ESP Floyd Rose to Hardtail Conversion | Part One

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

This post is the first of five regarding an ongoing Floyd Rose to Hardtail [fixed bridge] conversion on a used ESP GrassRoots G-HR-49 solidbody. I first laid eyes on this guitar a couple years ago, and remember it as having a dark green flamed maple veneer top. 

Since then, strangely enough, the whole body and back of the neck had been sprayed gloss black. Why anyone would have done that is a mystery to me. The current owner gave me very clear instructions on what he wanted done to the guitar:

One, remove the entire Floyd Rose assembly, including the locking nut, springs and claws.

Two, fill the trem and spring cavities completely with suitable wood to create a true solid body.

Three, install a strings-through-body hardtail bridge. 

Four, install a Strat-style nut, strip the paint from the back of the neck and refinish it natural.

Five, make the guitar presentable and fully-functional.

“Fair enough,” said I, and the wheels in my ageing mind began to turn. There was lots of careful planning to be done, for sure. Then there was the sourcing of suitable materials and parts. Indeed, this would be a daunting task; but I was determined to see it through.

Thus said, let us now take a brief look at the main features of the G-HR-49 as received. For starters, this guitar obviously sports a double-locking “Licensed under Floyd Rose Pats” tremolo system. The neck, meanwhile, features a bound rosewood fretboard with a 25.5” scale, 16” radius, 24 frets; and small offset rectangular pearloid inlays.

The neck is attached to the body via four recessed screws and bushings, and the heel is sculpted; presumably for improved upper-fret access. Truss rod access is at the headstock end of the neck. This tilt-back headstock is bound, of the pointy Jackson-style variety; and features six-in-line sealed tuners. 

The body appears to be solid wood with a contoured top, belly cut and scalloped upper/lower “horns.” Electronics are pretty straightforward: two humbuckers, three-way toggle switch, individual tone controls; and master volume. Nope, no coil-splitting or anything like that. Well, that’s about it as far as introductions go; and do check out the YouTube video I created specifically for this post.