Advice on building a Strat

guitar1580 · August 10th, 2008, 02:46 AM

Hi all. New member here. I'm looking for some tips on building a tremolo style Strat, from some of you more experienced folks who have done this already. My three 1970's CBS Fenders are all hardtails, so I thought it would be fun to build a trem style sunburst / rosewood FrankenStrat for playin around the house.
Here's my plan so far: Use the 30 yr. old nicely yellowed Fender neck w/ rosewood & bone that I already have, and buy a several year old Mex Strat for cheap, use the Mex body, and upgrade the tremolo and saddles (possibly Callaham), and intsall bettter pots, switch and maybe vintage style strat pickups.
Questions:
1) I've heard that the '90s and up Mex. strats are 2 1/16" bridge/string spacing, which is what my 1975 hardtail is. Does anyone know if that is true? I like narrower, because it keeps the E strings further from the neck's edge.
2) Has anyone tried the Callaham trem upgrade. I'm wondering how it does, compared to spending more on a whole new trem unit. (Tryin' to save money for a third Martin, haha).
3) Any thoughts on the Mex bodies? (NOT talking Squire) I've heard that the Made in ***. basswood RI bodies sound nice too, although I've been impressed with some Mex models that I've played.
4) What do you use for neck shims?

I may even ebay the leftover neck and parts, to offset $ amount spent. Any thoughts or suggestions for this project greatly appreciated.........................Josh

bobthecanadian · August 10th, 2008, 09:15 AM

hi guitar1580,

welcome to the forum. i hope you have a good stay here.

good luck on the project.

bob

thaus · August 10th, 2008, 09:56 AM

Look up Ron Kirn, a member here and at TDPRI. You can follow some of his build threads or just ask Ron questions and he pretty well knows all the ins and outs on building a strat-type guitar. Keep us up to date on your build......we're always interested in learning more about putting a guitar together!

Doug Ferguson · August 10th, 2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaus

Look up Ron Kirn, a member here and at TDPRI. You can follow some of his build threads or just ask Ron questions and he pretty well knows all the ins and outs on building a strat-type guitar. Keep us up to date on your build......we're always interested in learning more about putting a guitar together!

Hi, and welcome! thaus' advice about Ron is very good. He's got several threads on the TDPRI on strat builds. (I believe he's got one in the works right now, in fact.)

A thought: Why not get a new body (unfinished) from, say, International Luthiers. They cost $125.00 -- cheaper than any used MIM you're likely to find -- unless you're planning on using some parts from the MIM, or having spares for another build.

As for the MIM bodies, I've got a DeLuxe Players and a Roadhose, both MIM. The Player's is made from good quality Ash and the Roadhouse a good quality Alder. The Standards (if that's what you're looking at) are Alder, and the ones I've seen seem good.

As for shims, I use playing cards, cut about 1/8" wide and to the length of the neck pocket. You can use about any thin material for a shim, but cards seem about the right thickness -- of course, you may not need to shim the neck at all.

Anyway, all the best with your build. Keep us posted (with pics!) on your progess. The only thing more fun than putting together a guitar and making it work for you is playing it once you're done!

thaus · August 10th, 2008, 12:35 PM

With shims, I too used playing cards but somewhere I read about 400 grit sand paper; works better because the grit side down holds the shim. If you read Ron's build threads, he uses wood shims. I have seen some guitars with guitar picks in the pocket!!

guitar1580 · August 10th, 2008, 01:40 PM

Hey folks, thx a million for the input. Please keep it coming. I will definitely look Ron up.....and, dumb question for some, but what is TDPRI, another forum i'm guessing?
As far as the body, I'm trying to keep things mostly Fender, if possible, since my neck is a true Fender. I've seen some nice MIM's go for around 225 to 275, and it's already finished. Then i can also use it as is, while I take my time acquiring vintage pickups, pearl pickguard, etc........and will eventually put better pots in, and upgrade the trem, saddles, and nut. Then I'll probably keep the spare neck and parts, or if I ebay them, I could probably end up with a loaded, finished body for less than I could buy aftermarket.

JP

Doug Ferguson · August 10th, 2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitar1580

Hey folks, thx a million for the input. Please keep it coming. I will definitely look Ron up.....and, dumb question for some, but what is TDPRI, another forum i'm guessing?
As far as the body, I'm trying to keep things mostly Fender, if possible, since my neck is a true Fender. I've seen some nice MIM's go for around 225 to 275, and it's already finished. Then i can also use it as is, while I take my time acquiring vintage pickups, pearl pickguard, etc........and will eventually put better pots in, and upgrade the trem, saddles, and nut. Then I'll probably keep the spare neck and parts, or if I ebay them, I could probably end up with a loaded, finished body for less than I could buy aftermarket.
JP

I can understand your desire to keep things Fender on your build. And yes, the TDPRI (Telecaster Discussion Page Re-Issued) is another forum, a sister site to this one. It has a strat sub-forum. Here's a link to Ron's current build.

Let's do a Sharp dressed Strat..... - Telecaster Guitar Forum

thaus · August 10th, 2008, 02:43 PM

Try a callaham bridge assembly if you want the best!

guitar1580 · August 10th, 2008, 09:12 PM

Yes, I've been looking at the Callaham site. They have an upgrade kit for the newer Fender trems. I'm hoping that someone here has had success with it, so I may not have to buy a whole new unit.
I just read that metal screen works for a shim too, and helps grip the neck, so it does not shift.
I guess pickups are a whole other thread, but on my 75 Strat, back in the 80's or so, I tried several different pickups....Dimarzio, Duncan stack, Lace sensors....and ended up liking the originals best. Same with my Tele and Les Paul. Some of the other pups just took away the strat sound. What would be a good Fender upgrade from the Mex pickups, but similar to the original classic strat sound? I'm thinking of looking into some out of a RI model, or American units, if they are even any better. I've been fairly impressed with some off the shelf Mex strats that i've played.

cdub66 · August 10th, 2008, 11:35 PM

I've got a set of Seymour Duncan SSL-1 Vintage Staggered pickups in a 2007 MIM Strat, I really like them-very Stratty IMO.

guitar1580 · August 12th, 2008, 02:24 AM

Update....For my project, I acquired a good deal on ebay today on a 2003 Mex. sunburst with rosewood, for a better price than I even expected. Supposed to be near mint - will know in a few days after the UPS man gets here.....although the body and a little misc. hardware are about all I'll really be using.
I spoke with Callaham today, thinking I'll use their mex. upgrade kit. I believe it's pretty much a whole new trem assembly, minus the top plate.
Electronics & pickguard next, then the pickup decision last. Gonna spend a little time to compare the Mex originals with my original '75 hardtail / maple fb. Should be interesting to see how they compare through my Marshalls. Wish me luck..........Josh

aznrambo481 · August 12th, 2008, 01:54 PM

Hi there! I have used thin cardboard for shims (several layers of cereal box-type material) with good results. Really... anything works. As for bodies... maybe buying just a body off of ebay would be cheaper? An alternative would be to look at guitar parts companies (warmoth and USACG come to mind). They may be slightly more expensive than other companies, but their work is very well-reputed. You can use the search function on the tdpri for more information about these dealers.

guitar1580 · August 22nd, 2008, 07:29 PM

Well the '03 sunburst got here today, and I must say, it is sweeet. Nearly mint, and decent grain in the burst. Since I grew up with vintage Fenders, the new satin necks have a bit of a plastic feel to me, so I think I'm gonna go through with putting my '79 Fender Lead II neck on it. Its high gloss, nicely yellowed, great frets, vintage radius, and way faster.
New wiring and all electronics on order. Gonna see how it does with stock pups & bridge for a while. One friend told me he tried RI pickups, and likes stock better. He said he likes the stock bridge & trem assy. because its so much like the vintage Fenders....go figure. I'm still considering Callaham.
Gonna A/B it tonite with my stock '75, and a Marshall tube amp. Hope to post some pics soon, after I figure out how.

JP