Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

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Squanto
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Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by Squanto » Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:24 pm

Dear Distinguished Artisans, Craftsmen and Enthusiasts, alike;

I was referred here by deed_poll, who has built me a fantastic Fender Marauder II to my specs. He recommended I come here to reach out to N0_Camping4u, to inquire about including myself in a Marauder II neck bulk order from Musikraft.

TRIGGER WARNING: LIFE STORY AHEAD

I’ve been a musician my entire life, most predominantly as a (pretty decent) professional violinist by age 16. Around that age, I was gifted a shitty black acoustic that was very difficult to play. I met other rock buds from the neighborhood and we tried to start a Weezer cover band, where I was the singer. It didn’t really lead anywhere. Too much alcohol and weed got in the way of our success.

Since my youth, now, at age 35, I’ve gone through somewhat of a midlife crisis and decided to purchase a ton of high-end gear I hardly know how to use, based on what my idols use. I’m a great salesman and negotiator, and was able to get all this gear for a steal. Nonetheless, I suck and am not worthy of such luxuries.

In addition to looking for a proper neck, I’m also looking for someone who has machined a custom shop bridge with the 2 brass saddles that I will include here as an attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mZ-h1i ... p=drivesdk

that will drop in to a mustang bridge. Also considering commissioning a pristine, beautiful, professional finish on the headstock as well as the body.

Regards,
Squanto

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marqueemoon
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Re: Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:40 pm

I bailed on the classical violin life around the same age. I was pretty good, but I was also very burned out and surrounded by people who were more talented and harder working than I was.

The bridge is a Custom Shop-only thing. Probably not super hard to make for someone who is tooled up to do it, but that’s the issue.

As I recall that RSD bridge is non-rocking. If that’s what you want and a Mastery isn’t your thing Descendant is working on a bridge that can be rocking or non-rocking.

I’ve played a few CS Jazzmasters with the RSD bridge, and it’s nice, but not worth throwing a bunch of money at.

If rocking works for you and your neck is 7.25” or 9.5” I would get a Staytrem. I have never had an easier time intonating a guitar.

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Squanto
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Re: Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by Squanto » Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:47 pm

I honestly just fantasize about having a super legit-looking Marauder replica. Not for resale. Just for me, because I like nice things. I kind of fantasize about having most of the hardware on my build be gold, because I’m unashamedly gaudy and extra asf. I also realize most Marauders don’t use this bridge. So this bridge is specifically called RSD, then?

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Larry Mal
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Re: Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by Larry Mal » Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:18 pm

Welcome to the forum. I have family in Evanston and am looking forward to getting up that way again some day. Chicago summers are wonderful compared to what we get down here.

Yeah, I like that RSD bridge also, but Fender doesn't sell it. Even if they did, though, it would have to be a relative bargain for me to prefer it over other options that are already out there.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

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Squanto
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Re: Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by Squanto » Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:34 pm

Evanston is nice... that’s where Dave Grohl was first introduced to punk rock by his cousin. May I ask what RSD stands for?

Squanto

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Re: Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by Larry Mal » Wed Mar 17, 2021 5:09 am

Squanto wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:34 pm
Evanston is nice... that’s where Dave Grohl was first introduced to punk rock by his cousin. May I ask what RSD stands for?

Squanto
"Research and Development" or something like that. The Fender Custom Shop came up with that bridge on some offset builds, my thought was that it would later be released into the off the rack models, but I guess not. That seems very weird to me.

Some folks here have talked about them at length and I asked some questions, it seems like the bridge works well and certainly can deliver the intonation that you would need in virtually all uses of the offset guitar these days.

Like I say, I was hoping to see that bridge become an option out there along with the others, and I always was surprised to think that Fender didn't just make that be the offset bridge. Now they have a bridge that looks more along the lines of a Mustang bridge and that can be good also.

Good luck finding one- they are rare and I think I have seen exactly one for sale ever, and the seller asked an amount of money I would not have paid for this bridge in the face of the alternatives like Mastery, Descendant, Staytrem, etc.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

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Re: Hey, pals! Chicago-area Musician here!

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Mar 17, 2021 8:29 am

Squanto wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:47 pm
I kind of fantasize about having most of the hardware on my build be gold, because I’m unashamedly gaudy and extra asf.
Doing a Marauder build is already one of the most extra things in the guitar world due to the amount of custom parts required.

Gold Mustang bridges are a thing, but unless you know the spacing will work I wouldn’t.

Mastery does a gold bridge and vibrato kit, but if you plan to do a Mustang vibrato or transplant JM/Jag vibrato innards to a custom plate it might not be worth the money, though you could probably sell off the vibrato for a decent price if not using it though.

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