# Ibanez evertune-project



## Kaff (May 19, 2016)

First off, hi to everyone! Been reading ss.org for a looooong time and finally decided to join in! 

*A bit about me* (skip this if you don't give a s**t):
I live in Helsinki, Finland and have been playing guitar on and off for about 20 or so years. Played in a couple bands back in the day but after moving away for university studies and work after that, I didn't have the time/energy to start another band or it might be I didn't meet other like minded musicians to play with. So my guitar playing has been on hiatus for several years until recently. Now I've finished my studies have a 9-to-5 work and started playing again more actively. I set up a small home studio-rig to compose and record stuff with a colleague with similar hobbies and music tastes. My current gear:

Ibanez Universe UV777P
Line6 PodHD500
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
MacBook Pro & Genelec 8082 pair
I've had the Universe for a looong time as my sole electric guitar, but now I'm looking for something different mainly for recording.

*The project*
After discovering EverTune, I've wanted one. Maybe it's the engineering that facinates me professionally, but I've thought about the pros and cons of the system and feel like it has a place in my rig.

So I went out in search of an Evertuned guitar. Most of the current production models out there are 25,5" scale (which is great on the Universe) but for this guitar I wanted a longer scale because of the lower tuning (A-D-A-D-G-B-E) and because this will be more of a rhythm guitar.

So I contacted Skervesen/RAN/Mayones/Vik about a custom build. Most were out of my price range or aesthetically not my thing, but I almost made a deal with Skervesen (and still might but for another project - they have GREAT customer service).

One day I went to my local Ibanez dealer to try the multiscale RGIF7 (which wasn't my thing - the neutral fret positioning on that is just wrong for me), and they let me try the 26,6" scale prestige RGD2127FX-ISH and I loved that guitar from the get-go. Maybe not as pretty as a standard RG - but it fit my hand like a glove! Luckily I found a used one for a good price and am going to pick it up later this month. I'm going to route this guitar for an F-model Evertune bridge and change the pickups for something better. And all this with a fairly modest pricetag (compared to full customs). I have
a luthier friend, who is going to help me getting the bridge routing right the first time.

I have high hopes for this guitar, as it ticks all the right boxes I was looking for:

A decent quality Ibanez donor with a very familiar prestige neck
26,5" scale - a sweet spot I think, I'm used to 25,5" scale but 27" seemed a tad too long down the neck
Evertune-bridge, great for rhythm guitar recording
Better pickups (still haven't decided which way to go)

My initial budget for this build is around 1500. So far:

Ibanez RGD2127FX-ISH 850
Evertune F-model 7-string bridge 382 (quotation from thomann.de)
So there's about 250 budget for pickups - might be able to stretch a bit. I'm currently looking at BKP Aftermaths or BlackHawks, Dimarzio Titans or D-Activators or Seymour Duncan Nazgul.

I'll update as soon as the stuff starts arriving, share your thoughts on the project and help me choose the pickups!


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## Serratus (May 19, 2016)

Sounds like a nice project - you'll love the evertune, it is awesome!

Have you looked at the new BKP impulse pickups? Designed in particular for lower tunings so they might be worth considering


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## OmegaSlayer (May 19, 2016)

Nice project!
Don't forget to update with pics.
And welcome to SS.org!


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## Kaff (Jun 1, 2016)

Aaaaand the donor is here! NGD!!!






The feel of this guitar is amazing! And I have to say, the standard pickups really surprised me with their tone separation and attack!

The standard hardware are Cosmo-Black and the new Evertune bridge is plain black so I'm thinking new black hardware all around? Maybe locking hipshot tuners?

I'm also not sure what to do with the body: the original paint is in ok-condition and I could get away with just painting the routing holes. On the other hand, I could sand the body and re-paint with either transpare t or solid colour. I'm not sure how many pieces the body is made from, and basswood is not the most attractive wood to show off. What do you think?


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## A-Branger (Jun 1, 2016)

re-paint. too many plain boring black guitars out there. If you are going to go with the trouble of doing all that work, might just do it right. Plus I dont think you would be able to match the finish

also you can add a nice veneer top to the flat top and paint the bevels. Kinda like the new RGD Iron label, but with painted bevels/back instead of unfinish wood

or even better go for a sparkle finish


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## Taylor (Jun 1, 2016)

A-Branger said:


> re-paint. too many plain boring black guitars out there. If you are going to go with the trouble of doing all that work, might just do it right. Plus I dont think you would be able to match the finish
> 
> also you can add a nice veneer top to the flat top and paint the bevels. Kinda like the new RGD Iron label, but with painted bevels/back instead of unfinish wood
> 
> or even better go for a sparkle finish



I'm going to echo this. Make it unique!


