snag a used beat-to-sh*t Schecter or something and burn it in the backyard.

 

[g.wizz]

Here is the beast. In no nonsense black. Very classy looking guitar

https://imgur.com/AwVzkWL

And here is a picture showing the lean I am talking about:

https://imgur.com/QtjcjvT

Cheers

Dan

Congrats, that's a handsome fiddle.

 

[ViperDoc]

Do the gods require a sacrifice? I could always snag a used beat-to-sh*t Schecter or something and burn it in the backyard.

THOU ART WORTHY. GO FORTH, FILL THINE HORN WITH OIL AND BURN THE FATTED CALF, OR THE SCHECTER, IT MATTERETH NOT.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

Congrats on your McThinline, I'm sure you'll love it, and your all black is truly classic. The two-piece bridge is a new hardware config for me, and upon first string change, I thought the tailpiece (which floated above the guitar) needed to be tightened down flat against the wood. Turns out that's not true. I wonder if there is any spec to how high that piece is supposed to be, and if there should be a difference bass side vs treble. Anybody want to weigh in on this?

I used to always drop the tailpiece down to the body, until I recently learned (courtesy of Les) that raising it up makes for a softer, slinkier feel (in the same way that top-wrapping a Gibson tailpiece does). After some experimentation, I found that to be true and a definite benefit.
I don't know of any official spec for how high or not - closest I've seen is a moderate internet consensus that the angle of the strings coming off the bridge should roughly equal the angle coming out of the nut towards the tuners. In others words, obviously not totally straight, but significantly flatter than if you crank it down to the body.
Don't be afraid to experiment - it's just an adjustment, you can always move it back to wherever if you don't like the result! I would however suggest de-tuning the strings a bit first though, puts less stress on the threads of the screws.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

On this Two Piece bridge, or even on some wraparounds, I think a little "lean" is normal.

I talked to John Mann about it , as I was concerned about the "lean" on my SE HB II ...

According to John (don't wanna go quoting him, as I am currently harassing him about a trem bridge for my SE CU 24's)

But a little lean is expected, BUT when you cop his gorgeous/ sonically pure brass bridge studs (for an SE as they are on your S2 Thinline)

The lean diminishes a bit, as the gap (where the bridge slides into the posts) is a tad smaller.
But that is really for the wraparound on the HB...

I think my Thinline is my Fav of Favs . I'd also dig on the DC version, but the Pattern Vintage neck is a tad chunky for me...

I think someone proposed (for the ABR style bridge on the thinline) a small amount of that plumbers tape) to take out that rock you say is there with the strings off ?)

But I'd be extremely careful not to wreck the threads in the bridge bosses in the body ...

 

[Broseph]

John Mann studs are much better than PRS versions. Much tighter tolerance control so wiggle room is very minimal. I much prefer his studs over a locking version that doesn’t ring acoustically as well.

 

[Tom Bradovich]

I used to always drop the tailpiece down to the body, until I recently learned (courtesy of Les) that raising it up makes for a softer, slinkier feel (in the same way that top-wrapping a Gibson tailpiece does). After some experimentation, I found that to be true and a definite benefit.
I don't know of any official spec for how high or not - closest I've seen is a moderate internet consensus that the angle of the strings coming off the bridge should roughly equal the angle coming out of the nut towards the tuners. In others words, obviously not totally straight, but significantly flatter than if you crank it down to the body.
Don't be afraid to experiment - it's just an adjustment, you can always move it back to wherever if you don't like the result! I would however suggest de-tuning the strings a bit first though, puts less stress on the threads of the screws.

Thanks, Faith - I'll be doing a string change this weekend. I'll do the whole 9 yards (clean & shine, condition the fretboard, polish the frets, and go through the whole setup routine). I guess it does make sense to have no specs on the height of the tailpiece, it's player's preference. I'll search for that magical place where the strings are not too slinky and not too taut.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

Thanks, Faith - I'll be doing a string change this weekend. I'll do the whole 9 yards (clean & shine, condition the fretboard, polish the frets, and go through the whole setup routine). I guess it does make sense to have no specs on the height of the tailpiece, it's player's preference. I'll search for that magical place where the strings are not too slinky and not too taut.

Update us later on your results - I'm curious to know how you'll like it!

 

[László]

The 594 two-piece bridge is ordained by the gods.

One wonders if they even bothered to ask Paul before they ordained it.

