Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Rick1114

Rick1114

New member
I'm wanting to get rid of about 1/2 pound off my strat. It's a California Strat that I've done a bunch of little mods on already. It's not too valuable so I can experiment with it.

I just bought a Vintage Mohagany Les Paul (found a GOOD one and pulled the trigger), and this sucker weights about 7-1/2 pounds or so. I pick up my Strat and it's got to be pushing 9. My back tells me no more heavy guitars, but I don't want to sell it, because it has mojo and I hate most Strats these days that are in my price range.

How can I shed about 1/2 pound off this sucker or more? Add a Swimming pool route? Holes under the Pickguard? I also read about guys (I think it was Harry J's site) drilling into the horns & behind the bridge for an excellent tone but no idea how they did that.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Rick
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

anything you do will change the tone but you could remove most of the wood under the pickguard with out killing it.

dont get too close to the edge
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Even if you remove all the wood under the pickguard, I doubt that's going to be 1/2 lb...I did this to my one and only Strat and it is a little lighter, but losing the trem springs, claw, and screws lightens it up more...
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

I drilled a bunch of holes under the guard of my '71 hardtail mutt to knock some weight off...

Not much of a tonal change. It's on here if you search...

I wouldn't drill anything by the bridge though!

Some of the weight is that inch thick poly finish...
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

I imagine that going with a swimming pool rout and then removing material under the pick guard would do the trick, but you'll never lose 1/2 lb, IMO. Who knows what it would do to your tone. The general consensus is that the weight-relieved Pauls have had their reliefs carefully laid out... it's more complicated than drilling random holes.
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Okay, maybe I was going a bit too far. I just weighed it with a cheap Ikea scale and it's coming in at slighly over 8 pounds but I think is really abouty 8 1/2. The Vintage Mahagony LP is coming in just under 8.

I played a bunch of Strats at 48th street in NYC today, and my Cali Strat is really great for I paid for it. It's got that vintage vibe and sound that the "keepers" have. It started to feel noticably heavy when I started adding mods - Calssic Stacks+ (heavier then regular SC's, they're humbuckers really), and nickel cover for the bridge and then a super 5 way switch. All these things started to add up a bit.

So...Instead of drilling, I'll probably just look for ways to slim down. Maybe get rid of one tone pot (I never use'm anyway), sand down the poly with steel wool (it is pretty thick on this strat), maybe take another spring out of the trem.

Any suggestions would be welcome! Here'swhat it looks like now..

DSC04588-1.jpg
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Rick1114 said:
Okay, maybe I was going a bit too far. I just weighed it with a cheap Ikea scale and it's coming in at slighly over 8 pounds but I think is really abouty 8 1/2. The Vintage Mahagony LP is coming in just under 8.

I played a bunch of Strats at 48th street in NYC today, and my Cali Strat is really great for I paid for it. It's got that vintage vibe and sound that the "keepers" have. It started to feel noticably heavy when I started adding mods - Calssic Stacks+ (heavier then regular SC's, they're humbuckers really), and nickel cover for the bridge and then a super 5 way switch. All these things started to add up a bit.

So...Instead of drilling, I'll probably just look for ways to slim down. Maybe get rid of one tone pot (I never use'm anyway), sand down the poly with steel wool (it is pretty thick on this strat), maybe take another spring out of the trem.

Any suggestions would be welcome! Here'swhat it looks like now..
Click to expand...

Go lift some weights and get stronger, the guitar won't feel as heavy.;) Seriously, if you like the way it sounds now, I wouldn't do anything to it. Taking out wood just gives me a bit of cringe.
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

That was a really nice series of guitars, Fender's first effort between the Corona Factory & the Baja Factory. I got one of the California Telecasters when they came out in '97, a real workhorse that delivered GOOD! I eventually got a bunch of dings and nicks from constant stage use, typically on the edges. That finish was SOOO thick, and the undercoat was even harder and thicker. Ha, I bet you could actually lose a 1/2 lb. by refinishing it alone. All of the Cali's I played had really sweet satin necks with a nice and large 'C' shape on a superb Hard Rock maple neck topped off with a deep coloured smooth rosewood.

Great guitars. Not too many around anymore.
 
Last edited:
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

KeyOfG said:
That was a really nice series of guitars, Fender's first effort between the Corona Factory & the Baja Factory. I got one of the California Telecasters when they came out in '97, a real workhorse that delivered GOOD! I eventually got a bunch of dings and nicks from constant stage use, typically on the edges. That finish was SOOO thick, and the undercoat was even harder and thicker. Ha, I bet you could actually lose a 1/2 lb. by refinishing it alone. All of the Cali's I played had really sweet satin necks with a nice and large 'C' shape on a superb Hard Rock maple neck topped off with a deep coloured smooth rosewood.

Great guitars. Not too many around anymore.
Click to expand...

Dude the poly is ridiculous on this axe (let me guess what part was done in mexico!). I dont want ro re-finish, but if could take a bit off that poly I'd be happy. I love the neck on this guitar. I see all these fenders out now with either wimpy necks or the super fat EJ necks in vogue now, and my $700 Strat is one of the few that I like outside of some custom shop guitars and some nicer G&L's.

Spend too much time modding the bastard though. The Virtual Hot PAF sounds great in there. Maybe I'll swap out the STK+'s for lighter SC's, give the poly a good sanding with steel wool (can that be done without leaving noticable marks?), and take out a tone pot. That should do it.

thanks

Rick
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Heck, just do 100 sit-up/crunches a day until it stops feeling heavy.
That strat doesn't deserve to be chewed up like that.
:)

MM
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

i prefer heavy strats myself... i just love the feeling of some weight there... instead of messing around wrecking that strat body with all the weight relief drilling and routing ideas, sanding finnish off the body, taking hardware off the guitar... i'd say get a new Warmoth body made out of light wood

I think your best bet would be to either live with the weight as is or get a replacement body made out of light weight wood... A Warmoth body..

all the ideas you have posted so far will pretty much wreck that body... the real issue is it is a heavy piece of wood..... my Basswood strat had a heavy bridge and 3 full sized humbuckers in it and a maple neck and it was light as air! i'm adding a floyd to that strat now and it is still light... so it's the body that makes that guitar light
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

I can live it - no way i'll drill into this puppy. I guess havin a LP that's lighter than my strat put me in frenzy. I am probably going to get rid of a tone pot because it gets in the way (have to replace the PG again) and sand a bit of the poly off with 0000 steel wool if I can do it without ruining the finish?

Anyone ever revove some poly with steel wool? Can it be done without leaving swirls or notivable marks?
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Rick1114 said:
Anyone ever revove some poly with steel wool? Can it be done without leaving swirls or notivable marks?
Click to expand...

No.

You'll dull and "ruin" the finish.

I doubt you'd get any highly significant weight reduction from attacking it with steel wool...

And the idea of "added weight" from pickups & removing pots?

Ehhhhhhh... I'd love to get some of whatever 'yer schmokin, probably some good shlt huh??!

:laughing:

Doing a full-on strip & refinish with oil or even just a lighter coat of poly would take AT LEAST a 1/2 pound off the guitar and open up the tone a whole bunch too.

You could sand it off yourself (get a power sander for most!) and take it to a bike shop or auto body place to get reshot in whatever color you can think of...

That's what I'd do.

Or...

73strat_holes.jpg


Drilling those 1/2" holes about 1" down took about a 1/2 pound off that monsterous '71 hardtail. The haggard semi-swimming pool route was already in place before I aquired it... it was a solid 9 pounds before holes, about 8.5 after. My scale only goes in 1/2 pound increments...

At some point I'm gonna channel a little more for a bridge & neck bucker... maybe add a few more "weight relief" holes too.

Gotta say, there wasn't any noticeable tone change after drilling. VERY negligable at best.
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

yeah i think that i posted the exact same thread a while ago, but for my mahogany strat. lol!

8 pounds for me is NOT a heavy axe. and if i remember Zerb saying all his guitars are over 8 pounds.
For me a under 8 pound LP is weird and i dont dig it.
Just taste.
I like my guitars to zing a bit more for hard rock.
I depends though on what people dig.

I for one do not understand this thing of feather weight guitars sounding better. Maybe i will someday, but for now i dont.
All the high end Suhrs, Andersons i have picked up have been at least close to 7.8 pounds.
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

wait you're saying that a poly finish weighs 8 oz?? that sounds insane to me. It's thick but it's still a microscopic layer of film...
 
Re: Can I route A strat body to make it lighter?

Kivitel said:
wait you're saying that a poly finish weighs 8 oz?? that sounds insane to me. It's thick but it's still a microscopic layer of film...
Click to expand...

Yah.

In high school I stripped a buddies Tele...

The guitar lost a SERIOUS amount of weight & resonated a LOT better after I took it off with a belt-sander.

That Fender poly finish is ludicriously thick. Like 1/8" or better. No joke.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Can I wire a coil tap like a coil split?
Replies
8
Views
109
uOpt
uOpt
J
Slash 2.0 - How to make it less compressed
Replies
8
Views
313
jeremy
jeremy
blakejcan
how do you make the heel of a Les Paul Jr neck?
Replies
17
Views
775
blakejcan
blakejcan
O
Red devil for Strat bridge wiring options
Replies
3
Views
136
jeremy
jeremy
Fender_Punk
New Mandolin Day!
Replies
1
Views
415
jeremy
jeremy
Back
Top