Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

[The Dali]

Hi everyone. Working on the next project... Got a Fender Lite Ash strat in a trade and was going to flip, but they just don't sell well. So... Why not a project?? The body is GORGEOUS. I've found the Lite Ash strats have a slightly odd neck pocket or neck size... Something is off that stops the necks and bodies from being perfect for use with MIA and MIM projects (the Lite Ash starts are made in Korea). I've also found the pickguard to be cut oddly (a little is taken out of the area under the 22nd fret overhang) so you can't use the guard with a 21 fret neck.

Anyway... I am going to use some parts and stuff I have left over from other projects, or stuff that wouldn't sell on its own and needs a home. Here is what I'm going to use:

- Lite Ash body, neck, bridge and tuners
- single humbucker pickguard, possibly modded to be s-h with Dimarzio bucker and a Lace single coil I got in a trade.

So... What is the project?

Well, I HATE the logo that is on the neck... And the neck is way too light colored for the Amber body, I want to strip the neck and tint, add logo, and finish with a spray finish. I also need to file the frets and roll the fingerboard edged. The pickguard needs to be cut and wired.

So, let's look at our materials!

Here is the body:

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Here are a few photos of the neck.

The ugly logo:



Some more if the neck, as you can see I've started stripping the headstock:



Here you can see some discoloration on the neck, which is fine. If I can remove during stripping or sanding that would be great. If not, no big deal.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

And a pictureof the pickguard. I just got the Lace in the mail, so will take a pic shortly. The other guard is a possibility as well.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Man that is some gorgeous birdseye on that neck! I remember those things and yes, the logo is awful. It actually makes it look like a fake.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

I have a Lite Ash Tele and they are really nice, underrated guitars that have awesome woods, but can stand a little upgrading. With a little help from Seymour and Shigeki at the Schecter Custom Shop, we did a lot of modifications to mine. We routed the body and pickguard for a SM-1n mini-humbucker, changed the bridge pickup to a BG-1400. Changed the saddles, selector switch, pots, and Seymour made a Les Paul-style jack. I recently put on a set of Planet Waves Auto-Trim tuning machines.

Mine has the same logo as yours. I never really liked or disliked it.

They were made at the Cort factory in Incheon, Korea in the years before they closed. Mike Tonn, who was managing the Fender brand at the time, was snooping around the factory and found a bunch of swamp ash and birdseye maple that wasn't being used. And that lead to this series. The Strats came with 5-2s and the Teles with APTL/R. Mike sold me the prototype Tele.

Congratulations on your find. I look forward to seeing what you're going to ultimately do with it.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

I've found the Lite Ash strats have a slightly odd neck pocket or neck size... Something is off that stops the necks and bodies from being perfect for use with MIA and MIM projects (the Lite Ash starts are made in Korea). I've also found the pickguard to be cut oddly (a little is taken out of the area under the 22nd fret overhang) so you can't use the guard with a 21 fret neck.

You might also find the string spacing a little narrower than standard Fender.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Thanks - will add more to the thread today. The 2-point bridge is decent, and the posts ALMOST accommodate a USA bridge... but not quite! Another option for this guitar is using a Wilkinson VS100 bridge since it has the floating second point. Will see how the neck turns out first.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

ok.. so I made a mistake!!! I tried using CitriStrip on the neck - bad idea!!!!

Here you can see the coating... Unfortunately, it ends up getting in-between the wood and frets, and definitely does NOT take off the finish on the board.



I coated the back of the neck as well, and that worked better.


The finish came off the back of the back pretty well, but still needs sanding.





So, I got the back of the neck done pretty well, but the fretboard looked awful. A couple of bubbled spots and otherwise just an orange mess. I was trying to use a razor blade to chip away the finish when I then read online to use the razor blade at a 90-degree to the board. Instead of chipping away, you scrape the finish off. It took a while, but I think I got the majority off!!!

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Tonight, I'll try to give it another sand and some more scraping and see if it will take a stain.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Tonight, I'll try to give it another sand and some more scraping and see it is will take a stain.

Don't stain it. Just oil it with teak oil. You will love it bare.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

I do have some oil that I could use instead of a complete finish, although I was toying with the idea of a Fender logo (old style) on the headstock.

 

[daan]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Tru Oil is amazing on necks, can go over stains, and is super easy to apply. It also really brings out the figure and that neck you have looks great already, the birds eye will really pop under Tru Oil. Do I sound like a commercial yet?
The body you have looks great, too. I love natural ash bodies.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Ok, so I worked on the neck... I think it turned out pretty well so far!!

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

OK, so some pictures of the neck.

Here you can see the difference between the wood and the tinted headstock. I will likely add another coat.


The rest of the neck looks pretty awesome. I really like the color. Now those abalone dots really pop.

 

[daan]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

That's a beautiful neck.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

So here it looks with a dry-fit What do you think? Does it need more color? Not sure how I'm feeling...

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

I like the neck as it is. You don't want to go too far and get too close to 70's orange tint territory!

 

[d1dsj]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

What Mr Bees said. It looks tremendous.

 

[The Dali]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Will post updated pictures later today. She is almost complete!

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Lite Ash rebuild project

Will post updated pictures later today. She is almost complete!

cool, I am looking forward to seeing how this thing turns out. I am thinking about having something custom built and Ash is the wood I want to use.