Floyd Post Broke through Schecter! / NGD

[Sixstring]

Wow! Not a luther but I do work wood and I also agree that it looks like there was a repair done at some point in the past! My money would be on carving out the broken section of wood in favor of a harder piece of lumber for the fix!

 

[ElectricPhase]

Is it my imagination or does it look like it was glued or some sort of repair was done prior? Like at the factory. Also it looks like the wood had a knot or some sort of natural irregularity in that spot and was destined to be a weakness.

Sure looks that way to me. IMO that board should have never made it into the factory, let alone gone out as part of a finished guitar.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Tonight, I noticed the post on the treble side of my Floyd was butted up against the pickguard of my Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic FR Black Limba, so I took a deeper look and saw that the post has broken through the body of the guitar itself! I have two questions:

Does anyone have any good advice for how to fix this?

Does anyone have any good contacts at Schecter who might be able to help?

I bought this guitar in May of 2021, and the one odd thing I noticed was that the body wood, the black limba, is extremely soft. Many of the screws for the pickguard, the floyd spring claw in the back, and the strap buttons have all gotten loose with no threading in the wood over time. My remedy was to put toothpicks in those holes to give the screws something to grip onto. But this? This is a different level. I play in E standard, and I could maybe understand if I was using ridiculously heavy strings that a Floyd couldn't handle, but here are the only strings I've ever used with the guitar:

D'Addario EXL125 (9-46)
D'Addario NYXL1046 (10-46)
D'Addario EXL120BT (9-40)
D'Addario EXL110BT (10-46)

I've been using the EXL110BT (balanced tension) set for the past month or so. The guitar comes from the factory with the Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky #2222 (.009-.046) set, so using balanced tension 10s shouldn't be a big deal. I think the wood they used for this is just too damn soft.

View attachment 134681
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The whole thing has collapsed. The options are 1; send it back as this is a defect in production. 2; carefully piece it all back together, glue and clamping . you could than see about fitting one of these;

Or the last and most complex is rout out a larger piece and glue a block of harder wood instead and re rout to the same speck ( expensive and will change the tone.) I would opt for getting Schecter to replace the body as that is clearly not your fault and it the result of it not being fit for the purpose it was sold . In the UK that alone would make them responsible for repair to a high standard or a replacement free of charge even when out of warranty because it should last a "reasonable" time if used correctly and with a guitar that will be a few years.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

In the UK that alone would make them responsible for repair to a high standard or a replacement free of charge even when out of warranty because it should last a "reasonable" time if used correctly and with a guitar that will be a few years.

Sadly, in the US, companies frequently employ delay tactics to run out your warranty and then charge you for subsequent repairs, or just leave you hanging with a FUBAR thing. Because so many do it, they get away with it.

 

[Henry]

I have the same guitar, but haven't been playing it recently. Good luck with the repair!

 

[darkknight91]

I made a guitar with black limba for someone a year ago. It was heavy as granite but cut, sanded, routed and drilled like hot butter. Screws drove in it like the wood was soaked in oil. Never seen anything like it. It didn’t seem like it would easily break though.

 

[State of Epicicity]

The whole thing has collapsed. The options are 1; send it back as this is a defect in production. 2; carefully piece it all back together, glue and clamping . you could than see about fitting one of these;
View attachment 134725
Or the last and most complex is rout out a larger piece and glue a block of harder wood instead and re rout to the same speck ( expensive and will change the tone.) I would opt for getting Schecter to replace the body as that is clearly not your fault and it the result of it not being fit for the purpose it was sold . In the UK that alone would make them responsible for repair to a high standard or a replacement free of charge even when out of warranty because it should last a "reasonable" time if used correctly and with a guitar that will be a few years.

Thanks very much Andy for running through those scenarios.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Oh and Black Limba is normally similar to mahogany to work with. It looks like it has been repaired here before? Also the grain looks very unhelpful for strength. If it has been repaired you would need to carefully scrape out all the failed glue and use an epoxy two part that can cope with small gaps . It looks like failed PVA (because it wasn't properly clamped). The plate I pictured can be used with your existing studs/ bushings and is additionally supported by resting against the recessed rout. You would need to check there is room for it without routing down but they usually fit without in this kind of rout.

 

[State of Epicicity]

When I peeled away the rest of the copper foil I had applied, I could see that what looked like a knot in the wood was actually just sloppy application of the black shielding paint at the factory! So whatever happened, it didn't have to do with a knot.

