Another Floyd Rose to Hardtail Conversion

Late last year, a young man brought in a badly reliced Chinese copy of a Schecter Synyster Gates for evaluation. He'd bought the guitar for next to nothing and was wondering how much it would cost to get it back in shape. It would neither be cheap nor easy, I told him, as lots of parts were either missing or damaged. Let's see, now. The neck pickup was dead, the electronics unusable, the Floyd-Rose style tremolo and locking nut were missing; you get the idea. The lad left disappointed, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Imagine my delight, then, when he turned up recently, cash in hand; and ready to give it another shot.

The Checter as Received

What did the owner want done? Well, for starters, he wasn't interested in restoring the guitar to stock specs. Instead, he wanted it converted to a hardtail. Now, as I'd carried out a similar conversion on an ESP GrassRoots G-HR-49 back in 2021, I knew what to expect. We'll begin with the headstock end of the neck. Work here involved gluing on a fretboard extension and creating a slot for an S-style nut.

Measuring Neck Width

Fretboard Extension Glued and Clamped

Fretboard Extension After Final Shaping

Moving on to the front of the body, whatever remains of the original paint needs to be scraped off, as the target is a natural finish. The trem recess also needs to be filled to accommodate a hardtail bridge. As for the holes for the controls and switches, all will be retained. 

Front of Body as Received

In the first image below, the trem recess has been filled with a glued-in block of yellow meranti. I've also test-fitted the humbuckers. The neck humbucker replacement is pre-loved, but functions admirably. That's the original bridge pickup you see, it's been retained as there's nothing wrong with it. Also visible are pencil lines marking the location of the bridge. Meanwhile, in the second image, I've placed the new hardtail bridge exactly where it needs to be, thanks to those guide lines.

Trem Recess Filled

Location of Hardtail Bridge

Now it's time to test fit the new bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge mounting screws from the supplier were way too small and short for secure mounting. As such, I had to source five larger and longer screws from my parts bin. They might not be black, shiny or new; but should do the job. Note also the black arrow, which indicates where a channel has been drilled to accommodate the bridge ground wire.

Bridge Mounting Screws and Ground Channel

After waxing the replacement bridge mounting screws, a test fit was carried out. I'm glad to say that the new hardtail bridge fit securely to the yellow meranti block without much ado. Of course, the bridge will have to be unscrewed to allow for final sanding and refinishing; and only be reinstalled before setup.

Test-Fitting the Bridge

That would be about it for the front of the body, folks. Here's a closer look at the back of the body as received. I'm sure you recognize the control and trem cavities, but what about that small rectangular cavity on the lower horn? Well, that's the neck pickup battery compartment. It shall be filled, as will the trem cavity. And, as the control cavity cover is missing, a new one will have to be fashioned.

Back of Body as Received

Here's the back of the body with the existing paint completely scraped and sanded off. That's surely hardwood we see, which is a always a good thing. The trem and battery compartment have also been filled with blocks of pine. There are a few unfilled screw holes, but these will be sealed before refinishing. 

Trem Cavity and Battery Compartment Filled

Now we'll focus on the control cavity. It's been cleaned of all paint, making way for a couple coats of conductive shielding paint. You'll also notice the homemade control cavity cover, crafted from black pickguard material. I've shielded the back of this cover with self-adhesive copper foil.

Shielded Control Cavity and Cover

Test-Fitting the Control Cavity Cover

With all test fittings and mountings carried out, the time for refinishing was nigh. No staining was necessary, as both the body and neck wood exhibited an attractive dark hue. All that was needed was a couple applications of filler and sealer, followed by clear top coats. Of course, there was a lot of wet and dry sanding involved, but I'm sure you already guessed that, right?

Headstock Face After Refinishing

Back of Headstock After Refinishing

Back of Neck After Refinishing

Fretboard After Conditioning

Back of Body After Refinishing

I've saved the front of the body for last, folks. This is what it looked like just before restringing and final setup. As for the electronics, the owner requested a wiring scheme comprising a three-way toggle switch and volume control. Nothing really special, save for the Switchcraft #11 jack and StewMac Gibson Accessories Plastic Jack Plate.

Front of Body After Refinishing

StewMac Plastic Jack Plate