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## Pikka Bird (Jun 1, 2016)

Could work out very nicely. And I do concur on the subject of a repaint (if you think you can pull it off, of course).

What's going to happen to the stock bridge? I think maybe I'd like to buy it off you if you don't have other plans.


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## TheStig1214 (Jun 1, 2016)

I vote veneer with a natural finish as well. Basswood is kind of ugly and Ibanez bodies can be as many as 5 or 6 pieces.


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## Floppystrings (Jun 3, 2016)

A-Branger said:


> or even better go for a sparkle finish



A professional refinish would look great.

Red sparkle RGD....that would be awesome. Marty Bell is a nice guy, he can match the headstock and you can get replacement decals pretty easily.


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## Kaff (Apr 12, 2017)

First off, sorry for not updating this thread for a long while. I'm not all that active with forums these days. I'll try to recap how the project is going.

I ordered the black 7st EverTune via Thomann and it cost me around 400&#8364; shipped. Evertune sells ready made routing jigs but since I'm cheap and the router we worked with had different type toolbits than what the jigs were designed for. So I made my own:





I'm fortunate to have a water jet cutter at work so making these was a breeze. The aluminum plate is for drilling holes.

The routing process started with finding the correct spot on the body. We measured and double measured before actually starting to poke holes on the pristine Prestige body.










...and after we were happy with the alignment, we started removing material. As you can see from the following progress pics, Evertune takes A LOT of space - much more than say a Lo Pro / Edge trem.















...on the last pic you can see we had to make a few extra wooden guides to be able to reach all the different routing depths. The finished routing looks like this:










I'm VERY happy with the way the cavities worked out, they measured presicely what Evertune has specified and the bridge fit snugly in. Note that the space between the bridge and the bridge pickup is very thin, so be patient with this. We fitted the bridge several times and after each fitting took just a little more away. The bridge doesn't look that bad on the finished product either:










Since the installation I've had time to really get used to playing the Evertune and here are my honest opinions about it:
- First, it does work as advertised 100%. The intonation is great, action adjustment is easy and precise and you get used to finding the active zone and adjusting wether the string bends or not very quickly. And it stays in tune. I haven't changed strings after the initial setup but I haven't had to re-tune it either.
- The looks are a bit controversial but the playability is awesome. The bridge feels smooth during palm mutes and if set up to bend, feels like a normal high end solid bridge.
- I have noticed it took a chunk of sustain from the guitar. This is the major reason I'm not sure wether I'll keep this guitar. That and I really don't like the RGD body contours. The neck is awesome though.

I recommend this bridge for anyone doing a lot of studio work and can afford to own multiple guitars. Also if you tour and need a guitar with stable tuning live, Evertune is great. It doesn't affect the tone and works as an AWESOME recording rythym guitar.

As for me, I currently have only three (...ish - one is a project) guitars and I think I'd rather benefit from a good multiscale guitar with solid bridge and good sustain to companion the UV777BK instead of the Evertune.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Apr 12, 2017)

That came out really nicely. Well done. It's a shame you didn't end up meshing with the guitar, especially after liking it so much initially. Oh well. Hopefully if you sell it, the new owner will love it.


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## Petar Bogdanov (Apr 12, 2017)

Interesting. It looks like the bridge mounting points are actually supported by much less wood than with a Floyd. But the sustain could just as easily be stolen by the super free-floating design of the bridge, or the springs in the back. It would be interesting to see what luthiers have to say about installing Evertune into different kinds of guitars.


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## KR250 (Apr 12, 2017)

Great write up, although I'm not able to see the pictures. I'm just about to begin building an Evertune guitar for myself after sitting on the bridge for almost a year. Planning it to be really simple just to see how I like it before committing nice woods.


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## BearOnGuitar (Apr 17, 2017)

Sweet install. We updated our comb (the part holding together the individual saddles in the back of the bridge) and besides solving an issue some of our customers experienced it also positively affects resonance and sustain. If you want to try it out be sure to contact me, herbert at evertune dot com.


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## Grindspine (Apr 18, 2017)

Evertune bridges require quite a bit of wood to be removed, also, each saddle is essentially floating on a system of springs. That combo would affect resonance when compared to the Tite-end bridge.

Overall, I do like the design. When set up so that bends can be done, the playability and low profile of the Evertune bridge is actually pretty great.


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## lance_pants (Jul 28, 2017)

Can we get these pics reuploaded? would love to see this!!


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