Strat Project

I've had some Strat stuff left in my 'conglomeration' box ...
A Fender 06 Dlxe RW neck (60s shape) fully assembled, a Fender 4-bolt neck plate, a Fender 1-ply scratchplate - Vintage style with 8 holes, a Vintage Fender Steel trem ...
I've made my first experiences in building a Franken-Tele several years ago ...

... and I was looking for a new challenge, so ...
... I'd been after a nice body, vintage style, light-weighted, Alder, either in Sonic blue or Daphne blue, because I own a very nice 2p-ash, 2-tone sb Strat with a maple board already ... found one finally at a reasonable price in the US. I didn't want to spend alot of money for that project ...

Exception:
The pups should be the 'best' available - some of you might reckon that I'm very picky when it'll come to pups ... on my way through the Japanese guitar sites I'd been come across always with very expensive VanZandt guitars ... too expensive for me, but I've had the idea to build my own 'VanZandt-Frankenstrat' ... :wink:
So - US company ACME, which I've delt with long ago was my choice to get 'MY' VanZandt Blues pups ... and they've done a wonderful job on the prewired set which I've got recently ... :lol:
Mounted on a plastic template ( impressive looking!) it has got a Blender mod ( Master Vol-Master Tone-Blender) ...

The blender is simply a control that allows you to blend (mix) the neck pickup or the bridge pickup into the signal. If the 5-way is in the neck position, it blends in the bridge pickup. If the 5-way is in the bridge position it blends in the neck pickup. Add as much or as little as you want. You can add just a little of the neck pickup to warm up the bridge pickup, for example. And if the 5-way is in either the 2 or 4 position, you can get all three pickups on (which actually is a pretty useful tone too).

Click to expand...

For those of you who want to know more here's the link ...
http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/Strat_Assembly_With_Pickups_P148C132.cfm

... and so it looks like ...



Purchased some vintage knobs, trem cover, switch tip and pup covers additionally ... and here is the complete stuff for my new Strat ...



I hope that I'll get it sorted out on the next weekend if the soldering iron will be hot enough for this job ... I'll keep you in the loop ... :wink:

Roger

OK ... due to the huge amount of encouraging comments I'll complete this thread now ...

I've assembled my Strat on the last weekend ... here it comes ...



If you?re familiar with the soldering iron the complete assembly is a matter of an hour or so ? just four soldering points ? one at the trem claw and at the lower pot and two for the ground and hot wires to the jack ? ready !!!
It?s so easy if you?ve got a prewired set of pups as I?ve had from ACME. They?ve done an excellent job and I only had to transfer the set from the red plastic template to the pickguard. A very detailed wiring and installing manual which was included made the job like a children?s game ?




When I was holding the Strat in my hands for the first time I realized that it was heavy ? not as heavy as an LP, but the steel trem, the pups, the neck and body and the other stuff are giving it a weight of 3,4kgs / 7.5lbs - my MIJ Strat has 3,8kgs / 8.4lbs ? an improvement concerning the weight.
Used to play the 60s slim necks I had to cope with the V-shape of my 54 Strat then ? now it was just the opposite ? in the meantime I?ve appreciated the V-shape very much and I?ll have to get used to the slimmer neck again ?



The overall look is gorgeous ? I?m happy having decided to buy some vintage looking knobs, pup covers, trem plate and tips ? together with the RW of the fretboard they?re giving the whole guitar a more ?warm? appearance. The neck has a very tight fit into the pocket and the abalone dots meet the body colour superbly.



The sound ?
Have you ever made the experience that you?re thinking never having had played a Strat before ????
That?s my status quo today ?
The VanZandt pups (Blues model) are totally different from all those Strat pups I?ve heard before (never heard a ?real? VanZandt-Strat) ? perhaps similar to the Fralin Blues Special which I?ve had in my Tele ?
They?re absolutely clear sounding pups, no hum because the middle pup is RW-wound for hum cancelling ? a huge, huge midrange tone spectrum with articulated basses and warm high mids ? no trebly, ice picking or harsh sounding tones are coming from these pups. Although ? if you?re playing the bridge pup alone in the #1 position it has enough highs to cut through ?
If you remember David Gilmour?s solo on ?Shine on You Crazy Diamond? ? that would describe the sound of these pups approximately.
They are made for clean and crunched sounds ? maybe that I?m not familiar with the options yet, but they seem to dislike distorted sounds ? I?m not happy with the tone through my OCD or TS-9 (mod).

Anyway - these pups will teach you to tell stories with your playing ? the tones are dropping like tears out of guitar/amp/cab ? you won?t be able to hide your inner situation when you?re playing in public ? promised.
I love these pups !!!
The ?Blender - mod? is very versatile ? so you don?t have just the 5 options but also the possibility to add or diminish the influence of the neck/bridge pup additionally in all positions ? that?s great ? also the very easy use of one (Master-) Volume and one (Master-) Tone pot . I?ve been falling in love from the very first moment with the option of mixing the bridge pup to the neck pup ? crazy ? and a wonderful sound.

Long rant ? I?m happy having had kept the left Strat stuff rather than selling it ? I?ve got a wonderful Strat ? looks like a Bacchus ST62 or a VanZandt, doesn't it ???

Beautiful guitar my friend, and if she plays as good as she looks.....{Sigh} :wink:

Mick

Absolute beauty - one of my favourite colours for a strat. The aged parts look a treat too.

Thanks also for such an informative post . I might have a go at something like that one day.

Dave

Looks good to me.

One comment, why the combination of rosewood board and single ply scratchplate? A 3-ply plate would be more 'correct' and I think would also look better IMO. Other thatn that its a beauty! Sonic/Daphne blue is my favourite Strat colour!

Nice job Roger.....looks great.

I'm with you on the Van Zandt Blues p'ups. Years ago when they hit the market in the 80's (hand wound by W. L. Van Zandt right here in Texas), I put a set of them in my then recently acquired 80's MIJ Fender Strat (E serial number) and think they are some of the best aftermarket Strat p'ups I've ever heard.

Very clean but with lots of mid range punch, crisp low end and plenty of high end - like you said, not thin or jangly at all.

Nice guitar you've put together. :wink:

Thanks alot guys ... for your kind words ... I appreciate your comments very much ...

Let me tell you that the search for the parts and the assembly itself is as much fun as playing the guitar ... it's like exercising skills ... :lol:

Concerning the correctness ... John - honestly - I didn't give a s**t on the correct specs, because (as I've mentioned above) I've had some ragtag stuff left, and the pickguard was an 8 hole 50's single ply and the neck was a 60's shape with rosewood board ...
BTW - so the body is a 50's RI with 8 holes - it fits the pickguard and the trem ... I don't care actually ... :wink:
... and the single ply is a good home for the VZs.
I guess that experts like you guys only will notice that there's something wrong ... :wink:

Marcus ...

Very clean but with lots of mid range punch, crisp low end and plenty of high end - like you said, not thin or jangly at all.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the addendum ... you've said in better words what I've tried to tell you ... :lol:
Roger

Well if you don't care, it's all good beauty of a guitar no matter what plate it has on.

I hadn't seen this thread but had to laugh that tudor and I have the same taste .......... good taste, I think.

Here's my Strat project that I'm fooling with. Allparts body and neck in Daphne Blue.

Cool.....keep the progress pics coming.

Nice Strat!

Afraid I'd have gone with the 3-Ply pickguard too, but then I'm just a Fender anorak.

I'm still working on reclaiming my old JV Strat. It had a very battered 2 tone SB body which I've filled the dents in, primered and painted Ducati Red. Looks really good!
I then put the clear coats on, but put them on too thickly. Lovely thick lacquer, but I reckon honestly it'll take about a year to dry.

Still, once I can get on and finish it it'll be cool. I've got all the bits to make a beautiful red '57 reissue in a unique colour. The pickups are Fender Tex-Mex by the way. along with a TBX tone pot that I had lying around. Not everyone's bag, but I like them.

Will have to post some pics when it's done.

I'm aiming for the look of this one that Roger Waters is playing here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DzofJeg5bPo&feature=related

Here is one I put together with a old allparts neck and a hosokawa body. It has Kinman woodstock pups. Great guitar for less than $600

Following up ........... here's the Daphne Blue Strat project in pre-assembly mode laying next to my Springy:



Here's the completed project w/ a Danelectro 56 Pro:



.... and here's the body up close. I really love the Fender '54 Custom Shop pickups. All nickel parts.