Dyed black Strat build

[DesmoDog]

Rather than continue my "out of the box" thread I thought I'd start a build thread since I've reached the point I'm going to be asking build questions.

First, here's a repeat of the basic info from the first thread...

The body that caught my eye. Had to have it. Sold a dormant (car related) project to get it.

The plan for it is:
Nickle hardware - avoid chrome as much as possible
Fender Fat 50's pickups
Callaham trem - I've got the vintage six mounting spacing but will likely get the narrower string spacing to match the Ibanez I currently play.
Tuners - likely Sperzel trim loks or whatever they're called. I like them because they're available in nickel, and they're staggered so I can avoid using string trees. And they're locking.
Pickguard color TBD. I already ordered a black pearl one but am thinking a white or white pearl would look better. I hadn't received the body yet when I ordered the black one and now have second thoughts about it.
250k pots with ~.050 cap on the tone pots and a treble bleed cap on the volume.

Here's the neck I have on order. Goncalo Alves with Pau Ferro fretboard. 1 11/16" nut, Standard narrow profile, 6150 frets, and hopefully a black GraphTech nut. I ordered it with a white one on Friday evening and sent an e-mail asking to change it on Saturday afternoon so I'm guessing it won't be an issue.

One thing that confuses me on the neck - Warmoth says Sperzel hole sizes are 25/64. All the specs I see online say they should be 13/32?  I asked for 25/64 and am leaving that stand since I'd rather have them a touch small than a little loose. I can take them out the extra 1/16" if needed...

And that catches this thread up with the rambling out of the box thread... so there ya go! More later.

 

[JaySwear]

strange about the tuner holes, but as you said smaller is safer. looking forward to seeing this thing come together! no suggestions on the pickguard. i'm a big fan of solid colors, so i would have gone black. having said that i think out of the ones you named the black pearl would be very very cool.

 

[exaN]

Nice score on the neck!

This is gonna be a hot build :icon_thumright:

 

[Patrick]

What a neck!!!
i am really looking forward to this

 

[bbl4ck]

That neck is a real looker  :glasses9:
Anxious to see it all together...  Keep the pics a rollin'
Good luck &  :rock-on:

 

[DangerousR6]

Killer build, now the hard part of waiting for UPS.... :dontknow:

 

[DesmoDog]

Killer build, now the hard part of waiting for UPS.... :dontknow:

Which reminds me... I'm solidifying my thoughts for a neck plate. I think I have it down to three options.. I'll PM ya about it...

 

[DangerousR6]

Killer build, now the hard part of waiting for UPS.... :dontknow:

Which reminds me... I'm solidifying my thoughts for a neck plate. I think I have it down to three options.. I'll PM ya about it...

:icon_thumright:

 

[DangerousR6]

How about a wood pickguard, pau ferro...

Or even a mirror... :dontknow:

 

[DesmoDog]

I don't think the wood pick guard is going to work for me... and not mirrored either. Black pearl isn't going to work either, which is unfortunate since that's what I ordered before the body even showed up!

Anywhos, the black pearl showed up today and no, I don't think so. Time for something really off the wall, like, white. Maybe white pearl but probably just plain white. Well, white/black/white 3-ply anyway.

I also got an aluminum shield for the back of it, so I've got that going for me. Plus I heard back from Warmoth and putting the black graph tech on instead of the white will be no problem. I guess I will set up the trem to be functional and see what all the fuss is about! I was thinking about blocking it from the word go but what the heck, I've got it may as well use it...

 

[bbl4ck]

If you are going to go with a white pickguard, the Vintage Pearl goes really well with the natural masked binding...
Anyway, IMHO  :headbang1:

 

[DesmoDog]

Now that you mention that, they did have it pictured with that pick guard in the showcase...

 

[m4rk0]

surprisingly,.... this is one of the rare occasions I actually like a mirror guard..
that, or the cream pearloid.

 

[DesmoDog]

Woo Hoo! Got the notice, the neck shipped today. And yesterday I ordered a bunch of small stuff for it, plus a trick neck plate from a certain member here... so pretty soon I can actually start working on it.  :cool01:

Problem is.. I still need some major stuff... like a trem, pickups, and tuners... I have to admit, going with some GFS stuff is tempting - Wilkinson Vintage trem vs the Callaham I planned on, GFS pups vs the Fender Fat 50s...  but I'm holding out for now.

That said, as soon as I leave here I'm going to check my visa account to see just how bad a shopping spree would hurt me right now. Patience is not my strong suit.  :toothy11:

 

[DangerousR6]

Woo Hoo! Got the notice, the neck shipped today. And yesterday I ordered a bunch of small stuff for it, plus a trick neck plate from a certain member here... so pretty soon I can actually start working on it.  :cool01:

Problem is.. I still need some major stuff... like a trem, pickups, and tuners... I have to admit, going with some GFS stuff is tempting - Wilkinson Vintage trem vs the Callaham I planned on, GFS pups vs the Fender Fat 50s...  but I'm holding out for now.

That said, as soon as I leave here I'm going to check my visa account to see just how bad a shopping spree would hurt me right now. Patience is not my strong suit.  :toothy11:

I've bought a lot of stuff from GFS, and so far have nothing but good things to say about their stuff. Only problem I've had was the the Loudmouth pups, where the cover is soldered to the base was bowed out. had to unsloder it and smooth it down and resolder. but I've bought other stuff from then. Tuners, bridges, trems, posts, knobs jack plates, pups.....You name it... :icon_thumright:

 

[DesmoDog]

Well.... I may be ordering a trem from them. The Wilkinson looks decent to me, but I know pretty much nothing about this stuff. I've ordered other stuff from GFS too... so far no complaints.

As for the tuners and pickups mentioned above? Yeah... strike those. They're ordered. Fender Pups and Sperzel Trim Loks. I think pretty much all I have left to get is the trem... and the trem cover. Can't make up my mind on what color to get and may just go without!

 

[DesmoDog]

I'm still waiting for parts, but a box from Stewart-MacDonald did show up today so I got a little bit done. I'm not sure if the shielding helps or not but I doubt it hurts anything, so...

I'm hoping by this time next week I'll have MUCH better progress pics to show!

 

[DangerousR6]

Looking good double D, shielding is helpful in certain situations. I live in an older house, and I can tell it makes a difference in my situation.

 

[DesmoDog]

Little boxes are starting to show up. I got the white pick guard, the pick ups, and some other small stuff today.

White with black knobs. Might have to get some black screws too???

Black pearl with black. Not so much...

White with white. I haven't got white knobs, don't think I like it anyway...

I wonder how a black output jack plate would look on there? hmm... I'll wait until I have the trem before I order anything, that will be nickel too.

And did I mention I'm getting a turtle on the neck plate!  Thanks, Doug!

 

[Cagey]

The first one is the best. Black pickup covers and knobs. Nice contrast. And yes, get the black screws. Second one is too busy - the pearl detracts from the wood finish. Third one is too ghostly - looks anemic. As for the metal work, do all chrome or nickel plate, don't mix/match with black.

Starting to look like a guitar!