They're actually having me send it to them for a replacement. I have so many mixed feelings about this, but I am hopeful the next one survives longer.

Thanks again to everyone chiming in. This is weirdly emotional for me, and honestly I'm still shocked this even happened. It makes me wonder truly if these guitars really should have 9 gauge strings only. Hopefully what happened was a one off.

In the meantime, this has convinced me to make sure I have two working guitars, so once I'm through preparing my broken Schecter to be returned, I'll get started on getting my Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin back to it's former glory. With the Duncan Saturday Night Specials I had installed to that guitar previously, that thing was a tone monster; I'm guessing the hardtail was a big part of that! Every guitar I've owned whose tone I've loved was a fixed bridge, so I'm learning something about myself. I hope the replacement Sun Valley Super Shredder will have a good tone inherently.

 

[unix-guy]

When I peeled away the rest of the copper foil I had applied, I could see that what looked like a knot in the wood was actually just sloppy application of the black shielding paint at the factory! So whatever happened, it didn't have to do with a knot.

They're actually having me send it to them for a replacement. I have so many mixed feelings about this, but I am hopeful the next one survives longer.

Thanks again to everyone chiming in. This is weirdly emotional for me, and honestly I'm still shocked this even happened. It makes me wonder truly if these guitars really should have 9 gauge strings only. Hopefully what happened was a one off.

In the meantime, this has convinced me to make sure I have two working guitars, so once I'm through preparing my broken Schecter to be returned, I'll get started on getting my Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin back to it's former glory. With the Duncan Saturday Night Specials I had installed to that guitar previously, that thing was a tone monster; I'm guessing the hardtail was a big part of that! Every guitar I've owned whose tone I've loved was a fixed bridge, so I'm learning something about myself. I hope the replacement Sun Valley Super Shredder will have a good tone inherently.

I would be surprised if the string gauge you are using is relevant to this. More likely heavy use of trem and/or a structural issue with that particular piece of wood.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I would be surprised if the string gauge you are using is relevant to this. More likely heavy use of trem and/or a structural issue with that particular piece of wood.

That would be nice to have that kind of freedom.

 

[Sashman]

When I peeled away the rest of the copper foil I had applied, I could see that what looked like a knot in the wood was actually just sloppy application of the black shielding paint at the factory! So whatever happened, it didn't have to do with a knot.

They're actually having me send it to them for a replacement. I have so many mixed feelings about this, but I am hopeful the next one survives longer.

Thanks again to everyone chiming in. This is weirdly emotional for me, and honestly I'm still shocked this even happened. It makes me wonder truly if these guitars really should have 9 gauge strings only. Hopefully what happened was a one off.

In the meantime, this has convinced me to make sure I have two working guitars, so once I'm through preparing my broken Schecter to be returned, I'll get started on getting my Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin back to it's former glory. With the Duncan Saturday Night Specials I had installed to that guitar previously, that thing was a tone monster; I'm guessing the hardtail was a big part of that! Every guitar I've owned whose tone I've loved was a fixed bridge, so I'm learning something about myself. I hope the replacement Sun Valley Super Shredder will have a good tone inherently.

Yeah I always had and I actually have two similar guitars to swap them as quick as possible. I didn’t had any issues during a gig in the past 25 years but it’s always relaxing and good to know that there is a backup which you can easily switch to if necessary.

 

[Planta Fantasma]

When I peeled away the rest of the copper foil I had applied, I could see that what looked like a knot in the wood was actually just sloppy application of the black shielding paint at the factory! So whatever happened, it didn't have to do with a knot.

They're actually having me send it to them for a replacement. I have so many mixed feelings about this, but I am hopeful the next one survives longer.

Thanks again to everyone chiming in. This is weirdly emotional for me, and honestly I'm still shocked this even happened. It makes me wonder truly if these guitars really should have 9 gauge strings only. Hopefully what happened was a one off.

In the meantime, this has convinced me to make sure I have two working guitars, so once I'm through preparing my broken Schecter to be returned, I'll get started on getting my Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin back to it's former glory. With the Duncan Saturday Night Specials I had installed to that guitar previously, that thing was a tone monster; I'm guessing the hardtail was a big part of that! Every guitar I've owned whose tone I've loved was a fixed bridge, so I'm learning something about myself. I hope the replacement Sun Valley Super Shredder will have a good tone inherently.

