A Partscaster is only "done" when I sell it. Not one single Fender guitar I own is as it was when it left Fender.
I have a general plan. That changes (usually grows) as it progresses. 3 complete, 3 in progress. 1 on the drawing board. Here are two. Sheraton ll and the Black Strat
I've never had any inclination to assemble a partscaster. I would love to build a guitar from scratch, but just never got around to it.
Only the body, pickups, pickguard and a few bits of hardware remain on this one as I originally built it in 2017 and it's still not 'finished' - I need to change the saddles at some point and I'm considering rewiring it for the nth time as well. I wouldn't mind changing the neck again for something a bit nicer either.
I have two, the blue hardtail has been done and just used for the past five years, the 3tb one has been done for like 3+ years with no plans to change anything.
Once i put something together, i rarely change things... that's the whole point of specifying exactly what i want in the first place. But that's just me. YMMV.
I went all out on my partscaster - painted it sonic blue Warmoth neck V shape Wilkinson bridge bourns pots PIO cap ‘69 neck and middle SSL 5 bridge coil tap for SSL 5 Mid boost Ilitich backplate Not much else I could do with it
Just finished this one by replacing the push pull tone pot with a push push. Much easier to use now when I want the series wiring. I also rolled the fretboard edges slightly and redressed the fret ends to match to make. It's more comfy to chord on the 14 inch radius now. The controls are a three way switch for the bridge and neck p'ups. Volume, master tone, blender for the middle p'up. The toggle switch kills the signal from the 3 way to the output and connects the ground on the blender pot turning it into a dedicated volume pot for the middle. I also modded that pot to completely kill on the zero position.
this was completed 1 year ago today - has had no mods since. I *might* swap the pickups, but as i have a couple of sets knocking around ready to swap in and out on pickguards, that's not modding it IMHO, just swapping components i have around - like changing shoes.
A partscaster is done once you start the next one. And when that one's done, you can go back to one of the earlier ones and undo it again.
All I have left to do is file the back of the pickguard. I got bridge a touch too close and it binds. May also smooth off the bottom of the bridge plate - had some roughness to it, but I was in a hurry to see what it would be like when complete, finguring it would have to come back apart. It did not immediately, but needs a couple more hours refining the trem fit and finish and pickguard fit. But hten it will be done. Till I upgrade the electronics or something. Then it will be finished...
