I Think I Have A Mental Disorder...

[Bloozcat]

So, I declared this self imposed gear buying moratorium recently until I get some of my growing back log of projects completed. I even said it out loud to others as an affirmation of my resolve.

Well, so much for my resolve....
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/Body56.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/Body57.jpg
The best layed plans of mice, men, and gear junkies...
Yep, it's mine, or will be once the big brown truck once again darkens my doorway...:o

[Algonquin]

Coolio. :AOK: It's routed for H-S-H... is that how you'll load it up?

[bigoldron]

Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Bloozcat]

Coolio. :AOK: It's routed for H-S-H... is that how you'll load it up?

I plan to do a dual use set-up. I'm going to get a pickguard routed for two P-90's and the standard V/T/T plus a three way CRL (old Fender type) switch. Then I'm going to get another identical pickguard routed for two humbuckers and the same controls. The P-90 pickguard will have aged knobs and switch tip, that will hopefully match or blend with the cream colored P-90 covers. I haven't decided yet as to the knobs on the humbucker pickguard. The pickguards will be vintage white pearloid, which has that nice aged pearly/yellowed sort of look to them. I have a pair of humbuckers that have nickel silver covers on them right now, or the covers could be removed, leaving the exposed black coils. The other pair of humbuckers I have are cream colored on all four coils (tough luck DiMarzio...I got them before you sent your nasty-gram to Highorder :tongue: ). Since the humbuckers are two wire, I'm not going to do any coil tapping, I've got enough Strats for that. I want this set-up to be straight P-90, straight humbucker. Right now, I'm leaning toward the exposed black coil humbuckers as opposed to the cream ones. The Black ones are Rio Grande Genuine Texas/Texas BBQ's, and those should just scream in that ash/maple, body/neck combo. The Highorders are PAF clones, and as such, are probably better suited to my Agile LP clone.

In order to facilitate an easy change out, I'll need to use a 21 fret neck (maple/maple) with no fretboard over-hang to interfere with the pickguard removal. Then I'm going to use screw-in brass anchors in the body and machine screws to secure the pickguard(s) in place. This will make swap-outs possible without the danger of stripping out the wood where the pickguard screws normally attach right into the wood. For the input jack wiring, I plan to use a set screw quick coupler to attach the hot wire and the ground. From there, the other ends of the wiring will be permanently soldered to their respective hot (volume pot), and ground (pot shell or star ground). Since the control cavity will be shielded and grounded, I'll attach the tremolo ground wire directly to the grounded shielding via a wire eyelet. Because changing the strings will be required (most likely) to do the swap, this isn't going to be a middle-of-a-gig type change out system. It'll be more like an, I think I'd like to play humbuckers through this a while (or vice, versa).

As to the finish, I'm going to do a tobacco burst on the body, and a vintage amber on the neck. If all goes according to plan, the base color of the body burst (amber) will match the neck finish, which will also be amber. I really like the looks of the grain structure on this body. It's all fairly straight and flows in pretty much the same direction. It reminds me of the grain on my trans blue Deluxe Players Strat body...and that looks great. The only area on the body where the grain doesn't follow the same lines, is on the front, lower side. But that area will be almost completely covered by the pickguard any way, so it shouldn't matter.

Planning is such fun. And if the guitar gods smile upon me and everything works out according to plan, it'll pretty cool stuff...:)

[sunvalleylaw]

Sounds like a cool plan. Will enjoy seeing the progress.

[Bloozcat]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the body only weighs 3lbs., 12oz., so it's pretty lightweight. The seller I bought it from said that they have their own "source" for these bodies, but I'm betting it's a Mighty Mite. If that's the case, then I already know that the forearm cut on the front and and the back contour are not as deep as on a Fender...especially the vintage style.

But, that's not a big deal, I've relieved these areas on other bodies. It's actually positive in the end, because it will reduce the weight by a good ounce or two. When it comes to Strat bodies I like them on the light side. That doesn't always guarantee a resonant body, but it certainly increases the chances of it.

[warren0728]

sounds like a lot of work switching pickup combos...i suggest you get a second body and neck and have two....it's only money! :poke: :beer:

ww

[street music]

Bloozcat, I was looking at one of those the other night and really think it should be a great project. I'm ready to see the finish on it.

[just strum]

" I Think I Have A Mental Disorder..."

You want a second opinion? You have severe GAS too!!!

[Bloozcat]

http://www.gas-x.com/img/box-chewables-lg.jpg

The stuff doesn't work. Don't let anybody tell you differently...:(

[bigoldron]

I agree with Warren0728, you just need to buy another one and you won't have to worry about swapping the pickguards! :dude: :D

[KeysBear]

So, I declared this self imposed gear buying moratorium recently until I get some of my growing back log of projects completed. I even said it out loud to others as an affirmation of my resolve.

