NGD - A true frankenstrat!

[Keven]

So I had this cheap strat body laying around for a while. gave it the neck of a peavey generation guitar and got used to the feeling of the guitar. it had cheap chinese single coils and all.

I treated the body with several nice things! first of all, a very nice birdseye maple warmoth neck. with the huge fatback contour. i always wanted a strat with a huge neck, boy was i served. at first the fatback felt really big (1 inch from fretboard to the back of the neck) but it gets comfortable really fast!

i also bit the bullet and bought a set of dimarzio (sorry! but this is the guitar i use at my remote worksite so it's plugged into a modeler and a computer and all sorts of buzzy things, i NEEDED noiseless) injector neck and bridge with the area 67 middle. very nice set of pickups! i also bought a replacement bridge with a huge stainless steel block for added sustain.  and topped the thing off with graphtech string saver saddles.

all in all, speedy delivery from warmoth. i bought the neck in the stock showcase and it was at my doorstop in 3 days after being shipped.

of course i wanted to beat up the strat a bit so... out with the buffer for some home made aging. it looks a bit wonky but i don't mind, it gives the guitar my own custom finish.

pics below!

[Frank]

I do love a good partscaster. I might have to knock myself up another one soon, I've got this idea for a Mary Kay white ash strat with three tele pickups that's been floating round my head for years.

[Philly Q]

I've always been too scared to try the Fatback or Boatneck contours, I suspect they'd be a bit too hefty.

Is that a proper Warmoth decal on the headstock, or just the vinyl sticker they send with the neck?

[Keven]

just the sticker they send with the neck.

be warned, the fatback is really FAT. i use this strat for scale practice and i do love the stiff neck for shred tones. i'm not the ibanez wizard neck type of shredder :) it's bigger than the neck on my jazzbox or any acoustic i own. but the feel is so perfect

[Mr. Air]

Congrats on the new partcater. It's always nice to asemble something new.

[Philly Q]

just the sticker they send with the neck.

Ah, OK.  I didn't think they'd started making decals, God knows I spend enough time on their site.... but sometimes it's the new stuff I don't notice.  :lol:

be warned, the fatback is really FAT.

Yeah that's my worry.  I like it being 1" thick at the twelfth fret, but I don't like it being the same depth at the nut end.  I prefer more of a taper.

I guess I'll stick with the '59 Roundback, although I sometimes wish it was just a tiny bit fatter.  Maybe they could make a '58 Roundback.   :)

[Afghan Dave]

That neck looks really nice!

[JacksonRR]

Are those locking tuners?

[Keven]

Yes sir they are. Profile replacement locking tuners. nothing fancy but really gets the job done!

[Telerocker]

Looks great! I always worried I could not handle a really thick neck, but last year I played a CS 52 relic with a chunky neck and that one played quite comfortable.

[JacksonRR]

Yes sir they are. Profile replacement locking tuners. nothing fancy but really gets the job done!

Ah... Went and looked up some closeup shots of them. They seem to be the same as GFS sells. That makes 3 companies I know of that are selling the same ones. I have a set in black and they are nothing to scoff at! As smooth as the non-locking Sperzels I took off, but super easy string changes.

[Keven]

i think the schecter branded ones are also the same. all and all it's only a gear and a post so it can't be rocket science to make a decent locking tuner!

[Philly Q]

The Reverend locking tuners look very similar too, although the "rings" pattern on the back of the thumbwheels is different.  I guess they're all made by some Korean hardware company?

[JacksonRR]

When you can buy two sets for the price of one set of name brands, it's a safe bet that they're Asian. These get nice reviews in other forums so they may go the way of the Ping Floyd soon.... another good buy that lasted as long as no one knew they were any good.