Ridgeback65 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks for that info including the bit about needing to modify the switch. Regarding installation, that part on the Vibrola that takes 4 screws appears to swivel. I understand that on flat top guitars like an SG the piece mounts flush to the top. But is there a case, like on an arch top where you swivel that part out and mount it to the butt of the guitar like a Bigsby B7? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks for that info including the bit about needing to modify the switch. Regarding installation, that part on the Vibrola that takes 4 screws appears to swivel. I understand that on flat top guitars like an SG the piece mounts flush to the top. But is there a case, like on an arch top where you swivel that part out and mount it to the butt of the guitar like a Bigsby B7? I think that I get what you're asking, whether the mounting bracket should attach to the edge of the guitar (at 90*)or to the face of the guitar (tucked under the cover)? I would have liked to do it the 90* way, but the bracket covered the strap pin hole, which would have meant drilling even more holes in the guitar. And, it forced the end of the cover to hang past the edge of the guitar, I didn't like that look. I preferred it to flush with the edge, which I thought looked cleaner. That did leave the two mounting holes from the removed frequensator exposed, but I used a body-colored putty to fill them and minimize their appearance. I recall the raised E on your cover, when I did mine and really liked the look, Almost did it to mine, but since I already and an E on the pick guard, thought it would have been too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks for that info including the bit about needing to modify the switch. Regarding installation, that part on the Vibrola that takes 4 screws appears to swivel. I understand that on flat top guitars like an SG the piece mounts flush to the top. But is there a case, like on an arch top where you swivel that part out and mount it to the butt of the guitar like a Bigsby B7? I think that I get what you're asking, whether the mounting bracket should attach to the edge of the guitar (at 90*)or to the face of the guitar (tucked under the cover)? I would have liked to do it the 90* way, but the bracket covered the strap pin hole, which would have meant drilling even more holes in the guitar. And, it forced the end of the cover to hang past the edge of the guitar, I didn't like that look. I preferred it to flush with the edge, which I thought looked cleaner. That did leave the two mounting holes from the removed frequensator exposed, but I used a body-colored putty to fill them and minimize their appearance. I recall the raised E on your cover, when I did mine and really liked the look, Almost did it to mine, but since I already and an E on the pick guard, thought it would have been too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeback65 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I think that I get what you're asking, whether the mounting bracket should attach to the edge of the guitar (at 90*)or to the face of the guitar (tucked under the cover)? I would have liked to do it the 90* way, but the bracket covered the strap pin hole, which would have meant drilling even more holes in the guitar. And, it forced the end of the cover to hang past the edge of the guitar, I didn't like that look. I preferred it to flush with the edge, which I thought looked cleaner. That did leave the two mounting holes from the removed frequensator exposed, but I used a body-colored putty to fill them and minimize their appearance. I recall the raised E on your cover, when I did mine and really liked the look, Almost did it to mine, but since I already and an E on the pick guard, thought it would have been too much. tweed2, Yes, that is precisely what I'm asking. But the reason for me asking is that the Casino already has holes in the butt of the guitar near the strap button where the trapeze screws in and connecting the vibrola to the top/face of the guitar would be 4 more holes that weren't there (especially visible holes if you decided to remove the vibrola). The other reason I ask is that the Casino is fully hollow. Is there enough meat (wood) on the face to safely screw in and secure a vibrola to the face? Regarding your statement about the E on my cover, I'm not sure that you might have me confused with someone else I've never done this mod... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 tweed2, Yes, that is precisely what I'm asking. But the reason for me asking is that the Casino already has holes in the butt of the guitar near the strap button where the trapeze screws in and connecting the vibrola to the top/face of the guitar would be 4 more holes that weren't there (especially visible holes if you decided to remove the vibrola). The other reason I ask is that the Casino is fully hollow. Is there enough meat (wood) on the face to safely screw in and secure a vibrola to the face? Regarding your statement about the E on my cover, I'm not sure that you might have me confused with someone else I've never done this mod... I think you should mount it at 90 deg. onto the end of the guitar so that you don't have to add holes to the top. If you do decide to mount it to the top, I would suggest that you add at least 1/2" thick reinforcement wood to the area immediately below the mounting flange so that the screws have plenty of wood to bite into. It wouldn't be easy, but a reinforcement block could be snaked into place through an f-hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Nice job on that rosewood piece!!! Ok so I’m confused. This is a custom rosewood piece over what? One of those super short Vibrolas like on a Flying V? What brand did you get? How’s the quality? Thanks. Yes, I used a short version vibrola- not sure what brand. I got it in a box of parts I bought years back. The rosewood