Dec 7
RossMusic, Project 0001 0001, build, Fender, guitar, project, strat, Stratocaster
Faker Startocaster
Finally! It lives!
Actually, I’ve been a bit slack; it’s been alive for the last month or so…
I was down to play Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing” at the annual UKMG National in Buxton and *really* needed a Strat. So, with only the wiring and a setup to do, I dedicated a couple of hours one evening and…
<fanfare>TA-DA!!!!!!</fanfare>
Well, it’s a Strat – what did you expect? “Three single-coil pickups and a whammy bar,” to quote Tia Carrere in “Wayne’s World”. Although I’ve made a couple of additional tweaks:
- Bridge pickup is also connected to the middle- tone control, to enable me to tame the highs a bit.
- Middle/Bridge tone control has a push/pull switch to add the middle pickup in series to the bridge or neck pickup (positions 1 and 5) and route the signal via an additional capacitor for a tone roll-off (positions 2, 3 and 4)
So, am I pleased? You betcha! The neck has a 12″ radius, so there’s no choking on bends. The Fender Tex-Mex pickups are really “Stratty”, as you’d expect, with plenty of bite from the bridge and quack in the “inbetween” positions. I’m also dead chuffed with the shielding… This thing is bereft of interference; even playing in a room with two dimmer switches.
A couple of videos of me playing “No 1.”, as she’ll no doubt be called, are already on YouTube:
Sultans of Swing (unrehearsed!)
I Wish I Knew How (It Would Feel To Be Free) – unrehearsed (and it shows!)
So what’s next? Well, I’ve got a Squier Stratocaster and a few tins of nitrocellulose in the garage…
Sep 10
RossMusic, Project 0001 body, guitars, Stratocaster
Project 0001 - the body
Well, the replacement body turned up – a three-piece alder body with SSH routing, undrilled, finished in Vintage White. Initially, I thought that either I or they had cocked up with the colour; as it’s definitely cream, not white. However, checking against Fender’s standard colour chart, I can see that it’s as specified… My bad!
Still, in my mind it looks pretty good against the gold anodized scratchplate (and appears to be a pretty good match to the original). The ‘plate, incidentally, is the real deal – a Fender ’57-style. The original one, bought from eBay, looked great face-on but otherwise appeared silver… Not the effect I was looking for! Thankfully, I managed to lose that one via the ‘Bay so I’ve virtually broken even there.
Since the body was undrilled, copious measurements were taken, drawings made and photos referred to to ensure that everything went in the right place. It was then that I realised that the neck pocket had to be reshaped slightly to accommodate the square-heeled neck that I’d already prepped (note to self – buy a router and templates. Quicker and easier than playing with chisels and miniature sanding drums!). Of course, this reshaping also necessitated some alteration to the scratchplate, too. It’s not the tidiest of jobs, but it will be hidden by the 22nd-fret overhang. Before anyone flames me for being a “bodgit and leggit”, don’t forget that this is both a personal project and a learning curve for me!
Anyway, centre lines were marked, neck was offered up, string positions calculated and the final bridge position determined. I used the Power8 Workshop‘s pillar drill to bore the bridge screw holes… I’d already established that the centre two holes would need to be drilled free-hand, as the throat on the Power8 isn’t huge. Large carpenters squares and spirit levels are incredibly useful in this scenario! Additional screw holes were marked, punched and drilled and all parts screwed to the body using a good ol’-fashioned screwdriver. I’ve heard too many tales of wandering bits and snapped screws to risk using anything powered!
So far, so good – everything fits and, through my eyes, looks pretty good. Next step – fixing the neck. Then on to shielding the cavities and wiring.
I’m aiming to get this finished by the time I hit the UKMG National at Buxton in November… Time will tell!
May 26
RossMusic, Project 0001 body, finishing, guitars
I realised that it’s been about a year since I’ve posted anything to do with my (ongoing) project to build a “close counterpart” to David Gilmour’s hallowed s/n 0001 Stratocaster – whoops!
When I last posted, I had just created the headstock logo and decals. I’m pleased to say that the headstock now also sports a set of gold Wilkinson Deluxe machineheads (tuners, to those of you across the pond). Whilst not strictly accurate (i.e. split post), these have two holes at 90 degrees to each other – maximum string-lockage without the need for fancy cam/screw systems. Sadly, I also managed to drop the neck (silly, silly boy!) which has left a couple of marks. If things continue like this, the “to relic or not to relic” argument may answer itself…
Anyway, on to the body…
The (abused) blue poly finish was stripped using a chemical stripper, followed by copious amounts of sanding. Going back to the bare wood probably wasn’t the best move, but at least I knew what I was dealing with. Neck mounting holes were drilled out and plugged with some hardwood dowelling (turned by my father-in-law) and all other screw holes were filled with cocktail sticks and PVA glue. Once dry, these were cut and sanded flush.
I spent quite a while sanding everything to a good standard and was ready to spray. I screwed a batten into the neck pocket to act as a handle before applying a few coats of Volkswagen Vintage White. As colour matches go, this was pretty good – although the spraying left a lot to be desired. Hey – call it learning!
It was at this point that I noticed a dirty great crack opening up in the body – from the bottom strap-pin hole all the way up to the heel on the back, and up to the bridge on the front. A better man may be able to salvage this beast but not me! I’ve decided to keep this for my spray-practice and have purchased another, undrilled body – this time already finished in Vintage White. No doubt the factory will produce a far superior finish than I can manage!
So, not quite where I wanted to be after another year but who knows? I might even have it completed inside another 12 months…
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