New Guy - First Build

[Nibert]

My name is Mark and over the next couple months my goal is to
build a stratocaster. I have never built a guitar before but I am
confident I can do most of the work depending on how the parts arrive. I
am wanting to build a Strat with a 62 tremolo. For the body construction
I will probably go w/ a swamp ash body and a laminate top (not sure on
wood prob black korina). I want to go w/ a good neck and an ebony
fretboard I am just not sure on the differences in wood for the back of
the neck. I definitely want to go w/ the warmoth pro neck that has the
conal neck. I have read a great deal on the interet (bad me) but I am
wanting to build a nice solid strat that is good for lead/rhythm. I read
a couple articles, stratbuilder.com, that said that the neck didn't fit
properly and had to be sanded down etc and I want to try and avoid this
if I can as I live in an apt and do not have the tools required. I would
like to try and make sure that all the holes are pre drilled in the
guitar so I can just connect the pieces myself at home.  I am unsure on pickups
but the goal is to have a guitar that is for blues/rock and playing
rhythm/lead (mostly lead as I am learning). Any tips or direction would be greatly appreciated

 

[Mor Paul]

So, a swamp ash strat is a good start. For the neck, an exotic neck will be recommended, and there will also be no finish on exotic necks, so less worries about having to sand down the neck. Black korina is a more popular back wood, but it looks good enough to simply be the only wood on the body. You will need a body finish, so a tru-oil/tung oil finish will be your best bet, I think. Warmoth does excellent finishes, though. Well worth the money.
Pickguard holes are not pre drilled, nor are strap button holes. You just need a drill and screwdriver for assembly. The neck also needs tuners installed, which requires a drill for the tuner screws.
If you want blues-rock, an HSS setup might work. Get a PAF humbucker in the bridge position, and some meatier strat pickups in the middle and neck positions.

You need to choose a neck shape btw. We can't help you too much there. And the neck wood is personal preference, but wenge, rosewood, and other exotics are favorites here.

 

[Nibert]

I was thinking black korina for the whole body or maybe even the indian rosewood after reading through the site. I was looking at the holy grail pickups by Jeff Lace. Any recommendation on what Humbucker I should use in the bridge? How hard is it to finish the body myself? I dont want to mess it up so I may just have warmoth do it. For the neck I am going to try the compound radius neck (I think that is what you meant). If not give me some insight and I will hit up guitar center to see which one I like the most.

 

[Mor Paul]

You won't go wrong with a black korina body, and an at-home oil finish will work. Someone else can chime in on how to do that.
If you get a swamp ash body, a trans white finish with a rosewood neck will look fantastic.

I don't have experience with many humbuckers, but my Dimarzio DP103 36th Anniversary PAF serves me well in the neck of my Tele.

When I say neck shape, I mean neckback. You've got your radius chosen.  :icon_thumright: Good choice there. I like mine. There's a list somewhere of different neckback shapes and the corresponding off-the-shelf guitars for the neck shape.

 

[line6man]

It is arguable how big a difference body woods make tonally, but going from Swamp Ash to Black Korina sounds quite drastic to me.
Are you after a brighter or warmer tone?

A huge +1 to exotic/raw necks.

 

[Mor Paul]

Those holy grails are probably voiced for swamp ash, and with a rosewood neck, you'd want the brighter body. Crap... would that be Ash?

 

[Nibert]

I am not sure for brighter or warmer, for some reason I just cannot hear it in my head. So any artists that come to mind? I dont necessarily want really high trebles and want a more even tone that has dirtier lows and good highs. Like I said I use to just buy guitars but this time I want one that fits me perfectly so tips are always welcome. For the neck I was def looking at an ebony fretboard, I really like the look of it.