Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Alvin Lee Fan

Alvin Lee Fan

New member
And most of it was for the pickguard :D

Here's the current incarnation of my JV Strat - the Jimi Vaughn HoodooCaster.

50s wiring - $0.25 for solder (maybe)
Hand adjusted magnets in Tex-Mex pickups - $0.00
Warmoth reverse-slant pickguard - $28.00

It's the nicest playing and sounding Strat I've ever owned. The magnet mod more-or-less involved creating my own reverse stagger pickup set. I used a bit of Kinman's stagger pattern as well, creating my own version of a Tex-Mex pickup.

Strats are fun critters :D

hoodoo.jpg


hoodoo2.jpg
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

And is it me or the camera angle, or is your reverse slant not as much of a slant as the standard slant?
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Can you simply move the mags in and out by hand? Why did you reverse slant the bridge pup, that would decrease the base in the bridge pup and add more high tones right?

I love my JV as well. I still need to do the 50's mod on mine.
 
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Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Yeah, it must be the camera angle. The pickup is slanted exactly opposite of normal. I did it just for the looks mainly, but also wanting to capture some of the elusive "mojo" from the Hendrix Voodoo Strats and all that :D It's mainly for looks, although it does sound noticably different in the bridge position now.

I just pushed the magnets in and out until they were where I want them. On the modern construction pickups with plastic bobbins you can do this pretty safely. Don't try it on vintage construction fiber bobbin pickups though.
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

And one final critical point...

500th post!

Do I get my first big single star now? Aww crap -- I guess not...
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Oh, I've got a clip of this guitar over in the Tips n Clips forum. Look for the post about funk.
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Zhangliqun said:
And one final critical point...

500th post!

Do I get my first big single star now? Aww crap -- I guess not...
Click to expand...

Maybe on 501? :laugh2:
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Alvin Lee Fan said:
Yeah, it must be the camera angle. The pickup is slanted exactly opposite of normal. I did it just for the looks mainly, but also wanting to capture some of the elusive "mojo" from the Hendrix Voodoo Strats and all that :D It's mainly for looks, although it does sound noticably different in the bridge position now.
Click to expand...

It should sound quite different -- the high strings should be a little beefier and the lows should sound a little thinner.

Alvin Lee Fan said:
I just pushed the magnets in and out until they were where I want them. On the modern construction pickups with plastic bobbins you can do this pretty safely. Don't try it on vintage construction fiber bobbin pickups though.
Click to expand...

How do you push them -- just grab them between your thumb and index finger?
 
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Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Pretty cool, man. That pickguard looks sweet on there. It was definitely worth $28, IMO. That's pretty interesting info on adjusting the magnets. I'll have to look into that if I ever get another single coil.

Zhangliqun, sorry bro. You have to wait until 700.
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Zhangliqun said:
It should sound quite different -- the high strings should be a little beefier and the lows should sound a little thinner.



How do you push them -- just grab them between your thumb and index finger?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's how I'd generally describe the sound, although beefy isn't quite right. The top strings are still clear and bright, but sweeter, no shrill icepick at all. The lower strings have a definate Tele-twang too, nice!

The magnets are in there a little firmer than that. You have to push them pretty firmly to get them to move, but once they do you can move them pretty easily after that. They take a "set" again after a while, they don't remain easily moved. I suppose the wax sort of settles in again. I used the rounded end of a plastic stringwinder handle to nudge them initially, then just used my fingers after that.
 
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Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

I think that the bridge would sound better because the treble strings would sound mellower and the bass strings would sound tighter.

Very cool! Got a 50's wiring schematic i can look at?
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

Yup, that's a VOX Pathfinder 15 mini-stack. Very cool little amp. It's got a 4x8" cab with little Celestions in it.

vox-open.jpg


Quencho, the wiring mod I used is posted in The Vault. Look for a thread about 50s wiring on a Strat. ArtieToo drew up a great schematic that's a very clean mod. You only swap the position of two wires.
 
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Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

I always thought it made more sense to have the slant going the other way, especially with A5 pickups like the SSL1's, which have lots of bass and treble. Slant them the other way, and the high strings aren't as trebly and the low strings aren't as bassy. Never bothered to try it, though.

Now that you've done it both ways, which way do you prefer?
 
Re: Less than $30 in mods makes a killer Strat!

I definately prefer it this way, reverse slanted. This is my signature Strat! :D
 
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