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FDP Forum / Guitar Mods, Repairs, and Projects / My nine year search for my "perfect" Strat has ended...............
(This message was last edited by henrycat at 07:57 PM, May 26th, 2012)
Converter Block - cross sectional views
(This message was last edited by henrycat at 07:45 PM, May 21st, 2012)
FDP Forum / Guitar Mods, Repairs, and Projects / My nine year search for my "perfect" Strat has ended...............
henrycat
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The Island, Canada
He said he was a wit. He was half right.May 16th, 2012 05:38 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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In March of 2003 I began my quest to acquire "my" perfect Strat. Up until this point I had played an SG (which I sold). Choices are limited in Eastern Canada, and after several futile shopping expeditions, it became apparent that I was not going to find what I wanted, or could afford, in this neck of the woods.
I joined the FDP in April of 2003 and followed the various forums to educate myself on Strats, pups, what works with what, etc. Over the past nine years I've gone through five bodies, six necks, four bridges,four sets of tuners and ten sets of pickups.I've tried dozens of wiring diagrams, pots, caps and resistors. As of today, I'm pretty well done. Here's what I've come up with that works for me, playing at home in the ol' Man Cave:
Body....Fender Japan modified to a swimming pool rout
Neck....Fender MIM Delux Powerhouse maple 9.5 radius and stock tuners.
Pick-ups....Hot Gold single coils (6.0) in the middle and neck positions. Hot Gold Dually (6.0each) in the bridge.
Bridge....Fender Japan vintage with a self made maple trem block.
Controls.... Master CTS 250k Volume pot with an Acme treble kit on it.A Master CTS 250k no load Tone pot with a .22 cap. The six switches are the heart of this Strat. They are contained in a PCB unit from Awesome-Guitars.com (no affiliation) and give you all thirty five possible combinations of three pick-ups. The top three switches are on-off-on and control whether the pup is on or off or reversed phase. The lower three switches are on-off and put the bridge and middle in series. The next switch puts the bridge and neck in series. The final switch puts the middle and neck in series.
I would never use all thirty five tones. In addition to the the five standard Strat tones, there are at least six more that I use a lot, especially some of the series combinations.
I made the pick guard myself due the custom configuration,and used artists acrylic paints to get the colour I was after.
I refinished the body using a grain sealer and MInWax American Chestnut stain. I wanted a "been around awhile, used but not abused" look. I did not want it to look shiny "just bought", but I didn't want the "thrown down a mine shaft" reliced look either. The added bonus of finishing it yourself, is that if it does get dinged beyond what you can live with, it's easy to fix.
Many thanks to all to my fellow FDP'ers for your assistance with this project. I'm now 65 and don't have time to learn all this stuff on my own!(:>)
P.S. I used Dunlop Strap locks and EB 9-42 Cobalt Slinky strings.The amp is a Fender Super Champ XD. The guitar weighs 6.5 pounds. Light is good when you're my age. Now I'm going to focus on Playing.
I've posted some pictures in the following threads.
henrycat
Contributing Member
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The Island, Canada
He said he was a wit. He was half right.May 16th, 2012 05:41 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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1 of 5
littleuch
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Michigan
T-boned and puncturedMay 16th, 2012 08:56 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Very nice, but when it comes to that many controls I become Otto from Fish Called Wanda ("wait, what was the middle one?").
Pinetree
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I Swill Be Certain.May 16th, 2012 09:02 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Now if only you could learn how to use the Internet...
littleuch
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Michigan
T-boned and puncturedMay 16th, 2012 09:13 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Hey now, Piney...Henry likes his threads like he likes his switches...;-)
Guitar Fool
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Titusville, Florida
Thank a Vet today....May 17th, 2012 05:56 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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lol @ pinetree!
Nice ax henry.....very pretty.....
KA
Born to be Retired!
MEMay 17th, 2012 11:47 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Looks great.
I especially like the American Chestnut stain.
It is nice to find someone who has actually achieved their quest for the perfect guitar.
vomer
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Somerset, UK
Slavering over a hot stave.May 17th, 2012 03:09 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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That does look good. How does she sound? How did you come up with the maple block? Does it affect the tone?
tiller2
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USAMay 17th, 2012 07:39 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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henry... congrats, and my mind is blown by the complexity. On the other hand, I'm simply glad to be using one of your discarded necks on MY favorite (and only) Strat :^P
TonyMan
Contributing Member
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Lisle, IL USA
That's what she said!May 17th, 2012 09:48 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Nice one Henry. I used to like only black or white guitars, but have been getting into the stained look. I like that Chestnut brown, it's something you just don't see everywhere. And I totally agree with the "used but not abused" look. I think that can be classier that a big shine or the relic look.
rfrakes331K
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IL USA
RonHalen Jokingly He SaysMay 18th, 2012 04:19 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Very nice and the other posts about the color are right.
henrycat
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The Island, Canada
He said he was a wit. He was half right.May 21st, 2012 05:56 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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vomer....The sounds are varied. In addition to the regular five Strat tones, I like the following combos:
All three pups together with the bridge and middle is series but in parallel with the neck.The bridge and middle effectively become a humbucker, in parallel with the neck.
Neck and middle in phase with each other but out of phase with the bridge.
As above but with the bridge and middle in series.
Neck and middle in series, bridge off.
As above but with the bridge on, out of phase with the neck and middle.
All three pickups on and in series. This sounds like one huge humbucker.
I'm sure anyone using this system could find at least five or six new tones in addition to the five we are all familiar with.
As far as the maple block goes, this came about through four years of trial and error. I do not use the trem and originally blocked it (think Clapton). Later I wanted to convert my Strat to a hardtail configuration. It was during this process that I discovered that I could make the guitar more resonant by leaving a small gap at the top of the block so that the bridge plate is clamped to the thin ridge at the top rear section of the trem cavity. As such it acts much like the bridge on a accoustic guitar. I believe there are two streams of vibrations in a guitar. one enters the top of the neck through the nut and travels down the neck and into the body. The second stream goes through the bridge into the body. By adjusting the clamping action described above this latter vibration stream can be "tuned". By adjusting the screws on the front of the bridge plate, the vibration streams from the neck can be optimized by adjusting the amount of pressure that the maple block exerts on the lower rear portion of the trem cavity. I've attached a cross sectional view of a typical Strat trem system with my set up below. Cheers.
P.S. I was born in Southampton, but emigrated to Canada when I was a year and a half old.
henrycat
Contributing Member
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The Island, Canada
He said he was a wit. He was half right.May 26th, 2012 07:53 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Piney......I know how to use the internet, but I wanted to get my annual thread count above single digits. Besides, I wanted to keep it nice and easy for you folks of the coniferous persuasion.(:>)
Barlowfaudio
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SeattleMay 27th, 2012 02:43 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Cool Henry, I like people who like to tinker and create.
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