In 2007 after many years of just playing my G&L ASAT Special and a Danelctro U2 i decided i wanted a vintage strat, but i had no money (muso's don't have money). I played a few different guitars but nothing had that feel i wanted, so i decided to put my own together, heres the build.
Rory Gallagher is my fav guitarist of all time and he didnt need any fancy frills just a strat and an amp pretty much and its the way i like to setup and play.This guitar is loosely modeled on Rory Gallaghers strat and being a blues blues/rock player myself i wanted the sound and looks to be vintage, hence a late 50's early 60's outlook. I did alot of homework and many late hours on the net looking for parts, not buying anything unless it was an absolute bargain. Netty as the project was called, and if i could make it work, would be constructed by only purchasing the parts over the internet and the cost had to be kept <$1000 aussie (which was achieved).The Aussie Dollar compared to the U.S at the time was .98c today its .72c
Body
NEW (AUG-2007) NITROCELLULOSE LACQUER 3-TONE SUNBURST SOLID ALDER GENUINE FENDER USA STRATOCASTER BODY,JUST UNDER 4lb IN WEIGHT,NEVER BEEN PLAYED,DRILLED FOR A USA SPACED VINTAGE STYLE BRIDGE
Pickups were probably the hardest choice for me, i wanted vintage with grunt but the prices or even the making of some of these pickups left alot be desired until i stumbled upon "Sliders Vintage Classics" an Aussie guy in Sydney making handwound vintage pickups so i lined up a set on Ebay and won the bidding. Heres what Slider has to say about his pickups. Slider's Classic Vintage 59's are a matched set of handmade "scatterwound" single coil pickups.
Next up
A NEW GENUINE FENDER 3 PLY 11 HOLE 62 STYLE MINT GREEN S/S/S PICKGUARD COMPLETE WITH SCREWS.
FENDER STRATOCASTER
ACCESSORY KIT - AGED WHITE
Genuine Fender Replacement Part No. 099-1368-000.
Kit includes :
3 knobs
3 pickup covers
Tremolo arm tip
5-switch tip
Backplate
I spent quite some time wiring the pups, the Vintage wiring looks good the shielding takes out about 75% of the guitars hum and noise and although the vintage wiring looked great, no ones going to see it anyway.
Neck and Finished
Warmoth Vintage C shape replacement neck, headstock with Sperzel Lockers. Neck is Maple with rosewood finger board 1-5/8 at the nut Straight 7.25" Radius, Cream Face Dots frets are Vintage Jumbo. I found this neck on the Warmoth showcase.Neck is finished in Nitro clear Matt finish.
Tuners: Sperzel lockers.
I probably saved a couple of grand doing it this way, and it also taught me a bit about sourcing guitar parts and whats available via the net, today i am much much wiser.
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