surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 Been a fair amount of Strat talk around here lately, so since I am beginning a revamp of one I thought I'd share... So this was my actually first Strat ever. It began as a plain 1986 Japanese Squire model with a rosewood neck and white pickguard and cheap single coils. The rosewood neck on there now is a mid 90s Mex Fender neck as I wore the frets down pretty well on the original one. I replaced its white pickguard with the tortoise shell quite a few years ago when I put in the Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro Strat pups (new pots and switch of course). Speaking of which it has also had a variety of single coils, lace sensors and even a full size humbucker in it over the years. (This Strat and I have been through a lot together)
surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Author Posted May 25, 2014 The plan: I'm keeping the body and pickups. The pots should be okay as they are CTS 250k and the switch seems fine. However, I'm going with a 70s style maple neck and back to a white 70s 3 ply pickguard - kinda like the white one Hendrix played at Woodstock...
Kaiser Bill Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 Looks good from here. Definitely a workin' man's guitar.
surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Author Posted May 25, 2014 Definitely want to keep my Sperzel locking tuners though... So off they come! They will fit right into the new neck. I just need to drill the guide peg holes. It's just a Mighty Mite neck, but the waterslide decal makes it look pretty official, eh?
surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Author Posted May 25, 2014 I like it alot man I got Sperzels on my Highway 1 sunburst work great. Yeah, I got these 25 years ago believe it or not. They have held up great. I put a set of "Fender" locking tuners (made by Schaller I believe) on another Strat and they work well too. These satin Sperzels won't look very vintage, but I'd hate to try to use the trem without them!
surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Author Posted May 25, 2014 Went ahead and drilled the new neck, but that's all I can do on it for now as I am waiting on some amber tinted spray nitro from StewMac.
surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Author Posted May 25, 2014 Is that the kind of pick guard you got too? I had a couple of theirs and they seemed like nice thick good quality ones. I got the neck and the pickguard from the Stratosphere guy on eBay. The guard is nice and it's fully shielded too with alu foil on the back.
Riffster Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 These are the exact cosmetics I'd like in a Stratocaster. How do you like the Mighty Mite neck? fretwork good?
surfpup Posted May 25, 2014 Author Posted May 25, 2014 These are the exact cosmetics I'd like in a Stratocaster. How do you like the Mighty Mite neck? fretwork good? Yeah, it seems good. I can't play it yet of course. I'll check level with a straight edge and a fret buddy before I bolt it on, but I've used their necks before and liked them.
Tman Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 My personal favorite color and headstock combo! Gonna be great. Be sure and get on your knees and play with your teeth!
Aster1 Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 Looks good Pup!! Just love a good Strat too. So many great guitars, so little time, money & room. I always say!! Same with my bikes too! Aster Great choice in color for that resin Adirondack chair too. We have a few just like it.
krock Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 Great project, always wanted a strat like that. Im currently in the middle of a tele project. I'm on to the second coat of tung oil but the weather has been rainy so its not warm enough to continue yet
surfpup Posted May 26, 2014 Author Posted May 26, 2014 Old pickguard removed. Haven't been in here in a while, but it all looks good.
brc Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 Are you going back with an off-white? Just wondering as I have owned a couple of the mid- late 60s off white Srats.
american cheez Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 Definitely a workin' man's guitar. you know, that's a pretty good descriptor for most strats, i think. for me, it's the biggest chunk of their appeal.
quapman Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 Lovin it!! Nice mod Surf,,, Love the colors,, love the board,,, all good.. pretty much exactly what I want in a Strat.
surfpup Posted May 26, 2014 Author Posted May 26, 2014 You should try this you wont look back http://www.super-vee.com best answer to vintage tremolo there is. Yeah those are great trems for sure. But I don't use the trem much - often the bar i sin the case.
surfpup Posted May 26, 2014 Author Posted May 26, 2014 Went ahead and put all the parts in new pickguard and freshened up the solder joints on the switch. All working good, so I buttoned it up.
surfpup Posted May 26, 2014 Author Posted May 26, 2014 Thanks! Nothing more I can do now until the spray nitro for the neck arrives. Shoulda ordered it sooner.
Ryan H Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 I gotta say, I'm getting more of a Malmsteen vibe from this guitar than a Hendrix one. Both great looks though ;) -Ryan
Rabs Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 Thanks! Nothing more I can do now until the spray nitro for the neck arrives. Shoulda ordered it sooner. That's looking real good man.... Nice work
surfpup Posted May 26, 2014 Author Posted May 26, 2014 I gotta say, I'm getting more of a Malmsteen vibe from this guitar than a Hendrix one. Heh.... I love the way Ywingie's Strat's look, but I can't play a scalloped fretboard to save my a$$- my hands are too heavy, everything goes sharp.
surfpup Posted May 29, 2014 Author Posted May 29, 2014 Alright, rattle cans arrived from StewMac today, so hopefully I can finish this sucker up soon. Unfortunately bound for the in-law's this weekend, so it may have to wait a bit... grrrrr.... That's okay, summer break starts in a week and I will have tons of project time then.
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