97 Legacy vibrato arm identification

[Paul_100A]

with help from some nice folks here it seems my Legacy is a '97 (or close to it).
one more issue... i do not remember what vibrato arm goes with it.

i have a few guitars (or so) and i rarely use the vibrato arm so they've ended up in a box. i haven't the foggiest which is for which.
once in while when i get the vibrato itch it seems i can adequately fit any arm into any guitar i happen to be using.
some of the arms have a threaded end and some do not.
some of the arms have a plastic(?) decorative handle and some do not.
some arms have a polished steel surface while some have a matte steel surface.
can you provide me a picture (or accurate description) of the vibrato arm that would have come with my Legacy.
the serial number is BO53394.
thanks.
it has a sea-foam green-blue metallic paint job with a white pearly pick guard and white knobs.

thanks again,
Paul

[DanDoulogos]

with help from some nice folks here it seems my Legacy is a '97 (or close to it).
one more issue... i do not remember what vibrato arm goes with it.

i have a few guitars (or so) and i rarely use the vibrato arm so they've ended up in a box. i haven't the foggiest which is for which.
once in while when i get the vibrato itch it seems i can adequately fit any arm into any guitar i happen to be using.
some of the arms have a threaded end and some do not.
some of the arms have a plastic(?) decorative handle and some do not.
some arms have a polished steel surface while some have a matte steel surface.
can you provide me a picture (or accurate description) of the vibrato arm that would have come with my Legacy.
the serial number is BO53394.
thanks.
it has a sea-foam green-blue metallic paint job with a white pearly pick guard and white knobs.

thanks again,
Paul

I have a 97 Legacy. The Tremolo that came with it does not have any threads or plastic tips. My tremolo (i'm recollecting from memory as I keep mine in the case, and never use it) is more matte steele surface than shiny - almost looks like brushed aluminium.

I bought it used, with no assurance that anything was original, but it did fit the G&L Dual Fulcrum Tremolo, so I think it's a good bet that it's original.

[Paul_100A]

thanks again for your time and help Dan.
i now have the exact image in my mind of the vibrato arm that exactly matches your description. when i get home i'll know which arm to grab out of the box.
keeping the arm in it's respective case is what i thought i did too which is why i was surprised to discover i have a box of vibrato arms.
oddly enough though the case that came with my Legacy does not have an actual secured storage compartment.
(there is a shallow shoe box sized pocket/compartment but it's just a depression and has no lid like most other case have.)
i did not like the idea of the metal arm/slides/strings/picks possibly being loose in the case and scratching up the guitar so i never stored anything in that particular case.
must have caught on with other guitars/cases.

[DanDoulogos]

You prolly have the same case I have:



You can see my tremolo arm over there all hanging out in the open and waiting to jangle around in the case the moment I tilt it the wrong way...

But I don't actually store my arm out like that. Those pockets are fairly secure when the lid is closed, but I don't want to learn just how secure by way of experimentation and potential damage. So I measured the pockets, and the next time I was at my local dollar store I picked up both a little wooden craft box and a plastic crafts utility box, both about the same size to fit in the top pocket. I wanted to go with the wooden box - which I had planned to either paint to make it look fancy, or to cover in the same fluffy material that lined the case. The plastic was meant to be a temporary solution, but having procrastinated thereafter, it has become the final solution - and it works great.

Before that I had been wrapping the tremolo in a small, clean dish-towel to keep it from bouncing around.

The one nice thing about the plastic case that I hadn't thought of but became obvious later - was that there are some items I either don't have in multiples - or prefer to use only one of, such my favorite slide, my favorite capo (which I seldom use, but like to bring), and extra strings, 9V Batteries, and picks. I also keep some basic tools for impromptu setups etc.) I used to keep bits and pieces in whatever was the last guitar I played out with, and sometimes I'd leave things here or there. Now I just grab the plastic box, and plop it in the case of whatever guitar I am taking with me. Saves time, and I don't lose things as much as I used to. (Here did I put my slide??? Where is that stupid gapping tool?)

Anyway, I put that out there, as it is an easy cheap solution. You don't have to go whole hog like I did - but it is an economical solution to a problem these kinds of cases introduce. I really wish the case had a button-down flap like the more premium cases do, but it came with the guitar, so I can't complain.

cheers

[Paul_100A]

yep. same case. nice guitar too BTW.
i received an email w/ pic from G&L about the arm and you were right...it's the satin finish arm with no threads.
not at all complaining...i just think think it's a wee bit odd that the arm has a satin finish when the other steel bits of the guitar have a polished finish.

