Did Hanson metalworks later become APM or get bought out by APM? Thought I read that somewhere maybe. And yeah that picture definitely confirms the bad hasn't been changed.
AMP had nothing to do with Hanson and had no part in this version of the FRT5.
Very cool history indeed.
The 1988 has a symmetrical baseplate and the intonation bolt is off centre so it is far easier to adjust with a string on. It also has a different trem arm mech. The 1996 was a revision to bring it in to being a direct replacement with an original Floyd but it didn't quite manage it. The string lock bolts were too long on the original for most OFR recess routs and the studs are a different size to this day. Gotoh did a minor revision when they switched to the etched logo and reduced the bolt length to the same as the OFR. Now if you want to retrofit a 1996 even in to a recessed rout as long as you keep the OFR studs it is a direct swap. The locknut remains slightly different in the placement of the bolts. The Gotoh is a fraction off centre for some reason which is a great pity because it is a far better built nut than OFR and I have never had issues with any.
Ed's was a stock 1988 with an arm that was bolted in from the back . Ed like the bar to be loose with a lot of play but this didn't really have much. I played one of Eds stage backup MM1 and this was how it was set up. The Gotoh lock nut looks identical but it is not quite a direct retrofit.
I agree that the original fine tuners were probably unfinished brass but my old Schaller looked close enough as is. I have seen a few Hanson original floyds and they were all black fine tuners. Mine is probably as similar looking as it's going to get not being a Hanson unit .
On the subject of this guitar and my involvement with the Facebook group I have been set unpublished photos that I can't share that I wish I had when I did my last attempt that make me want another go also a contradictory account from a very credible source about the colour .This is from an employee at the time that says it was R&M brand acrylic lacquer in Corvette Mille Miglia Red 76/973 WA 4147. The R&M bit is definite and this colour look really close. It kind of make me wonder if Ed pointed at a Corvette or a Chevy and said that colour . I don't think we will ever know for sure. As for the pictures showing the wood, contradictions but way more likely basswood than swamp ash. I have been talking to Chris at Locke Custom Guitars about working with me for another go but it would need to be considerably better than my last one. Thanks for your interest . Now I need to find a 40 year old can of Mille Miglia R&M.
I did both but my NOS is a bit toward a Wolfgang speck .Haha, good luck with that!
Very interesting points you made and amazing how even now in 2023, pictures comes up that the general public have not seen. How exciting. And you're right, Eddie was of course into his cars so it's entirely possible, especially in his neighbourhood to see nice cars and paintjobs!
Ps. Was there ever a point where you seriously thought, I'm not going to relic it?
I was in two minds about it, but when I finished layering the red, I thought, MAN this looks so good, and even with the black, I strongly felt the need to tape it, rather than feathering the edges like Ed did in his "Eddie way". In the end I even clearcoated it as I was so pleased with the brand new look. I couldn't bring myself to start relicing it after that much work.
Regardless, for you to do the process several times, I'm surprised it hasn't caused a mental breakdown!
And also to document it step by step takes a lot of dedication and disciple, it's much appreciated!!
But not R&M acrylic as 40 years ago, paint has changed a lot in that time.
I think the 5150 replica is already in the queue, just a matter of time to be honest, based on recent interviews with the Wolfgang and Bruck. By the same token though, the 5150 was kinda a prop guitar. He played it live, it sounded amazing, but to be real, any guitar in his hands through his rig would sound that way. The 5150 guitar didn't define Ed or his sound. He could've put a EVH pickup in a large cube of ash wood and it still would've sounded amazing.
5150 has a great acoustic tone and played pretty well . It is doubtful that it was ash but we will have to see. Ed did make anything sound like him but this was one or his absolute favourites and he still played it after it was retired. As far as I know it is in line for a replica but there are some complications Gibson own the head shape and name.
Yes I will tell you but before I will try and explain why it has never been simple to trust the available information.
Ed in the early days didn't want people to know what he used or even who made it. He would often lie about gear to throw people off knowing .
He also prevented builders from making replicas of the things they supplied to him or even confirming what they did.
Seymour Duncan made a few custom wound pickups for him and these are all still available . The EVH the Frankie the custom and the custom custom are all Ed pickups. The EVH ( evenly voiced Harmonics
Next problem Paul Unkert (who did the headstock conversion) says it left the factory with a SD59. So the first thing I had to prove is "How many pickups had 5150 ever had" I did this with available pictures. The pickup in 5150 earliest photos show the long legs bent up the sides of the rout to get the right hight and new holes drilled for the screws. This is the useful part as they are not straight so you have something to determine that this is the same black pickup that you'r looking at in later pictures. So the three black pickups that have been rumoured to be in 5150 are the 59 , JB, and the Custom custom. Pictures conclude that only one black pickup was ever in there. I can rule out the 59 as it always at the time came in two pole with paper tape and the 5150 had cloth and four pole. I next ruled out the JB because it just didn't sound like one when I played it and I've owned a lot or JBs over the years. I originally concluded that that leaves the CC as it sounds right and is virtually the same speck as the Wolfgang pickup that was a direct copy of it. Not that simple Larry DiMarzio wrote an article that says when they made the pickups for the MM that it was a JB with one broken coil. But it was Steve that did the examination and was it stickered ? If it wasn't the CC why is the copy a CC clone? Next I had a conversation with the guy that has the pickup now and he confirmed that it was broken and one coil was 8k on the other 160k alnico 5 . Steve was right it is a broken JB . The incident that caused it was the high E got stuck in the coil and when he pulled it out it sounded different and Ed preferred it. This is also the time when the white gaff tape was added to prevent it from reoccurring .
So is the Wolfgang the same as the CC ? not really but the on paper speck is. The WG is a copy of the broken JB and indeed is a it more dynamic than the CC and a lot different to a stock JB .
I suspect this is not that useful as the closest and IMO best sounding Ed pickup is the PV version even though the EVH one is supposed to be the exact same design. BUT the PV one is alnico 5 and the EVH 2. The one in 5150 now is a PV WG and Ed liked it so much that Jim got to keep the original and still has it.
