The necessary evil of having to sell these guitars is the worst part of doing all of this. I never know what hands these guitars will fall into.

I was getting ready to ship Tony's guitar after he waited patiently for about two years. I wondered in the back of my head if Tony actually knew what the hell he was getting. He may not. No, I said to myself, that cannot be because he sure had ample time to read, listen, ask questions, etc. in the two years he was waiting. Nothing surprises me any more, so I decided to ask him anyway. Here is what I asked and his responses just before shipping the guitar to Tony. His responses are in green and my information for Tony, or anyone else with the same predicament, is written in yellow.

This is not meant to embarrass Tony but saves me time. Instead of me replying to him individually and then doing it all over again for everyone else, I figured that I would just post the info and then whoever is too lazy, disinterested or technically challenged in reading the Owner's Manual page can just quickly read this and it will really help them enjoy the guitar more and prevent them from doing anything stupid to it.

 

Do you know how to handle this instrument?

I will probably feel like a first time dad coming out of the hospital with a new baby in his arms wondering what the hell to do with this thing!

What the fuck??? This is not what I want to hear from a future Zachary owner. He orders the guitar and has no idea what he is getting. Something is wrong here.

 

You know what the switches do?

Cant say I do....

I now make guitars with several different pickup configurations, however the standard and most popular arrangement is still the two ZachAttack humbuckers with two switches arrangement. The top mini switch is a 3-way toggle, like a mini Gibson LP switch. It selects the pickups. Neck, both or Bridge. The other mini switch below it is a coil splitter, which works for both pickups. With this switch toward the player, both pickups are in single coil mode and with the switch away from the player both pickups are in double coil mode.

 

You know the proper setting of the tremolo?

I have a Wilkinson tremolo on my current guitar so I can probably handle this one.

Just because you have a Wilkinson tremolo does not mean anything. There are many bridge set ups for Wilkinson types. All the more reason to be specific about the way a Zachary trem is set up. Tremolos can be set up many different ways and they can sit low or sit higher over the guitar top, depending on the design of the guitar. They may be set up to rest on the top of the guitar or to be totally floating with both forward and backward movement. Although I use the Wilkinson tremolo, it was modified at the time of manufacture to my specifications so that it travels all the way down and quite a ways up. My trem sits high over the top, its fully floating, it uses a longer custom tremolo arm, it only works with two custom made springs that are crucial for its functioning and it will not work with anything lighter than a set of ZOG .010 strings. Not for the novice player.

If you are somewhat short on the testosterone hormone and find working with your hands or anything mechanical daunting and if you get a woman to screw in the lightbulbs around the house, you are simply a modern male, congratulations. Its sad but its the norm these days and for the future. If this is the case then just remember this: Never touch the tremolo set up or you will fuck it up for good. Do not use any string set lighter than ZOG .010 and remember that the tremolo base plate at its resting position must be totally level (parallel) with the guitar top.

To have your guitar feel, sound and work the best with the tremelo, you must use ZOG strings for the optimized balanced tension they provide. On a regular 10 set your low E will be especially under-tensioned and mushy. So be smart about it.

 

You know how to change the strings?

think so..unless you have a particular methodology of your own that works best?

This may sound like a silly question but the silly one is the person who does not take into account that on a Zachary guitar you need to change strings on a fully floating tremolo under considerable spring tension. This operation needs careful attention and preparation or you will do something stupid and damage the guitar.

To make this much easier I provide a trem plate support that you put behind the bridge plate to support the bridge and keep it in position. Simple and smart. If in case I forget to make you one of these supports then just make yourself one or get your wife to do it for you. She will do a great job. This support must be think enough to raise the back of the trem plate just a but higher than its normal parallel resting position. Refer to the picture on this page Ownersmanual.htm

To do this safely, you should always change your strings one at a time. Unwind one string, remove it, replace it with a new string and then tune the new string to pitch. Now repeat this with the next strings one by one.

 

You know how to work the locking tuners?

Not sure I do.. have locking on my current guitar so if yours are similar then no issue

Chances are you do not know how to work these locking tuners because there are several different types of locking tuner designs found on gutiars. The one I use is the simplest, lightest and the best design. You must go to this page and read up on it. LockingTuners.htm
Make yourself a plastic screwdriver from a thick pick.

 

You have to be smart about this because its not like other guitars.

I hear ya.. If you feel like including a few notes with the guitar on the above please feel free...all advise gladly taken on board.

Well, I hope this helped but the moral of the story is that you must read the Owner's Manual page and actually understand it. Printing it out and not understanding it will not work. Ironically two of the biggest idiots printed out the Owner's page but I guess failed to understand it. One had removed the finish of a new Zachary guitar by cleaning it with a solvent and the other drilled holes in the back of it. There are a lot of fucked up people out there who should never be aloud near a guar.

Understanding these things will not only help you with your Zachary guitar but will increase your knowledge of any guitar in terms of how they function.

 

SUMMERY

The most important things you need to know are:

1) Don’t mess with anything (set-up, etc.)

2) Only use the right strings (ZOG 10).

3) When changing strings just do it ONE string at a time and nrvrt use a metal screw driver on the locking tuners.
Just detune it till the string is loose and the tuner hole is lined up with the nut. Then use a heavy pick to hold the tuner in place while you continue to de-tune it....and the string will pop right out.

Then when replacing the string you pull it tight through the tuner center hole with no winds around the post and just tune it up while holding tight until the tuner automatically grips the string. After that one string is all tuned up and stretched out only then move on to the next string.