Build a Strat or Buy a Strat

[Stoneball Jack]

Just try and make sure the ash guitar you play is light, as the light stuff gives the best idea

 

 

ok i'll do that. Thanks.

[Stoneball Jack]

when it's said that compound radius necks prevent "fretting out". What is that?

[Orange Jackson]

A compound radius neck is nice for this reason.

On the lower frets, close to the nut, the neck has more curve in it, that is, curve in the finger board. That is the 10 part or the 10 - 16 radius. Strats are usually 9.5 or 7.5 radius.

This is where you play most of your chords. Rhythm guitars will often have a rounder finger board radius.

If you look at classical guitar, they have a really flat finger board. The same is true of "Shredder" guitars. This is because a flatter board makes it easier to run off leads, and perhaps, does help the notes from getting cut short by the higher frets interfering with their vibration. That last part I would not bet money on though. A well set up 9.5 neck will not have problems with higher notes fretting out. It could come into play when bending a note, but I kind of doubt that one too.


So with a compound radius, you get the best of both worlds, you get a rhythm guitar neck and a lead guitar neck in one.

One more note on the kne Charvel body. It also has a slightly deeper cut out at the lower horn, like an actual Charvel would. This is so your hand does not hit any wood when you are playing up on the higher frets, like you will on a strat.

[lefchr]

I have right at $793 in this Seafoam Green Warmoth build. It's easily my best playing Strat.

Man, I don't think I've ever liked seafoam green but that is a beautiful guitar.
great job

For the OP, I'd build now for a fender type guitar unless I found one I really liked. I love tinkering with the electronics in my guitars already. I just need to learn about setting them up and finishing. You could also buy a body from warmoth that is predrilled for the bridge you want, that way you don't have to worry about the bridge placement since it would be your first build.

Also there are a lot of people on the forums here that could help you with the build.

Everyone always loves to see a good build thread:thu:

[Assumer]

both options have their benefits. I currently have a warmoth strat I love. I went the warmoth route due to getting a great deal on a closeout body with Wilkinson studs already installed. (had a wilkinson trem sitting around for a year or so) Also, I wanted a different size nut then fender offered and I play lefty so warmoth would do any color I wanted. Not difficult to build but I let warmoth do the nut and paint job. Getting the fender would be instant gratification but not exactly what I wanted. Both great guitars.

[Stoneball Jack]

Thanks for the advice guys. I went to GC today and played around and i think i got alot figured out. I definitely want and alder body. The ash was nice but i think it was too soft and and bouncy i guess. The alder had much more bite. I played a Fender deluxe with an ash body and alder body then some single coil laguna with an ash and an alder and both times i liked the alder better. It also had much more mids and distorted better.

i also wan't too big of a fan of the compound neck i played. It seems to make sense why they do it but i have a harder time getting my thumb around on the compound neck. So i think i'm gonna go with the 9.5 radius straight


As for neck shape i'm not completely sure, i played a fender C shape, and V shape, and a peavey wolfgang and i liked the C shape the best out of those so i guess i should get either the standard thin or the wizard.

I've also never been more confused about pickups.....trying to decide which ones to buy by listening to clips on the internet that are all effected by guitar wood recording quality, effects, and amps is almost not possible. I almost just have to guess and hope i like them. Right now i think i'm looking at either the Van zandt, suhr, and lindy fralin. I am slightly drawn to the Van Zandt though because they sound very similar and are quite a bit cheaper.