piece doesn't cover anything other than the three mounting screws at the base of the vibrola. Gibson used a shorter wood cover like this on some of the SG's years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Regarding your statement about the E on my cover, I'm not sure that you might have me confused with someone else I've never done this mod... Yes, sorry, confused you with the OP> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I think you should mount it at 90 deg. onto the end of the guitar so that you don't have to add holes to the top. If you do decide to mount it to the top, I would suggest that you add at least 1/2" thick reinforcement wood to the area immediately below the mounting flange so that the screws have plenty of wood to bite into. It wouldn't be easy, but a reinforcement block could be snaked into place through an f-hole. I mounted mine because of the way the piece was built. Might have been that particular brand, might be that way for others, or all, I can't be sure. As mentioned, mounting 90*, would cause overhang, something I found more objectionable than holes in the face, since I don't plan on removing the Maestro. For a Casino, I would agree that it would be safer to mount in the end, But I've seen plenty of them with Bigsbys, so I think that they can handle the pressure. Besides, there is a sound post, under the bridge of a Casino that fills between the front and back, stabilizing the face. Depends on what you're comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeback65 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I mounted mine because of the way the piece was built. Might have been that particular brand, might be that way for others, or all, I can't be sure. As mentioned, mounting 90*, would cause overhang, something I found more objectionable than holes in the face, since I don't plan on removing the Maestro. For a Casino, I would agree that it would be safer to mount in the end, But I've seen plenty of them with Bigsbys, so I think that they can handle the pressure. Besides, there is a sound post, under the bridge of a Casino that fills between the front and back, stabilizing the face. Depends on what you're comfortable with. Your diagram illustrates exactly what I'm talking about between the 2 install options. I don't really dig the overhang with the 90 degree install either. And I'm not really clear on how I'd get a supporting piece of wood inside the guitar as Yorgle suggested. Seems difficult. The difference with a Bigsby is that it DOES end-mount and you know you're safe. Comes down to whether the face-mount option would really work. I wish the OP would see this thread and chime in as he DID put a face-mounted vibrola on his casino. I'd love to hear how it's faired with this setup over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I agree it would look better to not have the overhang. Here's another idea for a strong top mount that might be easier to install than a wood reinforcement (it does require some minor hardware skills): make a bottom plate from 1/8" or 3/16" flat metal using the vibrola's mounting flange as a template. There's a kerfing strip along the edge on the inside of the guitar that would have to be factored in when shaping the plate. Tap the holes in the the bottom plate to accept #8 or #10 machine screws- depending on the diameter of the holes in the flange. After drilling the 4 holes in the top (slightly larger than the machine screws to allow for some misalignment), you can use a magnet from the outside to slide the plate into position on the inside the guitar until the holes line up. Flipping the guitar over would let gravity help as well, and once you got one screw started, it would hold the bottom plate in position for the other three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeback65 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 I agree it would look better to not have the overhang. Here's another idea for a strong top mount that might be easier to install than a wood reinforcement (it does require some minor hardware skills): make a bottom plate from 1/8" or 3/16" flat metal using the vibrola's mounting flange as a template. There's a kerfing strip along the edge on the inside of the guitar that would have to be factored in when shaping the plate. Tap the holes in the the bottom plate to accept #8 or #10 machine screws- depending on the diameter of the holes in the flange. After drilling the 4 holes in the top (slightly larger than the machine screws to allow for some misalignment), you can use a magnet from the outside to slide the plate into position on the inside the guitar until the holes line up. Flipping the guitar over would let gravity help as well, and once you got one screw started, it would hold the bottom plate in position for the other three. I finally found a Casino with the Vibrola installed to the tail (might be factory??) and it's even cherry red like mine. Anyway, it's kinda growing on me. I don't hate it as much as I thought. Still looks classy to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Trying to remember whether I've seen a vibrola, with the Epiphone etched on it before, other than on a Firebird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Trying to remember whether I've seen a vibrola, with the Epiphone etched on it before, other than on a Firebird. I like the look though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Trying to remember whether I've seen a vibrola, with the Epiphone etched on it before, other than on a Firebird. I like the look though. You have. That G-400 Deluxe I used to own had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 You have. That G-400 Deluxe I used to own had one. Must be the one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 A recent model with the Maestro Tremolo.. Although out of production now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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