New Strat Project - input welcome

[PPPMAT]

I've just replaced some old screws on the Fenix which I was fixing up.  Think I have enough for the scratchplate but not the spring cover.  More than happy to stick them in the post if you want...... That's £2 saved  :lol:

Having discovered that you can buy distressed screw sets its not a bad idea  :P

Its looking pricey so far - topping a grand easily which sounds a lot but I suppose its still much cheaper custom shop and it will be made from high quality stuff

[PhilKing]

You ,ight want to check out these guys if you want a relic finish:

http://www.mjtagedfinishes.com/forsale.htm

They also do aged plastic parts too

[andymac]

You ,ight want to check out these guys if you want a relic finish:

http://www.mjtagedfinishes.com/forsale.htm

They also do aged plastic parts too

I just got a Tele body and pickguard from him.  Worked out £235 for body and pickguard and shipping.  Plus £44 for the pleasure of Parcelfarce and HM customs.

I can recommend his work.

Forgot to add if you bid on ebay they seem to be going $120 to $150 under the $375 buy it now price if you go for a no reserve auction.

Andy

[PPPMAT]

Quick update - I've decided to buy a fender roadworn neck as I love the one I have and it seems daft trying to replicate it with other parts.

Warmoth body to follow and possibly a fender roadworn 50's bridge (I assume it is the same as the 60's maybe someone can confirm?) and buy a steel block off the ebay man to go with it.

I will probably go for a fatboy prewired jobby but need to speak to tim about some custom wired pups as I lovethe bite and push of the tex-mex pups but want better quality. IT;s would seem an obvious choice but what about a set of 62's wound extra hot in the bridge? I spend 90% of my time on the bridge pickup so it has to be right!

Looking forward to this!

[AndyR]

The Roadworn 50s and 60s bridge are the same - at least, they look, and behave, the same on my two :lol:

ITs have done a superb job replacing the Tex Mexes in my 60s. One first changing them, the difference wasn't huge at all. The ITs seemed to provide just a little more body than the TMs. And then add the usual "seems more expressive" that you get with BKPs, volume and tone controls more usable, etc...

Sultans into my 50s was a slightly different experience. I very much like it, but I'd say ITs are nearer to the Tex Mexes out of the two. The Sultans have just as much top end but seem sweeter/rounder sounding, the ITs can get harder/tougher more easily. (Both sets have been in the same strat before they ended up in the Roadworns, and the hard/sweet comparision seemed to apply in there as well - but it's all a bit subjective, different strings, several months between the changes, etc)

The 62s and Mothers Milks (both of which I'm considering next) I don't have any experience of yet... but both the ITs and the Sultans have a superb bridge pickup - I somehow suspect now that none of the BKP strat sets are going to have an unusable bridge pickup for me :lol:

[FernandoDuarte]

Quick update - I've decided to buy a fender roadworn neck as I love the one I have and it seems daft trying to replicate it with other parts.

Warmoth body to follow and possibly a fender roadworn 50's bridge (I assume it is the same as the 60's maybe someone can confirm?) and buy a steel block off the ebay man to go with it.

Probably yes, but you'd better measure and compare with the dimentions in this link:
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/BridgeRoutingOptions.aspx

Also think that you should measure the neck pocket, because Fender has different neck pockets in some guitars... and then see if they work on the Warmoth's body pocket...:
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/faq2.aspx

[Prawnik]

The guitars I build usually end up with a mix of original vintage bits, Callaham, and Montreux. I like Callaham tremolo blocks, but for the price, they better be good.

Bodies and necks come from a variety of sources.

Hi guys

After purchasing my 60's strat roadworn last year on a whim - it has me totally hooked and I haven't played anything else for about 6 months. I have some great guitars and I thought it might be nice to have another strat like the roadworn but maybe a bit different and really high quality.

Naturally I went for a look at the fender custom shop stuff and I've tried loads but none of them feel right and whilst the workmanship is brilliant I've found them all to be a bit heabier than I would like and the necks are abit too chunky (even the early 60's ones)

So...........I've finally decided to go custom build (sort of). I knowa local luthier who will put together a strat for me, by reprofiling and fretting a neck blank and fixing it to a good quality peice of Alder. He will then spray it with nitro and relic the finish and all the parts to give it that 'heavy relic' look that I want.

the general look will be early 60's strat, sunburst with white pic guard and rosewood slab board.


What I dodneed o do though is source the hardware. I want tthis to be really really good quality and whilst you kear callaham, gotoh etc mentioned I haven't a clue what is considered the best for the job. Particularly for vintage trems and tuners. Also pickups - I love texas specials and am inclined to go for Irish tours as the pickup of choice.

Also any other advice or comments welcome as to where to source high quality bits. Hopefully this will give me exactly what I'm after and something thats a bit different aswell.

Cheers

Matt

[PPPMAT]

Quick update

Bodyarrives from Warmoth - nice and light under 4 pounds. Its one of the new vintage strat bodies and its pretty good. Made from 2 pieces of Alder. My only croticism (well not really criticism) is that the horns are not quite as rounded as I would like - not quite as much as my roadworn but its very close. The cntouring is spot on. Neck pocket is perfect.

Neck from one of the chop shops in the US - fender roadwon 60's version. in perfect shape and would recommend them - pricey though. Stratospere (ebay)

Fatboy guitars are making me the pickguard and covers, etc all prewired with BKP Irish tours. All aged to match. The trem is cold rolled steel with steel sustain block - supplied by BKP apparently.

Body ready to be sent to my luthier mate for nitro sunburst finish and then reliced to my tastes!. Its all coming together and I hope it sounds good because I could have bought a really nice strat for the money that its cost.

Been fun though

[Philly Q]

Looks good!  Dare I ask how much it's costing to get the body finished?

[FernandoDuarte]

Cool!

[PPPMAT]

Looks good!  Dare I ask how much it's costing to get the body finished?

I don't have a breakdown but the nitro finish and relicing is around £200. Its all built into a price that includes assembly fret work and a full set up.

[Philly Q]

That sounds a pretty reasonable price, I think (from my position of total ignorance!  :lol: ).   Looking forward to seeing the results!