GUITAR & NECK SPECS, AND BRIDGES

HOLLOW BODIES, RIBBED BODIES

The ability to make hollow bodies requires many months of complex computer modeling and development, but the results are impressive. Front, back and sides are .3” thick. The same wall thickness follows around the internal pickup cavity and tremolo routing. The body is completely hollow from the tip of the treble horn, all the way around to the tip of the bass side horn, following the arm and belly contours. The bodies are hollow, not chambered, which makes for an amazingly lightweight and resonant guitar. These guitars will sound more like the wood they are made of. 

Just like hollow bodies, ribbed bodies require a considerable amount of time to develop before the first one can be made. A ribbed back is used under the figured maple tops. The ribs support the 0.2” bent top and makes for a very lightweight guitar.

NECK TO BODY ANCHOR SYSTEM

In James’ own words: “Traditional neck pockets can move, no matter how hard you tighten the screws. In the past, this led to guitars reaching customers that had apparently been dropped (or thrown) hard enough during shipping to knock the neck out of alignment. After looking at pictures on internet discussion boards posted by people who just received their guitar only to find the neck out of place (and assumed that I sent the guitar out like that), I knew that I had to do something. The solution was not that difficult to engineer and has been very successful. I began using metal sleeves along with the neck screws. The sleeves are ¼” diameter and 3/8” long. They extend ¼” into the body and 1/8” into the neck. The inside diameter of the sleeve is the same as the outside diameter of the neck screw, which provides an extremely rigid neck to body joint, and the neck can’t shift. This also adds over one square inch of contact area to the neck/body joint when you calculate the surface area on the sleeves.” 

LEAD / RYTHM CIRCUIT

In this circuit the noise associated with single coils is eliminated in some wiring configurations. Pickups that look like single coils are actually humbuckers with the second coil hidden, but these pickups sound much like single coils. Each of the three pickups has a corresponding 3-position mini-toggle switch. These mini-toggles give you three tone choices for each pickup. The “up” position of the mini-toggle (closest to the pickups) gives you the pickup wired in series. It is the loudest, most fun sounding position and has no 60 cycle hum. The center position of the mini-toggle gives you a split pickup sound. That’s the sound of the hidden coil being grounded out. This results in a slightly weaker signal, a slightly thinner tone, and a 60 cycle hum. The “down” position (furthest from the pickups) on the mini-toggle is your pickup wired in parallel. That’s the sound of both coils running but at one quarter the resistance. This provides the weakest signal, thinnest tone, and no 60 cycle hum. There is a fourth mini-toggle that is a 2-position switch. One position of this switch gives you what ever configuration you have set with the other switches. The other position bypasses any setting you are in and gives you the bridge pickup in series. 

MIDBOOST PREAMP CIRCUIT

The Midboost control is located in one of the available tone positions. It is an active circuit that requires a battery as well as having the guitar plugged to activate the battery. With a charged battery the circuit is active at all times unless you use a bypass button. This is a high gain/low impedance circuit, which affects the tone of your pickups. The sonic aspects of the circuit can be divided into two sets of effects - the circuit effects and the mid range boost effects. 

• The Circuit Effects: When the circuit is active it expands the frequency response of your pickups and increases the output of your guitar. You get lower lows, more miss, higher highs and a volume increase of about 2db. Even if the mid-boost knob is turned all the way down you still get the circuit effects. 

• The Midrange Boost Effects: The boost is centered at 100 hz (low mid) but affects a very wide frequency range. Turning up the mid-boost now (while the circuit is active) increases your mid range frequencies, rolls off a small amount of high frequencies and further increases the output range of your guitar. The more you turn up the knob, the more mid range and output you get. 

MIDBOOST BYPASS AND PRESET BUTTONS

• Bypass Button: The bypass button activates and de-activates the circuit effects and midrange boost effects simultaneously. In other words, it activates and de-actives the entire midboost circuit. When you bypass the entire midboost circuit, you switch to a passive circuit (battery is not connected) without the expanded frequency range, higher output and increased mid range available with the mid boost circuit. This returns you to the more traditional tones your pickups normally have. The bypass button allows you to move back and forth from mid-boost circuit tones to traditional pickup tones with the tap of a button. 

• Preset Button: The preset button activates and de-activates only the midrange boost effects while leaving the circuit effects constant. The amount of boost is determined by where you preset the midboost knob. Instead of reaching down and turning the midboost down until you reach the desired sound your boost effects are punched in and out with the tap of a button.

• Gotoh two-post or six-screw tremolo with zinc block and
  James Tyler branded bent steel saddles.
  Available in chrome, black, or gold

  • Optional Saddles: Raw Vintage bent steel (chrome) or
    Hipshot solid steel (chrome or black)

• Hipshot Hardtail
  Available in chrome, black, or gold

• Floyd Rose Locking Bridge and Nut
  Available in chrome, black, or gold

• ProSound Tune-o-matic with stop tailpiece
  Available in chrome, black, or gold

• Glendale vintage Blackguard doublecut 3-saddle bridge plate with Groovy 60s threaded saddles.
  Available in chrome

• Gotoh 6-saddle bridge plate with solid steel saddles
  Available in chrome