Anyone have firsthand experience with Full Contact Hardware from Babicz Guitars?
Okay, here's the story: Last year I dropped a guitar I'm very fond of directly on the headstock, which caused some neck and fretboard damage and bent 2 of the tuning pegs beyond repair. Normally not a big deal, but this is a limited edition guitar with uncommonly colored hardware (aged copper). I have already researched it and discovered that I cannot replace the broken tuning pegs with matching ones. The guitar is a Schecter, and they will not sell me replacement parts. I've asked them directly.
Here's a link to a picture of the guitar in question: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/schecter-guitar-research-texas-chainsaw-avenger-electric-guitar
They only made 100 of that guitar, so my odds of finding another one that got broken to get the tuning pegs from it are slim. (Yes, I'm still highly upset that my guitar got damaged, it's a rare guitar and was my engagement present from my wife)
Since I can't get direct replacement parts, I've decided to swap the tuning pegs over to being black. No problem, but it will look silly with black tuning pegs while the rest of the hardware is aged copper.
Now, here's where the subject line comes into it. Since I'm planning on replacing all the hardware to match the black tuning pegs, I figured I might as well upgrade it while I'm at it. I didn't want to swap out parts and destroy the all original nature of the guitar, but the damage it sustained ruined any monetary value it had anyway, so there is no reason not to customize a guitar I already like a lot (and do not plan to ever sell).
I was looking into options for replacement bridges and ran across this: http://www.fullcontacthardware.com/fch-tune-o-matic-bridge
My question is: Has anyone here had any firsthand experience with that bridge? It seems like an interesting idea, but it's kind of expensive so I don't know if I want to drop that kind of money on something if it isn't a noticeable improvement over a basic Tune-O-Matic bridge (you can get the Babicz bridge without the tailpiece if your guitar is string-thru like mine).
I'm also looking into new pickups and knobs, but I already have a good idea what I'm looking for in that department so I don't need advice on it.
jcr: I think the idea of the bridge "maximizing body resonance" is to improve sustain. The guitar in question sustains pretty well as it is, and an improvement on that would be nice to have, if not strictly necessary. I'm also aware that the type and density of the wood an electric is made of does have an effect on the tone, though it isn't as noticeable as it is with an acoustic.
Russell: I like the idea of adjusting individual saddle height as well. The fretboard on that guitar isn't quite as flat as I'd prefer, so it would be nice to be able to make string height uniform across all 6 strings. It'll take some trial and error to get it right, but I'm pretty good at doing my own set ups now. Not going with EMGs. I'm actually considering either Lace Drop&Gain pickups or their Alumitone Deathbuckers.
(Link here if you've never heard of the Deathbucker. Knowing that I'm a metal guy, I'm sure you can see why I'm interested in these:
Link that got cut off: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/lace-alumitone-deathbucker-pickup