 

[Tom Bradovich]

One wonders if they even bothered to ask Paul before they ordained it.

I thought Paul was one of the gods.

 

[Tom Bradovich]

Faith and anyone else who's interested in this, here's what I found after spending about 3 hours of maintenance on Cherry Bomb yesterday afternoon. Wasn't as much fun as playing her for 3 hours, but fun in a satisfying "something accomplished" way.

Started off removing the strings, Blue Magic-ed the pup covers, polished the frets, conditioned the fretboard, then cleaned and polished the entire guitar.

Installed & stretched the new strings (I use D'Addario 9-46). By the way, I've become a firm believer in using Connoisseurs Silver Jewelry Polishing Cloth on the strings. Right out of the box I wipe each new string with both sides of the cloth, then after each playing session,I use that cloth to clean the strings. Dream Theater shared this tip with us a number of months ago, and that cloth works as advertised and more. Strings last a long time, and without that coated residue that flakes off like it does with Elixirs.

I tightened the truss rod about a quarter turn, adjusted the string height and checked the intonation.

Les was kind enough to share a pic of his Core McCarty 549 with me to view how far off the guitar the tailpiece floated. I started from the basic flat against the guitar position and loosened the two tailpiece screws half a turn which then raised the tailpiece about 1/32 inch off the deck. If you do this adjustment, make sure you de-tune the strings first. From eyeballing the position of Les's guitar, his looks to be about an extra 1/64 taller, but that's just a guess on my part. I retuned and the string play was tight for sure. More effort to fret chords and bends were harder.

Loosened the two screws another half turn, so now the tailpiece floated about 2/32. Strings a bit looser than before, but the difference was subtle. Loosened the two screws half a turn again, so now the tailpiece floats about 3/32 above the deck and the feel is noticeably looser. Far less effort to fret chords or do bends.

Re-checked the truss rod (tiny adjustment), string height (tiny adjustment) and intonation (still spot on). This is where I'm going to leave it for now until I spend my weekly three hour playing time with her. The low E feels a bit floppy, so we'll see how that sounds when plugged in to the amp. I may lower the bass end of the tailpiece a quarter turn to tighten that low E a bit, but that's to be determined later. Hope this helps anyone like me who's never owned a two-piece bridge guitar before.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

Faith and anyone else who's interested in this, here's what I found after spending about 3 hours of maintenance on Cherry Bomb yesterday afternoon. Wasn't as much fun as playing her for 3 hours, but fun in a satisfying "something accomplished" way.

Started off removing the strings, Blue Magic-ed the pup covers, polished the frets, conditioned the fretboard, then cleaned and polished the entire guitar.

Installed & stretched the new strings (I use D'Addario 9-46). By the way, I've become a firm believer in using Connoisseurs Silver Jewelry Polishing Cloth on the strings. Right out of the box I wipe each new string with both sides of the cloth, then after each playing session,I use that cloth to clean the strings. Dream Theater shared this tip with us a number of months ago, and that cloth works as advertised and more. Strings last a long time, and without that coated residue that flakes off like it does with Elixirs.

I tightened the truss rod about a quarter turn, adjusted the string height and checked the intonation.

Les was kind enough to share a pic of his Core McCarty 549 with me to view how far off the guitar the tailpiece floated. I started from the basic flat against the guitar position and loosened the two tailpiece screws half a turn which then raised the tailpiece about 1/32 inch off the deck. If you do this adjustment, make sure you de-tune the strings first. From eyeballing the position of Les's guitar, his looks to be about an extra 1/64 taller, but that's just a guess on my part. I retuned and the string play was tight for sure. More effort to fret chords and bends were harder.

Loosened the two screws another half turn, so now the tailpiece floated about 2/32. Strings a bit looser than before, but the difference was subtle. Loosened the two screws half a turn again, so now the tailpiece floats about 3/32 above the deck and the feel is noticeably looser. Far less effort to fret chords or do bends.

Re-checked the truss rod (tiny adjustment), string height (tiny adjustment) and intonation (still spot on). This is where I'm going to leave it for now until I spend my weekly three hour playing time with her. The low E feels a bit floppy, so we'll see how that sounds when plugged in to the amp. I may lower the bass end of the tailpiece a quarter turn to tighten that low E a bit, but that's to be determined later. Hope this helps anyone like me who's never owned a two-piece bridge guitar before.

Glad to hear you're getting positive results Tom!