When I peeled away the rest of the copper foil I had applied, I could see that what looked like a knot in the wood was actually just sloppy application of the black shielding paint at the factory! So whatever happened, it didn't have to do with a knot.

They're actually having me send it to them for a replacement. I have so many mixed feelings about this, but I am hopeful the next one survives longer.

Thanks again to everyone chiming in. This is weirdly emotional for me, and honestly I'm still shocked this even happened. It makes me wonder truly if these guitars really should have 9 gauge strings only. Hopefully what happened was a one off.

In the meantime, this has convinced me to make sure I have two working guitars, so once I'm through preparing my broken Schecter to be returned, I'll get started on getting my Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin back to it's former glory. With the Duncan Saturday Night Specials I had installed to that guitar previously, that thing was a tone monster; I'm guessing the hardtail was a big part of that! Every guitar I've owned whose tone I've loved was a fixed bridge, so I'm learning something about myself. I hope the replacement Sun Valley Super Shredder will have a good tone inherently.

When I peeled away the rest of the copper foil I had applied, I could see that what looked like a knot in the wood was actually just sloppy application of the black shielding paint at the factory! So whatever happened, it didn't have to do with a knot.

They're actually having me send it to them for a replacement. I have so many mixed feelings about this, but I am hopeful the next one survives longer.

Thanks again to everyone chiming in. This is weirdly emotional for me, and honestly I'm still shocked this even happened. It makes me wonder truly if these guitars really should have 9 gauge strings only. Hopefully what happened was a one off.

In the meantime, this has convinced me to make sure I have two working guitars, so once I'm through preparing my broken Schecter to be returned, I'll get started on getting my Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin back to it's former glory. With the Duncan Saturday Night Specials I had installed to that guitar previously, that thing was a tone monster; I'm guessing the hardtail was a big part of that! Every guitar I've owned whose tone I've loved was a fixed bridge, so I'm learning something about myself. I hope the replacement Sun Valley Super Shredder will have a good tone inherently.

That's great that Schecter is replacing the body for you. That speaks volumes about their company.
You never know, they might just send you a new guitar!!????
I've mis-cut pieces of wood that were worth more than most guitars.....shit happens. Honestly though, once I cut a set of Brazilian Rosewood for an acoustic back as a florentine when it was supposed to be a venetian. The guitar was for Henry Kaiser. He hated florentine cutaways.
I found him another set of Brazilian & he was super happy w/ it & everything worked out in the long run.
Back to my main point, Schecter is a really good company for doing the exchange.

 

[State of Epicicity]

That's great that Schecter is replacing the body for you. That speaks volumes about their company.
You never know, they might just send you a new guitar!!????
I've mis-cut pieces of wood that were worth more than most guitars.....shit happens. Honestly though, once I cut a set of Brazilian Rosewood for an acoustic back as a florentine when it was supposed to be a venetian. The guitar was for Henry Kaiser. He hated florentine cutaways.
I found him another set of Brazilian & he was super happy w/ it & everything worked out in the long run.
Back to my main point, Schecter is a really good company for doing the exchange.

Actually, they are having me send in the whole guitar. I had asked if I could drive it to an authorized repair center for a tech they trust to view the break, because it seems like a huge waste to send it in, and even bigger waste to replace the whole thing. The neck on this thing is great, and I hate the idea of it going to waste. This must just be the most efficient way for them.

I always tell differences in even several examples of the same model. When I bought my Les Paul, I played dozens of them at different stores, Gibsons and Epiphones, to find the one with the best tone for me, and to my surpise it was this one Epiphone that was magic one; I loved that thing for a long time until my wrist couldn't handle the neck heel anymore. It had a kind timbre in the sustain that was complex, filled with mojo, just utterly inspiring. It had overtones that had depth and character, the kind of thing I would dream about. I had never even played a Les Paul before, and I adapted to the feel just for the tone.

I'm very hopeful the replacement will sound good, have good fretwork, and be free from major problems, but this is a complete mystery, and it's a wonderful thing to have another chance with a superstrat with stainless steel frets and a Floyd. I don't trust the black limba that was used for the one I'm sending back, so I'm wary of another that was likely from the same source, but mine could've been a fluke.

I would've been glad to exchange it for another guitar model altogether, to pay the difference for something else or have them replace it with something that costs less, to avoid the black limba.

