big progress pimping my MIM 70s reissue

[gwEm]

i got a 70s Classic on ebay for a decent price. the previous owner hadn't looked after the guitar that well. but it was in a state where i could recover it. the neck was in really good nick, and the body didn't have too many chips, though it was covered in a sort of waxy substance(?).

the MIM electronics were decent except for the cap and pickups. unfortunately the previous owner had shagged the switch, or it would have been ok. previous owner had also fitted a SD hot rails, which will soon be for sale.

i put in a CRL switch and a sprague orange drop, and rewired everything with axesrus wilkinson wire (which i don't recommend due to it fraying big time making it hard to solder).

then i stripped my squire cyclone for its two slowhands, and sent them to tim to make up a strat set. at the same time he told me about his vintage bridge, which seemed like a really good deal compared to pimping the existing trem.

i strung the guitar with 11s, fitted dunlop strap lock studs, and then the axe stayed pretty stripped of parts for about a week and a half. yesterday my package from bkp arrived!

last night fitted the slowhands and the bkp trem. the result is a really nice guitar. i wish the neck wasn't finished in poly though, but the vintage radius doesn't bother me too much - 7.25" i think it is. the sound of the slowhand bridge is broadly similar to how it was in my squire, but alot richer with more depth. neck and middle sound completely different.

i play rather differently on this strat than any other guitar i own, sounds really good through my marshall, with a vox curly lead and treble booster. i expect i'll track alot of solos with this instrument.

[gwEm]

i'd like to try some further mods:

the bkp trem stays in tune the best i found so far with heavy use. but its not perfect - especially on the strings which have trees. i'd like to try different string trees, but i need to find ones which keep the vintage mojo.

i'd like to attach an uli roth-style hippy mascot to the neck

i noticed that standard strat wiring does not include a tone on the bridge. i'm down with that, since its the strat style. however, i think this might be why the bridge on strats can be a bit ice picky. the slowhand isn't ice picky, but it has an extended treble compared to the others. i might try wiring in the neck tone control the bridge, but so its on full, to get the loading effect of having a tone control.

[Spitfire]

nice, that strat is one beautiful looking beast.. white with a maple board.. mmmmmm

[AndyR]

That is looking good :D

On the tone controls, I always modify mine (learnt it off Rory Gallagher in 1980)(not personally! from an interview...). I disconnect one completely, and use the other as a master tone. I've tried both tone knobs over the years, and for me it works best if I disconnect the bottom one - but I think Rory did it the other way round.

This also gives you the option of using the other control as a "blend" (volume control which blends the neck with the currently selected pickup combination) - I've never tried this, but I might next time I have a strat open...

[gwEm]

That is looking good :D

On the tone controls, I always modify mine (learnt it off Rory Gallagher in 1980)(not personally! from an interview...). I disconnect one completely, and use the other as a master tone. I've tried both tone knobs over the years, and for me it works best if I disconnect the bottom one - but I think Rory did it the other way round.

This also gives you the option of using the other control as a "blend" (volume control which blends the neck with the currently selected pickup combination) - I've never tried this, but I might next time I have a strat open...

ok, electrically, that should be similar to my mod, which gives me confidence it should come off.

for the string trees, i think i'll fit the roller trees from my highway 1 neck (not really vintage, but...) and graphtech to the highway 1

[AndyR]

Before you swap the  string trees, have you tried some sort of lubricant on the existing ones?

I read somewhere (fender's official set-up docs I think...) that vaseline or lip balm, applied with a toothpick does the job. I tried it, and it worked for me. I ended up taking the graphtec trees (not exceedingly elegant looking things!) off of another guitar after that...

[WezV]

looks great, shame the trem didnt turn up last week as i would not of minded seeing this

[gwEm]

looks great, shame the trem didnt turn up last week as i would not of minded seeing this

WezV - some pics of the trem here:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5209.msg198291#msg198291
pictures don't really do it justice, when you see it in the flesh and handle it, it just feels quality. the BKP saddles make me smile every time i see them. squier trems seem like a bit of a bad joke now. no idea about tonal improvement since i changed the pickups at the same time.

AndyR - thanks for your tip.. but too bad, I just ordered the graphtechs for the highway one neck ;) anyway i'm sure the roller string tree will work well, and i won't have to buy vaseline. you are right though, those graphtech trees look damn ugly.

[Ian Price]

Very nice! I'm intrigued about what the stain in the first pic is though!!

[gwEm]

Very nice! I'm intrigued about what the stain in the first pic is though!!

you'd never guess....

its lily pollen

[WezV]

ah, responsible for the demise of many a cream carpet ;)

[Ian Price]

its lily pollen

Who is/was Lily Pollen? I feel sorry for her.

[Philly Q]

AndyR - thanks for your tip.. but too bad, I just ordered the graphtechs for the highway one neck ;) anyway i'm sure the roller string tree will work well, and i won't have to buy vaseline. you are right though, those graphtech trees look damn ugly.

I've got Tusq ones rather than the black Graphtechs - the colour blends in with the maple so they don't look so bad.

When you take off the Highway One trees, you'll see each one has a screw hole and a second hole for a little pin which keeps the tree in a straight line.  Annoyingly the Graphtech tree doesn't quite cover the second hole.

[gwEm]

AndyR - thanks for your tip.. but too bad, I just ordered the graphtechs for the highway one neck ;) anyway i'm sure the roller string tree will work well, and i won't have to buy vaseline. you are right though, those graphtech trees look damn ugly.

I've got Tusq ones rather than the black Graphtechs - the colour blends in with the maple so they don't look so bad.

When you take off the Highway One trees, you'll see each one has a screw hole and a second hole for a little pin which keeps the tree in a straight line.  Annoyingly the Graphtech tree doesn't quite cover the second hole.

! bugger that then, the graphtechs are going on the 70s reissue, and i'll try to cover the top with part of the old string tree if possible.

[38thBeatle]

Lilly pollen stains can sometimes disappear when left in bright sunlight.