[Stoneball Jack]

Man, I don't think I've ever liked seafoam green but that is a beautiful guitar. great job For the OP, I'd build now for a fender type guitar unless I found one I really liked. I love tinkering with the electronics in my guitars already. I just need to learn about setting them up and finishing. You could also buy a body from warmoth that is predrilled for the bridge you want, that way you don't have to worry about the bridge placement since it would be your first build. Also there are a lot of people on the forums here that could help you with the build. Everyone always loves to see a good build thread:thu:

 

 

thanks. and i am definitely going to have warmoth drill the bridge. I do not want to mess with that the first time

[Stoneball Jack]

A compound radius neck is nice for this reason. On the lower frets, close to the nut, the neck has more curve in it, that is, curve in the finger board. That is the 10 part or the 10 - 16 radius. Strats are usually 9.5 or 7.5 radius. This is where you play most of your chords. Rhythm guitars will often have a rounder finger board radius. If you look at classical guitar, they have a really flat finger board. The same is true of "Shredder" guitars. This is because a flatter board makes it easier to run off leads, and perhaps, does help the notes from getting cut short by the higher frets interfering with their vibration. That last part I would not bet money on though. A well set up 9.5 neck will not have problems with higher notes fretting out. It could come into play when bending a note, but I kind of doubt that one too. So with a compound radius, you get the best of both worlds, you get a rhythm guitar neck and a lead guitar neck in one. One more note on the kne Charvel body. It also has a slightly deeper cut out at the lower horn, like an actual Charvel would. This is so your hand does not hit any wood when you are playing up on the higher frets, like you will on a strat.

 

 

thanks...i think i'm going to go with the warmoth. I don't want to worry about messing up the control routes. Also i think i'm going to get the heel contour so it will have the same effect.

[Stoneball Jack]

Which of the frets on the warmoth site would be closest to the frets on an american deluxe strat?

[Orange Jackson]

Just fyi. A very high % of guitars at guitar center are really not set up, at all.
I say that because trying to get a read on what a neck is, and is not like, from guitar center is challenging. If you can, swing by a smaller mom and pop higher end type shop. Their guitars will be in a much better condition to make judgments on necks and how the strings feel on them.

Getting your thumb around a compound should be no harder then a straight radius neck. The profile of the neck is what is going to affect that, that will be the thickness of the neck.
Nut width can also play a part here. This is how wide the actual finger board is going to be, top to bottom. If you like the 9.5 radius, and you like the feel of a neck you can get your thumb around, you might just check into those MIM fender Classic Player guitars (Smaller nut width.). They are really nice.

[Stoneball Jack]

Just fyi. A very high % of guitars at guitar center are really not set up, at all. I say that because trying to get a read on what a neck is, and is not like, from guitar center is challenging. If you can, swing by a smaller mom and pop higher end type shop. Their guitars will be in a much better condition to make judgments on necks and how the strings feel on them. Getting your thumb around a compound should be no harder then a straight radius neck. The profile of the neck is what is going to affect that, that will be the thickness of the neck. Nut width can also play a part here. This is how wide the actual finger board is going to be, top to bottom. If you like the 9.5 radius, and you like the feel of a neck you can get your thumb around, you might just check into those MIM fender Classic Player guitars (Smaller nut width.). They are really nice.

 

 

yeah, I hate playing at guitar center for that very reason. But i wasn't really paying attention to the action, just the feel of the wood so i thought it would be ok. Plus we don't have any high end guitar shops around here. THe closest one is like 40 min away and they don't like you playing the guitars unless you know the one you want and you're pretty much set on buying it before hand. Needless to say they've gone out of business like 4 times.

 

Hm. I just assumed it was the radius because my les paul has a fairly slim neck and the nut width is the same as the strat i liked but the neck but it has a 14" radius and i have a hard time getting my thumb around on it. i guess the neck on it is fatter than i thought.

 

I don't think i need too small of a nut width. The Strat i played that i liked had a 1.68 nut width and my thumb was right there. i didn't have to reach at all.

[Stoneball Jack]

does anyone have any experience with dark raw tung oil?

