Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: tomjackson on April 15, 2011, 04:42:32 PM

Title: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: tomjackson on April 15, 2011, 04:42:32 PM

I'm down to just a Tele and Strat now so I decided to put 2 humbuckers in my strat and do the blacktop wiring.

I quite like it.  It's had single coils in for the last 15 years so the hums make a good change.

The knobs are Gretch.  There should be 3 but I ordered the wrong pickguard.  Doh!
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Ian Price on April 15, 2011, 05:51:35 PM
Sorry Tom but I don't like that at all!

100 lines after school please - "I must not put dual humbuckers in a strat"   :lol:
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Philly Q on April 15, 2011, 05:54:56 PM
I like it.  Looks classy with the covers.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Frank on April 15, 2011, 05:56:30 PM
Sorry Tom but I don't like that at all!

100 lines after school please - "I must not put dual humbuckers in a strat"   :lol:

it does look classy as hell though

I've butchered one strat into a double humbucker guitar. That still leaves me three strats with just single coils and one HSS though. A guitar collection isn't complete without at least three SSS strats.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: tomjackson on April 15, 2011, 06:05:26 PM

I must admit it took me a while to get used to it, but as I'm pretty OCD about strats I've decided it will never be the strat I really want so I may as well do something completely different with it!

It has a swimming pool route and 2 pivot trem so it doesn't satisfy my vintage strat gas but with the hums it does have the best of both worlds.

It will be my bashing around gigging guitar....

Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: roland_rat on April 15, 2011, 06:24:30 PM
That looks nicely done.  What pickups did you put in there?
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: tomjackson on April 15, 2011, 06:37:19 PM

They are Tonerider AII's.  They will do until I can afford some Stormies....
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Philly Q on April 15, 2011, 07:23:40 PM
A guitar collection isn't complete without at least three SSS strats.

Despite my sizeable collection, I've only got one Strat!


(but I have enough parts to make 3 or 4 more....  :oops: )
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: gordiji on April 15, 2011, 07:59:44 PM
looks great to me. stormy bridge for sale in seconds out.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: PhilKing on April 15, 2011, 08:10:41 PM
A guitar collection isn't complete without at least three SSS strats.
Despite my sizeable collection, I've only got one Strat!

(but I have enough parts to make 3 or 4 more....  :oops: )

I've about 16..............
1957 Original - Apache's
1956 Bravewood
1960 Original
1963 Original
1964 Bravewood - VHII & 2 MM's
1981 57 reissue - Slowhand Bridge & 2 A5 Apaches
Black HSS - Stormy Monday & 2 Sultans
Flamed Redwood - HD & 2 Sinners
Daphne Blue - 59 Slabboard
Black - 69 Custom Set
White - Apache's with baseplates
Shell Pink Hard Tail - custom AII Mother's Milk set
Sunburst - Crawlers
Custom Hollowbody - IT's
1967 Bravewood on the way
new hardtail - A5 Apaches

I like Strats!
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Philly Q on April 15, 2011, 09:32:20 PM
I have owned quite a few Strats over the years (11 or 12 I think, plus some partscasters).  Nothing really high-end, mostly American Standards, an American Vintage, a Squier, a couple of MIM and MIJ.  But I always end up selling them.  Never seem to find one I really like.

Maybe my new relic hardtail will be "the one"...  :?
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Telerocker on April 16, 2011, 01:11:24 AM
I don't see what is wrong to ''Blacktop'' a strat. Fender did the HH several times in a strat. Like the Fender Big Apple. Uncovered though.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Plexi Ken on April 16, 2011, 11:37:29 AM
Love it  :D

You're give me serious GAS, I'm current have 3 Strats (all SSS), next one must be HH
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: MrBump on April 16, 2011, 11:48:54 AM
I quite like it, although PQMustSellMePartsToMakeAStratAtAMassivelydiscountedRate i'm not sold on the knobs

On a side note, does anyone PQMustSellMePartsToMakeAStratAtAMassivelydiscountedRate believe that subliminal messaging works?

Mark.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: _tom_ on April 16, 2011, 11:52:07 AM
Very nice :D
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Philly Q on April 16, 2011, 01:49:27 PM
On a side note, does anyone PQMustSellMePartsToMakeAStratAtAMassivelydiscountedRate believe that subliminal messaging works?

No.

