Well, here it is, the reason I’m here, the Strat of Theseus.
Got this guitar cheap from a friend years ago, but never really played electric for a long time. It sat for a while and the electronics were terrible, so at some point I took the hardware off, sanded down the finish (it was black, full of stickers) and replaced the pickguard with a loaded one from Stewmac. Still didn’t play it much, but it worked.
Lately I’ve actually started playing electric, and with that got the itch to upgrade.
I’ve always kind of wanted to build a guitar anyway, so I decided why not just start upgrading until I eventually replaced every single part with really good stuff, and end up with a whole new guitar.
Started looking at body makers and Warmoth came up a lot, being able to really select every single feature of a neck and body is awesome to me (even if I ultimately get one from the showcase if it has what I want when the time comes).
Currently the build list is as follows:
Electronics:
Fender CS Fat60’s pickups
Master Volume
TBX Tone Stack
Blender (currently Armstrong mod)
Body:
Roasted Swamp Ash, oil finished
Black pickguard
Gotoh 510 Tremolo Gold
Gold output jack
Black or Gold pickup covers
Neck:
Warhead Vintage/Modern
Roasted Maple
Rosewood Fretboard
1.650” nut
Clapton profile
9.5-14” compound radius
SS6150 frets
Mother of Pearl dots
Gotoh locking tuners (black)
Tuners were the first upgrade since the old ones were terrible. Went with the SG318’s. Easy swap, had to drill out the peg holes since they were antique style.
Next I decided to go ahead and try out the Armstrong mod. A lot of people love it, a lot of people don’t think wide spaced “humbuckers” sound right. So far I’m enjoying it, though I’ve only played with it for a couple of days. I definitely want to try a traditional blender mod at some point to compare and see if I prefer the Neck+Bridge option, but for now I’m enjoying the new sounds.
Next I’ll be saving up for the pickups.
Got this guitar cheap from a friend years ago, but never really played electric for a long time. It sat for a while and the electronics were terrible, so at some point I took the hardware off, sanded down the finish (it was black, full of stickers) and replaced the pickguard with a loaded one from Stewmac. Still didn’t play it much, but it worked.
Lately I’ve actually started playing electric, and with that got the itch to upgrade.
I’ve always kind of wanted to build a guitar anyway, so I decided why not just start upgrading until I eventually replaced every single part with really good stuff, and end up with a whole new guitar.
Started looking at body makers and Warmoth came up a lot, being able to really select every single feature of a neck and body is awesome to me (even if I ultimately get one from the showcase if it has what I want when the time comes).
Currently the build list is as follows:
Electronics:
Fender CS Fat60’s pickups
Master Volume
TBX Tone Stack
Blender (currently Armstrong mod
)Body:
Roasted Swamp Ash, oil finished
Black pickguard
Gotoh 510 Tremolo Gold
Gold output jack
Black or Gold pickup covers
Neck:
Warhead Vintage/Modern
Roasted Maple
Rosewood Fretboard
1.650” nut
Clapton profile
9.5-14” compound radius
SS6150 frets
Mother of Pearl dots
Gotoh locking tuners (black)
Tuners were the first upgrade since the old ones were terrible. Went with the SG318’s. Easy swap, had to drill out the peg holes since they were antique style.
Next I decided to go ahead and try out the Armstrong mod. A lot of people love it, a lot of people don’t think wide spaced “humbuckers” sound right. So far I’m enjoying it, though I’ve only played with it for a couple of days. I definitely want to try a traditional blender mod at some point to compare and see if I prefer the Neck+Bridge option, but for now I’m enjoying the new sounds.
Next I’ll be saving up for the pickups.
Last edited:
