Belated Birthday New Guitar Day:

[Brian Krashpad]

OK, so last week I turned 50. I "splurged"and spent a Benjamin (OK, $103 + shipping) on an Ebay cheapie. A Squier Bullet Strat. The seller yanked the black scratchplate with the generic humbucker and only a volume knob, and replaced it with a pearloid plate and 2 GFS P-90's, expanding the circuit to have a 3-way switch, and adding a tone pot. He threw in the original still-wired HB scratchplate.

Before I get to the pics, I have to say a HUGE thank you to Harmony-Central forumite FrettnOvrNuttn! I bid on this not noticing it was Paypal-only (traceable) and Gary agreed to buy it on his Paypal account and have it sent to me, trusting I would send payment to him. He did this out of the goodness of his heart. THANK YOU FRETTN!

Anyhow, the guitar is beautiful and looks much better than the auction photos (the color is a metallic blue with a definite purple undertone). I've only had the chance to very briefly test it, but everything works and it's virtually in brand-new condition. The action is low, the intonation perfect!

Now to the pics:

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/3078/hpim0627pc8.jpg

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7833/hpim0625os5.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7226/hpim0626ip3.jpg

Only thing I may change is the tophat on the 3-way switch. I have a Tele that has a white Strat switch tip on it and I will probably switch the swtich tips on them.

But Krashpad is a happy camper. Thanks again Gary!

[thearabianmage]

Those humbuckers look weird. . .how old is the Strat?

[Brian Krashpad]

Those humbuckers look weird. . .how old is the Strat?

Haha, they're not humbuckers. P-90's. It's a single-coil pickup that used to be on all Gibson guitars before they invented the humbucker. I love P-90's. Kinda the "best of both worlds" between a humbucker and a trad Fender-style single-coil.

I'm guessing the Strat can't be more than 1 or 2 years old at the most.

[just strum]

Brian,

Looks good and can't beat the price. I assume the P90's are a mod, yes? I've never seen a stock strat with P90's, but then again I am not a strat expert.

The P90's alone have to be $75 -$100 each depending on brand (could be cheaper/could be more).

:AOK: :AOK: :AOK:

[Brian Krashpad]

Brian,

Looks good and can't beat the price. I assume the P90's are a mod, yes? I've never seen a stock strat with P90's, but then again I am not a strat expert.

The P90's alone have to be $75 -$100 each depending on brand (could be cheaper/could be more).

:AOK: :AOK: :AOK:

You're correct on all counts, except the price on the pups. The P-90 brand is GFS, which is sorta a "budget/boutique" brand-- they list for $34 each, but have a very good rep amongst players. The head guy of GFS (also know as "Guitar Fetish"), Jay, posts over at Harmony-Central from time to time, and seems like a good guy.

[street music]

Brian,
Great find on that strat, I just put the GFS Dream P90s in my Godin and I love the sound on mine. That is a great looking axe and for the money what more could you want.

[Brian Krashpad]

Brian,
Great find on that strat, I just put the GFS Dream P90s in my Godin and I love the sound on mine. That is a great looking axe and for the money what more could you want.

Thanks.

Yeah, it's crazy what you can get for almost nothing nowadays.

:rockon:

[Tone2TheBone]

Cool geetar Krash I dig that blue color. P-90s rule dude great score.

[Brian Krashpad]

Cool geetar Krash I dig that blue color. P-90s rule dude great score.

Thanks Rob. The GFS P-90's alone are worth just shy of $70, + the new scratchplate, pots, and switch. So at a minimum I didn't lose money, for sure.

:AOK:

[Spudman]

Happy happy, joy joy. :bravo: New toys are awesome. Congratulations.


Hey, how come none of you blokes hassle him for clips?:confused: :poke:

[Brian Krashpad]

Happy happy, joy joy. :bravo: New toys are awesome. Congratulations.


Hey, how come none of you blokes hassle him for clips?:confused: :poke:

Haha, they probably all know I'm a good century behind everyone else and don't know how to do that.

[sunvalleylaw]

I'll hassle him! Brian can record if he wants too. You can record dude, I know you can. Cable and computer will do it. Come on now! LOL!!




Oh yeah, Congrats!! :D :beer:

[Brian Krashpad]

I'll hassle him! Brian can record if he wants too. You can record dude, I know you can. Cable and computer will do it.


But I don't have the cable.



Oh yeah, Congrats!! :D :beer:

Why thank you!

[sunvalleylaw]

But I don't have the cable.

OMG!! the Excuses!



Why thank you!

You're welcome. :) It looks really cool. I have never heard a P-90 strat. We need to HEAR it! :D

[Brian Krashpad]

Btw, is that 3rd pic cutting off for everyone else?

It didn't do that yesterday.

Anyhow, I'll upload it again, here:

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3171/pearlcloseupxj1.jpg

[SuperSwede]

Nice geetar Krashpad!

[luvmyshiner]

Sweet deal Brian!

[Brian Krashpad]

Sweet deal Brian!

Thanks, I reckon the parts alone for the upgrades cost at least $80-$90 USD.

So I paid from $13-$23 for the guitar itself (and still have a leftover original wired-up scratchplate and humbucker I could use, sell, or give away). Shipping was a little high, but it got here safe and sound from the other side of the country, so I ain't complaining.

[sumitomo]

Nice ride Brian.But now I know your in the same boat Im in cause I dont know how to record and the like but as soon as I do its clips or it sounds like crap!!!! Sumi:D:D

[just strum]

Hey, how come none of you blokes hassle him for clips?:confused: :poke:

Who have I ever hassled for clips??? :poke: back at ya!

[bigoldron]

Nice snag, Brian. How do you like the GFS's? I'm considering putting them in my new idol to replace the stockers. I've never played P90's before, though, so I'm still getting used to the sound of them.


This is my baby that I'm wanting to upgrade. Can't stand it - have to tinker... :D
<<<<<<<<<<<<<

[Brian Krashpad]

Nice snag, Brian. How do you like the GFS's? I'm considering putting them in my new idol to replace the stockers. I've never played P90's before, though, so I'm still getting used to the sound of them.


This is my baby that I'm wanting to upgrade. Can't stand it - have to tinker... :D
<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I like them just fine, but have not been able to really crank the guitar with them, even on my tiny practice amp, yet, though. Monday night I had Scouts, Tuesday was a flag football league game, and last night was the UEFA Cup Final and helping build a miniature "car" for my son's science class.

I'm hoping I can get a chance to play at least a bit loud this evening, even if only on my tiny practice amp.

What guitar is that you're thinking about modding? Frankly, my rather limited experience with P-90's (this is my 4th P-90 guitar, but have acquired all in the last 5 years or so, and three of the 4 in the last couple years) is that they tend to sound much more similar, despite different makes and even materials differences (for instance, I have one guitar with ceramic magnet P-90's but the rest have alnico), than do humbuckers.

So basically I'd have to be pretty unhappy with a pair of P-90's to switch them out. I can tell you that the GFS ones are not done so that one is reverse-wound/reverse-polarity (RW/RP) of the other. Thus you don't get hum-cancelling in the middle position like on some sets. My no-name ceramic stock Agile P-90's are RW/RP, as are the Duncan Designeds in my Schecter Tempest Special. But the GFS in this Strat are not, nor are the Seymour Duncans in my Hamer USA Special. Go figure!

[bigoldron]

It's that Washburn Idol prototype that's in my profile picture, the one I got for a sweet deal. The one's that are in it are OK, I guess. I'm just not used to the sound of a P90. They sound a little harsh at times, but I found out when I back off the treble on my amp (or the tone pots for that matter), it does sweeten up a little bit.

Even if I leave the stock pickups, I am going to swap out the cheap Asian electronics for some CTS pots and some good caps. That alone can make a big difference. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the help. I hope you don't take too much offense at my "good-natured" ribbing about being a Gator. Lately, I've really felt like a "Criminole" instead of a "Seminole". So, nobodies perfect...

[Brian Krashpad]

It's that Washburn Idol prototype that's in my profile picture, the one I got for a sweet deal. The one's that are in it are OK, I guess. I'm just not used to the sound of a P90. They sound a little harsh at times, but I found out when I back off the treble on my amp (or the tone pots for that matter), it does sweeten up a little bit.

Even if I leave the stock pickups, I am going to swap out the cheap Asian electronics for some CTS pots and some good caps. That alone can make a big difference. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the help. I hope you don't take too much offense at my "good-natured" ribbing about being a Gator. Lately, I've really felt like a "Criminole" instead of a "Seminole". So, nobodies perfect...

Haha, no, most Gators, us old ones anyhow, have pretty thick skins. Bull gators!

Do you know if your stock P-90's are ceramic vs. alnico? I'd expect ceramics to be a bit more harsh-- but in general even alnico P-90's are a lot more mid-rangey than many if not most HB's.

[bigoldron]

Haha, no, most Gators, us old ones anyhow, have pretty thick skins. Bull gators!

Do you know if your stock P-90's are ceramic vs. alnico? I'd expect ceramics to be a bit more harsh-- but in general even alnico P-90's are a lot more mid-rangey than many if not most HB's.

Don't know what's in them. I pulled the bridge p/up out the other day to see if they were single or double coils. Another Washburn fan told me that on the 66PROG's, the p/ups were stacked double coils with a push/pull tone pot. Not so on mine.

From what I could tell, they were single coils, with some cheapo Asian pots. I didn't notice any writing/marking/designation of any kind on the pickup itself, but I do overlook stuff occasionally. I'll pull it back out this weekend and find out for sure (or at least try to) what it is. Since it's a prototype from China, Washburn probably stuck the cheapest pots and pickups it could find in it.

Still, it's not too bad, it does have a hum issue and it gets a little harsh, especially when it gets loud, but I like the way she feels and how she plays, so I'll start modding her a little until I get that "magic tone". Thanks for the help, Bro! If I'm ever in Gainesville, I'll give you a shout and try to catch you playing somewhere. :rockon: