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MIM Strat Bodies


Townshend

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I'm working on a new project and, upon stripping the body (from a MIM Fender Strat, I'm unsure of the year), I was very surprised by the number of pieces. I knew that these were frequently made up of many pieces, but I never would have expected 8! :eek:

 

I doubt that it will make a significant difference in the sound of the guitar (especially by the time I'm done with it :evil:), but I was wondering what your experiences were? Is this pretty standard, or is an 8 piece body rather unusual, even on MIMs?

 

What are your thoughts?

 

P.S.: A build thread will (hopefully) be coming soon!

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I think that is pretty standard for regular production MIM bodies. 5-8 pieces is the norm, I think. I think you sometimes find 3-4 piece bodies on the higher end MIM FSR models and such.

 

 

i I don't think they even pick through them. There all venneer both sides now to make finshing faster.

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8 is getting up there. 6 is not uncommon. Maybe they picked the best 8 pieces.
:D

 

Yeah, I expected 6. I mean, the actual body is 6 (plus a veneer on each side), but I expected it to be more like 4 plus the 2 veneers. Like I said, I'm not really upset about it, more just surprised.

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I had a 2002 custom job made for a sponsored act with all American hardware and electronics on it - it was beautiful with the a highly figured maple neck. But regardless what I did to it, it was rather stiff in the sound dept - not a lot of character, diminished low end. Come to find out it had like a six or seven piece body. Traded it straight across for a 98 Mexican Squier with mini-pots, import tuners and mighty mite pickups. Never been so happy with a trade in my life - one of the nicest sounding and best playing (after a shim and a set-up) Strats I've ever played. This one has a two piece body by the way.

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Yep. The last MIM I stripped to the wood looked like butcher block - at least 6 pieces. It sounds great anyway. But I see now that it's pointless to go to all that work stripping an MIM, when for a hundred bucks or so you can get a Mighty Mite body with much better wood that you don't have to spend 10 hours sanding a pound and a half of poly off of.

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Someone on this forum has stripped down a classic series body....and it was a 3-piece body.

Only a Standard would have that much,nicer and less piece bodies are for high end and signature models,the rest goes for Standards.

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Slightly related to the topic:

 

Would anyone here know how many pieces of poplar* there are in the early 90's mim strats?

 

 

* I assume it is poplar, because i have found no indication that they used alder or ash in the early mim's...

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Slightly related to the topic:


Would anyone here know how many pieces of poplar* there are in the early 90's mim strats?



* I assume it is poplar, because i have found no indication that they used alder or ash in the early mim's...

 

 

They didn't go to the scrapwood bodies until around 2000. Chances are yours is two or three piece.

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They didn't go to the scrapwood bodies until around 2000. Chances are yours is two or three piece.



Thx for the info. :)


...and just a general observation, namely that my early 70's Norlin Les Paul Deluxe does indeed have 6 pieces of wood for the body:
Three pieces of maple for the cap, and then the layered mahogany - maple - mahogany body.
It also has a 5 piece neck, if you count the glued on bits on the headstock.

That is 11 bits of wood for one guitar :eek:

It resonates like nothing else i have.
Go figure... :idk:

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