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mudimba In reply to Mike-McNice [2016-05-24 23:49:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! I don't intend to sell it or anything, so I suppose I maybe could have used any headstock design I wanted, but the headstock is a trademarked shape and is generally considered to be like the signature of the maker. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I would have used the Fender headstock I would technically have had to blur it out in this picture. That is why you will see a number of boutique guitar companies that make this shape of guitar (the patents on the Stratocaster have long ago expired), but they all have their own headstock designs.

Out of curiosity, which Fender design do you like? I like the earliest shapes, but feel like since the mid 60's (I guess after the CBS takeover) they got too big and bulbous. I guess there are a lot of things about 60's and 70's design that you probably just had to be there to understand.

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Mike-McNice In reply to mudimba [2016-06-16 06:41:40 +0000 UTC]

The basses are my favorite, P-bass, J-bass. Also like the strats with that wider head, believe they are the Mexican. Not only fender though, I also like Gibsons, tremendously good-looking guitars they are.

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mudimba In reply to zilla774 [2016-05-24 23:31:22 +0000 UTC]

I know you would have put in a black scratchplate with red knobs right?

This is the first Strat I've owned, so I'm not sure how it compares to other strats. Compared to my teles I would call it a bit more forgiving. I can be a bit more sloppy with my pick and sound OK. I'm a huge fan of the ebony fingerboard, maybe because I played cello when I was younger, but I really like the slick feeling of ebony. The neck pickup is way nicer than what is in either of my teles. It has a really even, maybe jazzy sound. Positions 2 and 4 have some nice quack to them, I like them with a little bit of distortion to get some of that 60's rock kind of sound. The bridge is nice an twangy, which I love, but of course if you want twang a tele is more of the way to go. 

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zilla774 In reply to mudimba [2016-05-25 08:58:34 +0000 UTC]

Ha yeah might well have done

I love teles more than strats from an aesthetic perspective but yes I'd be putting in a hotrails or stacked bridge pickup to give it a bit more bite and depth. But then that seems to defeat the object right?

I've always been a fan of ebony and rosewood necks. I also don't like painted or varnished neck backs.

I think you've done an amazing job just trying to build this let alone getting this kind of result. Kudos man

It's inspired me to try my own build next. I think I'll source all the parts vs whittling bits of wood

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mudimba In reply to zilla774 [2016-05-25 23:38:45 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, to be honest I like teles more too. My goal is to eventually be building guitars of my own design, so right now I'm building a sampling of the really classic shapes so I can try to get an understanding of what made them classic. I think an HSS strat would probably fit me better, but I felt like the strat became so famous because people like Jimi, the Beatles, Clapton, etc. so I wanted to do something like a '62 SSS. 

For the back of this neck I was once again going for what would make a '62 a classic, so I put nitro on it, but I didn't completely polish where your hand goes. They didn't have a satin varnish back then, so they would have used gloss, but after some hard playing the neck would get more slippery, which is supposedly similar to it being sanded with 600 grit sandpaper. As I get into ones that are more my own design, I'll probably experiment with leaving the necks exposed wood. On one of the ones I'm building now I'm working graphite into the wood (for coloring). It feels amazing and fast, but it turns your hands black right away! So, unfortunately I am going to have to put some kind of finish on it.

You should totally try building your own, you would do an amazing job with it! Making a neck is a big undertaking (mostly because you end up having to buy/make a lot of specialized tools), but shaping the body yourself is very doable if you have a pillar drill and a router.

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zilla774 In reply to mudimba [2016-05-26 12:09:27 +0000 UTC]

I think I'll get a "kit" body and neck to start with, then add the hardware to suit.

I'm the same as you, everytime I imagine what I want out of a guitar I end up with HSH, floating trem, locking nut, 24fret ultra slim neck, every combination of pickup options imaginable etc etc ( which is exactly what I turned my gigging rig into and then only ended up using the bridge pickup...). But in this instance I'd want a Tele that looked like a tele, played like one, but had better bridge, electronics and pickups. that way I can add it to my collection,not just feel like I'm creating generic sounds each time. If that goes well I might try a strat. 

I've never really been a fan of the way the strat plays - I love the sound and look, but the pickguard/pickups are all a little too close to the strings for me, not to mention the volume knob. But the sound is something I really want. Perhaps that answers my question about the Tele - it should feel like the tele and sound more like a strat. That might be more fun

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mudimba In reply to zilla774 [2016-05-26 18:58:40 +0000 UTC]

So maybe a tele with a middle pickup (but keep the master tone/volume), and a tremolo?

From the research I've done, a major contributor to the difference in tele and strat tones (other than the obvious middle pickup) comes from the bridge. The tele string through bridge takes most of the force from the strings, and directs it downward on the saddles. The U-turn that the strings take in a strat means the saddles only have moderate downwards pressure, and most of the force goes to pulling the trem block towards the neck.

One of the guitars I'm building now is a "keef" style tele with a humbucker in the neck because I can't really get a tele neck to sound inspiring (good chance that has to do more with my playing than the pickups, but we'll just ignore that). It is funny, I very rarely listen to country or jazz, but when I play I like the bridge to sound shrill and twangy, and the neck to sound ultra smooth.

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zilla774 In reply to mudimba [2016-05-27 11:33:47 +0000 UTC]

I'd be tempted with the middle pickup, or perhaps a better combination switcher to give some nice tapped/out of phase clean sounds. I wouldn't want a trem on it, like you that for me seems to defeat the object. I dont just want a super strat that looks like a tele. I want a tele that plays and feels like a tele but just with a slightly edgier, fully sound.

The bridge on the old teles isnt great though, I don't like the feel of it, it's uncomfortable and badly designed imo. I'd probably put on a more modern "flatter" feel with six adjusters instead of three. That would probably be my most important compromise. Otherwise I'm planning on just adding locking tuners (standard nut).

I'm with you on the S/H style, I quite like the way it looks and sounds, but I think I'd probably put a stacked, or hot rails in there to maintain the aesthetic. But then that's the fun with it all, you can try different things to find what you like. With any luck it might even improve my playing style lol.

Got me all motivated now man!

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mudimba In reply to zilla774 [2016-05-27 19:05:10 +0000 UTC]

I like the look of the old tele bridges, but I understand why they aren't for everybody. They are certainly cheap, Leo was always one to save a dime when he could, but that is part of what makes them appealing to me. Kind of like newspaper wrapped around fish and chips, you can get a nicer package but it is part of the comfortable feel. The only thing I like to alter is trimming off some of the "sidewalls". Its just a PITA when your pick gets caught up in those (subtlety and control are not hallmarks of my playing).

Not sure if you are already aware, but if you do get a kit guitar, make sure to check the hole placement (or get one without holes, though drilling the string throughs are annoyingly complex). Those modern flat bridges have different screw and string through locations.

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