Surprise Super Strat - First Warmoth build

[TheGreatRedDragon]

I kind of stumbled into this one.

A while back I came across this thread and immediately wanted a Graffiti Yellow Super Strat. I didn't know what specs, I just loved the color. A little while later I saw a very stripped down Strat build: Maple neck, one humbucker, white body, black pickguard and hardware. The simplicity struck me. Stripped down and hot rodded. The first thing that came to mind was this:

The Graffiti Yellow finish had a home. (it's not until making this post that I realize Graffiti Yellow is named for Harrison Ford's hot rodded 32 Ford from American Graffiti.

From there I planned the rest of the build. It would be cheap and simple but effective. With that in mind, I decided to use a non-locking 2-point trem and a set of locking tuners rather than a Floyd Rose. Aside from the volume pot, the only other control would be a push button killswitch. I also decided that the neck and body would come from the Showcase. If I had to wait for the right parts to show up I would wait.

Well wait I did. The necks I were after  were all over the place but a Graffiti Yellow Strat body just would not pop up. Aaron even told me that it's something that would probably have to be BTO. I moved on to another project, a Charvel Pro-Mod parts build, but kept checking the RSS feed daily.

Then in mid-December the Graffiti Yellow Strat body pops up in the Showcase. The timing was about as lousy as it could be, I'd already sunk a huge bunch of cash into my Charvel project and was just days away from dropping more coin on the body finish, but there was no choice. So here it is (apologies for the phone pics):

Body is a standard Strat. Swamp Ash with a universal rout.

Neck specs are Modern construction, 1-11/16" nut width, 10-16" radius, Wolfgang profile, 6100SS frets and a black Tusq nut.

For the hardware, I went with a Gotoh 510 trem, Gotoh SG360 locking tuners, Dunlop strap locks, a 24mm Sanwa arcade button, a Bourns low friction 500k pot and a Jalen '78 (clone of a Duncan '78 for half the cost).

The neck is being finished in tung oil. Just following the directions on the can: Rub in a coat, wait 10 minutes, buff it all off, let it dry for 24 hrs, repeat. Two coats in and it's coming along very nicely.

The body assembly is mostly complete. I just have to install the strap locks. The knob is a placeholder, the black Strat tone knob I got from Warmoth was the wrong size. It doesn't match the theme but I kinda like it anyway.

 

[Cagey]

That's a beauty! I like that a lot, and have an urge for they same color scheme myself. I was going to do it with an SG-style guitar, but I bought some "kit" online  years ago without looking too closely at it and it turned out to be a 7 string. How that got by me I'll never know (don't shop online in the middle of the night after a few beers) , but it's sitting in the basement now just rotting...

 

[rgand]

That is an outstanding color. This will be a beautiful guitar.  :icon_thumright:

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

Thanks guys. I am very happy with the color. For a while I was tempted by an XGP Strat body, obviously for the price but also because the yellow seemed warmer than the Graffiti yellow based on pictures I've seen. Ultimately I went with Warmoth for the piece of mind factor. I knew it would work, while the XGP was a question mark. As it turns out, Graffiti Yellow is perfect.

 

[BigSteve22]

That's look'n spiffy! A '69 Super Bee Strat, more pix as they become available, please!

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

That's look'n spiffy! A '69 Super Bee Strat, more pix as they become available, please!

This is my idea for the headstock:

 

[vetteman]

Somebody needs to point out that Harrison Fords' ride in American Graffiti was the black shoebox Chevy, not the yellow Ford.  :tard:

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

Somebody needs to point out that Harrison Fords' ride in American Graffiti was the black shoebox Chevy, not the yellow Ford.  :tard:

Yeah, well, the only things I remember from that movie are Harrison Ford and the yellow Ford and your theory makes no sense. Why would Harrison Ford drive a Chevy?  :toothy12:

 

[Mule Train]

John Miller’s car was boss!

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

It lives!

It needs a setup, and I still have to get the right knob but in the meantime I'm very happy to finally play this thing. It sounds great, the pickup is very chewy but has a bright edge that just loves gain. The Gotoh trem and tuners do the job, even with a new set of strings there aren't any tuning issues after serious dive bombing.

Assembly was incredibly easy. Having never done anything like this before I was afraid it would be a huge pain in the ass, but it came together with no real glitches. The only issue was the jack plate I bought wasn't a drop in fit, I had to lengthen the hole a bit. I'm sure if I had bought the part from Warmoth it would have fit fine. The only real nerve wracking part was drilling the pickguard.

In hindsight I'm not sure a low-friction pot was the best choice for that position, as it can get bumped very easily. But most of the problem seems to lie with the chrome barrel knob I'm using for now, since I sometimes bumping the upper corner of it. I'm also going to take out the treble bleed mod I put on the pot. I was hoping it would get me the same dynamic I get from the 50s wiring on my Les Pauls, but it's way too bright and shrill when I roll down the volume. I'm sure messing with different values would get it to a sweet spot, but I'm gonna see how it feels without it first.

