Hi guys, in this topic, I’m going to show you how to install a stud mount 7 string tremolo. First of all I’d like to point out that this is probably one of the best tremolo systems out there because it allows you a full range of adjustments.
I’d like to mention too that the customer support of Kahler USA is really good. I asked them for some technical questions during the design of my guitar process, and they answered all my mails with the information I needed.
One of my main doubts were if the bridge would be suitable for an angled Les Paul style guitar, and the answer is yes. My guitar is designed 4 degrees neck angle, and in that range of 3,5 º to 4 º fits perfectly.
First of all is needed to do some geometry exercises. The first step is to locate the guitar scale line (red color in the pics) and the axis of the top (yellow in the pictures).
Once you have drawn the scale line, you have to measure 48,26 mm from it and you get the line where the studs go (blue line in the pictures).
You can download the original scheme and all the measurements from www.kahlerusa.com
I did it and converted the PDF into DWG and printed it in order to make a template.
The following step is quite easy, you only have to place the template on the guitar top and be sure that all the lines match perfectly. This way you get the right location of the stud’s holes and the shape of the recess you have to route with the router.
For this operation I made two laser cut 8mm wood templates in order to guide the router bit. This is the result of the cavity:
The depth for the big cavity is 22 mm and for the small one is 13 mm.
Next, I’m goin to put pics of the diameter of the studs (12,99 mm the big ones and 7,62 mm for the small ones):
Is recommendable to take into account the hardness of the wood. Softer wood can accept the grooves of the bushing and a harder wood might require a slightly larger hole, about 3 tenths of a milimiter less than the total diameter of the stud. For example for the stud of 13 mm diameter I used a 12,50 mm one and for the 7,62 used a 7 mm diameter bit.
The depths of the big studs are 20,40 mm and the smaller ones 10,11 mm. Bear in mind that these are the measurements of the brass piece, but you have to do the holes about 3 mm deeper.
Finally, the bridge fits perfectly!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and feel free to comment or answer whatever you want. Thanks for reading me. Best regards from Spain.
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