[DanDoulogos]

I learned to play on the first guitar I ever bought - a Blonde, 77' Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. I had been considering joining a band as their singer when I was 19, as I knew one of the fellows in the band from kindergarten, and having sang as a tenor for six years in choir, I was pretty comfortable singing a lot of the Rush and Led Zep stuff they were into. It didn't work out - my bad - but in the meantime, I fell in love with my friend's Les Paul Standard - which he let me tinker with at the time. Back then you could buy a second hand Les Paul for about $600 Canadian (it was around 1985 or so). So I saved up a hundred bucks each month till I could buy one, and then I hit the papers and found someone selling one for $600, and bought my that first LP. I didn't know how to play, but I figured I better learn now that I spent all this money on it.

Anyway (long story short) I got used to playing without a tremolo, such that even in subsequent years when I moved into playing Strats, I didn't bother learning how to utilize a tremolo system. Plus - at the time - they were really being over-used in the industry, and I thought that - like tapping - they were more of a gimmick than a way to express yourself musically. I was suffering from guitar-style snobbery at the time, thinking that it was better to develop "pure" skills than gimmick ones. I was still pretty naive, so I hope I can be forgiven the folly of my youth.

My point is only that I almost never put on the tremolo arm, though I always keep it in the case with the guitar.

I've modded that guitar since that photo. Some previous owner had wired it up like a Strat, and replaced the bridge pup with a Seymour Duncan hot rails pickup. I bought the guitar knowing that, and thought it would be a nice project to ape (spec-wise) Gilmour's black beauty, so I dropped in the requisite pups and electronics (replaced everything) and swapped the tone knobs for chrome ones. It sounds better than it did, but it needs a better setup than I can give it. It looks great though.

[Paul_100A]

i have my own 'when we were young' and guitar snobbery/foolishness story...

quite early on, during a brief discussion with a 'Mr.Entertainment' sales person i had asked "can you play ?whatever? song"... the Mr.E sales person told me "it was not cool" to play cover songs.
Ohh...ok...so i took his word for it and never bothered to learn a song (any song).
to this day i am still just a pathetic noodler. i can play familiar licks to many songs but if my life depended on it i couldn't play any song from start to end.

[DanDoulogos]

i have my own 'when we were young' and guitar snobbery/foolishness story...

quite early on, during a brief discussion with a 'Mr.Entertainment' sales person i had asked "can you play ?whatever? song"... the Mr.E sales person told me "it was not cool" to play cover songs.
Ohh...ok...so i took his word for it and never bothered to learn a song (any song).
to this day i am still just a pathetic noodler. i can play familiar licks to many songs but if my life depended on it i couldn't play any song from start to end.

After reading your comment, I wrote another post so that I could reference it without derailing this post.

Have you tried playing Rocksmith? It's a great game for people who play guitar, but haven't a large repetoire of songs they can play through beginning to end. You can buy it (or RockSmith 2014) on Steam and pick up the cable you need on Amazon or eBay. It really is a great little game in that it helps you learn songs, and gets you practicing longer than you would have - it also gets you out of the rut of playing the same old noodles all the time I highly recommend it.

[Paul_100A]

main part of the reason i am off loading some guitars is cuz i am playing the banjo. once i got my first (of three) banjo (five string) the guitars stayed in the closet. banjo is just a lot of fun to play.
funny thing is the reason i took up banjo was to force myself to learn how to be an all-around better guitar player. use an entire fret board and expand strumming to finger picking etc..
i could never develop the self-discipline to make good use of all my guitar books and videos (hence why i know the licks of many songs but not any entire song) so i gambled that if spend good money on an another instrument(banjo) i'll not let it go to waste like my books. i was right but the guitars are almost all but left alone. i pick up an acoustic at times for fun but rarely if ever plug in anything.
as a matter of fact i just sold my only amp and an electric-acoustic Seagull.
i'll put my 50th Anni American Series Strat on the block next. i borrowed a little practice amp from my brother so potential buyers can test drive the guitars.

[john o]

"to this day i am still just a pathetic noodler"

that's self deprecation at its finest.
in fact, we are all [pathetic] noodlers.
and no better object of noodling than a fine G&L of choice.
good luck with your banjo explorations, sounds exciting, but ya might want to
keep a nice guitar around for when you rebound!

[Paul_100A]

I will qualify that I consider only 'myself' a pathetic noodler and not all guitar noodlers pathetic. I've heard plenty other's noodling of which I usually rather enjoy to listen to.
I am certain very few would enjoy listening to my noodling.
...and Yes indeed, I will always have a guitar somewhere nearby.
thanks.