"Spirit" Kit: Lots of Mistakes but Lots of FUN
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2025 7:19 pm
Hi guys,
This is my 3rd headless kit project, this time a Spirit kit. First 2 were from a no-name brand and weren't very good. The routing was very bad and I had lots of trouble. This one came from Solo. Much better routing...to be absolutely clear, I'm an absolute noob hehe
I had no clue about painting and simply used regular black paint and brushed it right on the sanded body. I know, I know...
Not only did the paint smell stay forever, it was slso stayed sticky forever. So, I ended up sanding down the front and putting stickers and stuff in the back. I know, I know....it played pretty good tho...also installed Entwistle pickups. Good pickups. Nice distorted and cleans up very well.
Eventually, I decided to add a kind of legrest. I'm no woodworker or anything but this is what I came up with...
Wasn't happy with the stock bridge, a generic "Overlord of Music" bridge, trem system that was very unstable and had these sharp saddles that would end up breaking strings. Another issue is that the whole thing was high so I couldn't bring the action lower. So, I swapped in a different bridge. Unfortunately, it was a slightly different shape and needed material to be taken out. Again, I'm no woodworker and don't have tools. All I had were these chisel things that I'd hammer to get material out. Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily just remove what you want. It ends up taking out more. I know, I know...
It works tho. And what I like is that this has 4 screws instead of just 2 from the old system. Problem is this bridge is really low hehe. So, I needed to mount the bridge on 4 nuts to raise it. It also doesn't doesn't do divebombs as well but I'm alright because I keep it locked anyway. Might install a fixed bridge down the road but I'm good now.
To be continued...
This is my 3rd headless kit project, this time a Spirit kit. First 2 were from a no-name brand and weren't very good. The routing was very bad and I had lots of trouble. This one came from Solo. Much better routing...to be absolutely clear, I'm an absolute noob hehe
I had no clue about painting and simply used regular black paint and brushed it right on the sanded body. I know, I know...
Not only did the paint smell stay forever, it was slso stayed sticky forever. So, I ended up sanding down the front and putting stickers and stuff in the back. I know, I know....it played pretty good tho...also installed Entwistle pickups. Good pickups. Nice distorted and cleans up very well.
Eventually, I decided to add a kind of legrest. I'm no woodworker or anything but this is what I came up with...
Wasn't happy with the stock bridge, a generic "Overlord of Music" bridge, trem system that was very unstable and had these sharp saddles that would end up breaking strings. Another issue is that the whole thing was high so I couldn't bring the action lower. So, I swapped in a different bridge. Unfortunately, it was a slightly different shape and needed material to be taken out. Again, I'm no woodworker and don't have tools. All I had were these chisel things that I'd hammer to get material out. Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily just remove what you want. It ends up taking out more. I know, I know...
It works tho. And what I like is that this has 4 screws instead of just 2 from the old system. Problem is this bridge is really low hehe. So, I needed to mount the bridge on 4 nuts to raise it. It also doesn't doesn't do divebombs as well but I'm alright because I keep it locked anyway. Might install a fixed bridge down the road but I'm good now.
To be continued...