My recent build

[Silvercrow]

More fretboard:

Full size: https://live.staticflickr.com/7905/46008367315_4b35d659c8_o.jpg

What are these things supposed to weigh?

LOL...Don't know what a Strat is 'supposed' to weigh and opinions do vary. I prefer a bit of weight to my guitars- some like feather weighted bodies...on and on.

FWIW I'm refinishing my American standard and the body, sans hardware and stripped of poly comes in at 4 lbs. 3 oz. IIRC I weighed my guitars about a year ago and my Strat fully equipped came in around 8 pounds!

SO...fellow south-eastern Pa Bro- BEST wishes with that beautiful guitar!!

Brian

 

[StillAlive&Well]

Thank you. The neck looks so much better in person.

I am finding that some are not a fan of the pickguard. I was going for a genuine tortoise / hawksbill shell look. I might have done better with a yellow tint to the body. No matter, it is what I wanted.

It is in the shop now getting the original Corian nut replaced after I borked it cutting the nut slots deeper. The replacement will be bone. The tech has not been shy of expressing his displeasure in a kind jovial manner.

If you ended up with what you wanted, then it's perfect and that's all that matters.
I think you should try playing it while wearing a yellow suit.

 

[StratoMutt]

STUNNING! LOVE that fretboard- the neck AND body figure!

Excellent job!!!

Brian

What I was going for - natural wood grain overload. The first Fender Strat I ever got my hands on was an early 70s clear swamp ash. Never forgot the look. Was too grainy to be alder.

LOL...Don't know what a Strat is 'supposed' to weigh and opinions do vary. I prefer a bit of weight to my guitars- some like feather weighted bodies...on and on.

FWIW I'm refinishing my American standard and the body, sans hardware and stripped of poly comes in at 4 lbs. 3 oz. IIRC I weighed my guitars about a year ago and my Strat fully equipped came in around 8 pounds!

SO...fellow south-eastern Pa Bro- BEST wishes with that beautiful guitar!!

Brian

Thanks Brian! I wished I had weighed the body prior to assembly. No matter - It is light compared to my '73 Les Paul Custom. That is 10 pounds 5.4 ounces.

If you ended up with what you wanted, then it's perfect and that's all that matters.
I think you should try playing it while wearing a yellow suit.

Yellow suit? HA! Never! Would be fun for a goof I suppose.

 

[Silvercrow]

@StratoMutt The originals band I was in- our rhythm guitar player had a 70s swamp ash Strat...LOVED the look AND the tone! I often think of that Strat and your build puts me in mind of it! BEST WISHES with it and keep us posted (...maybe a sound clip or three...LOL?)

Brian

 

[StratoMutt]

@StratoMutt The originals band I was in- our rhythm guitar player had a 70s swamp ash Strat...LOVED the look AND the tone! I often think of that Strat and your build puts me in mind of it! BEST WISHES with it and keep us posted (...maybe a sound clip or three...LOL?)

Brian

Very cool recollection! I am a home only player who really needs to play more to get better. Couple that with the fact I have played more off than on for the past ~43 years.

If I had kept up the learning intensity I started with I'd likely be pretty damn good by now.

Sound clips? I have have two / three. They are hosted on Microsoft OneDrive. Best if you download, then play.

http://www.strat-talk.com/threads/what-does-a-blender-pot-in-a-strat-sound-like.505633/

... and a recent attempt at playing John Fogerty's - "The Old Man Down the Road". I worked out this version for about a week.

First link is bridge pickup, with a bit of neck blended in:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ap5QYpbZPsElgpg0denYQXSxc0F1Xg

The second is full middle pickup:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ap5QYpbZPsElgpgzKiTndqIgEVcY5g

 

[Silvercrow]

THANKS BRO!

Sounds pretty darn good to me! I love the bite it has and at the same time some smooth, slight roll off (most prevalent on the clip with neck pup blended in somewhat). GOOD JOB!

Also, as I am not one to make middle-pickup -only selections sound good, so hats off to you in that arena, also!

I was a Tele guy for years (well, mostly ASAT Classic) and truth be known, I've begun exploring the nuances of Strats relatively recently in my old(er) age. I'm diggin' it, but it can, as you know, be a 'wily' beast sometimes! Well worth the efforts, as I used to keep my distance from Les Pauls too and now love 'em to death!

Again- THANKS and best wishes!

Brian

 

[StratoMutt]

THANKS BRO!

Sounds pretty darn good to me! I love the bite it has and at the same time some smooth, slight roll off (most prevalent on the clip with neck pup blended in somewhat). GOOD JOB!

Also, as I am not one to make middle-pickup -only selections sound good, so hats off to you in that arena, also!

I was a Tele guy for years (well, mostly ASAT Classic) and truth be known, I've begun exploring the nuances of Strats relatively recently in my old(er) age. I'm diggin' it, but it can, as you know, be a 'wily' beast sometimes! Well worth the efforts, as I used to keep my distance from Les Pauls too and now love 'em to death!

Again- THANKS and best wishes!

Brian

Thank you kind sir! As a not at all serious home player, those are encouraging words indeed.

I need that.

The blender pot makes this guitar a real sound machine I was not expecting. The bridge with varied amounts of neck is such a great setting range. My favorite thus far.

I tried the middle only and liked it for that song. A lot. I'll need to give credit to my dear old friend, the bought new in 1981 Mesa Boogie Mark II-B.

I also get very pleasing tones from the Vox AmPlug 2 Classic Rock headphone widget. I'm going to make recordings with that soon. As the weather gets hotter, I use the Boogie less. It creates a lot of heat when run hard.

The Les Paul is just not as comfy and easy to play as the new Mutt. The comparatively skinny and narrow neck do not help. Still, it excels at many classic rock songs the Mutt just cannot pull off.

 

[Groovey]

Very nice

 

[Swampash]

I’ve always loved the look of ash grain. Every piece is unique. My first partsocaster had a raw ash body and it remains my #1 after more than a quarter century.

Gorgeous! Play on.

 

[jaybones]

Nice looking guit!!

I'd prefer black plastics, and more of a yellow vintage tint but what do I know...

 

[StratoMutt]

I’ve always loved the look of ash grain. Every piece is unique. My first partsocaster had a raw ash body and it remains my #1 after more than a quarter century.

Gorgeous! Play on.

Thanks! This was all about the character of wood. Tone-wise, swamp ash is well known too.

My first partscaster in 1981 was hard (HEAVY!) ash. Big mistake. Did not sound very Strat-like. The pickups from that build live on in this one.

Nice looking guit!!

I'd prefer black plastics, and more of a yellow vintage tint but what do I know...

Thanks!

A yellow body tint would have looked quite good with the pickguard, no doubt. At the time I ordered the body I did not have a clear idea of the yellow in the pickguard. It all worked out for me.

 

[StratoMutt]

No more Seymours. A Lace Sensor Holy Grail three pack now resides in the Mutt. Initial impressions are good. Far better than regret.

In summary: smoother, more definition and an improved balance between strings. This observation is based on day one. More to come.

www.strat-talk.com/threads/lace-holy-grails.508256/

Scroll down for the newest: www.strat-talk.com/threads/lace-holy-grails.508256/

 

[axejock]

That's a beautiful "creation". I sometimes am amazed at the talent and good taste that some folks possess to be able to put these things together. I'm quite a way "down the scale" from what you did here, but I love unusual and colorful pickguards and think you nailed it. My pickguard choices are often criticized, but I think they provide just one more way to make a guitar unique. FWIW.

 

[StratoMutt]

That's a beautiful "creation". I sometimes am amazed at the talent and good taste that some folks possess to be able to put these things together. I'm quite a way "down the scale" from what you did here, but I love unusual and colorful pickguards and think you nailed it. My pickguard choices are often criticized, but I think they provide just one more way to make a guitar unique. FWIW.

What? Who? Me? Talent? Oh no, no ...

My second build after one from 1981 was kind of a flop.

As I have stated I knew what I wanted, it was just just a matter of finding the "correct to me" bits.

What "scale" do you measure yourself on? Who gives a sh!t what others think. Do what you want to do. I did. We are on the same scale.

I do thank you for you for the kind words. Please give yourself some credit for doing what you wanted.

 

[StratoMutt]

Go back to the first post for all of the details.

The newest images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157702059279941/with/46864409914/

An updated run down of the parts used:

Warmoth clear gloss finished swamp ash body, hardtail. Body cavities lined with copper tape.

Warmoth vintage / modern neck; quarter sawn maple, Macassar Ebony in 10" / 16" compound radius, abalone dots, 1.75" nut, 1" fatback, and 6105 SS frets.

Callaham hardware; vintage spec hardtail bridge, SS string ferrules, SS 50s reproduction string tree, polished neck plate with all SS screws and .017" aluminium under pickguard shield.

Warmoth jack plate.

Greasy Groove pickguard. http://www.greasygroove.com/proddetail.php?prod=0008-PVC

Lace Sensor Holy Grail 3-pack added 4/22/2019. Seymour no more.

Schaller M6 mini 18:1 tuners in chrome added 4/8/2019.

Mojotone 5-way blender kit:

(2) CTS 250k vintage taper audio split shaft 7% tolerance potentiometers
(1) CTS Blender 250k audio split shaft potentiometer
(1) Switchcraft CRL 5-way switch
(1) Switchcraft mono input jack
(1) Orange drop .022mfd capacitor added 4/22/2019.
(2 ft) Pre-tinned cloth covered black wire
(2 ft) Pre-tinned cloth covered white wire
(1) Volume mod cap and resistor

Fender knobs, pickup covers and switch tip in parchment.

 

[Henrytwang]

Nice build. It’s great to see that you’ve deviated slightly from the everyday Strat look with your choice of pick guard, that sort of thing is what building your own instrument is all about. I’ve got several partscasters in Stratocaster, Esquire and Telecaster styles, (my avatar is one of them). Mine usually look pretty much like the real thing but have different pickups and wiring The thing about having a natural finished body is that nobody’s going to have one that looks exactly like yours.

 

[StratoMutt]

Nice build. It’s great to see that you’ve deviated slightly from the everyday Strat look with your choice of pick guard, that sort of thing is what building your own instrument is all about. I’ve got several partscasters in Stratocaster, Esquire and Telecaster styles, (my avatar is one of them). Mine usually look pretty much like the real thing but have different pickups and wiring The thing about having a natural finished body is that nobody’s going to have one that looks exactly like yours.

Thanks for the compliment. Yep, the pickguard is certainly different - some like it, some do not. As I mentioned earlier in this thread Prince's Tele was part of the inspiration.

I also like the look on old guitars from the 20s and 30s that had actual hawksbill on them.

You avatar example is a nice contrast of looks as well. I like actual Fenders with the tortoise look too.

 

[TepidPilot]

Dig that crazy pickguard. I like it!

TP

 

[StratoMutt]

New images of the Holy Grails in the Mutt. The pups in aged white no longer match the parchment knobs, but seem close enough. I'm usually uptight about everything matching. Not this time.

This image is linked full size, zoom in to see the detail. It shows the "Lace Sensor" logo after the polishing out of the paint.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47760275711_ed02542ca8_o.jpg

 

[Hopkinwfg]

Did you do a neck preperation work after you recieved it? Sand it down with a fine grit paper or steel wool ? Or its just not necessary after receiving it shipped, just oil and install?