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View Full Version : The Strat - One year on!



keloooe
06-05-2015, 09:48 AM
Last year I built my ST-1, currently my biggest success in building kits. I went into the build with a failed Les Paul and I wanted this one to be a very nice guitar to keep.

I planned for Wudtone Carmine Gypsy as the finish, a little bit inspired by Mark Knopfler's Strat. This turned out as a massive success, completely stock hardware, very clean finish and something that I am still proud of building.

Here hare pics of this guitar a whole year (and a bit) later, there is some fading in the finish from where I have heavily played, my hands have polished a small section of the body, there's all kinds of crap on the fretboard (tried to rub as much off as possible), pup covers are getting a bit dirty, but that gives this guitar character and makes it stand out from the other Strats. The decal Andy gave me is still holding despite a bunch of dust in the finish, only the T is starting to peel, but that has still stayed in place! Only mod for this axe is the use of LP-1 knobs, which I think look cool!

This guitar feels and sounds awesome, the pickups are changing in terms of output and magnet strength from the last year of playing, giving it more character and tone that I love to hear blasting out of my amp.

The neck finish has work a little, making it faster to play and feels more like bare wood.

I will rebuild this guitar again, this time with gold hardware and some neat upgrades. But for now this is more than perfect.

Time for piccys! Silly camera added in timestamps to the pics..... Dangit!

keloooe
06-05-2015, 09:49 AM
More pics!

wokkaboy
06-05-2015, 09:58 AM
still looking good Pest, the red in the carmine hasn't faded like the carmine on my bar clock !
No point leaving the trem cover screws in if you leave the cover off bro !

keloooe
06-05-2015, 09:59 AM
Doesn't really matter about the screws really, I like having the screws in, I tightened them to not grab my clothes

wokkaboy
06-05-2015, 10:07 AM
whatever makes your hair blow back cuz. Whatever works for you.
Whats the handwriting on the back say again ?

keloooe
06-05-2015, 10:24 AM
@wokka it says Pest's Custom Guitars

wokkaboy
06-05-2015, 10:57 AM
haha thats right brew, hopefully signed by the one and only PEST !

keloooe
06-05-2015, 10:58 AM
Yeah brew, signed it myself!

robin
06-05-2015, 05:04 PM
Still looks good Callum.

Guitars are meant to be played and I love that she is showing signs of love and wear. Keep rocking mate.

rob

stan
06-05-2015, 05:31 PM
standing up to the test of time well mate

keloooe
06-05-2015, 05:46 PM
Cheers guys, I should get a proper sound demo up sooner rather than later...
@rob yeah she is showing the signs of my playing style, subtle from the crowd but really gives this baby it's own slight flaws... In a good way!
@stan definitely! Hope to join you in Overlord town soon! Less than 50 posts to go!

dingobass
06-05-2015, 05:49 PM
She is ageing beatifully.
Well on the way to be an authentic relic ;)

keloooe
06-05-2015, 05:57 PM
Yeah DB, nothing dodgy about this one :D

Nickosaurus
06-05-2015, 07:54 PM
Looking good mate. Mine's coming up a year soon too. I might post a few pics when I'm home and see how she's aged. Will be interesting to see comparisons between yours and mine too!

keloooe
06-05-2015, 08:36 PM
Haha yeah Nicko post some pics, this axe has been my main guitar for the past year, and if you get to see me play I can get quite aggressive....

gavinturner
06-05-2015, 10:12 PM
Hey Callum, personally I think she's looking better and better. The rubbed patches are fading nicely and contrast against the original red. The almost a red to orange to yellow spectrum looks totally cool. I wouldn't change a thing dude. Looks amazing as is. I am waiting patiently for your sound demo! I wanna hear you get rifftastic on this beast...

cheers,
Gav.

keloooe
07-05-2015, 06:23 AM
Cheers Gav! Totally right about the colours! Congrats on Overlord mate, just one more post to go!

andrewdosborne
07-05-2015, 06:46 AM
Nice one Pest. Interesting with the LP style knobs. As this axe is aging the colour hues in the burnished areas match very nicely with them.

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

keloooe
08-05-2015, 08:56 PM
Nice one Pest. Interesting with the LP style knobs. As this axe is aging the colour hues in the burnished areas match very nicely with them.

Thanks Andrew I agree with your comments!