 

[State of Epicicity]

That's great that Schecter is replacing the body for you. That speaks volumes about their company.
You never know, they might just send you a new guitar!!????
I've mis-cut pieces of wood that were worth more than most guitars.....shit happens. Honestly though, once I cut a set of Brazilian Rosewood for an acoustic back as a florentine when it was supposed to be a venetian. The guitar was for Henry Kaiser. He hated florentine cutaways.
I found him another set of Brazilian & he was super happy w/ it & everything worked out in the long run.
Back to my main point, Schecter is a really good company for doing the exchange.

Man, that just reminded of the only time I've heard Henry Kaiser. In the 90s my coworker showed me his instructional video, and it struck me hard how little Alexander Dumble wanted to be there. It was like he resented something in a big way; I wondered if he hated Kaiser, hated being on camera, hated talking about tube amps, or some combination of those!

Kaiser is lucky to have one those works of art you create, Man!

 

[State of Epicicity]

I made a guitar with black limba for someone a year ago. It was heavy as granite but cut, sanded, routed and drilled like hot butter. Screws drove in it like the wood was soaked in oil. Never seen anything like it. It didn’t seem like it would easily break though.

Man, what you're describing about it being so easy to manipulate the wood just makes me think it also makes it less suitable for a Floyd, for that one section where the routing makes the body so thin, yet it has to sustain the stress of the trem post.

I mean all but maybe two screw holes in this body have needed toothpicks just to keep the screws in over time. Twice the strap button failed, even after reinforcing. It's crazy. I think it looks awesome, but if they're all like this I would only want to use black limba as a cap or something. Unless there was a piece that really had great tone, then maybe a fixed bridge with some great reinforced strap button engineering.

 

[Planta Fantasma]

I've built several Strats w/ Black Limba & Floyds. I know I have more pics but they're unsorted at the moment.
Never any problems as of yet. Made them both 13 years ago. I've made necks w/ both white & black limba.
All the original Explorers, V's & Moderns from Gibson were made w/ white limba/Korina. They're now worth a fortune. (I understand because of the vintage & not the wood, but nonetheless.)

Sometimes I intentionally look for wood w/ interesting patterns. It depends upon what I'm after in a build.

The bottom line is it's from a tree. It's organic. Sometimes you get a lemon of a board. It happens w/ all species.
There are so many variables when it comes to wood grading & selection. Sometimes the trees are fractured in strange ways when they're felled.

Some people don't even know what a fall crack is. I pointed them out to a very famous luthier out there when I seen some in one of his pieces. He didn't even notice them. (he shall remain un-named).

 

[State of Epicicity]

I've built several Strats w/ Black Limba & Floyds. I know I have more pics but they're unsorted at the moment.
Never any problems as of yet. Made them both 13 years ago. I've made necks w/ both white & black limba.
All the original Explorers, V's & Moderns from Gibson were made w/ white limba/Korina. They're now worth a fortune. (I understand because of the vintage & not the wood, but nonetheless.)

Sometimes I intentionally look for wood w/ interesting patterns. It depends upon what I'm after in a build.

The bottom line is it's from a tree. It's organic. Sometimes you get a lemon of a board. It happens w/ all species.
There are so many variables when it comes to wood grading & selection. Sometimes the trees are fractured in strange ways when they're felled.

Some people don't even know what a fall crack is. I pointed them out to a very famous luthier out there when I seen some in one of his pieces. He didn't even notice them. (he shall remain un-named).

Hot damn that's an awesome guitar. Okay Man, reading this I feel a ton better. Because I do love the look of the guitar, and the feel of it. I always struggled with it sounding thin, but I took steps to mitigate, including HS Duncan Blackouts and 10 gauge strings. So that tells me at least structurally I'm not doomed. And I'll play it by ear with the tone haha.

 

[Planta Fantasma]

Hot damn that's an awesome guitar. Okay Man, reading this I feel a ton better. Because I do love the look of the guitar, and the feel of it. I always struggled with it sounding thin, but I took steps to mitigate, including HS Duncan Blackouts and 10 gauge strings. So that tells me at least structurally I'm not doomed. And I'll play it by ear with the tone haha.

Sorry for the run on structure in advance. This is a rant about strings & I had a bit to purge. Lol!

Once again, variables..... There are so many.

