Your Parts Strats?

Give us a pic of your favorite parts guitar.

Parts McGilmourclapton, SRV

Don't ask me how, but this Strat has tone and mojo.

Neck--given to me by a Clapton freak friend who'd gotten it from a German polceman who was into SRV and tried to relic the neck. Oil stains all over. I sanded and got a good deal of it off and covered it over with poly. It's what it is.

And what it is: this is the most comfortable neck I've ever played (94 AmStd). I sanded the back of the neck, and my hand glides over it.

Body--2021 MIM Player.

Pickups--new harness and a set of Seymour's passive Gilmour type pickups. Of all the pups I've tried over the years, these are my favorite.

All of this together has made this guitar my favorite to play, even above my Telecaster, number one for years. My 2008 AmStd sunburst gets little attention these days.


https://i.postimg.cc/RhCdmzDS/2-F27-...11-BA10-C5.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/sKfzWkc/DSCN8815.jpg

On the left my Number One (my first build). CIJ Premium Vintage '65 neck, MIM Robert Cray body, loaded pickguard with SCN pickups and S-1 switching, all MIA Fender hardware in gold.

On the right my extensively upgraded MIM Classic '50s Strat from 1998.

I never had the chance to build a partscaster. Genuine parts here are so expensive that it just wouldn't make sense and I wouldn't want a total Frankenstrat made of who knows what wood with no Fender DNA at all.

Now, if I could get my hands on a good neck and a good body, regardless of which Fender factory they came out of, I'd definitely put together a good blonde blackguard Telecaster. That would be a dream. I'd probably throw a PAF humbucker in the neck and a broadcaster circuit, just like Keith Richards and Terry Reid did.

It's my dream project. I even know where to get the proper broadcaster wiring pots all...

A sunburst strat wouldn't be bad either.

Maybe someday I'll do it.

PM, that bound neck and dark sunburst look so elegant. That is a dress up in your finest duds and take it out on a Sat'd'y night.

Sergio, you need yourself a Micawber, as much as you love Keith. I'd recommend using six strings, though, so you can do more than Keef on it. If a good used Player Tele comes your way, in good shape and at a price you can afford, do it. If it doesn't have a place for a hb, rout it out. What's the going price for a used Mexican Tele in Brazil?

Thanks, CH. It's also among the lightest Strats in the herd, tipping the scales at just over seven pounds. The S-1 switching yields some convincing HB tones so it's a pretty versatile instrument and the noiseless SCN pickups make it ideal for stage use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ch willie

PM, that bound neck and dark sunburst look so elegant. That is a dress up in your finest duds and take it out on a Sat'd'y night.

Sergio, you need yourself a Micawber, as much as you love Keith. I'd recommend using six strings, though, so you can do more than Keef on it. If a good used Player Tele comes your way, in good shape and at a price you can afford, do it. If it doesn't have a place for a hb, rout it out. What's the going price for a used Mexican Tele in Brazil?

---

I don’t know how to give you the right idea of the cost because the different currency values but Mexican Instruments are expensive enough to make no sense. I’d rather throw some more money in the pot and get an American Standard or whatever is in that price range. And it wouldn’t make sense to build partscasters out of these. Taxes, import taxes, shipping, insurance and the US dollar/Brazilian real ratio make Fenders be quite pricy here. I can afford it but it just doesn’t make sense.

In order to start such a project, I’d need to get a hold of parts that were cheaper.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sérgio

I don’t know how to give you the right idea of the cost because the different currency values but Mexican Instruments are expensive enough to make no sense. I’d rather throw some more money in the pot and get an American Standard or whatever is in that price range. And it wouldn’t make sense to build partscasters out of these. Taxes, import taxes, shipping, insurance and the US dollar/Brazilian real ratio make Fenders be quite pricy here. I can afford it but it just doesn’t make sense.

In order to start such a project, I’d need to get a hold of parts that were cheaper.

---

You know, the parts wouldn't need to be Fender. If you see a body with a clear, non-laminated body, you can see the wood in it. That is to say, if you saw even a cheap cheap guitar that's not pressboard, the body might be worth using. Is there a Brazilian Tele copy or an import that goes for cheap?

I love your Brazilian Fender Strat. That's a fine looking instrument and a collectible.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sérgio

In order to start such a project, I’d need to get a hold of parts that were cheaper.

