Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

  • Lake Placid Blue w/ Pearl Pickguard

    Votes: 6 17.1%
  • Lake Placid Blue w/ Turtle Pickguard

    Votes: 5 14.3%
  • Burst w/ Black Pickguard

    Votes: 9 25.7%
  • Burst w/ Turtle Pickguard

    Votes: 10 28.6%
  • Burst w/ White Pickguard

    Votes: 5 14.3%

  • Total voters
    35

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I plan on building a Warmoth strat. My specs will probably be:

Body:
Lefty Fender Vintage Trem
Alnico II Pro Flat's for pickups, subject to change, maybe some noiseless hots
Color is in the air.

Neck:
Either SRV or Boatback cut for the neck contour.
Rosewood 10" radius fretboard
.106" X .036" fretwire
Kluson tuners

BUT I don't know what to do for a color....
blue_pearl_strat.jpg

blue_turtle_strat.jpg

burst_black_strat.jpg

burst_turtle_strat.jpg

burst_white_strat.jpg
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I like the lake placid blue with pearloid pickguard, BUT I get the general idea of what you want with the LP blue with the tortoise shell pickguard and think it would be really cool if you used a mirror red guard.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I have to go with the bottom one, very classic looking but not many people play the white guard with black hardware. Sunburst strats always look amainzg though.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

The first one, and 4th one look best to me. The 5th one isn't bad either. If you go to forum bro, Curly's website, he's got some nice examples of Lake Placid Blue Strats.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

<-- hmmm, one of those looks familiar :)

if you're patient, you might see one pop up on their Showcase ;)

a burst with tortoise guard and black knobs & covers also looks good
 
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Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

personally i like the cherry sunburst the best - i'd do cheery sunburst or blue.... =)
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I picked the 4th one. The burst and tortise. There is just something I love about tortise.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I'm always a fan of bursts and tortoise, so you know which one I voted for.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

Mine is alot like the last one, but with chrome hardware and a maple fretboard. :) So id either go with the 4th or 5th.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I like the first one. If Curly's Lake Placid blue Strat had a birdseye maple fretboard, it would be, in my mind, one of the coolest Strats I have ever seen.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

i like the 1st and 4th. depends on what kind of music you play... if it was my strat i'd go with the 4th.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I like the 3-tone burst with an off-white pickguard. Fender has a "Parchment" color that looks great IMHO on a sunburst strat, black pickup covers but matching parchment knobs.

The tortoise shell on the burst is two good things that don't belong together IMHO.

Alnico 2 Pro single coils are great for vintage Strat tone, except it just doesn't cut it for the bridge. I put in a tapped Q.P. with a metal base plate personally, but there are other good options... check over in the Pickup Lounge.

Does Warmoth offer a 10" radius in their "Vintage" or "Vintage Modern" construction? If not, I'd suggest going with a 9-1/2" radius and one of those two neck types. I doubt you'd notice the small difference in the radius, and I know that I would notice the difference in tone if you got a "Warmoth Construction" neck. Please feel free to PM me if you want more details on why.

Chip
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I'll also extend an invitation to PM me if have any questions. I think I've picked up a few tips after doing a few of these, and I can help you build a strat that you'll love. One of the critical things is getting a neck you like, because that determines to a large part how much you'll end up playing the guitar.

Anyway, I did my own because I had very particular ideas of what I wanted, although I've probably changed a couple of my preferences in the process.

good luck, whatever you chose!
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

I liked the 1st and last one... and yes, I couldn't help but to think about Curly with that first one. :)
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

Gary Ladd said:
LOL...you suck USA Custom Guitar's bandwidth to design your new axe, but you don't give them the chance to build it?

Dood, you should have stayed on the USACG site and figured out what you want and ordered it from Tommy, his strats are FAR superior to Warmoths...
Haha, yea I found it ironic too. I couldn't get the normal strat building thing and his was the only one I could find.

I would go for USACG, but I'm not for two reasons. They don't do finishing and it is more exspensive.

I watched the USACG vs Warmoth thread sharply, and have made my decision please don't try to sway me.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

Honestly I'm not a big fan of any of them. I don't get the contrasting pickguard/controls thing. I'd pick one or the other. And I'm not a fan of the textured pickguards. Pearloid and tortoise pickguards are, in my opinion, the guitar equivilants of the trucker mud flap girls.

What really strikes me as odd though is if you're creating this custom axe from scratch, why do all the designs look like such a traditional Strat? You're not limited to the same official color palette that Fender offers each year. What are they up to now? Something like 5 colors, and two of 'em are bursts? ;) If you're going to create a guitar from scratch, get creative with it! Don't make just another guitar that looks like 90% of what you'd find on eBay. To each their own I suppose. My 2 cents. Your mileage may vary. Batteries not included. Fortified with 8 essential vitamins and minerals. Check local listings for showtimes.
 
Re: Which Strat To Build? (PICS)

Gary Ladd said:
Right. :cool2:

I just got my LAST and 3rd project from Warmoth...this one had an over-size neck pocket in the body (.012-.013 slop to the neck)...I just saw two of Tommy's body/neck jobs and they were both perfect (no gap at all)...my luthier is building a couple for a professional musician in Norway.

I just ordered a guitar from Steve @ USACG and it went so smooth it was scary...

BTW, they're sending it to Roxy Paint afterewards to do the paint, and I'm excited to see what they're gonna do...

They're gonna do a custom PRS "tortoise-shell" paint-job that the other guys said they couldn't do with any safe results...LOL

You've got absolutely no reason IMHO not to have USACG do your guitar, so far it sounds even closer to their "thing" than the one I ordered from them!

:smash:
I'll get a quote from them, but I've only got so any bones I want to spend.
 
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