G. Hoffman
April 9th, 2008, 07:20 AM
I guess I must.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2400510188_17090de265.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2400510188_17090de265_b.jpg)
If you've looked at my construction thread in The Womb, you've seen the surf guitar (which is a prototype - available soon from a guitar shop near you, as long as you live near my shop; otherwise you'll need to give me a call), but the black strat is just a parts guitar I threw together for a couple of reasons - first, I fell in love with that gold anodized aluminum pickguard, and second, I wanted to try the new Seymour Duncan Strat Classic Stack Plus pickups (AWESOME, since you asked - a lot like Kinmans, which is a VERY good thing).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2030/2400510490_d252e67594.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2030/2400510490_d252e67594_b.jpg)
Cool bridge, but more to the point, you can see the finish better here. It's got texture! Instead of making it as flat as I possibly could, I skipped the whole grain filler thing, and instead of using a color coat of lacquer, I used an oil stain on the wood so the color didn't fill up the pours either. It's also easily the thinnest lacquer finish I've ever sprayed, and really the thinnest I can imagine being able to do, which also helps keep the grain visible. The texture of the finish really looks great with the finish.
The odd thing is, with all the guitars I've had over the years, this is the first real "Strat" I've had. OK, they are not actually single coil pickups, but they sure as heck sound like they are. I finished it at 11:00 last night, and by the time I got to work at 1:00 this afternoon, I'd already played it for six hours. Let's just say that if I keep up with this thing, I'll be very glad I got the stainless frets. This thing is dynamite!
The body is just a cheap, but feather light, swamp ash body from WD Music (made somewhere in Asia, but whatever), the neck is from USA Custom Guitars (right now, they are making the best replacement necks for Fenders on the market - except because of trademark issues they can't (quite) do Fender headstocks. The only actual Fender pieces on it are the pickguard (God I love that gold anodized aluminum!), the "No-Load" tone pot, and the knobs. The tuners are from Gotoh (510 mini locking gears), and the bridge is from Hipshot. The pickups are a set of Seymour Duncan Classic Stack Plus STK-S4's, wired so that in the 2 and 4 positions (the in between quack positions - or as my friend Dean Magraw calls them, "the money positions") the stack coils are eliminated, making them REAL single coils. I could go on about these things, but I think I'd rather go play the damn thing!
Gabriel
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2400510188_17090de265.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2400510188_17090de265_b.jpg)
If you've looked at my construction thread in The Womb, you've seen the surf guitar (which is a prototype - available soon from a guitar shop near you, as long as you live near my shop; otherwise you'll need to give me a call), but the black strat is just a parts guitar I threw together for a couple of reasons - first, I fell in love with that gold anodized aluminum pickguard, and second, I wanted to try the new Seymour Duncan Strat Classic Stack Plus pickups (AWESOME, since you asked - a lot like Kinmans, which is a VERY good thing).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2030/2400510490_d252e67594.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2030/2400510490_d252e67594_b.jpg)
Cool bridge, but more to the point, you can see the finish better here. It's got texture! Instead of making it as flat as I possibly could, I skipped the whole grain filler thing, and instead of using a color coat of lacquer, I used an oil stain on the wood so the color didn't fill up the pours either. It's also easily the thinnest lacquer finish I've ever sprayed, and really the thinnest I can imagine being able to do, which also helps keep the grain visible. The texture of the finish really looks great with the finish.
The odd thing is, with all the guitars I've had over the years, this is the first real "Strat" I've had. OK, they are not actually single coil pickups, but they sure as heck sound like they are. I finished it at 11:00 last night, and by the time I got to work at 1:00 this afternoon, I'd already played it for six hours. Let's just say that if I keep up with this thing, I'll be very glad I got the stainless frets. This thing is dynamite!
The body is just a cheap, but feather light, swamp ash body from WD Music (made somewhere in Asia, but whatever), the neck is from USA Custom Guitars (right now, they are making the best replacement necks for Fenders on the market - except because of trademark issues they can't (quite) do Fender headstocks. The only actual Fender pieces on it are the pickguard (God I love that gold anodized aluminum!), the "No-Load" tone pot, and the knobs. The tuners are from Gotoh (510 mini locking gears), and the bridge is from Hipshot. The pickups are a set of Seymour Duncan Classic Stack Plus STK-S4's, wired so that in the 2 and 4 positions (the in between quack positions - or as my friend Dean Magraw calls them, "the money positions") the stack coils are eliminated, making them REAL single coils. I could go on about these things, but I think I'd rather go play the damn thing!
Gabriel