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Non ADA Gear => Guitars => Topic started by: Iperfungus on March 10, 2017, 01:55:24 PM

Title: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on March 10, 2017, 01:55:24 PM
Ok guys...this time I would like to share with you one of my experiments.
I already posted a picture of this guitar with a black HSS pickuguard.
Then I changed my mind as you can see in attached pictures.

It has:

1) Made In Japan Fender Stratocaster alder body in a "creamy" vintage white
2) 1990 Made in Japan Squier Stratocaster neck, 21 frets, rosewood over maple, natural relic, Fender tuner keys
3) Voodoo ST-60 pickup set with no RW/RP middle pickup
4) Fender vintage 6-screws bridge

I will install a Graph Tech TUSQ new nut, I will put strings and I'll ear how it sounds.
If the result is what I expect, I will refret.
As SC suggested: Dunlop 6100 (upper fretboard, until 12th fret) and 6105 (lower fretboard, after 12th fret) frets.

Do you like it?
Maybe a darker red tortoise pickguard + backplate set?
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on March 10, 2017, 01:57:59 PM
...and this is the relic John Cruz Strat that inspired me...

Another planet, ok...  :lol:

Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Systematic Chaos on March 10, 2017, 05:40:37 PM
Nice one!
Good choice on the GraphTec Tusq nut....I´d also put a set of locking tuners on it (you can get 7ender branded ones on the bay for cheap).
Good call on the darker pickguard....would also match up good with black hardware.
And there´s still some relic-work to be done ;-)
If you want the ultimate in vintage/looks and contemporary tone throw in a set of DiMarzio Injectors!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5QWODzgEq0
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: rnolan on March 12, 2017, 03:59:39 AM
Hey Max, very cool axe  :thumb-up: , I agree go darker red (I take the back plate off, I have them somewhere LoL).
And as SC says, you have to bash it up now (apparently some people pay allot for this service  :crazy: ).
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on March 13, 2017, 05:25:34 PM
 :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think I'll let its natural relic as it is...  :banana:

About pickups, the Voodoo ST-60s are great "vintage sounding" pickups...with a lot of punch!
Locking tuners are not for this one...if you know how to correctly mount strings on a Strat, you don't even need them!  :lol:
And also chrome hardware with a light, natural relic is good looking on this one.

This must be an old-style, "ignorant", nice-looking Strat with a vintage mood...  :whoohoo!:

The only thing I would "change" is the color of pickguard and backplate...if I'll be able to fine ones of the RIGHT red...that's not so easy...

By the way, I'm waiting for a complete Fender "plastics" kit from Banzai...  :facepalm:
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on March 24, 2017, 07:50:25 AM
Ok, I found a pickguard and a backplate of a better color...darker tortoise red...
I love it.

There's an extra hole in the pickguard: I'll put an on/off toggle switch and I'll make a 7-sounds Strat, where the neck pickup can be activated together with bridge and bridge + middle (also with middle, but that's identical to position 4).

It will be a nice old-fashioned Strat with a modern touch.

Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Harley Hexxe on March 24, 2017, 04:20:10 PM
It sounds like you're wiring up a home made version of my 1980 STRAT  :thumb-up:
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: rnolan on March 24, 2017, 06:56:31 PM
Hey Max, nice  :thumb-up: .  For my Squire bullet strat I used a super switch and wired it B, B+M, B+N, M+N, N and also vol pot for B and vol pot for N (both pull switching for series/parallel) and an overall tone pot. Also N is phase reversed. Enough switching combinations to drive you crazy LoL..
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on March 29, 2017, 04:55:46 PM
Hey Max, nice  :thumb-up: .  For my Squire bullet strat I used a super switch and wired it B, B+M, B+N, M+N, N and also vol pot for B and vol pot for N (both pull switching for series/parallel) and an overall tone pot. Also N is phase reversed. Enough switching combinations to drive you crazy LoL..

Too much stuff for a Strat...  :lol:
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on March 29, 2017, 05:00:19 PM
It sounds like you're wiring up a home made version of my 1980 STRAT  :thumb-up:

PICTURES!!!  :banana-upsidedown:
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on April 12, 2017, 09:28:36 AM
Do you like her, guys?
There's no soldering at all yet...or strings....but I love her...

Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: rnolan on April 13, 2017, 02:21:12 AM
Very nice Max  :thumb-up: :whoohoo!: . But it doesn't work  :facepalm: (yet  >:D )
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on April 13, 2017, 02:50:41 AM
Very nice Max  :thumb-up: :whoohoo!: . But it doesn't work  :facepalm: (yet  >:D )

Not yet.....  :facepalm:

But it will....  >:D >:D >:D
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Harley Hexxe on April 13, 2017, 04:53:53 AM
Nice project Max!

    This is the one with the Voodoo pickups, correct? If so, I would recommend changing the bridge block on it to a brass one.
    That will increase the natural sustain a bit, and the tone will improve a lot. I've done this with one of mine already and I'm going to do this to all my Strats. It's worth every bit of the cost.

http://www.killerguitarcomponents.com/store/tremolo-blocks/fender-squier-blocks
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on April 13, 2017, 02:59:07 PM
Nice project Max!

