Crazy Blue Flame Maple Strat! - FINISHED!!!

[JoshHPMusic]

Hey everybody,
I'm in the process of designing myself my first really good guitar, and I feel like I know exactly what I want. But I also want to get some feedback. Should be attached to this post.
The specs:
Model: STRATOCASTER®
Scale: 25-1/2 IN.
Chambered: YES
F-Hole Quantity: 1$15.00
Orientation: RIGHT HANDED $0.00
Wood:
Core: MAHOGANY $217.00
Front Laminate: FLAME MAPLE $75.00
Front Laminate Unique Choice: LT1418 $75.00
Control Cavity: TOP ROUT$0.00
Pickup Rout: UNIVERSAL$0.00
Control Routing: NONE
Bridge Type: TREMOLO$0.00
Bridge Rout: AMERICAN STANDARD STRAT® TREMOLO$0.00
Jack Rout: STRAT® TOP JACK ROUT
Neck Pocket: STRAT® SHAPE$0.00
Mounting Holes: STANDARD 4 BOLT$0.00
Contours:
CONTOURED HEEL$35.00
FOREARM CONTOUR $0.00
TUMMY CUT $0.00
Stud Install: USE INSERTS FROM BRIDGE ON ORDER$10.00
Battery Box: SINGLE BATTERY BOX$15.00
Top Finish: BLUE DYE$230.00
Back Finish: TRANSPARENT BLUE$0.00

Shape: STRATOCASTER®
Material/Color: BLACK/WHITE/BLACK$25.00
Bridge Cut: STANDARD BRIDGE CUT
Mounting Holes: 11 HOLE
Neck Pickup: STRAT®
Middle Pickup: SEYMOUR DUNCAN MINI HUM
Bridge Pickup: P90
Control 1: DELONGE VOLUME POSITION$15.00
Control 2: TONE
Control 3: TONE 2
Control 4: 5 WAY SWITCH
Option: STANDARD COUNTERSINK

Control: SMALL J BASS® KNOB, BLACK$1.50
Control: SMALL J BASS® KNOB, BLACK$1.50
Control: SMALL J BASS® KNOB, BLACK$1.50
Control: STRAT® SWITCH KNOB, BLACK$1.75
Bridge: FENDER® AMERICAN STANDARD TREMOLO, CHROME$90.00
Input Jack: RECESSED TOP JACK PLATE, CHROME$5.50
Battery Box: SINGLE BATTERY BOX$10.00
Neck Plate: NECK PLATE, CHROME$5.00
Neck Screws: NECK SCREW, SET OF 2+2 FOR CONTOURED HEEL, CHROME$2.60
Strap Holders: SCHALLER STRAP LOCKS, PAIR, CHROME$13.25
Trem Cover: BLACK/WHITE/BLACK TREM COVER - 6 HOLE$12.00

BTW, the neck (single coil) will be a Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Heavy Blues 2, the Middle, I'm not sure yet (mini hum bucker), and the bridge (P90) will likely be a Bare Knuckle Supermassive P90. Sound good?

Basically I just want to hear if you like the design, finish, specs, pickups, configuration, everything!
I will be playing punk rock, rock, classic rock, blues, blues-rock, jazz, and jazz-rock styles with this guitar, and I feel like it has been designed to fit most of those styles pretty well. What do you think?

Thanks,
-Josh

 

[Ddbltrbl]

I really like the looks and over all idea!  ccasion14:

What neck are you thinking of?

I personally prefer the Wilkinson Trem to the American Standard Strat Trem. I have the Wilkinson on several guitars and have never been disappointed with them; better knife edge, better quality.

Just my personal preference on the pickups as well, but I though a bit about making something similar and the pickups I came up with were BK Slowhand at the neck, Supermassive P90 in the middle and a BK Pyledriver for the bridge. Mounting the Pyledriver might take a little pickguard work, but the combination would give you a super wide range of tones, with plenty of power everywhere. Everything from fluid, warm, crunchy blues to screaming hot laser-blast-down-your-spine leads! :dontknow:

But, those are just my thoughts. Whatever you do, make it your own!

Good luck on it; I am looking forward to seeing it!  :guitarplayer2:

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Thanks, I'm honored to have the designer of 2013's Guitar of the Year tell me he likes my design!  :cool01:
I think I can probably agree with your thoughts about liking the Wilkinson trem better. The only reason I'm going to keep the American Standard trem though is because I'm thinking of installing GraphTech Ghost saddles, the ones with the piezos under them. Of course, they can only be installed on a Fender American Standard trem.
I went to BK's site and listened to that overdriven slow blues demo for the Slowhand, and damn! That thing sounds pretty sweet! I just can't decide if it is necessarily better than the Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Heavy Blues 2. Does anybody have experience with both?

