ShortScale.org

So, after wanting a Strat for so long and weighing up my options, I've decided to go ahead and put together a 62-esque build from parts. I'm choosing a build so I can have a particular colour I want without it being too pricey : Shell pink

I'm starting with this body :



3 piece alder, finished in nitro shell pink. The only downside is, it has been reliced (which I'm usually not a fan of). I stuck some reissue parts on there but they look too shiny in comparison, so unfortunately I'll be using aged parts on any visible chrome/plastic. Again I'm not usually a fan of relicing but it would make this guitar look a lot more consistent, and I'm all about consistency. The picture is awful but it looks lovely in person.

I'll be getting the parts in drips but will keep this thread updated.

The plan

Shell pink body
Nitro lightly reliced neck - R/W fingerboard and vintage frets & radius
Mint green guard (maybe parchment, haven't decided)
Pickups I am undecided on and would love suggestions. I basically want the classic strat tone. No fancy modern overwound stuff.
5 way switch - although not technically "accurate", I want the options there

Looks grand - I sometimes regret making my tele shell pink and my strat OTM, rather than vice-versa.

That said: I made a strat a couple of years ago - happy to help x

There's not an awful lot that's nicer than a shell pink strat. Not normally a fan of relicing, but shell pink is one of those colours that looks best with a bit of age(ing).

What's that brown stuff around the pickup (and trem) holes?

Pastels seem to suit strats - a mint pickguard would look great on there.

Cheers guys, it does look really nice in person and not too overdone. It was pretty cheap when I weighed up the cost of buying a body and either finishing it myself or paying someone so I'm happy.

The guy who had it before me had a very similar build set up. I'm having trouble getting my jack plate to fit. I have 2 different ones and the "bump" where the sheet metal has been folded is simply too fat to allow the plate to actually sit flush inside the route. I know it's fine because I've seen pics of the previous build, just a little confused how I've ended up with two oversized jack plates.

If you can measure the size it needs to be, let me know, I have several of them here, so you can have one if you need it.

Excellent, I'll measure the route when I get home and PM you Nick, thanks.

damn i love that body the relicking is not egregious ,,, dont worry about the shiny hardware your sweat will muck it up really fast

Just won the very neck I was looking for on eBay!

I've got the neck in hand now. It fits really tight into the pocket but all the screw holes line up. I've also got the trem system on there and some tuners in the post. I'll post some pics when I can get some in decent light.

Some really shit pictures of the neck, and the combo finally together.

I've got everything but the pickups in the post so looking to have this finished quicker than I expected. Selling my other Tele has helped.





The neck is an all parts that's had the Fender logo applied and finished in Nitro. It was a REALLY tight fit into the neck pocket so I'm going to sand off the nitro around the heel so it feels less forced.




The lighting in my flat was really crap yesterday evening. To be honest it's crap a lot of the time. My room has some good light so I'll try and get some decent images of the pink tonight. Ripped a tuner off my mustang to make sure the E string tapered the fretboard properly. So far so good, just need to decide on pickups now.

Lordy lordy, that's gonna be a lovely looking guitar.

I do love a RW board on a strat. A set of older AVRI pickups will go nicely (think they're termed the 57/63 set).

Cheers Gus, can't wait to get it going! I was either thinking AVRI or a set of duncan SSL1 or "California 50s" as they're called when buying as a set.

beautiful

Got the rest of the parts in the post today besides one thing : tuner bushings. The guy who sold me the Kluson deluxe have me 10mm bushings and swears blind he measured them and they're 8.6mm. Even after sending them back to him he swears they're right but they're simply not. I ordered some others today and they'll be here tomorrow.

The pickguard fits perfext to my surprise just a couple of holes don't line up. No big deal.

The pickups are on hold for the time being because the classic 30 I bought has started to shit itself and even after getting new valves it's still being crazy. Another thread for that though I guess.

I'm just going to concentrate on wiring the pickguard and stringing up and doing a basic setup for now. Oh and I'm having crazy amounts of trouble getting a jack plate to fit it. On all the ones I have bought or tried the "bump" on the bottom is too wide to fit into the route.

Just a thought - is your body a US spec Fender one? Because the import parts, like the jack cups, will have slightly different dimensions.

I think it is US spec yeah. I'll order a US fender one and pay the premium if it's going to help. I really can't wait to put strings on this thing though. I've really missed having a Strat and this one is PINK so it wins.

It's just an educated guess, but I know that Japanese Jazzmasters for example have different dimensions for loads of parts to the US models.

Finally got the correct size bushings on the way in the post but was itching to put strings on this thing. I took the bushings and string tree from my 66 reissue Mustang for the time being.

Dat double line


Front


Whole thing with strings and flanked by the coolest cushion EVAR


Only had to adjust the "E" saddles to bring them down to the correct radius. Everything else just seemed to pull itself into shape. It sounds really loud acoustically and has a lot of ring to it. I'm really excited to get pickups in it but due to my amp being dodgy, I'm gonna have to slow this one down. I'll be wiring the pickguard sometime in the next week or so ready to drop the pickups in when money isn't so tight.

Decided I was sick of having the parts just lying around. Decided to shield the guard and add the electronics ready for soldering this weekend. I've also started to paint the body cavity with shielding paint. I hate wiring.

Pickups will be getting ordered on the 28th and I've got the covers in the post as I forgot them. New jack cup on the way, US spec. I really hope it fits!