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My own lefty Strat they never built

D

Dreamert

Junior Member
Messages
63
Hey folks !

I said I'd do it and I meant it so here goes nothing...

I was frustrated by the prices Fender was asking for an AM Standard that didn't have half of what I'd like it to have in it. I was fascinated by the Richie Sambora Signature Strat but of course, they never made one for the lefties of this world, not even a cheap mexican one so...

After shopping around not that seriously for a deal on a lefty AM Standard with no luck, I found Warmoth, holy heaven !!!! Then that mad scientist idea grew on me of building my own...I'm a fast learner and good with my hands, I started from not even knowing where to put oil in a car to tuning the hell out of my brand new Dodge SRT4 so how hard can it be to buil a guitar from allready made parts ?! Let's go !  :toothy10:

So here is what I'm aiming for (easthetic-wise, that's a little PS I did)...
_FrankenStrat%20Lefty%20w%20vintage%20logo.jpg


It all started with a very cheap original MIM Strat body I got off Ebay (see color in the PS montage above). The burst is not as nice as those on AM Standards but will do for the time being. If I like the end result enough I might fork out for a Warmoth body with a more exotic color sometime down the line...and it might as well stay this way as I start another all-white w gold hardware Strat (yeah haven't even assembled my first one yet that it's turning into a drug, ideas just keep flowing, some obsessing me more than others...)

I'm not going full-out with a Floyd-Rose (yet) but instead I ordered a nice HipShot US Contour Trem, really nice piece of work I have to say.

The parts are pretty much all in aside from the neck and pick guard which are awaited from Warmoth for around february.

I ordered an all-maple neck with Wizard contour profile, graphite nut and black stars inlays (I know, not exactly as nice as the RS Sig star inlays but nice enough for me and it's not meant to be a replica anyway).

I bought some nice black Sperzel trimloc tuners (with staggered heights) to go along (and avoid the use of string trees to keep things as simple as possible to get the trem functionnal).

The pickups are going to be about the same as the RS Sig: neck and middle Custom Texas Special and bridge DiMarzio (Fred instead of PafPro though).

Then I fancied a few switches in order to 'try it out' and see how I like it better. Every pot is going to be a push/pull type pot to expand the options.
Volume  :
• Push: Treble Bleed mod (probably go with the wire swap mod)
• Pull: killswitch

Tone 1 :
• Push: Tone for neck pickup
• Push: No load (nail polish) mod
• Pull: neck pickup always ON, tone for neck pickup

Tone 2 :
• Push: Tone for middle pickup, bridge pickup goes straight out the jack (no load)
• Pull: Tone for bridge pickup, middle goes straight out the jack (no load)

Another thing, the leads going back and from the capacitor will extend into the back trem spring cavity so I can easily swap caps and experiment. I could have used a varitone switch but did not have the heart nor the place to put it anywhere so I'm just going to swap back and forth a few times between some caps and see which one I like best.

I think I've pretty much got everything ironed out by now (working on the wiring diagram at the moment) aside from the neckplate. Like some of you might have seen, I'm set on a specific design that I'm having a hard time getting done, but I'll get around to it somehow I'm no quitter.

I even finished the design of my own masterbuilt stamp that I'm gonna put behind the headstock (I know some would hang me on the spot for that but I like the 'OEM' vibe it gives to the build)...
YParadis%20Custom%20Shop%20Masterbuilt%20Stamp%20v2.jpg


So, just for the record, anybody who might get offended by the Fender logo, the custom shop neck plate and the mock-up masterbuilt stamp, as another user here said on a similary-related topic: even if your granny could mistake this build for an original Fender, nobody in their sane mind would so I don't feel like a thief or a fraud doing it. Anybody knows Fender never came even remotly close to build an instrument with that setup so if anybody ever gets ripped off for this guitar it's going to be me selling it for way less than the total worth of it's parts  :guitaristgif:


 
My own aesthetic preferences aside (both for guitars and cars  :sad1:), I'd like to welcome you aboard the W train.  :headbang1:

I must say I'm a bit confused as far as your wiring scheme is concerned, but I'll let someone more experienced in such matters discuss the feasibility of your plan.
 
Don't worry about the feasability, I'll handle that. It's pretty much just a temporary state, a stating point to see what kind of sound I like the most.

