Gilmour Strat Project

[wkturn2008]

Here's the beginning of the project I mentioned in another thread...one cheap black Strat copy guitar from Jay Turser. Here's why it was only $50. The input jack was installed wrong and the plastic was still on the pickguard making it appear that the pickguard was messed up:

Look at the input jack. Anyone ever seen one installed this way?

Here's the body which is all I will use:

Here's the neck/headstock which will be replaced with a MIM Fender Strat neck:

[wkturn2008]

The MIM Fender Strat neck has not arrived yet, I expect it Monday. It was $50 and the guitar was $50. So far so good. I don't know if the neck will fit yet. Here's the wired "Tuxedo" pickguard I will get from GF:



or I might just get a plain black pickguard and then get some 60's style Fender pickups for the neck and middle and a Duncan SSL for the bridge like David's. I haven't decided for sure. Here's what I found doing research:
GIlmour's original 1969 Fender Stratocaster
- Fender 1969 alder body with black finish repainted over the original sunburst finish.
- Fender 1983 ‘57 reissue C shape maple neck with maple 7.25" radius fingerboard and 21 vintage style frets.
- Fender/Gotho vintage style tuning machines.
- 1-ply .120” beveled black acrylic, 11 hole pickguard.
- Original late 1960’s Fender neck and middle pickups and a Seymour Duncan custom SSL-1 bridge pickup.
- Vintage style synchronized tremolo/bridge mounted in 1997.
- Custom mini-toggle switch on the pickguard for neck/bridge combo.
- Shortened tremolo arm to 4.25"
Here's what the new signature has:
1 Custom Shop Fat ‘50s Single-Coil Strat Pickup, (Neck),
1 Custom Shop ‘69 Single-Coil Strat Pickup (Middle)
1 Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Single-Coil Strat® Pickup (Bridge)

Strat builders: Please feel free to give tips, advice, criticism etc...This is my 1st project and I've been playing over 30 years.

[jpdowney]

I had an old Japanese strat ... early 80's model, candy apple red, that I had flipped the cord connector like that to facilitate the 9V battery for the active EMG pickup that I had stuck in it. I just flipped the cover and used the void as a battery compartment. Worked great. Unfortunately that guitar got lost in a military move. It was a sweet deal though, and my first attempt at modding. I think I paid $50 for guitar (used) and like $150 for the pickup.

I also like the blacked out look with the maple neck. It looks rock and roll, and it goes with everything! lol. I posted a pic of my blacked out MIM Strat elsewhere around here, or you can see it on my myspace page.

Good luck in your mods. I am new to this forum. It's nice to be able to talk 'shop' like this around people who know what's up.

Side note...I bought a black Squier '51 a few months ago, and when I showed it to my wife and kids, they couldn't really see the difference between it and my MIM Strat. Needless to say it was a 30 minute briefing/training session to show them the myriad of differences lol.

[Boris Bubbanov]

The jack plate was installed upside down?

Very scary, indeed.

[thaus]

Hey good deal for the turser but can't believe the jack would be installed like that!! Crazy........

[gcconspiracy]

so the jack is installed inside out? That's crazy!

[JKjr]

Knew a guy who flipped all his jacks over...said Randy Bachman showed it to him, it keeps you from unplugging your cord during moments of right hand mayhem. I'm not buying

[rkclary]

Flipped jackplates are often used if active electronics are installed, usually in conjunction with a stereo jack. As stated by JPDowney above this creates a convenient compartment to install the battery without having to route the body. The stereo jack disconnects the battery when the guitar is unplugged. Might be a tight fit and may look strange, but it's better than routing the body, especially for the routerless among us.