So I've been wanting to try my hand at assembling a custom Stratocaster for a long time. I've been playing 15 years and just could never find a production Strat that had the specs that I wanted. I'd always loved browsing Warmoth's site and last summer, finally bit the bullet and ordered some stuff to build my first custom Strat.
Initially I thought about building a classic, vintage style Strat with a sunburst ash body and a CBS headstock maple neck. My fiance', however, asked me why I wanted to build an axe that looked like an off-the-rack guitar. Her logic prevailed and I decided to go with something a little flashier:
It's a Warmoth Strat body in Magenta Burst finish. I've never seen a Strat with this finish before and was absolutely smitten by it.
I went with a super nice Warmoth birdseye maple neck with 6150 stainless steel frets and a clear gloss finish in 59 roundback profile:
Here's the pile o' parts I decided on for the rest of the axe (Fender American Standard trem, vintage style Kluson tuners and Custom Shop '69 pickups)
So the build began. Almost everything went without a hitch, besides the tuner holes in the headstock which needed some very slight widening to fit the tuner bushings. I also had an issue with the neck/heel fitment -- I made sure everything was seated and aligned properly, but even with everything adjusted properly my strings were sitting on the fretboard. I had to max the saddle adjustment screws out in order to make the guitar remotely playable, and even then it was a buzzing mess as the action was way too low.
Solution? Shim at the front of the neck pocket. Didn't dare sand the heel or body, and a small shim did the trick! Now it plays like an absolute champ, and is the nicest axe I've ever had the pleasure of owning.
Here's some completed pics:
And here's a short demo of the Strat's clean sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDqZsa3yCIc
The build bug has gotten it's evil grip on me...here's a mockup of my next build, parts arriving any day now:
Rock on!!!!
Initially I thought about building a classic, vintage style Strat with a sunburst ash body and a CBS headstock maple neck. My fiance', however, asked me why I wanted to build an axe that looked like an off-the-rack guitar. Her logic prevailed and I decided to go with something a little flashier:
It's a Warmoth Strat body in Magenta Burst finish. I've never seen a Strat with this finish before and was absolutely smitten by it.
I went with a super nice Warmoth birdseye maple neck with 6150 stainless steel frets and a clear gloss finish in 59 roundback profile:
Here's the pile o' parts I decided on for the rest of the axe (Fender American Standard trem, vintage style Kluson tuners and Custom Shop '69 pickups)
So the build began. Almost everything went without a hitch, besides the tuner holes in the headstock which needed some very slight widening to fit the tuner bushings. I also had an issue with the neck/heel fitment -- I made sure everything was seated and aligned properly, but even with everything adjusted properly my strings were sitting on the fretboard. I had to max the saddle adjustment screws out in order to make the guitar remotely playable, and even then it was a buzzing mess as the action was way too low.
Solution? Shim at the front of the neck pocket. Didn't dare sand the heel or body, and a small shim did the trick! Now it plays like an absolute champ, and is the nicest axe I've ever had the pleasure of owning.
Here's some completed pics:
And here's a short demo of the Strat's clean sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDqZsa3yCIc
The build bug has gotten it's evil grip on me...here's a mockup of my next build, parts arriving any day now:
Rock on!!!!
ccasion14:
