Mighty Mite Strat Body

[Steelrz13]

I am thinking about building my own strat type guitar and was thinking about maybe getting a mighty mite body. Since they seem to be on the cheaper end I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them and what your opinion was. I am concerned with quality of the finish and the quality of the wood itself. The alternative would be buying a warmoth body but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra cash because the finish itself is 180. I guess I could put a finish on it myself but I'm not sure how difficult that is and if I'd be capable of doing it or not.

Any opinions or advice on the subject is greatly appreciated.

 

[jtougas]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I just picked up a Mighty Mite 2HB rear rout unfinished ash body, and the wood is excellent. My wife (who'd previously been saying "Why'd you buy that one? You have that other one that you don't have time to finish!") looked at it, and said "Oh... I get it. That one you can put a clear finish on, the other one needed a solid paint."

Exactly.

The Mighty Mite Tele I made from one of their finished bodies is excellent, and the Jazzmaster body I got finished from Warmoth is excellent, too. The finish feels better on the Warmoth than the Mighty Mite Tele, but I don't feel that it's skimping, really, just not as nice.

The ash body, I may simply do TruOil, or maybe a tinted lacquer.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

IMO, you can finish a body yourself with nitro, dye/oil/shellac/etc, or even polyurethane (no link because you can get them anywhere) for waaaaaay less than what a finished body would cost you.

Being that both warmoth and mighty mite use polyurethane finishes (because IME electric instruments aren't as sensitive to different finishes as acoustic), you can get that same finish with a few quick sprays and a little sanding.

So, what I would do if I were you, is buy a good piece of wood, unfinished, from USA custom guitars (web specials), and finish it yourself. You'll get a better quality guitar for a cheaper price and a small amount of additional work.

That's just been my experience. Applying a finish with spray cans is so simple, there's not really an excuse not to. Sand the raw wood slightly, spray a coat, let dry, sand again, etc. 2 or 3 light coats with poly or nitro, just follow the instructions on the can and make sure you're not so close to the instrument that the finish runs. When you spray the clear coat, it will look great if you just leave it after it dries. If you want it to be mirror smooth, you're going to want to sand it with higher and higher grit sandpaper, until you get to wet sanding it with 2000 grit.

Sandpapers with that high grit can be found at automotive stores, like autozone or O'reilly, or you can buy a pack of the higher grits from stew-mac. It's gonna be cheaper to get it from an auto parts store though.

Also, that final stage (wet sanding) is what takes up the most time. It's not that much shinier than if you hit it with clear and just leave it, but it's so smooth it's like your forearm is resting on one of those apple macbook track pads, or the finish of a car once it's just been clay bar'd. If it's your first time painting it is a lot of work though.

 

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

Even great builders like Ron Kirn and Gil Yarron don't sand up to 2000?!
Trust man... 800 wet sanded and you're ready for buffing

 

[Steelrz13]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I think you are right and a higher quality body would be best. I am not very knowledgable on finishing guitars and just had some questions. The finish I am after is a transparent charcoal grey. I'm assuming to accomplish this I would need to first stain the wood and then apply a clear coat of nitro or poly? Also what is the difference between the two. If anyone knows of any good step by step tutorials on how to do this that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Steelrz13]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body



As a reference this is the type of finish I want to get. Obviously mine would be nowhere near as nice seeing as this is a PRS but I would like to get at least close to this. Would a grey stain or a black do this, or maybe a combination of the two?

 

[Adieu]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

You need a striped wood grain top, that aint paint its wood pattern under a grey finish

 

[jtougas]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

The PRS is probably a multistep process

After proper prepping:
1. Stain black.
2. Lightly sand back (the grain of figured woods accepts the stain differently, hence the 3d effect)
3. Stain with a diluted black, for the grey.
4. A few dozen layers of clearcoat.

 

[Steelrz13]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

You need a striped wood grain top, that aint paint its wood pattern under a grey finish

I should have been more clear. I was just using that picture as a reference for the color I'm wanting to get. I know it can't look like that without a flame top.

 

[scottish]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

If you want to even think about doing something like that yourself then dont even buy a body. Buy the cheapest flame maple you can find on ebay thats only about 1/4" thick and practice on it. I promise you that you wont get something that looks good the first time. Believe me though, if you are willing to invest the time and elbow grease then it isnt hard to learn how to put a professional finish on an instrument with minimal equipment costs. It really depends on whether you see yourself doing this multiple times. If so then learn how to do it. Otherwise just pay someone who knows what they are doing IMO.

