Pele fade Strat build

[docteurseb]

I really would prefer not having to drill out the threading of the pickups if any is present (Seymour Duncan Hot rails/Everything axe, Fender N3, etc...), doing so would make it very difficult to resell those pickups.

 

[docteurseb]

First tests with neck+HW attached.

Gold looks good with something like gold Alumitones (too expensive though).
With black PUs, a black bridge would be my preference by far.

Peghead: both color schemes work. Slight preference for the blue/teal one when paired with a dark fingerboard.

Inlays: definitely no red inlays, they wouldn't be visible enough with RW/Ebony.

 

[Axkoa]

2nd from the right is my favourite. What if you went no inlays?

 

[rgand]

I like both the ones with black hardware. Can't decide on which headstock is better. I would put a black nut on it, though. That white is just a bit much.

 

[docteurseb]

Yep I'm most likely not putting any inlays, worked great on the prior two builds.

 

[docteurseb]

I like both the ones with black hardware. Can't decide on which headstock is better. I would put a black nut on it, though. That white is just a bit much.

For sure, the only neck I found with quilt/curly maple veneer was that Warhead neck. I didn't think about changing the nut to black in those renderings.

 

[rgand]

:icon_thumright:

That will make a fine guiitar with anything you choose. I would probably lean toward darker wood with that body but that's not to say a good maple neck would be unattractive.

 

[docteurseb]

Trying a few more things, sticking to black hardware and darker fingerboard, and discovering what works or not.

With the Warhead/Strat headstock:
- if stained orange or blue I find it hard to make it work with stained buttons of any color. The stained buttons don't bring any contrast and would be better left stock (black) int this case.
- with a dark wedge headstock though, I prefer red/orange stained buttons.

For a warhead headstock I'd lend towards the red/orange stain, stock black metal tuning buttons, dark fingerboard (RW, Ziricote, or ebony), and maple/roasted maple back.
Wenge neck looks great too, but is going to be heavier and this is a fairly light body, I want to be careful with weight balance. Doing a ziricote/rw peghead veneer with maple back is one way to address the weight concern.

Finally, the Warmoth/Vortex 3+3 headstock is rather appealing. You can bring contrast with a stained truss rod cover, and it's easier to make stained buttons work. Even the red/puple/blue buttons look good, though maybe borderline gaudy.
It's just that I had so much trouble with tuning stability (cut a dozen nuts...) with the last Vortex build that I'm hesitant using a 3+3 neck again with tremolo use. Maybe now that I roughly know what works best nut-wise I would have better luck  :laughing11:

 

[VinceClortho]

#4 is my preference if you want to do a 6 in line headstock.  However, out of all of them, #6 is my favorite by far.  The stained truss rod cover and symmetrical colored buttons are perfect accents without going too far.  I'm even more jealous now that I see the mockups...

 

[PhilHill]

I like #6. With the advent of locking tuners, I don't see the need for a locking nut anymore. It just takes making sure that the strings are not binding in the nut at all. You also don't have to drill two large holes in the weakest spot on your neck and drastically increase the size and depth of the nut slot. I think the 3+3 headstock works best with this, but that's just me. Your mmv. :icon_thumright:

 

[RoboNarples]

My favs are definitely 4 and 6.

 

[docteurseb]

Thanks all !

For those who are using Vortex and Warmoth necks with non-locking tremolos:
  - would you mind showing me how the nut looks like on your neck ?
  - do you use the tremolo on it, and if so do you have tuning stability issues  as soon as you use it ?

The only way I got my Soloist/Vortex build with Wilkinson VS100N to stay in tune was eventually cutting the nut like Gibson does which leaves as little thickness as possible at the top of the nut:

Anything else, including the Warmoth-cut nut (and the dozen I made similar to it), was disastrous in terms of tuning stability. The other Strat I built with the same tremolo but Strat neck/6-inline locking tuners was rock solid even with heavy whammy bar use.

 

[rgand]

I like #2 for an inline headstock and #6 for a 3x3 headstock. I'm leaning more toward #2.

 

[PhilHill]

Thanks all !

For those who are using Vortex and Warmoth necks with non-locking tremolos:
  - would you mind showing me how the nut looks like on your neck ?
  - do you use the tremolo on it, and if so do you have tuning stability issues  as soon as you use it ?

The only way I got my Soloist/Vortex build with Wilkinson VS100N to stay in tune was eventually cutting the nut like Gibson does which leaves as little thickness as possible at the top of the nut:

Anything else, including the Warmoth-cut nut (and the dozen I made similar to it), was disastrous in terms of tuning stability. The other Strat I built with the same tremolo but Strat neck/6-inline locking tuners was rock solid even with heavy whammy bar use.

Unfortunately I don't have pics right now of the guitars that I've done for trem users. I fully agree that you may get better results with the strat style head. Basically the method I used was to have the nut slots no deeper than half the string diameter, (That's the way that used to be considered proper for all guitars.) and a lot of fall away on the tuner side. By fall away I mean the curve in the nut on the side facing the tuners. Plus, the slot should widen out as it leaves the top of the nut on the curved side. Something like this;

And the slots should be just a hair wider than the string, not enough to allow lateral movement, but enough to prevent binding.

 

[docteurseb]

Thanks PhilHill, 'fall away' is what I meant in much poorer terms haha.
I don't think I tried to widen the nut slots at the exit, I had so much fall away that there wasn't much to widen anymore, but that's something I can try doing if go the 3+3 route again.

Tried a final mockup with black tuners which I thought I'd prefer for the inline case, and to my surprise I actually prefer the blue buttons+read headstock combination better.

So it's down to 1, 2 or 4 for me in this latest round of pictures.

My picks aren't what I would have expected prior to doing the renderings, glad I did it in this case. It's such an unusual finish it's bit hard to visualize otherwise.

 

[PhilHill]

Thanks PhilHill, 'fall away' is what I meant in much poorer terms haha.
I don't think I tried to widen the nut slots at the exit, I had so much fall away that there wasn't much to widen anymore, but that's something I can try doing if go the 3+3 route again.

Tried a final mockup with black tuners which I thought I'd prefer for the inline case, and to my surprise I actually prefer the blue buttons+read headstock combination better.

So it's down to 1, 2 or 4 for me in this latest round of pictures.

My picks aren't what I would have expected prior to doing the renderings, glad I did it in this case. It's such an unusual finish it's bit hard to visualize otherwise.

Yes, fall away is little used term anymore, so no surprise or fail there. It was originally a term used by boat builders. It's kinda like the term "Electric Spanish" which is what the ES in Gibson names means. It's proper, but little used. Perhaps a combo of this type of slot on a Strat style nut would be the best. I can't remember for sure, but I think I might have tried that too before. Getting old is hard. Especially when you don't like cheese with your whine.
I think the renderings are a great idea, let's you visualize things much better before you start spending money. Which is always a good thing.

 

[vetteman]

Of the last 4 options, I like the neck on #1 but with the blue buttons.  Just seem like the other options are all fighting for attention.  Besides, with that body nobody is looking at the neck anyway!

 

[rgand]

Of the last 4 options, I like the neck on #1 but with the blue buttons.  Just seem like the other options are all fighting for attention.  Besides, with that body nobody is looking at the neck anyway!

I agree with this. It's clean and uncluttered.

 

[docteurseb]

Thank you all. Final 4 contenders attached and I agree blue tuners work too against the dark Warhead neck.
At this point I feel like I can rule out the 3+3 headstock: except for the colorful TRC that would brighten things up there is nothing else it really brings since I can't really make multi-colored stained buttons work any better with it than inline tuners.

From now I think I'll keep it a surprise as to which one I'll pick (not 100% sure yet)

 

[rgand]

These last four really show how it will look. Number three with the blue buttons looks best for me. The others with red/orange at the headstock command more attention and detract from that faboulous body.