RorySquier
New member
My trusty 1998 Fender American Standard Stratocaster was due for a string change so it was an opportunity to take some pictures underneath the hood to show some modifications I've done to my guitar. Some are cosmetic and the others are functional in improving tone. These mods are simple and easy to do and requires a soldering iron, wire cutters/strippers, etc.
I purchased this fine guitar back in May, 2005 at a pawn shop called "Trader Joes" which was up the street from where I lived at the time. I have about 9 Strats mostly Squiers and a '96 MIM Fender Strat. This guitar is my #1 Strat and my first and only genuine made in the U.S.A. Strat that I've always dreamed of owning since I was a teenager. At first I thought the guitar was black but at a closer look it is a deep and dark burgundy type of purple colour with subtle metal flakes in the finish for a shimmering shine. I paid $1,100 with tax that included a Fender hard shell case. I've bonded with the guitar ever since.
I've had the guitar for 13 years now and this year marks it's 20th birthday. It's in real good condition for it's age and everything is set up nicely. Since I've done some mods to it I'll start with the electronics. There was this D.I.Y. website I browsed a while back that dealt mainly with electric guitar mods. One easy mod caught my interest. It was having steel sheets cut to size of all 3 pick ups and putting them on the bottom of the pick up which held on magnetically. I used a few dabs of clear silicone to make sure they held in place. The purpose of this is to direct the magnetic field from the pick ups more upward creating more presence and loudness. I've tested this against my 1952 Fender Telecaster and found the Strat more twangier and a bit louder so I was pleased with the outcome. I also did a meter measurement on the pick ups and the neck pup is 5.79kohms...the middle pup is 5.84kohms & the bridge pup is 7.08kohms.
The next little project I did was to install a neck pick up on/off switch or the David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) mod done on his famous black Strat. This gives 2 extra pick up configurations which I find useful in sound. I bought a flat handle toggle switch for cheap. First I had to find out exactly where to place the switch so I studied pictures of David's black Strat and figured it out. I took everything off the pick guard and off the body so I could drill the hole. I first used a pencil and ruler and drew a line from the centre hole where the volume pot is to the hole where the screw holds the 5-way selector switch closest to the 1st position (bridge pick up). Then I drew an intersecting line from the centre hole of the neck pick up tone control to the hole for the screw holding the 5-way closest to the 5th position (neck pick up). Then I drilled a pilot hole where the lines intersected and a larger hole that the toggle switch fitted perfectly. I connected the wires from the toggle to the 5-way and the volume pot and used heat shrink wrap to cover the solder connections.
I find this location perfect because it doesn't interfere with the tone control knob or the 5-way selector switch. The toggle switch is conveniently adjacent to the 5-way especially close to positions 1 & 2 where it has the most effect so that I can operate both switches with one hand or 2 fingers and a thumb for a quick change. I really like these 2 extra tones where I get the bridge and neck pick up for that Tele sound but both are out-of-phase for that cool nasally tone. I also like having all 3 pick ups on at once for a real nice sparkling tone. The tone control for the bridge & middle pick ups I think is a Delta Tone where when you turn it up to 10 there is an indent you feel taking the tone control out of the circuit for a no-load circuit. The toggle switch also by-passes the tone control for the neck pick up.
Next I modified the bridge trem block when I had the bridge all apart. I drilled the holes where you feed your guitar strings through just a bit deeper which is supposed to reduce string breakage. I used a piece of masking tape on the drill bit to mark how far to drill so that I didn't over-drill the hole. I used a small rounded files to clean up any burs left behind from the drilling. I also sanded the paint off the top of the trem block where it joins onto the bridge plate and I also sanded the bottom of the bridge plate nice and smooth so when I put them back together they would make a better connection for a better sound IMHO.
Then onto the plastics. Originally they were all white which i liked but I also liked even better the aged look more. I got this tip from a YouTube video on how to age your plastic parts. I basically soaked all the parts (pick up covers, control knobs, 5-way switch tip and the tip of the whammy bar all in a big mug of black coffee for a couple of days. The results turned out great and I'm pleased with the colour or hue of the plastic parts.
Next onto the fret board. I liked the rosewood on the guitar neck but I like or love ebony even more so I wanted to go for an ebony look or an ebonized rosewood look where you see on some early 1960's Strats that have dark FB's due to many years of playing and the oil from your fingers. I bought a can of ebony wood stain at a hardware store and used it to stain the fret board. I cleaned the FB with soap and water and dried it. Then I applied the wood stain with a brush and let it soak over night. I repeated this process again to make sure it had a good soaking. After all that I sealed the fret board with raw linseed oil which I applied with a brush over the entire FB and let sit over night. I repeated this process a few more times and the results turned out fantastic. The FB has a slight shine to it and somewhat looks like ebony.
Overall I'm very happy with the results and you could say this is like my dream Strat. I love the fact it has 22 frets instead of the original 21. It also features Schaller strap-lock buttons on the body for a secure connection. I have a plain black leather guitar strap with the other parts of the strap lock on it ready for use. All the whammy bar goes back on an angle when I swing it over the arm rest on the body. That means I can put my guitar in the case and close it without having to take the arm off like you have to do on other Strats or Strat like guitars. It's a very fine playing guitar and I plan on keeping it for a lifetime.
;>)/
I purchased this fine guitar back in May, 2005 at a pawn shop called "Trader Joes" which was up the street from where I lived at the time. I have about 9 Strats mostly Squiers and a '96 MIM Fender Strat. This guitar is my #1 Strat and my first and only genuine made in the U.S.A. Strat that I've always dreamed of owning since I was a teenager. At first I thought the guitar was black but at a closer look it is a deep and dark burgundy type of purple colour with subtle metal flakes in the finish for a shimmering shine. I paid $1,100 with tax that included a Fender hard shell case. I've bonded with the guitar ever since.
I've had the guitar for 13 years now and this year marks it's 20th birthday. It's in real good condition for it's age and everything is set up nicely. Since I've done some mods to it I'll start with the electronics. There was this D.I.Y. website I browsed a while back that dealt mainly with electric guitar mods. One easy mod caught my interest. It was having steel sheets cut to size of all 3 pick ups and putting them on the bottom of the pick up which held on magnetically. I used a few dabs of clear silicone to make sure they held in place. The purpose of this is to direct the magnetic field from the pick ups more upward creating more presence and loudness. I've tested this against my 1952 Fender Telecaster and found the Strat more twangier and a bit louder so I was pleased with the outcome. I also did a meter measurement on the pick ups and the neck pup is 5.79kohms...the middle pup is 5.84kohms & the bridge pup is 7.08kohms.
The next little project I did was to install a neck pick up on/off switch or the David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) mod done on his famous black Strat. This gives 2 extra pick up configurations which I find useful in sound. I bought a flat handle toggle switch for cheap. First I had to find out exactly where to place the switch so I studied pictures of David's black Strat and figured it out. I took everything off the pick guard and off the body so I could drill the hole. I first used a pencil and ruler and drew a line from the centre hole where the volume pot is to the hole where the screw holds the 5-way selector switch closest to the 1st position (bridge pick up). Then I drew an intersecting line from the centre hole of the neck pick up tone control to the hole for the screw holding the 5-way closest to the 5th position (neck pick up). Then I drilled a pilot hole where the lines intersected and a larger hole that the toggle switch fitted perfectly. I connected the wires from the toggle to the 5-way and the volume pot and used heat shrink wrap to cover the solder connections.
I find this location perfect because it doesn't interfere with the tone control knob or the 5-way selector switch. The toggle switch is conveniently adjacent to the 5-way especially close to positions 1 & 2 where it has the most effect so that I can operate both switches with one hand or 2 fingers and a thumb for a quick change. I really like these 2 extra tones where I get the bridge and neck pick up for that Tele sound but both are out-of-phase for that cool nasally tone. I also like having all 3 pick ups on at once for a real nice sparkling tone. The tone control for the bridge & middle pick ups I think is a Delta Tone where when you turn it up to 10 there is an indent you feel taking the tone control out of the circuit for a no-load circuit. The toggle switch also by-passes the tone control for the neck pick up.
Next I modified the bridge trem block when I had the bridge all apart. I drilled the holes where you feed your guitar strings through just a bit deeper which is supposed to reduce string breakage. I used a piece of masking tape on the drill bit to mark how far to drill so that I didn't over-drill the hole. I used a small rounded files to clean up any burs left behind from the drilling. I also sanded the paint off the top of the trem block where it joins onto the bridge plate and I also sanded the bottom of the bridge plate nice and smooth so when I put them back together they would make a better connection for a better sound IMHO.
Then onto the plastics. Originally they were all white which i liked but I also liked even better the aged look more. I got this tip from a YouTube video on how to age your plastic parts. I basically soaked all the parts (pick up covers, control knobs, 5-way switch tip and the tip of the whammy bar all in a big mug of black coffee for a couple of days. The results turned out great and I'm pleased with the colour or hue of the plastic parts.
Next onto the fret board. I liked the rosewood on the guitar neck but I like or love ebony even more so I wanted to go for an ebony look or an ebonized rosewood look where you see on some early 1960's Strats that have dark FB's due to many years of playing and the oil from your fingers. I bought a can of ebony wood stain at a hardware store and used it to stain the fret board. I cleaned the FB with soap and water and dried it. Then I applied the wood stain with a brush and let it soak over night. I repeated this process again to make sure it had a good soaking. After all that I sealed the fret board with raw linseed oil which I applied with a brush over the entire FB and let sit over night. I repeated this process a few more times and the results turned out fantastic. The FB has a slight shine to it and somewhat looks like ebony.
Overall I'm very happy with the results and you could say this is like my dream Strat. I love the fact it has 22 frets instead of the original 21. It also features Schaller strap-lock buttons on the body for a secure connection. I have a plain black leather guitar strap with the other parts of the strap lock on it ready for use. All the whammy bar goes back on an angle when I swing it over the arm rest on the body. That means I can put my guitar in the case and close it without having to take the arm off like you have to do on other Strats or Strat like guitars. It's a very fine playing guitar and I plan on keeping it for a lifetime.
;>)/
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