A couple of questions...

[JPMotorSport]

Hey everybody.

So far I've been playing and enjoying my Petrucci, but being invariable tinker that I am, I can't help but ask a few questions...

1. What kind of switch is the switch on the upper bout, the one that changes between Piezo-Only/Piezo-Magnetic/Magnetic-only? I really miss my Gibson/Switchcraft switch, and I do alot of toggle/staccato stuff with my band. Is ther a way to change this switch to a Gibson style? If so, how would I wire it?

2. What are the extra springs for? How do I put them on? Would it help tuning stability if I put them on?

3. How do I set the trem to flush/down-tune only? I'm curious, because I'd like to setup the guitar this way and see how it responds...

Thanks guys!

 

[chrisallen]

1. seems to be a standard 3 way toggle up there... not sure that a gibson one would fit there anyway, but you would copy how it's currently wired... there's only 3 wires, one to top, one to bottom, and one to middle I believe.

2. extra springs are usually for if you use thicker strings than what it is setup for... like if you use 11s or 12 gauge string sets you may need to add more springs as thicker strings will pull the bridge toward the neck and you need more tension to balance the bridge away from the neck.

3. I don't believe the guitar is setup for the brigde to be flush against the body. if you do that, the saddles will be at a sharp angle and you probably could intonate the thing and the strings wouldn't ring freely and the sharp angle of the saddles would probably break the strings anyway. it's designed to be floating... perhaps install a block under the bridge so it can't go back, but I wouldn't do that...

 

[beej]

Usually with piezo systems, the toggle will ground either the piezo or mag signal to the pre-amp. So yeah, usually a 3-way switch with the centre lug grounded. I'm sure you can put in another kind of switch, however you may need to route the hole to fit it ... not sure I'd want to do that.

If you want to set the trem for down-only you can put a block of wood in the trem cavity so the trem block can't move in that direction (it's cheap, reversible and works well) or look at a product like the tremol-no that will lock the trem for ya.