Members colin617 Posted December 9, 2008 Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 Hello all, I am going to attempt to build a replica of George Harrison's "Rocky" that is as historically accurate as possible. However, I am a bit of a noob when it comes to vintage Fenders. I implore the wise members of HCEG to please assist my research for this project. Here is my shopping list:Warmoth 1-piece alder body, SSS, trem -- $240--painted Sonic Blue -- $185Warmoth Strat Replacement neck (birdseye maple/indian rosewood, Clapton shape) -- $175Fender Vintage Synchronized Trem (chrome) -- $90Fender CS '69 Strat Pickups -- $190Fender Vintage '62 11-hole 3-ply pickquard -- $203-way switch -- $141 volume, 2 tone knobs (white) -- ~$7Strat switch knob (white) -- $1.25Chrome recessed Jack plate -- $5.503 250k pots -- $15wiring -- $8Standard Strap buttons (chrome) -- $3copper shielding tape -- $6Graphtech nut -- $10Gotoh vintage machine heads -- $28Chrome neck plate -- $4.50 Please, any literature you have about Rocky or pre-CBS strats would be greatly appreciated. Critiques and suggestions of my list are welcome, but please keep the conversation on topic; I am building this guitar as a tribute to the man that made me pick up the instrument. However, keep in mind that I am a student and will not be able to spring for completely vintage parts (also be patient -- getting the money for this build will be slow). I will update this thread once this build commences and keep updating it until I can finally post my NGD thread. Thanks!Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yngtchie Blacksteen Posted December 9, 2008 Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 I don't have anything to contribute, but I'll just say good luck! Looking forward to seeing how things'll turn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hondro Posted December 9, 2008 Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 damn you got some nice gear. Got any pics? the only thing I can say (I have two partscasters) is Warmoth is nice, but so is Allparts. I have a poly finished strat neck from them that is probably the best neck I've EVER played on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 9, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 damn you got some nice gear. Got any pics?the only thing I can say (I have two partscasters) is Warmoth is nice, but so is Allparts.I have a poly finished strat neck from them that is probably the best neck I've EVER played on. Hahaha. Sorry to disappoint you, but I have sold off most of that stuff to pay for school/rent/various other living expenses. I am too lazy/think it looks cool to leave that stuff in my sig All I have at the moment are the 52 RI, Twin, Pitchblack, Chunky Cheese, and Digilog. However, thanks for the Allparts suggestion! I have found the body I want for quite a bit less than the Warmoth body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joefnperry Posted December 9, 2008 Members Share Posted December 9, 2008 cap value? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 cap value? I was hoping to find that out in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 Well, it's getting more affordable, anyway. I think I'd pass on the Graphtech nut. The original was white, I don't think the very dark nut would look right on a repro. I know! I may get this done around spring, now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Strat87 Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 Since you will be painting all over it, I would forgo the $185 finish on the body, and instead use sonic blue from Reranch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 Suggest that you copy and save this string:fender 62 ri neck strat* -platepaste it into eBay's search box, and take a look at the results.Looks to me like the MIA '62 reissue necks are prohibitively expensive, but the MIJ aren't, really, and there are one or two replacements as well... and they're perfect. You don't care what decals are on the headstock, you're going to paint it over anyway, and these have the proper slab-style rosewood fretboard, inlays, 21 frets, no truss rod hole in the headstock, no skunk stripe, single string tree, proper white nut, proper tight fingerboard radius, vintage skinny frets, and some come with vintage-style tuners. The neck on "Rocky" was a '61. I don't think you're ever going to get closer than the '62 reissues. It's pretty much dead on.I think this is what I'd go for if I were trying it. That was a life-saver! I just ordered a CIJ '62 RI neck for $160. My build is looking better. I'm still going to get this body from allparts.com:http://www.allparts.com/store/replacement-bodies-guitar-bodies-sbf-sb,Product.asp UNLESS I can still find this after Christmas.http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-62-RI-Fender-Stratocaster-Strat-BODY-Guitar_W0QQitemZ200256530806QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116 The drilling doesn't bother me as much as the accuracy does. Now, should I go for copper shielding? The way things are looking, I may be able to finish this for less than the price of a used MIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 Cool. A lot of progress in 24 hours or so, I feel better about the direction you're going now, seems like it will be a much closer replica.The original would not have had copper shielding... maybe conductive paint, I'll have to check. Don't forget to post pics of the hot art major when the time comes. I'm going to give you a bit of credit for giving me that direction. I'm really excited about this guitar now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hondro Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 heres what I would do Allparts Sonic Blue Body = 300 bucksAllparts Tinted Rosewood Neck = 225 bucksAcme Guitar Works Prewired Pickguard with choice of pickups = $100-$300Gotoh 6 In Line Vintage Style Tuners = 35 bucksGotoh 6 Screw Tremolo = 60 bucksNeck plate and jack plate = 20 Day-Glo Paint = no idea And getting the artwork on the body, either you can do it or find some artist to do it for you. Who knows how much that'll cost So there you go. Complete Guitar (MIA Strat Quality) for around 800 bucks At least thats what I'd do... (and did) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hondro Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 I know one guy on this board, Ric381 who has a MIM Classic 60's Strat in Daphne Blue that he had painted like Rocky that could be a good choice, much easier at least, for around the same price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hondro Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 http://www.deaf-eddie.net/rocky/rocky.html thats a pretty cool little tribute to rocky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 Bump for sweet news! I posted this topic over at ultimate-guitar and got a post from an allparts dealer who is giving me a sweet discount. It looks like I will be able to get this thing built for under $600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoredGuitarist7 Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 I don't see a input jack on the list . Going three way on the switch... You're going to have to jam matches into it to to get it into the 2nd and 4th positions. Old school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NotDead Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 I don't see a input jack on the list . Going three way on the switch... You're going to have to jam matches into it to to get it into the 2nd and 4th positions. Old school. Actually, you can get them to just kinda stick.The matches thing, is only if you're wanking really hard on 2 or 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 The Beatles smoked a lot of weed, so you're gonna have to budget some $$ for that if you want everything to be historically accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonPhillips Posted December 10, 2008 Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 And don't forget the haircut. You need the haircut... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colin617 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 10, 2008 The Beatles smoked a lot of weed, so you're gonna have to budget some $$ for that if you want everything to be historically accurate. Way ahead of you there. I think I picked an unfortunate time to start this build; instead of studying for my neurobiology exam, I am studying vintage strats and Beatles gear. (FWIW, Alderman Library at the University of Virginia has a copy of Recording the Beatles -- it is now checked out:thu:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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