Anyways, mighty mite doesnt make terrible products. But they also dont make products i would buy, maybe thats just me. If you are looking to build something thats going to be your "go to its my baby" guitar...and its a fender style then do it with USA custom guitars and just save up whatever it costs. Have them build it and finish it then find a good tech to assemble it.

If you just want a guitar with a faded charcoal finish then buy the cheapest one you can find because you will probably be over it quickly.

If you do decide to do it yourself then feel free to PM me. Ive done a bunch and there are plenty of people here who have done many more finishes that i can direct you on to.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I think you are right and a higher quality body would be best. I am not very knowledgable on finishing guitars and just had some questions. The finish I am after is a transparent charcoal grey. I'm assuming to accomplish this I would need to first stain the wood and then apply a clear coat of nitro or poly? Also what is the difference between the two. If anyone knows of any good step by step tutorials on how to do this that would be greatly appreciated.

I dunno about any tutorials but I'm sure they're out there if you google "finishing a guitar" or something similar.

I'm more of a fender guy, so while flamed finishes look waaaaay more awesome, just a body with flamed maple puts the price of the build over $600. (unless you skimp on the neck, or the hardware, or the pickups, which IME are way more important to the sound than the body)

Which begs the question, why not just buy a guitar with those looks for the same price already built in the first place?

I like assembling them myself because you can have unreal quality for less than $500 when it's all said and done (well, depends on what you're after. Tremolo bridges cost $$$, etc.) but once you start going into the exotic wood thing you're better off getting something that will hold its value better, IMO at least.

 

[Steelrz13]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I'm looking to get just a plain alder body strat style guitar. The picture was just because that is the most similar picture I could find of the color I am looking for. I just wasn't sure if a black stain or a grey stain should be used. That being said I know a see through finish on a plain alder body won't be to fascinating but I like finishes were the grain of the wood shows through. Sorry for all the confusion.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I'm not that impressed with Mighty Mite bodies, personally. I'd tend to lean toward a used Warmoth body if I wanted to save some money. You won't save anything by doing your own finishing, really, once you consider the cost of materials and, more importantly, your precious time. However, it is a fun and rewarding process.

 

[Frogman]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

Go with KNE guitars. I can attest to their quality.

Used Nitro from Reranch.
I ended up changing the layout ffrom the initial setup.
Decided I had enough HB and P90 guitars and didn't have a traditional strat, so I got me a loaded Fender pickguard with the Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex pickups

 

[jtougas]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I should have been more clear. I was just using that picture as a reference for the color I'm wanting to get. I know it can't look like that without a flame top.

It'd be worth a shot, but don't expect a lot out of alder. Visually, it's a pretty bland wood.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

I'm looking to get just a plain alder body strat style guitar. The picture was just because that is the most similar picture I could find of the color I am looking for. I just wasn't sure if a black stain or a grey stain should be used. That being said I know a see through finish on a plain alder body won't be to fascinating but I like finishes were the grain of the wood shows through. Sorry for all the confusion.

Fotoflame MIJ body for cheesy visuals yet good quality, perhaps?

 

[Adieu]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

Go with KNE guitars. I can attest to their quality.

Used Nitro from Reranch.
I ended up changing the layout ffrom the initial setup.
Decided I had enough HB and P90 guitars and didn't have a traditional strat, so I got me a loaded Fender pickguard with the Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex pickups

Sooo pretty... Until u scroll down to the pale rosewood. Still great assembled, but would look $1000 more expensive, literally, with a maple board. Cuz everything but the board looks downright Fender CS :-/

...or is that cameraphone colour shift making it look so dang light coloured?

 

[Steelrz13]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

Go with KNE guitars. I can attest to their quality.

Used Nitro from Reranch.
I ended up changing the layout ffrom the initial setup.
Decided I had enough HB and P90 guitars and didn't have a traditional strat, so I got me a loaded Fender pickguard with the Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex pickups

What kind of finish is on that guitar? It looks great!

 

[Adieu]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

Mild bursted orange under nitro?

 

[Steelrz13]

Re: Mighty Mite Strat Body

Did you have to use a stain for that effect?