 

[Updown]

The only reason I'm going to keep the American Standard trem though is because I'm thinking of installing GraphTech Ghost saddles, the ones with the piezos under them.
Of course, they can only be installed on a Fender American Standard trem.

Not so true .....
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22735.0

:icon_thumright:

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Right, I totally forgot they make Ghost saddles for Wilkinson too! Guess I should probably just go with the Wilkinson then... can anyone convince me though? What's the advantage?

 

[Cagey]

There are only a couple differences.

The Fender-branded one has a hardened steel base, the saddles (as far as I know) are stainless, it's a 2 point knife-edge fulcrum pivot, the saddles have height and intonation adjustments. It's a good design. Certainly the best bridge Fender has ever offered, bar none. Most of their stuff runs from bad to hilarious.

The Wilkinson adds basically two things. One, they lock the saddles. Once your intonation and string height is set, you run down a machine screw to keep it there and insure there's a solid connection from the saddle to the bridge plate. Theoretically, it makes for better sustain. I have no good way of measuring that, so I can't say if it's true. Makes sense, though. The other thing is the wang bar socket. The Wilkie has a push-in bar, rather than the screw-in scheme Fender's offering uses. From a mechanical POV, the Fender unit has to wear out sooner. From a practical POV, the Fender unit is somewhat uncontrollable. It either hangs loose and wears faster, or gets set tight and gets in your way sometimes.

On the plus side, the Fender unit costs $2 less, at least from Warmoth.

$2 won't buy you a sandwich at most places you'd admit to eating at, so...

 

[AutoBat]

^^I had something typed up and Cagey came through and said the same thing, but better!  arty07:

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Well, I'm going to invest those precious $2 and get the Wilkinson instead.

What do you guys think of the blue dye on flame maple?

 

[Cagey]

Blue dye on curly Maple is one of my favorite finishes. I especially like it when it bursts to a midnight blue or black, and when it shows up under a masked binding, sorta like my red Strat...

You have to ask for that effect; it's not in the "builder". But, it's sharp. I don't know if there's any up-charge for it because I bought that body off the Showcase. Still, even if there is, you won't see any of the neighbor kids with it.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

How did you get the option to have the dye fade all the way to black on the outer edges? All I can seem to do is have the entire front done with just the blue dye.

I'd rather not deal with the whole binding thing, I just feel like it's a little too Warmoth-esque for me. I know, it is a Warmoth guitar, but I don't want it to be that obvious. I'd rather have some people wondering if it's Fender Custom Shop or a frankenstrat or something. I've just seen to many people put that type of binding on Warmoth strats.

 

[Cagey]

I got that out of The Showcase; I didn't custom order it. Every once in a while you'll see one, but it's not a choice in the builder. I think you'd have to call them and ask for it.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Ok, well I can live without that.

Have you had experience with the Hipshot Tremsetter? Seems pretty legit, especially for a Wilkinson term.

BTW, I'm planning on getting a new from StewMac, it's this: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bodies,_necks,_wood/Electric_guitar_necks/Replacement_Neck_for_Strat_Guitar.html?tab=Pictures

Compound radius (9.5" to 12"), rosewood fingerboard, and has some really great reviews. I'm planning on painting it black. Partly inspired by the black firebird headstock on Dave Grohl's signature ES.

 

[Cagey]

Some people like those Tremsetters. I had one on a guitar years ago and wasn't impressed. A Wilkinson vibrato or a Floyd would benefit the least from one, as long as the guitar is well set up. The Tremsetter is more for poorly set up guitars or ones with bridges that are naturally inconsistent. Fender 6-point units are a prime example. Basically, all the Tremsetter does is use a couple counter-balancing springs to set a detent so you have a more reliable return to starting position.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Still seems like a good investment for 50 bucks. A lot of people say their tuning stability is much better with it.

Don't think I mentioned before, but I will also be installing the upcoming GraphTech RATIO locking tuners, black TUSQ XL nut, and black TUSQ XL string trees.

 

[Cagey]

Well, it won't hurt anything but your pocketbook, and it's a reversible mod so there's no worry about the instrument. I just don't see the point to them when you have a good vibrato - especially if you're going to put a good nut and locking tuners on the neck. You're not going to have 'return to neutral' problems with the setup you propose. I would, however, forgo the string trees. They're pointless as well, unless you've got a poorly cut nut.

String trees, locking nuts, Tremsetters, etc. are all devices sold to people who have problems. But, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. On a new build I install locking tuners, Graphtech nuts and Wilkinson vibratos and never need any of those other things.

 

[Ddbltrbl]

The best advice I can give you is to listen closely to Cagey, his is typically some of the very best advice! :icon_thumright:

I haven't put string trees on anything since my first build. And as Cagey said, I used locking tuners, graphtech nuts and Wilkison trem on several guitars, and nothing more, and they all stay rock solid, in tune!

The burst option isn't in the builder, you have to contact Warmoth and ask for it special, but I'm fairly sure they would fix you up, if that's what you want. It definitely gives an elegant look!

On the pickups, I've played both the Slowhand and the Blues 2 and for my taste the Slowhand is hands down the better pickup, but so much of that is subjective / person preference. To me the Slowhand is noticeably fatter / more aggressive top to bottom, has more clarity and still cleans up nicely as you back-off the volume. Basically, a turbo-charged version of the vintage sounding single-coil. They are also a bit more expensive, so if you know you love the sound of the Blues 2, staying with what you know might save you a couple of bucks.  :dontknow:

With the money you save from the tremsetter and the string trees and locking nut, you might consider putting all that towards and raw exotic neck!  :dontknow: But fair warning, they are addictive!  :laughing7:

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Well, I'm glad to be getting advice from knowledgable people like you!  :rock-on:

It's looking like I'll probably go for the Bare Knuckle Slow Hand, but I do find it amusing how the Dimarzio pickup's tone chart is almost identical to the Bare Knuckle. Still, I'm thinking of doing stuff with that pickup in the neck position, like John Mayer's Continuum album, some Hendrix, bluesy stuff, and of course some sweet solos. Would the Slow Hand work well for that stuff?

I'd rather not spend another $300 on top of the current neck price to get some funky looking neck, I mean come on, it's got a compound radius, rosewood fingerboard, and good reviews, what else do I really need?

I still think the TUSQ XL string trees are a small enough thing to deal with that I might as well just put em on, I mean why else would so many people have string trees if they were useless? Better be safe than sorry.
I never said anything about a locking nut, not sure where you folks got that from...

Can't wait for this thing to turn out as well as I know it will!

 

[Cagey]

String trees are a Leo Fender invention. He came up with them back 100 years ago when demand for his guitars got high enough that he was using lower skilled labor working at higher speeds in order to meet production schedules. They just didn't have time or training to spend a half hour cutting accurate string slots in the nut. Between that and the straight headstock, the result was strings that would pop out of their slots. So, put a little .10 cent holder-downer thingy on there to put some more pressure on the nut and Poof! Problem solved!

The "fix" has never gone away, even after it was no longer necessary. For one thing, guitar players are loathe to change anything about their instruments. But, more importantly, many players want to play what their heroes play. If the ancient Strats of Jimi Hendrix's/Eric Clapton/SRV/et al had string trees on it, then by God theirs has to as well or they'll never learn how to play and even if they do it won't sound right.

Fact is, the little bastards are a frequent cause of inconsistent tuning, although I'm sure the Graphtech parts aren't quite as guilty of that as the vintage parts, but still. You don't want anything in the way of your string travel if you have a vibrato bridge.

 

[stratamania]

Why not just get an unfinished neck out of the Warmoth showcase ?

Are you set up to drill the holes in the heel of the neck from Stew Mac, and make any adjustments that may be needed.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Well Cagey, thank you for the history lesson! Guitar/music companies do this stuff all the time, marketing solutions for problems that don't exist. And of course guitar players will never change, they're all stuck in the "golden age" of everything. I also have a theory that even the most famous rockers in history don't necessarily know any better than anybody else in terms of gear. They're usually too busy writing/touring, or they just have endorsement deals with every other company.

As for the neck situation, I did originally intend on getting a Warmoth neck, but found that it's just too expensive. Plus, there are currently no showcase necks with the specs I want. I was then going to get a real Fender replacement neck, but it didn't have the compound radius I'm after. So then I find this neck on StewMac for an awesome price, with the compound radius, and it seems that just about everyone who got it loved it, so it must be good! I think I'll be just fine with that neck. I'll paint the headstock black and slap a chrome Fender logo on it.

I'm not really much of a guitar technician/builder, and this is going to be by far my nicest guitar. So I definitely don't trust myself to put it together, and wire it and all that. So I'll find someone trustworthy who will take my money to do it.