Well, so much for my resolve....
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/Body56.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/Body57.jpg
The best layed plans of mice, men, and gear junkies...
Yep, it's mine, or will be once the big brown truck once again darkens my doorway...:o

I freely confess to others that I have a "Guitar Problem." Those who know of such things simply nod. I keep telling myself that once I buy and mod the Nashville Tele that will be the last one but I know the truth that I can't have just one of anything. Trouble is the wallet is so light right now I don't even have the cash for the cable bill.

[Bloozcat]

I freely confess to others that I have a "Guitar Problem." Those who know of such things simply nod. I keep telling myself that once I buy and mod the Nashville Tele that will be the last one but I know the truth that I can't have just one of anything. Trouble is the wallet is so light right now I don't even have the cash for the cable bill.

Welcome aboard, KeysBear! How about checking in on The Fretters thread, introduce yourself, and tell us a little about you!

My Guitar "habit" reminds me of Steve Martin in The Jerk (edited with guitar habit correct symbols)...

"I don't need anything except this (picks up a Stratocaster). And that's it and it's the only thing I need, is this. Just this Stratocaster. And this amplifier, and that's all I need. And these stomp boxes. The Stratocaster, and these stomp boxes, and the amplifier, and that's all I need...."

I don't think this is one of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, but...wants create needs...and I "want" a lot....;)

[Bloozcat]

The Eagle Has Landed....

...and right into my wife's lap, who happened to be home today. Since I knew that FedEx had already delivered the package, I asked my wife to look out for it when I spoke to her on the phone. She said, "It's here in the house already. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with guitars, would it?"
And I replied, "Why yes, of course it does", to which my wife just laughed.

It's good to be the King of the castle, Lord of the manner, Master of my domain.

And to think, I owe it all to Spud, inspirational hero of GAS-er's everywhere....:D

[Spudman]

Glad to be of service to help elevate guitar players confidence wherever they roam.


To infinity...and beyond!
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w149/srspud/Junk/Buzz-lightyear.gif

[M29]

Oh man Blooz that is one sweet hunk of wood. Check out that grain pattern very nice indeed:AOK:

You guys crack me up:rotflmao: GAS, wives and big brown trucks....How does a guy survive...............I really don't know...................:dude:

M29

[Bloozcat]

Well it's here, and it looks pretty much like in the pictures. It is a three piece body, but the only way that it's really obvious is when you look at the ends of the body. Since I'll be doing a tobacco burst finish, the ends will be opague and you won't see the seams. If you look closely at the top face, you can make out where the top piece is glued to the lower part, but it's really subtle and well done.

As I had suspected, it's a Mighty Mite body, which means that the forearm contour on the top face, and the rear relief contour are not as wide and deep as a vintage style Strat. I expected this and have relieved these areas before on other bodies, so no big deal. And as I said before, relieving a little wood will also lighten the body a good ounce or two, which is good too. So, all is good and as expected.

[M29]

Blooz,

I wondered if there were any seams in that baby it did not look like it. That is going to be awesome in a tobacco burst:AOK:

I am curious, how are you going to take more off of the contours? Belt sander or something? Just curious being a contour and all.

Thanks for sharing, I love this stuff:rockon:

M29

[Bloozcat]

Blooz,

I wondered if there were any seams in that baby it did not look like it. That is going to be awesome in a tobacco burst:AOK:

I am curious, how are you going to take more off of the contours? Belt sander or something? Just curious being a contour and all.

Thanks for sharing, I love this stuff:rockon:

M29

Well, I've used a small 2-1/2"x 16" Skill Sandcat belt sander I have on other bodies, but you have to be very careful with it. It eats wood fast, even with finer sanding belts. It's only good for the forearm contour as that is flat. The back relief contour is dished, and the belt sander would wreak havoc on that area. I have a palm orbital sander that works ok for the back, but there's still a lot of hand sanding to get the contour right and not mess it up. Here's a couple of pics with the new ash body on top, and an alder USA Custom guitars body on the bottom that was copied directly from Tommy Rosemond's own '54 Strat:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/TwoStrats-ForearmContour.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/TwoStrats-BackContour.jpg
It's hard to tell in this picture, but the new ash body is twice as thick on the bottom of the dish on the contour.

[Katastrophe]

I always wondered what Mighty Mite bodies looked like close up, and they look reasonably well put together.

I can't wait to see the finished product, Blooz. I know she's gonna be a beauty!

BTW, does the contouring look more like a 70's contour to you?

[Bloozcat]

I always wondered what Mighty Mite bodies looked like close up, and they look reasonably well put together.

I can't wait to see the finished product, Blooz. I know she's gonna be a beauty!

BTW, does the contouring look more like a 70's contour to you?

Right you are, Kat! The man knows his Strats!

“….The lack of quality control is particularly conspicuous in the contours which are visibly reduced during the 1970’s, and became quite faint compared to a 1950’s guitar. Pictures clearly illustrate the poorly contoured body of the 1970’s instruments….”

Part II, Page 24
http://books.google.com/books?id=EeEctAKFUWAC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=body+contours+on+70's+Fender+Stratocasters&source=web&ots=QUuBDbKUFz&sig=qahxgJwahSHFny3NrON5JLrxoGI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result