Strat finishing ideas

[tomjackson]

I've just ordered a 1 piece alder SSS strat body to go with a Warmoth neck I have.  I was thinking of just oil finishing it, I doubt there will be much grain but it will be easy and have a woody vibe.

Any ideas/examples on natural finished strats?  I'm thinking perhaps a black pickguard with parchment plastics, or perhaps tortoiseshell, or even all cream.

I was laso thinking of a Callaham trem, but happy to hear other options here, even the lesser spotted BKP one of it is still available?

[Twinfan]

I think any of the colour combos you mention would work - just think of SRVs/Rory Gallagher's knackered sunburst models as examples?

For the trem, I believe both are well respected so either would do nicely  :)

[gwEm]

BKP trem is very nice. alder can look abit dull - maybe pep it up with some red wood stain?

[Philly Q]

I have a natural finished Strat with a tortoise scratchplate, I don't really like the look.

If it's a maple neck, I think a black plate (70s style) would work, or white/parchment.

If it's a rosewood board, I was thinking cream plate with black knobs and covers?

[HTH AMPS]

I really like the look of stained mahogany Strat/Tele bodies (Gibson SG style)

[tomjackson]

Thanks for the ideas.  Yes I suppose bare alder is almost a Rory strat, so faded white could work.

Any ideas on wood stain?  I thought a dirty look might be nice, sometimes PRS seem to stain the grain with a charcoal colour but I expect that only works with more grained woods like swamp ash.

Philly, yes it's a rosewood board.  Cream plate would work but black knobs might be a bit 70's for me!
Do you have a photo of you tortoise one?

Anybody got more details on the trem?  I'm almost tempted to see if my dad can make one at work, it's probably bread and butter for him bar the saddles if I could get all the dims....

[JacksonRR]

If you get your Dad to machine every thing except the saddles, that would be awesome! Maybe you could load up with some really nice saddles with the "saved" cash. If you went with the Graphtech Wilkinson replacements, maybe that would be easier than trying to achieve that lip for the strat style intonation screws.

http://www.graphtech.com/product-234-2/

[Matt77]

If you are happy with a 2 point trem. You can try the hipshot on my strat if you want.
They play very well.

[tomjackson]

Thanks Matt but I'm going all vintage with this one, 6 point trem and single coil routing only.

So probably vintage saddles too....

 

[Mr. Air]

I'm not a big fan of natural strats so I defenitely suggest you do some staining or something else if possible. I think either pickguard option could work. Actually I think a tortoise guard with white or parchment covers would look cool.

[Philly Q]

Philly, yes it's a rosewood board.  Cream plate would work but black knobs might be a bit 70's for me!
Do you have a photo of you tortoise one?

This isn't the actual neck it ended up with, and it's now SSS not HSS.... and it's swamp ash, not alder  :oops:.... but you get the general idea:



In retrospect, I think I like this better:

[choucas09]

Well I like the 1st one better Mr Q even more so in SSS form. My suggestion was going to be tortoise with parchment pickups and knobs. Cool and classy.

[Philly Q]

Yeah, fair enough, we've all got different tastes!  :)

It just seems like too many different shades of brown and beige (the carpet doesn't help, I know).  It's like the clothes and decor in an episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em or Terry and June. 

[AndyR]

I really like the look of stained mahogany Strat/Tele bodies (Gibson SG style)

+1

I'm not sure how close you could get to this on a lump of alder though?

(I'm keen on hearing what could be done about staining alder before oiling - my understanding is that it could be a bit hit and miss. I've done it to mahogany and got away with it.)

On Rory's strat. I read an interview with him in the 80s where he said that it turned out his wasn't alder. He said he was no expert himself, but the guitar man had told him that it was actually a maple body, and therefore rather unusual. Rory's conclusion seemed to be that that might explain one or two things, but he was happy with it anyway.

Certainly, "in the flesh", the body looked very grey in comparison to other bashed strats I've seen up close.

[Philly Q]

On Rory's strat. I read an interview with him in the 80s where he said that it turned out his wasn't alder. He said he was no expert himself, but the guitar man had told him that it was actually a maple body, and therefore rather unusual. Rory's conclusion seemed to be that that might explain one or two things, but he was happy with it anyway.

With all due respect, I think he was completely wrong!   :P

It doesn't look anything like maple, it looks like dirty alder.  And given the fact the Fender Custom Shop had extensive access to the original when they made the tribute models, I can't imaginine why they'd use alder if it was really maple.