I might have some parts to sell though (ButNotAtAMassivelyDiscountedRate).

Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Ian Price on April 17, 2011, 12:33:50 PM
I'm actually starting to like this strat now. Think it's growing on me. Maybe I need to get out of my vintage mindset!
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: tomjackson on April 17, 2011, 08:18:56 PM

I'm actually like you Ian , I like strats to be vintage correct but that's actually why this one has always bugged me... that big swimming pool route and 2 point trem.  My strat OCD meant it has never ticked the right boxes for my perfect strat.  So now it's a different guitar almost I'm a lot happier with it...it's not trying to be what it's not now it just is what it is.  And it means I can have a humbucker guitar until I can afford something else in a few years.

Phil King, that is an amazing collection of strats!

Re the Knobs, I was going to go for Fender amp ones like the actual blacktop strats but Gretch buttons are the best for swells and as I use swells a lot I went for them.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Philly Q on April 17, 2011, 08:31:05 PM
I'm actually starting to like this strat now. Think it's growing on me. Maybe I need to get out of my vintage mindset!

I'm almost going the reverse direction - I always favoured 22 frets, modern hardware etc but in recent years I've started to prefer some aspects of vintage stuff, especially the bridges and tuners.  I don't think I'll ever get into a 7.25" radius and tiny frets though!
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Telerocker on April 18, 2011, 01:38:25 AM
I'm actually starting to like this strat now. Think it's growing on me. Maybe I need to get out of my vintage mindset!

I'm almost going the reverse direction - I always favoured 22 frets, modern hardware etc but in recent years I've started to prefer some aspects of vintage stuff, especially the bridges and tuners.  I don't think I'll ever get into a 7.25" radius and tiny frets though!

Played recently some old strats and customshops at stujos (stujos.nl if you want to check out), and I experience the same. The 7.25 radius doesn't fit my playingtechnique/style. And I don't like the tiny frets too.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: XxpapertigerxX on April 21, 2011, 12:04:47 AM
I like it. It's always nice to see a non-traditional strat. It would get boring if they were all "vintage-correct!"  :)
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: gwEm on April 21, 2011, 10:04:38 AM
I don't think I'll ever get into a 7.25" radius and tiny frets though!

I think its fine (quite nice in some ways even), but the setup/fret dress needs to be right. I think people are scared of it when they hear horror stories of fretting out, which I've still yet to experience on the Bravewood.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: Philly Q on April 21, 2011, 10:41:05 AM
I don't think I'll ever get into a 7.25" radius and tiny frets though!

I think its fine (quite nice in some ways even), but the setup/fret dress needs to be right. I think people are scared of it when they hear horror stories of fretting out, which I've still yet to experience on the Bravewood.

I've owned a few vintage spec Strats and never got on with them at all, they just seemed hard work.  To be fair, it might be the frets more than the radius - bigger frets on the 7.25" would give more to dig into, I think.
Title: Re: Blacktoped my strat
Post by: AndyR on April 21, 2011, 12:26:59 PM
It's weird, I'm reasonably happy with any radius, but I do seem to gravitate towards 7.25".

I'll agree on the small frets though - my CIJ/MIJ strat and teles have the leetle frets, and it takes 20 minutes of "getting to know you" time if I've been playing something with bigger frets. I am seriously considering getting the strat refretted now so that it matches my Roadworn strats...

Funnily enough, the biggest "getting to know you" time I need is when I pick up my Baja tele. The huge frets I put on it are great, but the radius (9.5 I think) is flatter than I'm expecting and it just feels "odd" at first. Jonathan did offer to reprofile it to 7.25 when he refretted it, but I dedided not to. I have trouble getting used to it regardless of whether I've just come from 7.25 Fenders or from flatter Gibsons... no idea why. But after half an hour or so, when I do get used to it, it's perfect... glad I didn't change the profile. It's strange, though, I can go straight to 7.25 with medium frets from this (or from Gibson) without even batting an eyelid.


On Tom's black-topped strat... I held off commenting at first because I felt fairly negative about it. I didn't even think it looked pretty... :lol:

But it's kinda grown on me, and I can fully understand the reasoning... I've even been wondering about doing something similar... except none of my strats are obvious candidates for this heinous butchery :lol: (none has the swimming-pool rout, and the Fiesta Red CIJ, the one least "doing the job", has far too much sentimental value).