Warm Danish on your body? Help/Suggestions welcomed!

[Nelskie]

Sorry I can't help you on the finishing end of things, but as far as a pickguard & hardware, I think a tortoise shell w/ creme knobs & p'up covers would really enhance the antique wood feel of the body. Or, a nice black 3-ply, with creme knobs & covers. A black moto like DVM has on his Strat might look cool, too.

I'd also have to believe that there'll be some immediate tonal benefits with the new finish. I'd posted a link on FN awhile back about a guy who stripped his Strat, and then finished it with nitro-cellulose lacquer. He raved about the difference in the sound. Here's the thread link:

http://www.thefret.net/showpost.php?p=10806&postcount=1

Keep us posted on your project, oldguy. I'm interested in hearing how things sound when all is complete. BTW - what kind of p'ups are you running in that guitar? Any changes planned in that dept.?

[oldguy]

Thanks for the link, Nels. The pickups are whatever came in it originally. They sound pretty good to my ear. They copied them off the old, old strat P.U.'s that had the flat polepieces (before they "staggered them", if you remember those). I've had the chance to play the real thing, and they weren't a real hot P.U., but they were clear and defined. This copy actually has a pretty close approximation of the original, the P.U.'s are probably it's best feature, but the guitar never "rang", at least not to my ears. I may think about something else if it doesn't kick when I get it back together. Any ideas for pickups? I like the strat sound, of course, but something a little hotter w/ some grind would be nice. BTW, here's what this project will look like (sorta) w/ the original parts. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.
Glenn

[oldguy]

Well, I got it back together this afternoon, restrung it w/ Elixers 10-46, tuned up, and it's a different guitar, tonally! The wood has the ring I'd hoped for. The sustain is better, a warm, ringing tone it never had before, and if there's any downside, I'd say the warmer, darker tone needs a little more treble through the Valve Jr. I still may check out some hotter pickups, but they will need a little more mids and highs for the Valve Jr., otherwise this thing plays and sounds great. I thought it had a good strat sound before, but I didn't know it could get this much better! Definitely a more "open, airy" sound. If I wasn't afraid I'd screw it up, I'd get a really decent swamp ash body and a good neck w/ jumbo frets and do it all over again! Amazing that such a cheaply made guitar (the body is a 3 piece solid wood , but I have no idea what, it almost looks like pine, maybe alder?) can sound like it does. It sounds as good as my Tele, just in a different (strat) way.
Note: I did pull two small (and I mean SMALL) wires loose from their solder points, and had to go buy a soldering iron kit from Radio Shack to repair it. This thing has the flimsiest wiring I've ever seen in it. Just from lifting the pickguard assy. up as I was putting it back together, after putting the jackplate and claw assy in it. BE CAREFUL if you're new to this, one small tug and it's off to the shop to fix your "oops!"
Honestly, I could have bought an SX strat for what I've got tied up in this, but it was a learning experience. And it really does sound great. Whether it will stand the test of time as a "beater axe" or not is a moot point. I played it 2 hrs. today, and it's always good to have new motivation.
I also traced around a child-proof lid from an aspirin bottle on the peghead and sawed it off w/ a hacksaw, then started sanding until it was a little "rounder", which I thought looked better.
Before and after pics.