Custom 61' Strat Replica

[Stratmaster458]

As soon as I caught wind o this information : http://www.caraguitars.com/fullerplast.asp

I decided I need to make a strat to exact vintage specs finished in nitrocellulose lacquer completely free of fullerplast and poly finish. The strat I have chosen to model my custom replica after is a 1961 stratocaster. My attraction to the 61' is because my current american strat (which is nitro finished but has the poly sealer) has 57'/62' pickups and I'm looking for a similar but different sound another reason is that I have recently acquired a vintage 1961 Bandmaster and would like a 61' strat to play through it. What I need help here is how to get the best vintage parts from warmoth. These are the piece I have found so far (I'm only buying the body and the neck from warmoth all the other parts I'm completely clear on)

http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/sc_guitar_bodies.cfm?type=guitar&itemNumber=S2463&menuItem=1&subMenuItem=1&subMenuItem2=0

http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/sc_guitar_necks.cfm?type=guitar&itemNumber=VS496&menuItem=1&subMenuItem=3&subMenuItem2=0

 

[bpmorton777]

sounds like a plan, dude! Are you going to use a Callaham bridge or something else?

http://www.callahamguitars.com/bridges.htm

Brian

 

[Stratmaster458]

That bridge seems really nice but I don't really want modern improvements because I want to make this strat as authentic as possible. At first I was thinking of getting a gotoh vintage style bridge from stewmac but i may get a callaham now that it has been mentioned. What is the best way to go.

 

[Stratmaster458]

also I would like to know what Fender's most popular body wood was in 1961 alder or ash?

 

[bpmorton777]

everybody Ive seen using this bridge is into the *vintage* thing. They make them so you cant tell they are any differant than a standard bridge but are supposed to work better, stay in tune better and sound better. I think Tonar uses them on most of his strat builds and you cant get more vintage than his stuff.

Brian

 

[Tonar8352]

I hate to say that if you want a spot on copy of a 61 Strat you will not get it using a Warmoth Body and neck.  The profiles on them are different than the originals.  Now I’m a bad one to talk because I have built several “replicas” using Warmoth bodies and necks.  
What you can do with Warmoth is get good quality woods and build a very close reproduction of the vintage stuff.  The finishes are not that hard to replicate and that is what makes the early Fenders stand out in my opinion.  If you put that kind of finish on a Warmoth guitar the “Vintage Nuts" go crazy.

I have refinished a few vintage early 60’s Strats and they have all been alder.  The only time you would find Ash on a 60’s Strat is if it was finished in a Mary Kaye White or Natural, which is not often. Swamp ash sounds great so if I were to do one using the combination of wood you have I would do it in Olympic White with a mint guard like this so it looks period correct.

On parts I would shop on ebay or go to a vintage guitar show. Vintage pots can be had or you can try RS Guitar Works for your pots.  I did not like his caps so I looked for vintage stuff.  There are some very accurate replicas of  “Chiclet Capacitors” I have used that work great.   I have gotten my hands on vintage ceramic disk caps but the chicklet or phone book caps are hard to come by and very expensive.  Get Tone Pros Kluson Style Tuners.  I like Callaham bridges but change out the saddles to vintage stuff.  I like his plastic if I'm using a mint green or parchment guard.

Here is a real strat and one of my reproduction Warmoths.  Only vintage freaks can spot the profile differences and the Warmoth guitars sound Killer.

 

[Stratmaster458]

thanks guys for the info. I'm gonna go with the alder body. The paint job is going to be alll nitrocelluslos eno poly! I plan to do it in fiesta red with a tortoise pickguard. I'm probably going for a callaham bridge. The pickups are gonna be custom wound by Leosounds.com. I will get a vintage tone cap on ebay. I plan to get gotoh vintage style tuners from stewmac.


Also warmoth's standard thin neck profile is almost identical to the D-shaped neck profile of a 1961 Fender stratocaster so I'm gonna get pretty damn close with this build.

 

[Tonar8352]

Great color combination!! May I suggest a Brazilian fingerboard? That wood and finish combination will get you real close to a 61.

 

[Stratmaster458]

does warmoth do Brazilian rosewood fretboards

they do my B
there none in the showcase with Brazilian Rosewood so i'll have to custom order

 

[Stratmaster458]

hey guys check this out

http://www.edenhaus.com/stratbdy.htm

made to exact 60's era specs. Would an alder 60's body work with a warmoth vintage construction neck.

 

[vanhagar]

If you want a real vintage sound check out copperheadpickups.com  I have a set of his 59 hand winds and they sound incredible in my warmoth strat, Alder body with nitro finish.

 

[dudesweet157]

I wouldn't trust stuff made by Edenhaus/B. Hefner.  I know some people that have ordered from them trying to get out cheaper than Warmoth, and the neck pockets have been wrong, the bridge/pickup routing was sloppy, and the overall quality of their product was inferior to Warmoth's.

 

[Denis119]

  I have a Fender 62 Reissue and a home built SRV strat. For the SRV strat I used the Gotoh Vintage tuners. Excellent! The previous set I had on there were supposed to be Genuine vintage Klusons. But they had the closed stem, no slot, and I had to file them to fit. And they cost more. The Gotoh's fit perfectly look like vintage early 60s.
As for bodys and necks go W. I bought the cheapest neck and body off of the showcase and they are better quality than any of the other twelve guitars I have. Neck fit, bridge mount..Fuggatta bout it! Perfect. I have built Mighty Mights, All parts, Fender (American) and the quality just doesn't compare with W. Lower price, freakishly high quality.  :guitaristgif: