Late 60's Strat

bigguspickus

Senior Member
Messages
466
Here's my reissue re-envisioned 1968 Stratocaster built using Warmoth and Callaham parts.
My goal was to put together a nice playing American-level Strat with some custom touches.
Both the body and neck were Showcase items, finished and ready to go.

The body:
ps2260A.jpg
ps2260B.jpg

Stratocaster
Solid construction
Swamp Ash w/ Flame Maple Top
Top Rout
HSS
Black Gloss
4lbs., 4oz.
ordered with a vintage 6-hole trem rout

The neck:
sn3740A.jpg

sn3740B.jpg

Warmoth Pro
CBS Strat headstock
Maple w/ Rosewood fingerboard
1 11/16" nut width
Standard thin back contour
SS6105 frets
10-16" compound radius
vintage style tuner ream

The hardware:
Callaham Vintage S Model Strat Hardware Kit


I wondered why the body had a laminate top but was painted solid black. Maybe the burst didn't turn out right so they covered it up? :dontknow:
Whatever the reason, it was priced right, and the area under the trem springs looked relatively smooth (as I planned to leave the cover off ala SRV)

blackstratflamenoir1.jpg


When I opened the box and looked at it under the light, it was obvious there was some decent figuring under there. It's clearly visible from most angles, but difficult to photograph.

blackstratflamenoir2.jpg


There's definitely some wicked flame going on under that solid black. I'm pretty sure no one else has a Strat like this!

blackstratneckpocket1.jpg


You can tell by looking at the neck pocket that a red dye was applied to the top at some point.

blackstratneckpocket2.jpg


...though it could be primer, it's hard to tell.

blackstratturtleonturtl.jpg


There's a nice snug fit between the neck and body, no doubt the benefit of buying both parts from W.

blackstratshieldsup.jpg


A look under the hood: Callaham's H/SRV Specials, cryogenically treated and pre-wired to a 3 ply parchment pickguard.

blackstratsprings.jpg


One of the custom touches: no trem cover.
Yes, the 6 trem screws went all the way through, so the tips are visible from the back :sad1:  ...but I'll know better next time. :glasses9:

blackstratgarden1.jpg


In the garden.

blackstratgarden2.jpg


The truss rod side adjuster came painted black.

blackstratheadstock.jpg


Another one of the custom touches: no string trees.

Um... about the decal... I had to, it just looked so plain without anything there. I don't plan on ever selling it because it plays so nice, and whenever people ask me about the guitar, I proudly tell them I built it using Warmoth parts. :guitaristgif:
 
i like it. THE classic black strat. i'm thinking more and more about adding a headstock decal to my telecaster. it just looks so strange with nothing there. a blank headstock worked for my 3 by 3 headstock, but the 6 in-line tuners just make the blank headstock look strange.

nice guitar!
 
JaySwear said:
i'm thinking more and more about adding a headstock decal to my telecaster. it just looks so strange with nothing there. a blank headstock worked for my 3 by 3 headstock, but the 6 in-line tuners just make the blank headstock look strange.

I agree. My Warmoth Strat has a blank headstock at the moment, and it's usually the second thing people comment after saying how beautiful it is. It has black hardware, so I think I'm going to get one of those smoked chrome metal Warmoth logos for it. (This one isn't mine, it's from the Warmoth site)

Wlogo.jpg

I debated putting a Fender sticker on it to raise it's resale value $1,000 as a "custom shop" version, but I'm not the duplicitous type and I know I wouldn't want someone to do that to me.
 
JaySwear said:
i like it. THE classic black strat. i'm thinking more and more about adding a headstock decal to my telecaster. it just looks so strange with nothing there. a blank headstock worked for my 3 by 3 headstock, but the 6 in-line tuners just make the blank headstock look strange.

nice guitar!

thats why you gotta go with those exotic woods

the neck kinda looks funny with the gloss finish on the rosewood above the nut. great strat though  :icon_thumright:
 
Thanks for all the nice comments! Here are a couple more pics.

blackstratgg.jpg


Sleeping in its case.

blackstratandsg.jpg


Meeting my new SG... The stuff I play really isn't that heavy, despite owning 2 black guitars.

blackstratredherring.jpg


Here it is next to my trusty old modified Squire, which I call "The Red Herring."


A few specs I forgot to mention in my original post: the neck came with a clear gloss finish, cream dot inlays, and a pre-slotted corian nut. I remember looking at Warmoth necks before string nuts were an option, back when they called the showcase the thrift shop.


JaySwear said:
i'm thinking more and more about adding a headstock decal to my telecaster.

I would say, apart from filing down the fret ends and driving in those 7 little screws for the vintage tuners, the trickiest part of the assembly was applying the headstock decal and finishing over it. I don't remember where exactly, but I picked up the repro waterslide decal online for $20. After soaking it in a plate of water for a few minutes, I carefully peeled away the paper backing and positioned it on the headstock. I then used a damp sponge to smooth away air bubbles trapped under the decal, working from the center outward. After letting it dry overnight, I masked off the front face of the headstock, from the top of the nut up, and then sprayed several thin coats of clear lacquer (aerosol can from the hardware store), with about 20 minutes between each coat. After the 7th or 8th pass with the lacquer (holding the can about a foot away from the surface), I put it up over my workbench to dry for a full 24 hours, then gave it a light 400 grit sanding until the face of the headstock was uniformly dull with no low (shiny) spots. I let the neck sit for another full day before a wet 400 grit sanding, a wet 600, wet 1000, and finally a good polishing using metal polish and a lint-free cloth.

It took a bit of time and elbow grease, but what's nice is you can't see the edges of the decal under the finish. It's just there. I considered scuffing up the existing finish on the headstock face before applying the decal, but decided not to and it turned out fine, so I wouldn't recommend that step.

blackstratdecal.jpg


The headstock, again.

Patrick said:
the neck kinda looks funny with the gloss finish on the rosewood above the nut.

Isn't that how all the maple/rosewood necks are done?
 
Is that a SD Invader you got in that red Strat? What's your opinion on it?
 
Yep, that's a Seymour Duncan SH-8b Invader in the bridge position of The Red Herring, and a Fender Texas Special bridge pickup in the (angled) neck position.

redherringpg.jpg

As you might have guessed, this started out as a Blink 182 (I was young!) copy, but my tastes changed and so did my Strat.

I thought I'd salvage what was there and make a surf guitar, like the short-lived Fender Cyclone.
3823813580_57f5f86053.jpg


I knew the Invader was a powerful 'bucker, so I reasoned that by using the hotter bridge-wound FTS in the neck, the outputs would balance. I was wrong. The volume difference between the two pickups is huge. It's really apparent when recording. I'll be playing something on the neck pickup, switch down to the bridge, and the VU meter will clip out, or when switching the other way, the sound will practically cut out. Strangely, it's even quieter with both pickups in parallel, but that's the position that nails the out-of-phase surf/funk tone.

My thoughts on the SD Invader by itself... It has no problem picking up the low strings, I just wish it would show as much interest in the top strings. I somewhat solved this issue by lowering the bass side a couple turns and using Fender's old style 38-10 gauge strings, but to me, the E and A strings are still a little boomy, but keep in mind I don't use a lot of distortion.
 
Nice blackie!
I can't wait until tonar is done finishing the body on my 50's blackie! He's also going to finish the neck for me!
 
The Norwegian Guy said:
One question..
Is it legal to apply a fender decal to a warmoth guitar?

this might depend on where you live, but as far as i understand it putting the logo on is legal as long as you don't try to sell the warmoth neck AS a real fender neck.
 
Somewhat off-topic, black guitars are not metal, they are simply classy.

You need an olympic white guitar for metal. :party07:
And as a bonus, you can do other styles with a white guitar also.  :eek:ccasion14:
 
bigguspickus said:
I thought I'd salvage what was there and make a surf guitar, like the short-lived Fender Cyclone.
3823813580_57f5f86053.jpg

That looks eerily similar to the Jag-Stang, but by calling the Cyclone, Fender didn't have to pay Courtney Love.
 
Paul-less said:
Somewhat off-topic, black guitars are not metal, they are simply classy.

You need an olympic white guitar for metal. :party07:
And as a bonus, you can do other styles with a white guitar also.  :eek:ccasion14:

Iron Maiden disagree's!  :headbang1:

Dave_Murray_and_Janick_Gers_of_Iron.jpg


ORCRiST
 
ORCRiST said:
Paul-less said:
Somewhat off-topic, black guitars are not metal, they are simply classy.

You need an olympic white guitar for metal. :party07:
And as a bonus, you can do other styles with a white guitar also.  :eek:ccasion14:

Iron Maiden disagree's!  :headbang1:

Dave_Murray_and_Janick_Gers_of_Iron.jpg


ORCRiST
Am I the only one that finds it weird when a band wears its own t-shirts?
 
ErogenousJones said:
Dave_Murray_and_Janick_Gers_of_Iron.jpg


Am I the only one that finds it weird when a band wears its own t-shirts?

When you consider those guys are in their '50s and look like they're in their '60s and dress like they're in their teens, it gets a little weirder still.
 
but they still play and do shows as if they were still in their 20s! they can get away with it!
 
i think it's kind of cool they wear their own shirts :icon_biggrin: if i had a world famous band i'd wear my own shirts everywhere.

plus i thought they had always done that ??? maybe it's some kind of inside joke? maybe not, but i thought they had done that for years
 
Back
Top