New strat build

pixelpusher

pixelpusher

New member
I just whipped this up for a friends birthday, heading to FL for the weekend to surprise him.. I think he'll be pretty stoked!

2pc Fender Hwy 1 alder body off ebay $132
It was see through satin red but with a ton of orange peel. I buffed it out with 3 grades of compound & the random orbital polisher i got for my car (hardly ever gets used for that anymore!). i wish i had time to block sand all the orange peel out but i had to do this one real quick.

birdseye maple mighty mite neck, ebay $121
tt has abalone inlays & a glued on fretboard. I sanded it down and gave it 2 coats of hand rubbed tru-oil, sanded level.. 2 coats of nitro clear.. sanded to smooth satin finish on back & polished out to gloss on the front.
i am VERY surprised at how well this neck plays after a quick fret leveling & set up..

other specs
SD Alnico II pros neck & RW middle
SD Lil '59 bridge
Steel block vintage style 6 hole strat trem
graph tech saddles
graphite nut
Sperzel locking tuners
Schaller strap locks

Sounds great .. I love the singly coilyness of the APS II's spongy & spanky goodness. the lil 59 never disappoints me i can get this thing to scream through the shiva or the tremoverb.. Pretty versatile while still retaining distinctively strat-ish qualities. I don't want to give it to him!

Anyway it was a good test run for my next personal project. I've got a one piece swamp ash blank waiting to be turned into a serious classic strat tribute when i get some free time.
 
Re: New strat build

OMG, this finish is gorgeous Looks like Mahogany, and the black plastics/guard with the maple fretboard... it looks simply fantastic. Sleek as hell!!!

Now let me see Fender pull sth like that for the price of an MiM...

It's amazing man, ^yeah, wish I had a friend like that (you, not the guitar :p).
Putting so much effort to please another, there aren't too many like that left...
 
Re: New strat build

glad you guys are digging it!

All told with the case & strap and all parts it was just about $800 for a guitar that plays and sounds like a $1200-2000 guitar. I think the only thing i wouldn't skimp on next time is dropping another $100 for a one piece neck just for the slicker looks up close. so $800 ain't really cheap but the end result is well worth it with a bit of work.

I went to the new Gtr Center by my house last weekend and played the room full of custom shop strats and only 2 of them felt better than the one i made.. of course they were over $3k. I win!
 
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Re: New strat build

Congratulations. You go the first Strat with black pickguard that I like better than I imagine it with a white one :)
 
Re: New strat build

That looks killer. Very rarely do I really like the look of black pickguards, but you put together a real good looking guitar. I especially like the graphtech saddles. Functionality aside, they look killer set in a chrome bridge that is adjacent to a black pickguard.

I've got machine polish and access to a buffer, how glossy did you get that finish? Looks to be throwing a decent amount of light.
 
Re: New strat build

pixelpusher said:
glad you guys are digging it!

All told with the case & strap and all parts it was just over $700 for a guitar that plays and sounds like a $1200-2000 guitar. I think the only thing i wouldn't skimp on next time is dropping another $100 for a one piece neck just for the slicker looks up close. so $800 ain't really cheap but the end result is well worth it with a bit of work.

I went to the new Gtr Center by my house last weekend and played the room full of custom shop strats and only 2 of them felt better than the one i made.. of course they were over $3k. I win!
Click to expand...

with figured woods like birdseye or flame maple, a two piece neck is actually stronger and more durable than a one piece. so your prob best sticking with the 2 piece.

but yeah man, its looks gorgeous. congrats
 
Re: New strat build

can i be your friend? my birthday was in october but you can still give me the present
 
Re: New strat build

MikeS said:
That looks killer. Very rarely do I really like the look of black pickguards, but you put together a real good looking guitar. I especially like the graphtech saddles. Functionality aside, they look killer set in a chrome bridge that is adjacent to a black pickguard.

I've got machine polish and access to a buffer, how glossy did you get that finish? Looks to be throwing a decent amount of light.
Click to expand...

thanks very much!

I got it fairly glossy. I didn't knock out all the orange peel but i took well into the shiny category and got it well out of the matte/satin category. The wood grain pops much more now and from a few feet away it looks full gloss.
 
Re: New strat build

scottish said:
with figured woods like birdseye or flame maple, a two piece neck is actually stronger and more durable than a one piece. so your prob best sticking with the 2 piece.

but yeah man, its looks gorgeous. congrats
Click to expand...

yeah it's a pretty stable neck.. it was still perfectly in tune after a trip cross country from dry Los Angeles to humid a$$ Tampa. after a couple of days it needed a very minor tweak and i cut the nut a little deeper on the top 3 strings and it was singing when i left to go home.

My bud was stoked too.. except for the whole turning 40 thing hhahahha! it's bizarre none of us feel any different from when we were 22 except for the whole annoying physical aspects of getting our gramps on ;)
 
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