    This is the one with the Voodoo pickups, correct? If so, I would recommend changing the bridge block on it to a brass one.
    That will increase the natural sustain a bit, and the tone will improve a lot. I've done this with one of mine already and I'm going to do this to all my Strats. It's worth every bit of the cost.

http://www.killerguitarcomponents.com/store/tremolo-blocks/fender-squier-blocks

Yes, you're right: Voodoo ST-60 pickups.
It will be an amazing Strat.

I bought the new tortoise pickguard (I like it more than the previous one...) and I discovered an extra hole in it...
I've put an on/on toggle switch there and this will be a 7-sounds Strat, as I wrote some posts above.

About tremolo block, I will have a look around.
This is an original Fender vintage bridge (no vintage, just used...) and I already swapped the block with a better one.
I still have to do a lot of work on this guitar, before I can hear her voice....then I'll see what could be improved.  :thumb-up:
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: MikeB on April 13, 2017, 03:58:43 PM
You know, it surprises me how much that pick guard has impacted on the look of that guitar.  I am not a big fan of those pastel strats and if this one had a white pick guard, I would have been pretty unenthusiastic.  However, you put that tortoise shell thing on and suddenly its transformed into something completely different and really quite interesting and beautiful.
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Harley Hexxe on April 15, 2017, 01:40:28 AM
About tremolo block, I will have a look around.
This is an original Fender vintage bridge (no vintage, just used...) and I already swapped the block with a better one.
I still have to do a lot of work on this guitar, before I can hear her voice....then I'll see what could be improved.  :thumb-up:

    What kind of better one? Machined steel, or Aluminum?

    In the early days when Leo Fender was inventing the Stratocaster, he machined the bridge parts from steel since there there was no reference for it anywhere else. The first few Stratocasters were made with these steel blocks and had a very bright, biting sound, with enhanced lows, not much in the midrange area.
    When the Strat went into production, Leo had these blocks made from cast metal billets instead of steel ones. They were what we call "Pot" metal, or junk metal if you will. Leo always looked for a bargain wherever he could get one, and buying them like this averaged only a penny a piece. He saved money on quality steel bars, and labor costs because they only had to machine the threads for the Tremolo bar, and the mounting screws. So even the most collectible American Strats all the way back to the mid-50's had crap blocks in them.
   Brass was only a stock item on one model Stratocaster, and that was the "STRAT" introduced in 1980. That block is equal to the Mega Mass block they offer at KGC, but without the taper. It does interfere with the travel of the tremolo, and I'm torn between replacing that block with a Mega Mass block, or, routing out some of the wood at the end of the tremolo cavity where the block hits it. I believe this can be done carefully enough to not show on the back surface of the guitar, and I could keep the original Fender Brassworks block in there.
    I hate altering an original Fender vintage guitar, especially a limited one like this, but I've already done that to this guitar with the installation of the LSR roller nut, and gold locking tuners, so I might as well go for it.

   Harley 8)
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: rnolan on April 20, 2017, 02:27:57 AM
Hard choice Harley  :facepalm: :dunno: , changing the block is less mess (routing, makes lots of mess albeit fun LoL).  And also you can then restore it if you ever wanted to ? Then routing is cheaper (if you do it yourself), or could you reshape the block ? So just a bit of filing...
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Harley Hexxe on April 20, 2017, 07:03:50 AM
Actually Richard, I've thought about just changing the block, but I would lose a little bit of the mass of the block that way. I would not even consider planing or filing the original Fender block. You can't see it when it's installed in the guitar, but it has the "Fender" logo stamped right in the center of the block on the back side of it.
  I would probably consider using a Dremel tool and routing some of the wood away from the back of the cavity where the edge of the block makes contact with it. But then again, I'm not too concerned about restoring it. I've already altered this guitar by replacing the original nut with a LSR roller nut, and replacing the original Schaller tuners with a set of gold Sperzel Locking tuners. (The original tuners were chrome since the gold ones weren't available at the time this guitar was put on the market). I have considered getting a set of the new gold Fender/Schaller locking tuners and putting those on there.
   This particular Strat, is very heavy, much more so than any of the others I have. The only Strat that would be heavier than this would be the Walnut STRAT. Routing a little bit of the wood out in a place where you wouldn't see it, won't really lighten this guitar to any noticeable degree, but it won't hurt it either.
    I've even considered buying a replacement body for this guitar made of Alder. That would lighten this thing considerably, and then it wouldn't be an issue doing the routing for the tremolo block. I'm sure I can get one in Candy Apple Red. That is another option...
Title: Re: Custom Stratocaster "relic"
Post by: Iperfungus on May 01, 2017, 06:07:50 PM
You know, it surprises me how much that pick guard has impacted on the look of that guitar.  I am not a big fan of those pastel strats and if this one had a white pick guard, I would have been pretty unenthusiastic.  However, you put that tortoise shell thing on and suddenly its transformed into something completely different and really quite interesting and beautiful.

Thanks a lot, Mike!  :thumb-up:

I love that look....and I'm sure I'll love the tone as well...once I'll finish it...  :lol: