Partscaster Assembly Complete

[Ian Ashdown]

I finished the assembly of my latest Partscaster.

It’s a 2018 MIM Sonic Blue body, new Fender roasted maple Vintera neck, Noiseless pickups, Babicz trem and Ratio locking tuners. The combination seems to work well! The neck is fabulous, satin finish on the back and deep gloss on the fingerboard.

I’m going to let things settle out for a week before doing the setup, I can see the nut is quite high, a bit too much relief, then I’ll set the intonation and action, hopefully nice and low. I really like the way the Babicz trem adjusts for string action height.

Ian
SoCal

 

[T-Rey]

That sonic blue looks really good against that roasted neck! HNPCD!

 

[StratUp]

Looking good.

 

[TheWorldsAStage]

Looks great! I love sonic.

 

[blackstratmaple]

Looks awesome!

I tried a vintera 50s modified Strat and the neck was amazing. If yours is the same then I bet it plays wonderfully!

 

[Cokeman]

I thought it looked like surf green

 

[Ian Ashdown]

I thought it looked like surf green

It’s the light in my office! It Sonic Blue, no question!

 

[Ian Ashdown]

Looks awesome!

I tried a vintera 50s modified Strat and the neck was amazing. If yours is the same then I bet it plays wonderfully!

That exactly what this neck is, and so far I’d have say that it feels great. I believe it’s described as a ‘Soft V’ Profile. I’m finding more and more that I like thicker necks . . .

 

[Ruscio]

This looks great! It's a lovely neck and pairs well with the sonic blue.

 

[Danny D]

I finished the assembly of my latest Partscaster.

It’s a 2018 MIM Sonic Blue body, new Fender roasted maple Vintera neck, Noiseless pickups, Babicz trem and Ratio locking tuners. The combination seems to work well! The neck is fabulous, satin finish on the back and deep gloss on the fingerboard.

I’m going to let things settle out for a week before doing the setup, I can see the nut is quite high, a bit too much relief, then I’ll set the intonation and action, hopefully nice and low. I really like the way the Babicz trem adjusts for string action height.

Ian
SoCal
View attachment 500091 View attachment 500092

You are very talented. It looks great and I'd bet it will sound even better! Congratulations.

 

[Jason D]

That’s an awesome guitar. Those colors works really well together.

 

[fattboyzz]

Well done !

 

[BuffaloHound]

Sexy build! Graphtech tuners?
What do you find that neck profile comparable to? I know it’s a deep cut, but little else.

 

[Handsome McClane]

Beautiful. Congrats!

 

[Ian Ashdown]

Sexy build! Graphtech tuners?
What do you find that neck profile comparable to? I know it’s a deep cut, but little else.

Yes Graphtech Ratio tuners. So far I like them very much. It makes tuning more logical!

The neck is quite similar to my Warmoth SRV neck. I don’t have much else to compare it with, but I am finding I like thicker necks, despite having short fingers!

Ian
SoCal

 

[Colnago1]

Any need for a string tree?

 

[Ian Ashdown]

Any need for a string tree?

I don’t think so. The tuners are staggered heights, so in theory, not, but I’ll let you know after I’ve played it for a while. If I can do without it one less thing for the strings to hang up on.

Ian
SoCal

 

[Groovey]

That's Very Pretty! We'll done ,Sir

 

[Ian Ashdown]

So, I’m starting to look at the setup and I can see right away the strings in the nut are too high, quite a bit too high too! The nut slots seem to be cut correctly and the widths are OK, they’re just too high.

It seems there are going to be a few firsts on this guitar; first fret leveling, now my first nut-job!

The question is, should I make the bulk adjustment from the bottom of the nut and just fine tune the slots? I think if I do it all from the top the string grooves will be very deep.

Just hoping for some reinforcement of what I believe is the correct path.

Thanks,

Ian

 

[wurly]

Love it, great job, those MIM fender roasted neck are delicious to play.