crusty philtrum
Vintageologist
....well, what's left of it.....
Backstory of this guitar.....
I first bought this sunburst 1969 Strat back in about 1980. It had been modified, it had 2 P90-style pickups installed and a toggle pickup selector switch fitted up above the scratchplate going toward the top horn....Gibson-style....a half-inch hole in the front and a larger hole in the back with a home-made cover plate to take the switch. I simply fitted a standard scratchplate with 3 SD SSL 1's to get it back closer to how a regular Strat should be. The guitar was light and had the hollowness that Strats can be known for, i assumed these things may have been due to the amount of wood that had been removed. It had, like all Strats i'd owned, dead spots on the neck. I'd become tired of all the mechanical problems with Strats, and sold it to a mate of mine in Sydney about 1984-5.
January 2008, I was going to Sydney to see Bjork at the Sydney Opera House (AWESOME show, btw). I'd arranged to stay with the same mate who'd bought the Strat from me some 20 years earlier, and in telephone calls leading up to my visit, he'd told me he no longer wanted it and would sell it back to me. So....the day after the Bjork concert, I headed back to Melbourne with this old guitar in my hand.
My mate had set it up in the 80's to suit the times.....it had a Duncan 59N in the bridge, a Warmoth neck, an all-brass vintage style Strat bridge (with rollers in the saddles) and various holes and routing where there had clearly been different whammy-style bridges installed with efforts to get more travel up and down for the trem. It was in a much sadder state than when i'd owned it before.
During 2008, i accumulated the parts i wanted to use for a complete restoration (of sorts). A complete Callaham bridge, a set of BKP Irish Tour pickups, and a Warmoth neck, CBS headstock, 12" radius, 1 11/16 nut width, rosewood board, 6105 frets, quarter-sawn plain maple, MOP inlay dots, new tortoise pickguard, Gotoh HAPM tuners (vintage Kluson style with adjustable post heights and locking), new CTS pots, switch etc. The neck plate was corroded badly where the serial number is, but i was eventually able to discern the number and found a seller who could stamp numbers into brand new 'F' neckplates, so i had a new and perfect, genuine Fender neckplate with the correct serial number.
Recently i finally managed to throw myself completely into the assembly. I'd stripped the body back to bare wood and replaced a couple of critical bits of wood that had been routed away in the back of the bridge area. I filled the small hole in the front where the Gibson-style toggle had been, but not the larger hole at the back, as i didn't want to dampen the body if possible. Keep in mind that this guitar had seen a LOT of abuse, and i knew it would never be in showroom condition unless i filled everything and sprayed it a solid colour. My goal was to use Tru-Oil for the neck and body to get the best sound, and the looks would come second to that.
Every inch of the way was difficult with so many little difficulties, but i persevered. But finally it is in one piece and playable, with only minor tweaks happening now every few days as i play it and get used to it. I calculated that even if wood had never been removed from the body, it would still be below 4 pounds in weight, and it makes for a light Strat overall, which of course reflects in the sound.
All i need to do now is sort out some malfunctioning computer and monitoring issues so i can record again and then i can make some sound clips. (EVERYTHING seems to have been falling apart around here lately).
Meantime, here's some average-quality pics......it ain't beautiful, but we have a history together from way back, it's mine and we're happy together. From here on in, i'm gonna be good to the old gal.
Backstory of this guitar.....
I first bought this sunburst 1969 Strat back in about 1980. It had been modified, it had 2 P90-style pickups installed and a toggle pickup selector switch fitted up above the scratchplate going toward the top horn....Gibson-style....a half-inch hole in the front and a larger hole in the back with a home-made cover plate to take the switch. I simply fitted a standard scratchplate with 3 SD SSL 1's to get it back closer to how a regular Strat should be. The guitar was light and had the hollowness that Strats can be known for, i assumed these things may have been due to the amount of wood that had been removed. It had, like all Strats i'd owned, dead spots on the neck. I'd become tired of all the mechanical problems with Strats, and sold it to a mate of mine in Sydney about 1984-5.
January 2008, I was going to Sydney to see Bjork at the Sydney Opera House (AWESOME show, btw). I'd arranged to stay with the same mate who'd bought the Strat from me some 20 years earlier, and in telephone calls leading up to my visit, he'd told me he no longer wanted it and would sell it back to me. So....the day after the Bjork concert, I headed back to Melbourne with this old guitar in my hand.
My mate had set it up in the 80's to suit the times.....it had a Duncan 59N in the bridge, a Warmoth neck, an all-brass vintage style Strat bridge (with rollers in the saddles) and various holes and routing where there had clearly been different whammy-style bridges installed with efforts to get more travel up and down for the trem. It was in a much sadder state than when i'd owned it before.
During 2008, i accumulated the parts i wanted to use for a complete restoration (of sorts). A complete Callaham bridge, a set of BKP Irish Tour pickups, and a Warmoth neck, CBS headstock, 12" radius, 1 11/16 nut width, rosewood board, 6105 frets, quarter-sawn plain maple, MOP inlay dots, new tortoise pickguard, Gotoh HAPM tuners (vintage Kluson style with adjustable post heights and locking), new CTS pots, switch etc. The neck plate was corroded badly where the serial number is, but i was eventually able to discern the number and found a seller who could stamp numbers into brand new 'F' neckplates, so i had a new and perfect, genuine Fender neckplate with the correct serial number.
Recently i finally managed to throw myself completely into the assembly. I'd stripped the body back to bare wood and replaced a couple of critical bits of wood that had been routed away in the back of the bridge area. I filled the small hole in the front where the Gibson-style toggle had been, but not the larger hole at the back, as i didn't want to dampen the body if possible. Keep in mind that this guitar had seen a LOT of abuse, and i knew it would never be in showroom condition unless i filled everything and sprayed it a solid colour. My goal was to use Tru-Oil for the neck and body to get the best sound, and the looks would come second to that.
Every inch of the way was difficult with so many little difficulties, but i persevered. But finally it is in one piece and playable, with only minor tweaks happening now every few days as i play it and get used to it. I calculated that even if wood had never been removed from the body, it would still be below 4 pounds in weight, and it makes for a light Strat overall, which of course reflects in the sound.
All i need to do now is sort out some malfunctioning computer and monitoring issues so i can record again and then i can make some sound clips. (EVERYTHING seems to have been falling apart around here lately).
Meantime, here's some average-quality pics......it ain't beautiful, but we have a history together from way back, it's mine and we're happy together. From here on in, i'm gonna be good to the old gal.
