Members niceguy Posted December 20, 2010 Members Share Posted December 20, 2010 The idea of having a totally personalized guitar that I put together is quite appealing. I have no idea how to do it. Should I get the wood parts from Warmoth, Mighty Mite, Ebay? Do I need special tools to assemble the guitar? How much will it run me? I'd like a nice ash body, maple neck, rosewood board Strat. I'd want a 12" radius but Fender scale length. Annnnnd, can I see your own Frankenstrats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted December 20, 2010 Members Share Posted December 20, 2010 All you basically need to put a Frankenstrat together is a screwdriver, a small wrench and a couple of Allen wrenches. I'd suggest starting off with the neck. What's your favorite shape and size? I love Fender's Deluxe V Neck so that's what I bought used for mine off Ebay. Came with locking tuners too. Next... how about the body? Do you want a one piece or is a three piece ok? Mine is a three piece from a Classic 50 that resonates really nicely. It was Shoreline Gold with a 1/2 inch thick finish. I sanded it down to wood and went with a paper thin acrylic enamel finish I did myself. Is there a special wood you're looking for? Warmoth sell some really nice bodies. Some even finished if you don't want to get into the whole DIY thing. What kind of sound are you chasing? I wanted the "classic" Strat sound and decided on Fender's CS Custom 69s. Love those pups. Everything is hooked up with CTS audio taper 250k pots, Switchcraft jack, and Hovoland cap. Shielded the whole thing, even using an aluminum plate under the entire pick guard. I like the old school six point trem (the body was routed for that anyway) and bought all the hardware from Callaham. Once I had all the parts and had refinished the body, it only took me two days to assemble it and have it playing really well. Actually assembly was only a couple of hours. Everything else was adjustments and setup. Was still doing tweaks a couple of weeks later as everything settled in. Ended up with my perfect Strat and had a lot of fun putting it together. I'll post a photo when I get home tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 20, 2010 Members Share Posted December 20, 2010 Well... I can help. This is exactly what an Allparts ash body with a thin layer of walnut stain and three coats of Reranch clear nitro and a maple/rosewood board with a 12" radius would look like with a single HB pickguard. With a Seth Lover in the bridge: With a TV Jones in the bridge: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Here's mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Oh... more partscasters: My #1: Other random guitars I've built up: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Here's some Partscaster Porn. Daphne Blue, Fiesta Red and Surf Green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 ' alt='>'> Terrible picture, I know, but I wanted to join in! You only need a couple screwdrivers, an alan wrench or two, and a soldering iron. I've put together two Strats, and I used eBay to find all Fender parts. If I build another, I think I'll piece together a Tele. I've heard good things about Allparts and Warmoth - no idea about Mighty Mite (I'm fairly new around here - I'm sure others have some input). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 I have an extra neck plate and some screws if you want to finish off that Fiesta Red one, brah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Oh... more partscasters: Damn! Now I have a hard on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Speaking of Doc Morbius's Surf Green strat with cream plastics and a Robert Cray Neck... I have one almost just like it. I'm such a Doc 'Cats and Strats' fanboy, I built one damn near the same: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jds22 Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Probably not what you are after but you have just described the Carvin bolt kit. I've built 3 of these and they are fantastic guitars. The body is a bit smaller than a Strat and of course the headstock is different but these are great players. Just thought I'd throw that out there as another option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted December 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 way too many awesome guitars here! OK, so I'm liking the Warmoth approach. The idea of a fully-customized USA-made guitar is quite appealing. How is the quality of the necks and body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Based on my two necks and having played Doc Morbius's Warmoth neck and two surf-i-riffic bodies, I'd say quality is great! In the interest of full disclosure, my Warmoth necks were both bought used so I don't know what all was done to mine before I bought them. I played Doc's fresh out of the box and I could very happily live with it. My Warmoth strat neck is my favorite neck I've ever owned and Doc's Warmoth strat neck is probably in my top 3 favorite of his guitars, not to mention an absolute stunner with the glossy, amber-tinted finish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted December 21, 2010 Members Share Posted December 21, 2010 Back to the subject of assembly, you should acquaint yourself with how to hold the neck in position for good string lay along the sides of the fingerboard for accurate drilling for the neck screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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