I'm jumping to a Strat from a cheap entry-model Ibanez that I haven't played in 10 years. Played acoustics only for the last 2 years so..... I have a few sounds in my head just don't know yet how to create them, hence the experimentation here. Once I get it down, I'll probably simplify it all.

Basically, with all push/pull pots down, the guitar will act as the RS Signature one does. The switches will then expend on that a little so leave out the switch parts and you have an HSS guitar with a DiMarzio and 2 Texas Special in it.

Btw: thanks for the welcome my friend !
 
Rickgrxbass said:
I'll let someone more experienced in such matters discuss the feasibility of your plan.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Thunderdome.  :laughing7: That's a great first guitar, and I'm glad you, like all of us, are making it from the inspiration of obsession.  I'm not sure how the push-pull set-up will work out that well for you, but I see it is not set in stone for you either.  You might want to keep in mind how much sense those settings make to you when you are playing, or if certain conditions are set, you might get undesired results as you are switching other things, like the 5-way switch.  You will figure all of that out when you mess with it, don' t hesitate to ask any questions.
 
I dunno how close to the original Sambora models you want to be, but one of the key things that made his guitars sound so good was the underpowered mid boost switch. The usual 24dB boost can become quite uncontrollable (one of the main problems with the Fender Clapton model), so the Sambora guitars had a 12dB boost instead which was much more practical. Gave him one of the best live tones I've ever heard. If you want to mess with fancy controls, I dare say that a mid boost would be a more useful feature than no-load switching (especially for the Texas Specials which are very bright with a lot of bite anyway). I've modded a Fender MIM Deluxe Lone Star Strat (Texas Specials in the neck and middle) so the bottom tone control is an EMG SPC mid boost and that really nails Richie's mid-90s live tone perfectly.
 
24db boost is basically like the Mythbusters 2nd stage rocket sled. Fine if all you're wanting to do is smash stuff.

For tone shaping 6db is plenty.
 
I agree, If I could get what I want, for less than 3 grand I would not be here

but to get what I want they consider it a EXOTIC, Ok so the neck cost an extra 100 dollars, the pickup changes are a wash, and I know exactly how much more work is in the finish, and all that does not add up to 2 grand, I know I just built it. Buying everything at retail it cost just over a grand, I bet buying at whole sale I could sell it for 14 and make 300 dollars
 
Ace Flibble said:
I dunno how close to the original Sambora models you want to be, but one of the key things that made his guitars sound so good was the underpowered mid boost switch. The usual 24dB boost can become quite uncontrollable (one of the main problems with the Fender Clapton model), so the Sambora guitars had a 12dB boost instead which was much more practical. Gave him one of the best live tones I've ever heard. If you want to mess with fancy controls, I dare say that a mid boost would be a more useful feature than no-load switching (especially for the Texas Specials which are very bright with a lot of bite anyway). I've modded a Fender MIM Deluxe Lone Star Strat (Texas Specials in the neck and middle) so the bottom tone control is an EMG SPC mid boost and that really nails Richie's mid-90s live tone perfectly.
Click to expand...

That is GOOD info buddy! Thanks a lot. I was that mid-boost circuit on the Am model I think (I looked at 3 diffrent wiring diagrams for the RS Signature), the Mexican one didn't have it. This is definately in my plans down the road but I didn't know there existed any other mid-boost circuit aside from the Clapton one.

Any info on where I could get one of these 12db one?

You're probably right when you say that the no-load option is no going to be very useful with TS, I was still no definately set on the idea as I have to take the pots apart and modify them (with no possible roll-back option) so I am still undecided. Maybe I'd better put a temporary cheesy switch in the back cavity to bypass the pots and see if I like or can use that sound anyway before I go all out on the pots.

Thank you for the heads up, it's so nice when you find someone who walked the path before you !!
 
I just caught this but I believe the push-pull pots are only 2T switches, not 3T. So you can basically turn one thing on or off, not switch between 3 positions. Its push on, pull of or vice versa.

Speaking of which, does anyone know where to find push-push pots?
 
swarfrat said:
I just caught this but I believe the push-pull pots are only 2T switches, not 3T. So you can basically turn one thing on or off, not switch between 3 positions. Its push on, pull of or vice versa.

Speaking of which, does anyone know where to find push-push pots?
Click to expand...

You are right that you only have 2 possibilities which push/pull and push/push... but I'm not sure where you are going with this. Maybe you misinterpreted my thread, I'm not aiming for 3 possibility on any pot... and btw, you can get3 if not 4 scenarios out of each pot if you so want as they have 2 sets of pins on each side. So at any time they can command 2 things to be on (while other 2 are off) but each pair is triggered together at the pull or push of the pot, they can't be independant, just so you know.

