Strat project

[ajwain]

Here are some pics of a Strat which I assembled from parts bought from 3 different commercial websites in the UK.

It has an ash body and Kent Armstrong pickups at the moment, so it sounds quite bright, but it plays beautifully and is eminently 'giggable'.

I haven't taken it out on a job yet, but I can get all my usual Strat sounds out of it, so here's to the next gig.

The neck is a Mighty-Mite - I've heard good and bad reports about them regarding their feel, but this is straight as an arrow and has a soft 'C' profile and a thin satin finish. I think it feels wonderful, but them I'm a little biased.

If anyone wants to know how I built it and where I got the parts from, I'd be happy to let you know.

http://www.jacksonhouse.plus.com/ima...y/Img_0007.jpg
http://www.jacksonhouse.plus.com/ima...y/Img_0004.jpg
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[Strummin' Ronin]

If there was a wolf-whistle smiley I'd use it. It's a beaut!!

:yay

P.S. Also check out the body-blank link which I have posted else where. I have emailed questions for the guy a while ago and he's very helpful. There's also a place called Brandoni Music, which are nice people too.

[Cogs]

If anyone wants to know how I built it and where I got the parts from, I'd be happy to let you know.

So then, let us know! Nice guitar!

[ajwain]

Thanks gloriyang - I've been on the Brandoni site, and e-mailed Sue - she was very helpful.

This was my first foray into guitar projects and it has been a mixture of triumph and tragedy.

The neck and the body were from www.axesrus.com which has a great selection of both original Fender and third-party licenced bodies and necks. This selection is constantly changing, leading me to believe that they only have small stocks of each part. The neck is a Mighty-mite and was the only birdseye maple one I could find this side of the pond. The body is a heavy ash one, with not quite accurate Fender contours. If I'd known how well the guitar would turn out, I'd have bought a better body, but it's a beautiful gloss finish and it looks well.

The gold hardware and pickups came as a kit from www.wdmusicproducts.co.uk and was only £140 with the pickguard ready assembled.

The neck was drilled for modern tuners, and the hardware kit came with vintage tuners, so I had to obtain some convertor bushings. These were a very tight fit, and I had read on the Internet that they should be tapped home with a mallet, using a block of soft wood to protect the bushings....first mistake. From the 6th string hole onwards, the bushings were harder to knock home, and as I progressed towards the top of the headstock, I gained more confidence and was a llittler heavier handed.....second mistake.

I split the headstock from the last tuner hole to the end and had to have it repaired. The repair is invisible and I'm assured it's strong.

I was very nervous about the depth of the pilot holes I drilled into my lovely maple neck to bolt it to the body - I didn't want to drill right through to the fingerboard, so I was probably a little too timid on that. Consequently, the neck bolts screwing into the rock maple were a nightmare. Eventually, I decided to use a socket set to give me more leverage and three of the bolts went in like a bit of butter! The fourth bolt got so hot with the friction that it sheared off, leaving two-thirds of the shank of the bolt embedded in the neck.

Finally, the body was not drilled, and I had great difficulty lining up the trem block so that it was parallel to the frets. I think I misaligned it a little if you look closely. If anyone has any tips about how to do this for future projects, they would be gratefully received.

The headstock decal, which I'm assured is legal as the neck is licenced by Fender, should be lacquered over, but I didn't feel competent to do this, and you can see from the pictures that it's already rubbed off a little at the bottom of the 'F'. The guy from axesrus has said that he would supply the neck next time with the decal ready applied and sealed, so that's worth knowing.

Both of these companies have been most helpful - in fact, vry friendly in helping me with advice and encouragement to put the thing together.

I had the guitar professionally set up, and during this process, the technician fitted a new nut. I'd highly recommend doing this before any major adjustments are made to a new guitar like this. It has transformed the playability.

It now plays like a dream, and and I'm absolutely delighted with it. The sound is quite warm for an ash bodied Strat, but there isn't a shed-load of sustain. Overall, it's quite a vintage sounding instrument. The pickups hum a tad more than my American Strats, but this can probably be fixed with better screening - also the pickups have that lovely microphonic honk which unpotted vintage pickups had, so I dont mind the noise at all.

Overall, I hadn't expected a great deal from an instrument that has been thrown together by a clumsy amateur with no DIY skills, and I expected to have to change some of the components over time to improve the guitar. No such of a thing! It's great just as it is, and has the looks of a Custom Shop model. There is no way I would have obtained such qualilty components from a ready built Strat, unless I'd have paid ten times the price.

Any more information would be gladly supplied if anyone wants to replicate my project. I can't speak highly enough of the experience, and am already planning my next project.

[frank thomson]

i looks real nice!

good job.

[Strummin' Ronin]

I can't speak highly enough of the experience, and am already planning my next project.

:yay
What do you have in mind for your next project?

[ajwain]

I'm a Strat man really, so it would have to be another Strat.

I love the look and feel of the birdseye maple neck that I put on this guitar, so I'd get another one of those.

The body and hardware would all be black and gold; black body, black scratchplate, and full gold hardware - the Strat equivalent of a Les Paul Black Beauty!!!

For pickups, I'd choose an active EMG set - probably a SA/SA/81 set with a humbucker in the bridge position. The pickup covers are matt black with a gold EMG logo on each, so it would fit the colourscheme perfectly.

Altogether, I'd go for more upmarket hardware such as Sperzel locking tuners and probably a USA fender trem (ouch!).

Anyway, it's all a bit of a dream at the moment, as my wife thinks I have too many guitars, and in any case, I can't afford to start the next project yet.

Thanks for your interest, though.

[Strummin' Ronin]

: ola ajwain

Excellent! This black/gold strat sounds really intrigueing. Will you have it rear routed and have the 4 knobs like in the LP? And the shorter scale too. That would be one strange animal!!

Incidentally I have a Brandoni 3 piece ash strat body. It's made in Japan, the wood is better off with a solid colour, but the contours don't look too bad. It still needs to be prepped though. :)

[ajwain]

Hi gloriyang:

I'm a bit of a traditionalist, and I want it to look largely like a Fender. I believe the 70s Strats were available in black with black parts. I just want to add the gold hardware. Otherwise, it would be a stanndard H/S/S Strat configuration.

If I ever do it, I'll post some pics on here.

[DoobieK]

Sounds like it was quite challenging and trying at times. I can imagine what went through your mind when the headstock got damaged. All in all, it looks great. A very beautiful guitar. I am in the process of building a Strat clone and your finished guitar is an inspiration to me.

All back guitars with gold hardware are very classy looking too. I look forward to seeing it when completed.

[melody]

Look s very nice, I'd say you did a fine job for your first build!

[ajwain]

Thanks guys- I'm delighted you like the guitar.

Yeah it was a bit frustrating, but I'm very keen to do another one now. I have absolutely no skills with wood (as you've already noted) but buying standard parts has taken all the difficulty out of it. I heartily recommend not to deviate too far from the classic Strat design - even use Fender bits if you can.

www.warmoth.com in the USA do some fantastic colours and great high quality bodies and necks if you wanted to be a little more individual.

Thanks for the comments anyway, and if I can be any more help, email me on ajwain@hotmail.com

[LesPauloholic]

Looks nice!!

If you scrape a bar of soap with the wood screws before you install them, the soap will act as a lubricant and help the screws go into the pilot holes with less effort... and less chance of breakage.

[Southbound]

Cool :yay
I like the hardware

[ajwain]

Thanks again guys - and thanks for the tip, LPoholic. It's that kind of knowledge and experience that makes things a whole lot easier with a project like this.

I'll remember that one!