Hey everybody.

Lemme start by saying I recently bought a Gibson 1984 Explorer. The thing is older than I am and it looks like the one James Hetfield played before switching to ESP except it has a Kahlar Tremolo system installed.

Anyway, what I wanna do is, first, strip the finish of the guitar and refinish it in an Alpine white or Olympic White or one of those REALLY bright white finishes. Then I want to get rid of the Kahlar and put in a regular tuneamatic/stop bar. But here is the problem with the latter of what I want to do. The Explorer originally HAD a tunematic/stopbar installed to it BUT the person who had it last drilled new holes(the new holes have partially the old holes in them as well), so I basiclly would have to get the holes undone and reversed.

Anyway, I'd like some advice on the topic and I'd like to know how much it is gonna cost me. Plus I would like to know how much of a BITCH it is gonna be giving is a tunematic and stopbar. Any input would help. Thanks

Dave

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why do you wanna get rid of the kahler? thats a great trem!

nice buy too.

if it is in its original finish, leave it. its worth more that way and looks cool, have you got a pic to show us or something?

if you want to the trem sorted it has to be taken out and the cavity/holes need to be filled with wood filler and shit, its a bitch to do that but its not impossible. ofcourse if you have no experience with customizing guitars, I think you'de better keep your paws off it for the hard part, hehe. I think its gonna cost you dearly though if you want all that work done by a shop

if money is a prob, you could always sell the kahler before you start to work on the guitar. There are a lot of people out there (including me ) that would love to get their hands on a kahler. But only do that if you need the money, otherwise save it and throw it into another guitar.

later dudes

this might help you with your trem conversion, or at least give you a good idea.

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tht1.htm

they have a forum too, and other tutorials on refinishing

just remember to do the conversion before refinishing the guitar

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Do abosulty NOTHING to that fine peice of guitar. Leave the badass Kahler, keep the worn down finish. But if you do repaint it, its gonna be a pain in the ass because of the set neck. Your gonna have to tape off that neck really good to avoid any paint on the fretboard. Best bet is to goto www.mimf.com and check the forums. I still hope you dont attempt to repaint it or get rid of the kahler...

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normally im all about refinishing a guitar. but a set neck is something ive never attempted, so i dunno. if you decide to do it, you can fill up the holes from the khalar trem with wood filler. you'll probably want to put a coat over all of it and sand it down anyway, right? then it'll look brand new.

but guys, he's probably used to gibsons like i am, and the tunomatic stop bridges kick ass. fuck trems. i have a FR in my other guitar and screw it, i like my gibson's bridge.

1. If you have only played shit Floyds or Fender type trems, dont bash Kahler.

2. No wood filler. Best way to go about it is to cut a hole all the way through where the trem is in the size od a wood block. Put the block in, glue, and then sand, touch up and finish. This would cost quite a bit of money. Its best to do it yourself, or be smart qand dont do anything to it...

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dead im not bashing. but there are those of us who don't like to jerk our whammy bars around outside the privacy of ours rooms for us, gibson's tune-o-matic bridges kick some ass.

Yeah I'll send in some pics when I can. If I find myself a digital camera I will show it to you guys. I always liked the 80's Explorer design better then the ones they make today. Where it's pickguardless and the pickup switch is near the volume nobs. Aren't the older gibsons better quality then the new ones too?

Anyway, yes I will show pics of my axe.

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old ones were better than new ones in the mid 90s. now they're pretty darn good. still, 80s gibsons rock.

any wood gets better with age, though, so older ones do have the kind of sound that new ones won't have for a while. if they're taken well care of obviously

yeah, thats what I meant, but only then finished with filler since its a bitch to get something to fit in the trem hole.

I still don't get it why someone wants to get rid of a perfectly fine kahler trem though

as for guitars, most stuff was better in the old days, production is massed now and shit, handbuilding crap doesn't happen much anymore and you pay more for what you get.

i would also definitely recommend sanding down well after a coat of wood filler before you repaint. but do fill up holes with a block. just go over it entirely with wood filler so you can get a perfectly smooth job with no grain or dings.