I love LaBella bass strings, but I'v never had a decent set for guitar. I won't even try another pack.
I absolutely hate Fender Bullets. Never heard a set sound good, at least on my guitars.
I've been a D'Adarrio fan for years. They're inexpensive & have a nice snap that works great for me. I always used their standard 10-46.
I've since tried their NY variety & they're excellent as well.
I've used Ernie Ball for years as well, but eventually settled on D'Addario as my goto.
Dr. Ducks are nice strings also. Used them for years doing repairs. Never a problem. John Duck is a character.
I liked Elixers, but they can have grounding issues w/ some guitars because of their coating. Never a problem w/ EMG's because they're internally shielded & don't require a ground wire.

I think why I've settled on D'Addarios is because they have the perfect tension for my tuning & love of speed metal picking.
I found that Ernie Balls were actually a bit to slinky & I noticed a different attack when picking. Almost like the string wasn't in the right place...?

The most interesting set I've tried were the Optima Golds. I put them on one of the most high end Jazz guitars I'd made & they were very nice.
Noticeably higher tension & they're less likely to corrode as quickly as some brands. I enjoyed their tension using a fixed tune-o-matic bridge.

I'd avoid any extra high tension strings for Floyds. My reason for this is because there's a lot of extra setup involved in readjusting your neck & Floyd springs. Then when you decide you hate the higher tension strings on your trem, you need to readjust everything again when you go back to the standard sets. This was at least my experience.

The most awkward set of strings I'd ever tried were Ernie Ball Colbalts. They just felt like they were chewing up my fingers. Hated the texture & the clacking sound they made against the frets.

The point of my rant about strings is that they can 'Make or Break' your experience. It doesn't seem like it's such a big deal, but the more you become in tune w/ your instrument, the better you can fine tune your instrument.

Cheers!

 

[State of Epicicity]

Sorry for the run on structure in advance. This is a rant about strings & I had a bit to purge. Lol!

Once again, variables..... There are so many.

I love LaBella bass strings, but I'v never had a decent set for guitar. I won't even try another pack.
I absolutely hate Fender Bullets. Never heard a set sound good, at least on my guitars.
I've been a D'Adarrio fan for years. They're inexpensive & have a nice snap that works great for me. I always used their standard 10-46.
I've since tried their NY variety & they're excellent as well.
I've used Ernie Ball for years as well, but eventually settled on D'Addario as my goto.
Dr. Ducks are nice strings also. Used them for years doing repairs. Never a problem. John Duck is a character.
I liked Elixers, but they can have grounding issues w/ some guitars because of their coating. Never a problem w/ EMG's because they're internally shielded & don't require a ground wire.

I think why I've settled on D'Addarios is because they have the perfect tension for my tuning & love of speed metal picking.
I found that Ernie Balls were actually a bit to slinky & I noticed a different attack when picking. Almost like the string wasn't in the right place...?

The most interesting set I've tried were the Optima Golds. I put them on one of the most high end Jazz guitars I'd made & they were very nice.
Noticeably higher tension & they're less likely to corrode as quickly as some brands. I enjoyed their tension using a fixed tune-o-matic bridge.

I'd avoid any extra high tension strings for Floyds. My reason for this is because there's a lot of extra setup involved in readjusting your neck & Floyd springs. Then when you decide you hate the higher tension strings on your trem, you need to readjust everything again when you go back to the standard sets. This was at least my experience.

The most awkward set of strings I'd ever tried were Ernie Ball Colbalts. They just felt like they were chewing up my fingers. Hated the texture & the clacking sound they made against the frets.

The point of my rant about strings is that they can 'Make or Break' your experience. It doesn't seem like it's such a big deal, but the more you become in tune w/ your instrument, the better you can fine tune your instrument.

Cheers!

I had to look up Dr. Duck's. I love the website! I always use balanced tension D'Addario XLs these days. I've had two guitars with twisted necks, and that kind of scarred me! I love the feel of balanced tension sets anyway. Plus they're easy enough to find and affordable.

I've tried so many different strings, and for a while I did play LaBella actually. I have this love of guitar technology, so I've experienced these situations in which I buy something very cool for which you can't get parts when the product inevitably is dropped by the manufacturer. Case in point: Floyd Rose Speed loader strings. So I'm wary of going to small brands for something I use all the time, upon which I base my decisions about pickup choice, wiring, signal chain, all that. I know with D'Addario they never come with little rusty sections because of their great packaging, they sound good, and even the not fancy XLs last a really long time because I wash my hands before I play.