The only other little quibble I have is not going with an angled humbucker. I think it would have looked a little more hot rod, and of course lined up the pole pieces better.

But on the whole I'm very, very happy, and totally blown away by how smoothly it all came together.

This is the best photo I can do right now. As soon as there's some sun I'll take a picture in natural light, that's where the color shines.

 

[stratamania]

Well done and you are only a pickguard away from an angled humbucker and a possible adjustment under the hood of this yellow hot rod.

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

Yeah that's something I'm looking forward to with this guitar, the ease of modifications. The Charvel I'm building is the total opposite. Locked in, no reversing course. With this one, I've already got ideas of where I can take it if I get bored.

 

[stratamania]

Yeah that's something I'm looking forward to with this guitar, the ease of modifications. The Charvel I'm building is the total opposite. Locked in, no reversing course. With this one, I've already got ideas of where I can take it if I get bored.

Indeed, good to have at least one where you can mod without a challenge.

 

[rgand]

Outstanding. It's a good vision carried out to a reality. Real muscle car vibes, there.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I like it.  I would have done either a Floyd or a hardtail, but that's just me. We agree on the knob and you're fixing that. And yeah, I don't go for the treble-bleed thing either. I like the tone to fatten up when I back off the volume.
Definitely a cool theme. I had a friend who stored his '69 Super Bee in my garage for 2 years.

 

[BigSteve22]

An idea for the knob, I came across these cuff links:

Thought maybe one could be inlaid in the top of a guitar knob. I just don't see a dimension listed. (I know, it's a 5 speed...) If your interested, here's the link:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/724038706/manual-gear-cufflinks?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=shift+knob&ref=sc_gallery-1-4&plkey=d2c9261752082465aa18206072c9ea73491d0b63%3A724038706

Another thought is that maybe Doug, (DangerousR6), could cut a 4 speed pattern into the top of a knob for you.

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

I like it.  I would have done either a Floyd or a hardtail, bit that's just me. We agree on the knob and you're fixing that. And yeah, I don't go for the treble-bleed thing either. I like the tone to fatten up when I back off the volume.
Definitely a cool theme. I had a friend who stored his '69 Super Bee in my garage for 2 years.

I have plans for a few super strats, and all of them have a Floyd but this one. Honestly, one of the biggest motivators for not doing a Floyd was being able to play Shot in the Dark. I didn't want to dedicate a whole guitar to that song's weird tuning and it has behind-the-nut bends as well. But I really wanted a trem too, so on this guitar I split the difference between a Floyd and a hard tail.

I thought about going with a top-mounted NFT Floyd but it would have been too much hassle, Warmoth doesn't stock finished bodies with angled pockets and they won't drill for Floyd posts on a regular Strat body. I hated recessed trems so that killed that. I'm pretty happy with my choice. I can't dive down to the "strings falling off the neck" level and I do prefer the height of a Floyd but I can do everything I need to with it and there have been zero tuning issues.

An idea for the knob, I came across these cuff links:

Thought maybe one could be inlaid in the top of a guitar knob. I just don't see a dimension listed. (I know, it's a 5 speed...) If your interested, here's the link:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/724038706/manual-gear-cufflinks?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=shift+knob&ref=sc_gallery-1-4&plkey=d2c9261752082465aa18206072c9ea73491d0b63%3A724038706

Another thought is that maybe Doug, (DangerousR6), could cut a 4 speed pattern into the top of a knob for you.

I really like the idea of cutting a pattern into a knob, but I think for now I'm gonna stick to a simple tone knob. I am gonna pull another page out of Jumble's book though, and use a marker to tint the lettering yellow.

 

[Logrinn]

... (I know, it's a 5 speed...)...

1=Rock’n’roll
2=Rock
3=Hardrock
4=Metal
5=Blast off
R=Jazz

Nah, I’m just kidding :icon_jokercolor:

 

[rgand]

... (I know, it's a 5 speed...)...

1=Rock’n’roll
2=Rock
3=Hardrock
4=Metal
5=Blast off
R=Jazz

Nah, I’m just kidding :icon_jokercolor:

What? No Overdrive? :icon_biggrin:

 

[TheGreatRedDragon]

A few weeks in and I'm bonding with the guitar very nicely. I love the feel of the Wolfgang profile and the 6100SS frets, it fits very comfortably in the hand and hammer-ons and bends are effortless. This is definitely the combo I'll go with on my next Strat project.

I've finally got the proper knob put on (I tinted the letters yellow with a marker) and I've got a set of black pickup mounting screws I'll swap in the next time I get it all apart, which is when I'll remove the treble bleed.

(forgive the broken string, I haven't had a chance to run out and get a swap yet.)

It's funny, I was just asked which of my guitars I could afford to lose in a fire and by default I answered this one, because I could just build it again with the same parts. But even with that in mind I'd hate to lose it because everything just came together so right.