[Stoneball Jack]

Tung oil will put a sweet stain on alder. Not hard to work with, but it can have some tricks to it. Just read up before you do it. I've been told by guys that I trust not to use tung oil on the neck however. Guys do it and swear by it, but I've just been told that it does not make a hard enough seal and so can lead to neck warp. So for the neck, go with tru oil to be on the safe side imo. My last guitar body was 1 coat of tung oil with 2 coats of tru oil on top of that. Hopefully you get a better gain pattern then I did, but I was committed to using tung oil, so I went with it. The finish feels really nice. Little bit of the tru oil on the neck,

did you have to use a hardener or a wash or any kind of prep before applying the tung oil?

[Stoneball Jack]

A compound radius neck is nice for this reason. On the lower frets, close to the nut, the neck has more curve in it, that is, curve in the finger board. That is the 10 part or the 10 - 16 radius. Strats are usually 9.5 or 7.5 radius. This is where you play most of your chords. Rhythm guitars will often have a rounder finger board radius. If you look at classical guitar, they have a really flat finger board. The same is true of "Shredder" guitars. This is because a flatter board makes it easier to run off leads, and perhaps, does help the notes from getting cut short by the higher frets interfering with their vibration. That last part I would not bet money on though. A well set up 9.5 neck will not have problems with higher notes fretting out. It could come into play when bending a note, but I kind of doubt that one too. So with a compound radius, you get the best of both worlds, you get a rhythm guitar neck and a lead guitar neck in one. One more note on the kne Charvel body. It also has a slightly deeper cut out at the lower horn, like an actual Charvel would. This is so your hand does not hit any wood when you are playing up on the higher frets, like you will on a strat.

 

 

I think i finally understand the wonders of a compound radius neck! In light of your comments i went back and played my epi and and acoustic and my friends fernandes strat copy and really tried to focus on where the discomfort was coming from and where the comfortable things were coming from. After playing them i realized that the fingerboard on my acoustic and epi, which have much bigger radii then the fernandes, were much more comfortable when it came to soloing and playing riffs and such. Even thuogh i don't like the neck contour on my epi i could tell that the finger board was much better. Now that i'm aware of this i almost hate soloing on the fernandes lol. Now the compound neck seems like the best thing ever invented! Definitely going with that. Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.

[Orange Jackson]

did you have to use a hardener or a wash or any kind of prep before applying the tung oil?

 

 

This is what I did,

Sanded the body with some finer wet/dry sandpaper. Something like P600 to start off and then finish up with P800 or p1000. Got it looking really smooth/ removed all sanding marks from KNE that I did not want to see on the finish etc. Maybe spent an hour two with the fine paper getting it how I wanted.

Then wiped the body with turpentine on an old T shirt to get all the dust off.

I did one side of the body at a time.

You could hang it though and get both done.

Mix a small bit of turpentine/ mineral spirits and Tung oil in a separate mixing jar. This will help it to dry a little faster. Mix maybe 1 part turpentine with 9 parts tung oil. The rags can self combust, so lay them out flat till they are totally dry.

 

Get a good bit of Tung oil on the body top, smear it all around (one direction) with old T shirt, let the first thick coat sit on top of the body for 40 minutes. Look for any dry spots and move more oil on that spot if the wood is sucking it up. Then, after 40 minutes, wipe it all off. Be smooth and in the same direction.

 

It goes into the wood, so you don't need to leave any on top.

Let that dry for a day or two.

 

Then do the back the same way.

Then a very, very, light sand with some P1000 or well used p800. And then I wiped on a coat of Tru oil. Top first, then the next day I did the back. I did two coats like this on top of the Tung oil finish and it comes to a nice smooth shine. It is not a mirror type finish mind you, just a nice even shine.

[Stoneball Jack]

Cool thanks man. I'll be sure to do that. I think i'm going to use dark raw tung oil to get a dark finish. I'm excited to see how it comes out.

[WoodenDuckMaker]

this concern has probably already been mentioned in this large thread. but one thing thats made me weary of making a partscaster is the matching of the neck and body.

 

afraid of the neck pocket being too tight or slim, and feel that the vibration transfer between the neck and body wont jive well. my cv 50s strat has amazing resonance.