Whats a good bridge to replace the sterling Ax40 bridge?

[Eric O'Reilly]

Im in the process of modding the crap out of a first year trans gold ax40, new chrome toggle switch, dimarzio AT-1 and air norton, oil wax neck, but i have not found a bridge I can go with, I want a nice brass block and good sustain. Btw the stock guitar was great to begin, I just like the process of making it better, so I want to know what trems are good. Ofr? Gotoh? Tell me

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

Im in the process of modding the crap out of a first year trans gold ax40, new chrome toggle switch, dimarzio AT-1 and air norton, oil wax neck, but i have not found a bridge I can go with, I want a nice brass block and good sustain. Btw the stock guitar was great to begin, I just like the process of making it better, so I want to know what trems are good. Ofr? Gotoh? Tell me

Really? Nothing?

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I thought that I would get some cool answers, not just the trem but for any mod on the ax40. When Im done with these upgrades Im sure this guitar will hold its own with most Axi. The only difference would be the maple cap. I might even do the tuners and jack and volume pot, i love this guitar, I play it everyday, cant wait to hear the new pickups when they arrive !

 

[beej]

Well, you only really asked for advice on swapping the bridge, which isn't something that people tend to do with them. (The stock bridge is good.) There are lots of threads on other mods though.

 

[DrKev]

I thought that I would get some cool answers, not just the trem but for any mod on the ax40.

You will but not 40 minutes after your first post! Patience, grasshopper. Grass grows slowly in the best fields.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

Thanks guys, I love this forum! And sometimes I just like starting a thread on the ax40 because I think it is a great axe.I really like the feel and tone of this guitar, but the dimarzios will make it a bit more refined.I like the stock pups too, but I want this axe to be a killer. The trem replacement might be overkill but would it make a noticeable difference in feel and tone?Ive read some of the other ax40 mod threads and heard conflicting reports, I think the trem is good, but Ive never played a gotoh. I just love this forum, I come here everyday to read, learn,and talk to other cool people about ebmm sbmm guitars. Someday I would like an old evh in pink or green or amber quilt. Ive also been researching john petrucci who Ive never really listened to, and hes awsome! I really like his line too. Thanks guys

 

[koogie2k]

With all the mods and $$$ associated you could darn near buy an Axis. Cool you want to do the mods and what not. I can't really recommend anything other than maybe the pups as I don't do mods to my guitars. Good luck and post some pics when you get them done.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

You have a valid point, I just like tinkering and seeing how the mods make an improvement, although I got the ax40 used for $320 , the dimarzio set for $140, the neck i refinished myself relatively cheap,( I did a thread on the neck refinish). I might leave it alone after the pups and toggle switch.I know someday a real Axis or better yet EVH will be in the cards for me, but until then I will make this ax40 a beast. I just have to say Ive always played fender for years, never a gibson guy, and I never tried a ebmm guitar until recently , it was a bfr axis supersport in green, what a guitar, I like the regular axis not the ss but still an awesome guitar! I then fell in love with musicman! I always loved the way the evh looked and sounded when eddie did his solos,I must say that was his best tone imo. Sorry for rambling, I just love these guitars and have been learning a ton since I joined this forum.

 

[dlettau]

Hey Eric. I am in the process of modding my black AX40D. I replaced the toggle with a nice switchcraft and put in a push pull volume that split the pups. I am in the process of picking up a new trem. The one that looks like it will drop in is a Gotoh 1996T. All the measurements I made sure looked like they were almost identical. I was also looking to replace the locking nut. Let me know if you if you found a bridge for yours.

 

[Tollywood]

Hi Eric,

I dropped a Floyd Upgrades tremolo into my Black Sugar Roasted Axis. Here's the thread:

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/50664-sinister-evolution-frankensugar-mmmwahahahaha.html

Check out the slick hidden allen wrench: That is wicked pissa.

 

[ozzyrules]

Hi Eric,

I dropped a Floyd Upgrades tremolo into my Black Sugar Roasted Axis. Here's the thread:

Bryan,
Sell him your stock Floyd. Just a thought.......

 

[Tollywood]

Bryan,
Sell him your stock Floyd. Just a thought.......

I already passed it on to a buddy who's restoring an evh.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

You know what, I think I may stick with the sterling bridge, now that Ive played the crap out of this guitar and love it, its a really good trem! Its PISSAH! Wicked good! The only thing I would recommend to any sterling ax40d owner is to refinish the neck in the ebmm fashion, I did a thread on this with pics, mine feels incredible and gets better with time, start sanding the neck and fret board with 600 grit then 800 grit and you can do the true oil and wax finish, i used different products because i did a lot of testing, i went with watco's danish oil ( natural) first applied with a rag very vigorously, friction is the key, a few coats, then the next day I used a product called howard's feed and wax, its a paste of carnuba wax and bees wax , with orange oil, same process with the rag, after a few days your neck will be insane!!!!!! Smooth as a baby's ass, but with still the feel of the raw grain, do some experimenting on scrap wood. Ive done this neck finish on three of my guitars and several friends guitars and its great!