About push/push pot, use Google you'll find some I've seen many while shopping online.
 
For your wiring problems, check out this website (Shameless Plug Click Here)

I believe your switching is completely possible. I wouldn't bother with the no load mod though. Unless you want to destroy eardrums, the icepick sound isn't what's chill these days. I agree with the 12db mid boost. Here is a link to a website that carries a midboost/treble boost circuit that is pretty non-invasive. Two quick holes, and bam!

BTW, if you buy that preamp, you should do us a favor and throw a schematic up here for us. I am actually REALLY cheap when it comes to things such as this...
 
There's a few cheap mid boost units around (GFS, Axesrus) but I don't trust 'em really, none of them sound terribly good as far as I can tell.

The EMG SPC is what I use, it's only a 6dB boost but it's a very clean boost and as swarfrat said, 6dB is enough for shaping your tone; 12dB is more like tone shaping + lead boost and a 24dB boost is completely pointless overkill. The only problem with the EMG boost is that it's a little bit of a pain to install. It's designed for the EMG solderless connection system so when using it with non-EMG electronics you only have tiny solder lugs to use, not much room for error. If you've got a steady hand though, it's the best way to go.

After that there's just the Clapton system which is both more expensive than the EMG system and more of a pain to use; it takes up much more space and it really is far too strong for most amps and play styles. The Sambora mid boost was a modified version of the Clapton one (still takes up a lot of space but a more practical range) and sometimes those show up on eBay, but obviously they're rare and you can expect to pay extortionate amounts for them.

Apparently some people have worked out a passive mid boost circuit using an inductor. I don't understand how any of that stuff works but click around, you might find something useful you want to try and if it does work it would certainly be easier than adding in an active system.


And Warmoth itself sells push-push CTS pots. I've read that push-push pots don't last as long as push-pull pots; I can't recall where I read it though, could have been people talking bollocks.
 
Ace Flibble said:
There's a few cheap mid boost units around (GFS, Axesrus) but I don't trust 'em really, none of them sound terribly good as far as I can tell.

The EMG SPC is what I use, it's only a 6dB boost but it's a very clean boost and as swarfrat said, 6dB is enough for shaping your tone; 12dB is more like tone shaping + lead boost and a 24dB boost is completely pointless overkill. The only problem with the EMG boost is that it's a little bit of a pain to install. It's designed for the EMG solderless connection system so when using it with non-EMG electronics you only have tiny solder lugs to use, not much room for error. If you've got a steady hand though, it's the best way to go.

After that there's just the Clapton system which is both more expensive than the EMG system and more of a pain to use; it takes up much more space and it really is far too strong for most amps and play styles. The Sambora mid boost was a modified version of the Clapton one (still takes up a lot of space but a more practical range) and sometimes those show up on eBay, but obviously they're rare and you can expect to pay extortionate amounts for them.

Apparently some people have worked out a passive mid boost circuit using an inductor. I don't understand how any of that stuff works but click around, you might find something useful you want to try and if it does work it would certainly be easier than adding in an active system.


And Warmoth itself sells push-push CTS pots. I've read that push-push pots don't last as long as push-pull pots; I can't recall where I read it though, could have been people talking bollocks.
Click to expand...


VVERRRRYYYYYYYY interesting read, thanks for sharing that info about EMG. I went surfing a bit, they've got the SPC for mid-boost and EXG for high and low boost....real interesting, I'll look into those further down the line for sure. About those tiny leads to solder on, looks like they made a version with wires coming out of it instead of the regular EMG plug (http://www.stevesmusiccenter.com/EMG-SPC.html) looks easy enough to fit anywhere with a bit of head room for mistakes :)

Thanks again !
 
I've got an SPC on the bridge pickup only of my SA set. I wanted to hook it up so it went away in position 2 but I need one of the 4 pole switches for that. Its enough to fatten and boost a bridge single for HB emulation in a modest gain amp.

If I wanted an SPC in a soldered installation, I think I'd just wire up a plug for it and solder that in.
 
Dude, if you're going to build something inspired by sambora, you got to have a floyd rose...
I'm going to build a sambora strat in the future, and that guitar demand and deserve a floyd rose!

:occasion14:
 
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