---

What type of fees/taxes/duties are levied on parts purchased from Ebay?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phantomman

What type of fees/taxes/duties are levied on parts purchased from Ebay?

---

Basically import fees, but they are charged over the item's value AND the shipping. If I come across a trustworthy seller with a decent price, that's an option.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ch willie

You know, the parts wouldn't need to be Fender. If you see a body with a clear, non-laminated body, you can see the wood in it. That is to say, if you saw even a cheap cheap guitar that's not pressboard, the body might be worth using. Is there a Brazilian Tele copy or an import that goes for cheap?

I love your Brazilian Fender Strat. That's a fine looking instrument and a collectible.

---

There are several Brazilian strat and tele copies that can be considered decent, but in order to build a nice partscaster I'd like it to have the exact specs of a Fender guitar, regarding body woods and measurings. You know, it'd be a Fender partscaster, not a Frankenguitar. The Mexican part based ones that Roger builds are sweet...

As for my Brazilian made strat, it is actually a licensed Fender product, though an obscure series that was only built here from '93 to '95... And it sounds and feels nowhere near my American Standard strat :hmm

This started out as a 2005 Highway 1 Strat that I bought new for $500 (I had a coupon and it also came with a free iPod Shuffle).

It wasn't a bad guitar, but I felt it could be better. I replaced the pickups with Fralin Vintage Hots that I had on hand (put the originals in a guitar that my son and I built together), removed the Grease Tone circuit, replaced the Oak Grigsby switch with a much better feeling CRL, put an RS Superpot in it for the taper, replaced the bridge with a Callaham (sold the original), put a single layer pickguard on it, Gotoh Kluson style tuners, had USACG make me a 1-piece maple boat neck with a 7-1/4" to 9-1/2" compound radius with 6105 frets that I finished with reranch amber neck tint and spray polyurethane (I sold the original), and I eventually replaced the body with a swamp ash MJT in tobacco burst (I sold the original body, too). The body was one of their eBay specials that I bought cheap. It took me a couple of years to snag one that I liked.
It weighs about 7-1/2 pounds. There's not a lot of original Fender guitar left, but it sounds and plays great and is a great fit for me! Considering how inexpensive it was, I got good deals on parts, and I sold the originals, it didn't cost a lot.

My wife bought me the case for Christmas in the early '90s.


https://live.staticflickr.com/4625/4...0cdce8da_b.jpg

That's a fine looking guitar, Don......very tasteful.

It does look fantastic, Don. Some guitars are just it for you.

MJT body, I ordered it from them because I was sick of losing auctions by pennies and I have this thing where I include the shipping as part of the cost. They used to be 365 plus 20, then it was 375 plus 20, now it's 395 plus 20. I see bodies going way over 400 dollars and I think these people are idiots. You can order those bodies for less. WTF? Ok, end rant. I ordered an ash body, Lake Placid Blue, with the lightest aging and relic level possible, and I asked for something under 3 lbs 12 oz, which usually yields about a 7 lb finished guitar.

The neck is a CV50 Squier MIC neck. I originally had a CV60 neck with rosewood fingerboard

The loaded pickguard with Lace Sensor Gold (regular, not hot, why does everybody think Strats need hot pickups?) from 920D

The trem is probably a Squier or MIM, I don't know.

With the CV60 neck, the guitar was nice, but nothing special. I was almost ready to part it out when I decided to try the CV50 maple fingerboard neck. For some reason, it totally woke the guitar up and now it is a great guitar. I do occasionally ponder getting a nice set of vintage style regular strat pickups.

what it was before

https://imgur.com/uEdZSn4.jpg

what it is now

https://imgur.com/QKgnGm6.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Don

This started out as a 2005 Highway 1 Strat that I bought new for $500 (I had a coupon and it also came with a free iPod Shuffle).

It wasn't a bad guitar, but I felt it could be better. I replaced the pickups with Fralin Vintage Hots that I had on hand (put the originals in a guitar that my son and I built together), removed the Grease Tone circuit, replaced the Oak Grigsby switch with a much better feeling CRL, put an RS Superpot in it for the taper, replaced the bridge with a Callaham (sold the original), put a single layer pickguard on it, Gotoh Kluson style tuners, had USACG make me a 1-piece maple boat neck with a 7-1/4" to 9-1/2" compound radius with 6105 frets that I finished with reranch amber neck tint and spray polyurethane (I sold the original), and I eventually replaced the body with a swamp ash MJT in tobacco burst (I sold the original body, too). The body was one of their eBay specials that I bought cheap. It took me a couple of years to snag one that I liked.
It weighs about 7-1/2 pounds. There's not a lot of original Fender guitar left, but it sounds and plays great and is a great fit for me! Considering how inexpensive it was, I got good deals on parts, and I sold the originals, it didn't cost a lot.

My wife bought me the case for Christmas in the early '90s.


https://live.staticflickr.com/4625/4...0cdce8da_b.jpg

---

So the strap buttons & potentiometers are still stock?
lol
Seriously, though, that's a beautiful guitar. I love the grain pattern. And a USACG neck, too. They were the best necks, imo.
Here's a pair that I did last year, & between the two, there's almost a Fender there:
Allparts SRO-FAT neck (1" thick flamed maple) coupled w/a lightweight ash Fender Custom Shop '55 Relic body. The finish is obviously the ubiquitous two-tone sunburst, but called something like "wide-fade chocolate", which I like a lot. It has a set of Fender Pure Vintage '59 Stratocaster p'ups (part #099-2236-000) in it right now. They are decent pickups. All standard vintage electronics. The guitar has a natural snap it it that makes me want to play it all the time. A set of original 1960s knobs & all the rest reissue plastic.
The Taos Turquoise Strat is a USACG alder body that I massaged the contours on. I bought it while Tommy was still with the company (2018 maybe?), & were doing the best work ever. The neck is a Fender American Original '50 neck that I bought on reverb. It's a great neck but buying it was a mistake. It was originally bought for the 2TSB body it is lying next to, but once I mated them it was pretty obvious to me that the guitar was just "meh" as the kids like to say. The flamed maple neck I did in clear nitro has absolutely NO amber tint, & it looks & feels absolutely authentic. So the best neck went on the best body.
Again, the electronics are all vintage spec, but the pickups are a set of Bootstraps this time. They are not bad for p'ups that break down to about $20 each. The plastic is the vintage kit (099-2097-000) that is kinda white or eggshell looking.
Both guitars have CTS pots, CRL switches, & Switchcraft jacks.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0219acc2_h.jpg

I'm a sucker for Strats in Taos Turquoise, Robert.

Yours reminds me of mine, aka "The Big Kahuna"......

https://i.ibb.co/r3BRbsB/DSCN9846sm.jpg

It began life as a '99 MIM '50s Classic Strat in Surf Green: body professionally refinished in acrylic lacquer, all hardware replaced with vintage-spec US Fender and repro Klusons, Fender Pure Vintage '54 plastic, with some extra-ballsy noiseless DiMarzio pickups. It snarls, it screams, it squawks, and it bites.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phantomman

That's a fine looking guitar, Don......very tasteful.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ch willie

It does look fantastic, Don. Some guitars are just it for you.

---

Thanks! The sunburst/maple neck is kinda old hat, but when your reference points are Buddy Holly, Clapton's Brownie, Buddy Guy...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cogs

So the strap buttons & potentiometers are still stock?
lol
Seriously, though, that's a beautiful guitar. I love the grain pattern. And a USACG neck, too. They were the best necks, imo.

---

Most of the screws are stock. The neck plate as well. lol!

USACG was awesome! I got a good deal on this neck. Back in 2009 I contacted them about one of their web specials and asked if they could put their logo on it. Tommy got back to me and said they couldn't but that they'd make me a similar neck to my specs with the logo for the same price.
Considering the deals that I got and the original parts that I sold, I don't think I have anywhere near $1k into this guitar.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Don

Thanks! The sunburst/maple neck is kinda old hat, but when your reference points are Buddy Holly, Clapton's Brownie, Buddy Guy...

---

Be that as it may, many "old hats" are still quite fashionable. Like Indy's brown fedora, the Duke's Stetson, Señor Santana's panama......

Some things remain timeless and a maple-necked, sunburst Strat is one of them.

Virtually all strat combinations are very beautiful to me.

Just out of curiosity, Roger and Don: how do you feel about black/RW?

My Custom Shop '60 relic, aka "The Cruiser"......

https://i.ibb.co/Y2Fk6PJ/DSCN8342-AA.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sérgio

Virtually all strat combinations are very beautiful to me.

Just out of curiosity, Roger and Don: how do you feel about black/RW?

---

I like a nice black Strat with either a rosewood or maple fretboard. My cars are both black- it's more than just a color. It shows curves and angles well and is so darned satisfying to polish- it looks like onyx.

For most other solid colors (Daphne and sonic blue, fiesta and Dakota red, surf and foam green, whites, etc...) I prefer a rosewood fretboard. I'm fine with either a maple or rosewood fretboard with and natural, sunburst, metallic, candy, and flake finishes.

For me, if a Strat has a matching headstock, it must have a rosewood fingerboard.

Black, candy apple red, and Lake Placid blue are my favorite custom colors on Fender guitars.

I've had Strats in black/rw, candy apple red/maple, Lake Placid blue/maple, three-tone sunburst/maple, two-tone sunburst/maple, and besides the USACG S style shown above, currently have a natural/rw Strat and a firemist silver/maple Music Man Cutlass.

This "'57 Strat" wasn't assembled by me. It was the guitar that I bought the Fralin pickups that are now in the USACG "Strat" I mentioned earlier.

Michael Stevens finished the neck and applied the Ferden label in his shop in Austin, TX in the '80s, but he did not believe that he did the CAR refin on the original '57 Strat body.

The original Kluson tuners stayed in tune fine- I mention them, and the originals on my '59 Gibson, whenever people claim that old Klusons "slip".

It was a cool guitar, but the USACG guitar I mentioned earlier is way better!

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ba3605fe_b.jpg

In the early '60s case I bought it in-

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ce779405_b.jpg

The Ferden label-

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f92c77ff_b.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phantomman

My Custom Shop '60 relic, aka "The Cruiser"......

https://i.ibb.co/Y2Fk6PJ/DSCN8342-AA.jpg

---

Beautiful and classy as a Colt Peacemaker.

What pickups does it have on?

https://i.postimg.cc/D0bSGmJc/06315-...052-C6-E57.jpg

Mine has a set of hand-wound AY's, perhaps some of the last ones she built before her retirement.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phantomman

Mine has a set of hand-wound AY's, perhaps some of the last ones she built before her retirement.

---

What is/was that one you’re gigging with in your avatar and what venue was that?

The guitar is the one shown on the right in the first pic I posted, aka "Buddy" and the venue was a saloon in Tombstone, AZ called Johnny Ringo's. That night I alternated between it and my '59 Gibson flametop Les Paul.

I've been looking at this thread the whole time on my phone until this morning when I pulled it up on my laptop. I have to say these are all beautiful guitars, a tiny little screen just doesn't do any justice

+1, Robert.

Yours among them, they're always inspirational and phenomenal!

I got to set up a hosting acct. I actually don’t own any Fenders. It’s all parts. Warmoth body and neck. Fralin pups. It’s currently setup like my 1st Strat and my forum name, black on black. Black body, black 1 ply guard. Aged white pups and knobs. Canary neck (think tinted maple in color). Definitely a Gilmour look. Previously it was a surf green body. Also transitioned it from 6 pt trem to 2 point trem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blackonblack

I got to set up a hosting acct. I actually don’t own any Fenders. It’s all parts. Warmoth body and neck. Fralin pups. It’s currently setup like my 1st Strat and my forum name, black on black. Black body, black 1 ply guard. Aged white pups and knobs. Canary neck (think tinted maple in color). Definitely a Gilmour look. Previously it was a surf green body. Also transitioned it from 6 pt trem to 2 point trem.

---

Great and easy hosting site. postimages https://postimages.org

I bought this MIM Strat at Guitar Center - it was a special run built for them. I originally found a set of Fender '69 Custom Shop pickups in a GC clearance section and bought them on the cheap. Then TeleBob and I went shopping and found the strat (after much searching and two different stores) we found the diamond in the rough. We also bought a new pick guard, switches and wiring and Bob went about building a completely new pick guard so we could just swap them out. We found out at that point that the pickups were actually not the CS pickups - some A-hole must have put the old pickups in the box and returned them. I reached out to Fender and they sent me a brand-new pair. TeleBob made the switch and I now have (in his words) "the Stratiest Strat he ever heard". The wiring was a thing of beauty - I wish I remembered where a phtot of that is located - it's amazing. He also did a full setup on it including blocking the trem and ensuring the neck was set perfectly. Anyways - before and after shots below.

Before:

https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...CQ&oe=62215991

After:
https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...3w&oe=62210390

Wow, that's one sweet Strat! I'm not normally a rosewood fingerboard guy, but on that geet it looks perfect!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by OldStrummer

Wow, that's one sweet Strat! I'm not normally a rosewood fingerboard guy, but on that geet it looks perfect!

---

+1

A gorgeous hunk of ash!

I actually think the tortoise-shell PG looks just as nice as 3-ply white......lends a nice contrast to the natural finish.

It's actually a 4 piece body, but they did an amazing job of matching the wood.

That looks classy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phantomman

The guitar is the one shown on the right in the first pic I posted, aka "Buddy" and the venue was a saloon in Tombstone, AZ called Johnny Ringo's. That night I alternated between it and my '59 Gibson flametop Les Paul.

---

This one?

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...-bar-depot.jpg

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Location...e_Arizona.html


Very cool! Do you still gig, Roger? And what did you mostly play? I know you like Jeff Healey a lot, IIRC.

The very place!

We did a variety of classic biker tunes -- from ZZ Top and SRV to Skynyrd and the Doobie Brothers.

No more gigging for me, I'm retired now.

In the UK, the first guy to play an imported Strat in 1959 was Hank Marvin of The Shadows. He was an instrumental pioneer and a very influential player.
He was famous for his Fiesta Red Strat, with gold hardware and a birdseye maple neck. He was always one of my heroes and a big influence.
My own “parts”caster was built in homage to Mr Marvin and I called it “Hankenstein”

http://www.wainhouse.plus.com/images/Hankenstein.JPG

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ajwain

In the UK, the first guy to play an imported Strat in 1959 was Hank Marvin of The Shadows. He was an instrumental pioneer and a very influential player.
He was famous for his Fiesta Red Strat, with gold hardware and a birdseye maple neck. He was always one of my heroes and a big influence.
My own “parts”caster was built in homage to Mr Marvin and I called it “Hankenstein”

http://www.wainhouse.plus.com/images/Hankenstein.JPG

---

Nice. I was thinking of a similar build.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ajwain

In the UK, the first guy to play an imported Strat in 1959 was Hank Marvin of The Shadows. He was an instrumental pioneer and a very influential player.
He was famous for his Fiesta Red Strat, with gold hardware and a birdseye maple neck. He was always one of my heroes and a big influence.
My own “parts”caster was built in homage to Mr Marvin and I called it “Hankenstein”

http://www.wainhouse.plus.com/images/Hankenstein.JPG

---

Your Strat looks fantastic. I'm glad you mentioned Hank and The Shadows. To English guitarists, he was as influential as Buddy Holly. I've seen or read interviews with players who talk about Hank's Strat. In that time, the Strat was rare as any gem on the British Isles.

And that indirect influence directed me towards Strats. Clapton, George Harrison, Dave Gilmour--I believe they each were Strat-hungry after seeing Hank Marvin and The Shadows doing their dances. The beauty of that red Strat was lost on the black and white TVs, but the cool chic of the thing was not lost on budding guitarists.

Hank is 80 now. Here's a film-noir version of Apache.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ajwain

In the UK, the first guy to play an imported Strat in 1959 was Hank Marvin of The Shadows. He was an instrumental pioneer and a very influential player.
He was famous for his Fiesta Red Strat, with gold hardware and a birdseye maple neck. He was always one of my heroes and a big influence.
My own “parts”caster was built in homage to Mr Marvin and I called it “Hankenstein”

http://www.wainhouse.plus.com/images/Hankenstein.JPG

---

I love red strats with gold hardware.

Hank is the reason many Knopfler sig Strats are red

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cogs

Hank is the reason many Knopfler sig Strats are red

---

How could I forget one of my heroes. I'm actually a bigger fan of his solo stuff than the Dire Straits stuff, excepting Sultans and Brothers in Arms. Two of the greatest songs ever./


Im listening to Hank Marvin's album Without a Word from 2017. Incredible stuff.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cogs

Hank is the reason many Knopfler sig Strats are red

---

I thought they were all Torino Red?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phantomman

I thought they were all Torino Red?

---

Hank mostly played Fiesta Red with a maple fingerboard, although in the early days he was seen with rosewood ‘board Strats.
Knopfler lusted after a red Strat in the window of a music shop in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north-east of the UK. He wanted one like Hank’s and that was the closest he’d seen. The one he eventually bought was I think in Dakota Red with rosewood. He still has this guitar, and this is the one his signature guitar is modelled after.