Replacing 2011 trem with kahler on Excalibur

djsaysauce · 24 Sep 2023 10:01

Hi, is this possible. I would get it done by a luthier/ repair shop. Thanks.

marcwormjim · 24 Sep 2023 17:43

djsaysauce wrote: Hi, is this possible. I would get it done by a luthier/ repair shop. Thanks.

Any luthier you'd trust to install a Kahler would know it's possible from looking at the guitar - It's just a matter of whether you want to fill the old routs on the front or back, or paint over what you filled. If your Excalibur was produced recently, it seems they're now built with a stabilizing pin in the neck pocket that may require you to countersink the Kahler to achieve low action, rather than shimming the neck for back angle as you could with more typical bolt-on becks.

I'm a Kahler guy myself, and have installed them on guitars and basses. Alternatively, I find the Vigier Floyd Rose on the Excalibur Original and Custom to perform well enough that I don't find myself missing the Kahler when playing one of those guitars. I doubt this project will be endorsed in any official capacity; due to the obvious voiding of any existing warranty - But I hope you'll share the results, should you decide to move forward with it.

djsaysauce · 04 Oct 2023 10:55

marcwormjim wrote:
djsaysauce wrote: Hi, is this possible. I would get it done by a luthier/ repair shop. Thanks.
Any luthier you'd trust to install a Kahler would know it's possible from looking at the guitar - It's just a matter of whether you want to fill the old routs on the front or back, or paint over what you filled. If your Excalibur was produced recently, it seems they're now built with a stabilizing pin in the neck pocket that may require you to countersink the Kahler to achieve low action, rather than shimming the neck for back angle as you could with more typical bolt-on becks.

I'm a Kahler guy myself, and have installed them on guitars and basses. Alternatively, I find the Vigier Floyd Rose on the Excalibur Original and Custom to perform well enough that I don't find myself missing the Kahler when playing one of those guitars. I doubt this project will be endorsed in any official capacity; due to the obvious voiding of any existing warranty - But I hope you'll share the results, should you decide to move forward with it.

That's good to know. It was made 16/7/2012. The main reason for the change is that the 2011 trem arm is wobbly unless it's tightened fully in the socket. when I'm not using the trem arm I like to rotate it out of the way of my strumming hand. Plus I don't like knife edge type trems.

marcwormjim · 05 Oct 2023 01:46

djsaysauce wrote: That's good to know. It was made 16/7/2012. The main reason for the change is that the 2011 trem arm is wobbly unless it's tightened fully in the socket. when I'm not using the trem arm I like to rotate it out of the way of my strumming hand. Plus I don't like knife edge type trems.

For what it's worth, you can replace the 2011 arm and bushing with a different type of the same diameter (I put Schaller Floyd Rose pop-in arms in my 2011 and Vigier Floyd trems), and your 2011 is technically a bearing-pivot design not unlike the Kahler. That all being said, I understand the sentiment of "if only my favorite trem was on this guitar, it would be perfect."

djsaysauce · 10 Oct 2023 07:50

Thanks for the tip. It's almost the most perfect guitar!

1Patrice Vigier · 16 Oct 2023 12:56

It is too bad to change the vibrato, it will devalue the instrument a lot. But if it is your choice, fine.
The way to make the tremolo arm harder is to use crazy glue.
- put grease on the tremolo arm so the glue wont stick on it,
- clean the inside of the black insert
- put a little drop of crazy glue inside the insert (at the entrance of the hole)
- then insert immediately the arm.
- wait...
this will solve the problem.