Ebony control cavity and tremolo covers?

[LEOKV2]

Hi

I've seen truss rod covers and pickguards made out of ebony, but I've never seen ebony used as a back plate, like for the control or floyd rose cavities.

I'm asking Rico Jr. to make the back plates out of ebony (as well as the truss rod) since he usually uses non-recessed plastic, and I kinda don't like that. I really like the anodized aluminum plates (recessed) on USA Jacksons, but well, we all know what happened to the prices on customs.

SO, Rico said ok no problem.

But, question is, 1) are there any other guitars with these? and 2) if not, or whatever, why wouldn't it be a good idea?

Let me know your thoughts...

[37fiat]

I would think that if it was solid ebony in a thickness under 1/8", it may be prone to breaking, or at least cracking.
Unlike a pickguard or truss rod cover, there isn't any backing behind most of the back plate, so pressure or a good whack near the unsupported center will likely crack it.

Laminating ebony veneers is however possible and easy to do, and would be quite strong if they were laminated across the grain, like plywood. 5 plies would be ideal and would end up just over 3/32" thick. Much stronger than solid, and since ebony is very dark, the glue lines would be invisible.
This would still retain the look of solid ebony, unless you looked extremely closely.

[Leo Chang]

If you use Macassar Ebony (black with chocolate stripes), it would look very interesting.

If you use jet black ebony, while it wouldn't look like black plastic, it would not contribute to the looks, depending how you have the back finished.

Because there are quite a few screws on a trem cavity cover, I would be concerned with the wood cracking near the screw holes, especially if you often take the trem cavity cover off. Don't know if lamination will eliminate this problem, but will certainly help.

So for this reason and the ones 37flat mentioned, I would definitely have it laminated. (though I personally would go for a metal trem cavity cover anyway)

[Burn]

Question. Who seriously leaves there trem cavity covers on anyways? I usually take it off right away, I have a stack of them.....

[Budman68]

Definitely a laminate would be best if made under an 1/8th. If it were me, I'd epoxy the ebony to an aluminum backing plate as it would give a lot more stability. You're going to have to be real gentle when removing and installing screws as well because ebony can chip very easily where the grain runs close to an "edge".

[Learn Guitars]

Definitely a laminate would be best if made under an 1/8th. If it were me, I'd epoxy the ebony to an aluminum backing plate as it would give a lot more stability. You're going to have to be real gentle when removing and installing screws as well because ebony can chip very easily where the grain runs close to an "edge".

I second that....

[LEOKV2]

Well I haven't talked to Rico about laminating yet. And certainly I didn't realize the chipping factor...

But again, chipping will occur in terms of opening and closing the cavity frequently? Or will it simply occur because it's made out of a solid piece of ebony and that just happens? I don't think I will be opening the cavities a lot, I mean, maybe like... twice a year. But, if the thing is that ebony will twist and turn and will chip on the screws just because it's ebony, then I'd be concerned.

[delt]

> Question. Who seriously leaves there trem cavity covers on anyways?

Ha, good point =D not me (usually)

[m2pmd70]

Will Rico not do 'em Jackson-style out of aluminum? That's what I'd want.

[LEOKV2]

No, he won't recess 'em either. He said it had something to do with the overall quality of the finish being much better if done this way since recessing tends to produce chipping of the clear coating. He said that he's being doing it this way for years during BC Rich as well. Says that it's the best way to do it. I'm not sure if I agree, but he offered me ebony plates instead, non-recessed. I'd go with that.

[sully]

recessing tends to produce chipping of the clear coating.

wow. that has to be the most amount of bullshit i've heard all day. maybe even all week. i ask you, have you ever seen chipped out clear coat around a control cavity caused from covers? didn't think so.

whenever i read about bernie jr, i think of something i read that neal said about him once; something to the extent of "super nice guy, NOT a luthier." and even if you don't like neal's guitar designs (i'm not really a fan), if you look up luthier in the dictionary, i believe most dictionaries say "see neal moser." that dude's a fuckin' beast.

sully

[37fiat]

As Dave mentioned, the ebony can chip out very easily around the screws, particularly near the end grain. Ebony tends to be brittle.
If you did get it made, I would think drilling the holes about a 3/8" in from the edge of the plate should prevent most of the chipping.

The aluminum backing for the veneer could work, and would be the strongest, but you'd see the edge of the aluminum, since this plate won't be recessed. Could fix that with a Sharpie, but wouldn't look too cool on an expensive guitar.

[LEOKV2]

wow. that has to be the most amount of bullshit i've heard all day. maybe even all week. i ask you, have you ever seen chipped out clear coat around a control cavity caused from covers? didn't think so.

whenever i read about bernie jr, i think of something i read that neal said about him once; something to the extent of "super nice guy, NOT a luthier." and even if you don't like neal's guitar designs (i'm not really a fan), if you look up luthier in the dictionary, i believe most dictionaries say "see neal moser." that dude's a fuckin' beast.

sully

Yeah, well it sounded "fishy" to me too. But I guess there must be some reason why he would do it that way I guess. Plus, I don't recall reading any complaints abour Rico's guitars so far, most people are actually saying that they're amazing and blah blah blah. Yeah, I don't like Moser designs at all, they sure must be great, but hey, I don't like my guitar looking like a friggin octopus on cocaine (Im a V kinda guy, and you know the V moser makes...) hehehehe.

My other option will be BC Rich, but I've also heard that quality is down, and that they're not so cool anymore. So in the end, from the current "extreme" guitar makers that have some kinda "prestige", Rico seems like the best call so far. I'm not into KXK or Ran.

[kelly user]

just notch the metal covers so they look recessed then. i've played around with a CNC machine before and i can get the metal notched thinner than paper. ebony bad idea. clear coat cracks around the trem area, bullshit, his painter has problems.

[LEOKV2]

Well, he won't do recessed or metal covers. That's it.

He did suggest using ebony for the truss rod and back cavities. I sent him an e-mail asking about the laminated ebony, so it would be harder, and I'm still waiting.

Thing is, I can't have the plates breaking, point. So I'm asking him for a solution for this.

The ebony will be (if not laminated), cut to about the same width of a regular non-recessed thick plastic cover.