Strat Mod

[jester536]

[jester536]

Ok, I think I've got this figured out...Just finished up my Strat mod and I'm going to try to post some pictures.
I recently got a custom guitar from Chris Michas. I'm really enjoying that guitar but my old Strat just didn't cut it any more. So I decided to mod it to put it more in line with the Michas. I bought it back in about '87...the frets were worn and I'd always wanted a rosewood or ebony fretboard...so I got a new neck from Warmoth. My Michas has got two Super II's and an SDS1 in the neck...no sense making an exact copy of what I already had so I went with 3 Super II's...some photos...

Original
Early Stages

Back Cavity...I blocked the bridge and took the springs out...that gave us room for the buffer. We had to rout-out that cavity just a little bit to give us the depth we needed.

Dual Jacks...We abandoned the old jack and put 2 jacks in the edge of the body. My brother is kind of an anal wood worker...he felt it was necessary to recess the jack plates. I was glad he did after the fact.

YIKES!!!! The wiring was a major endeavour. After it was all done, we had a bad connection somewhere...it took quite some time to get it all working.

All Done...the cover on the old jack is temporary...I really love the bolt...It's all over my guitar from Michas...but were thinking we might need to make our own logo...building one from scratch is in our future!!!

My brother and I had never done anything like this before...what a daunting task. Waldo...I can never thank you enough!!! To everyone else out there...Mike is an amazing guy...when you buy his buffer you get the whole package...I can't tell you how much help he was. A lot of fun and a lot of headaches. I've played it a bit today...and should be playing quite a bit tomorrow...It ain't as good as my Michas...but I now have a reasonable substitute...and that's exactly what I wanted.

[540EYE]

NICE JOB !!

[darkstar]

Nice job!!!! Was there not enough room in trem cavity for the battery? Did you have to route for H/H/H? Or was it a swimming pool route there already?

-Tony

[jester536]

It was the swimming pool...now it's been a little while but if I remember correctly we had to increase the depth just a little bit. The screws for pup height adjustment needed to go really deep...so we just drilled holes for them to fit into. There was room for the battery in the spring cavity but I figured for ease of access I should use the battery box. Only about 6 screws on the back cover plate so probably not necessary to use the box...but what the heck. Also, those battery boxes are DEEP...I actually placed it poorly. When we drilled it out...we hit the input jack cavity...now I was already considering abandoning that anyway...but that made our decision for us. That was major screw up on my part...but I think it all worked out fine in the end.

[brutusbuck45]

Hi Jester. I love what you have done. I was actually thinking about doing something similar with my Strat. I too have an 87 E Serial... although mine is a MIJ Blackie. When you installed Warmoth neck, did you run into any issues with seating in the heal? Screw holes align or did you plug/glue them with dowels and redrill? Also did you find that any major truss adjustments were necessary? I have setup the intonation on my Strat before but it was a lot of trial and error. Did you bring it to a tech for setup following neck installation or is that something you and your Bro were confident doing? I would assume the latter because of all the steps you described that you had already done. Anyway, nice work and any other thoughts on your project would be cool to hear.

Thanks.

Brutus

[jester536]

Brutus...the neck was really pretty easy. I have never done any intonation adjustments on my guitars but I'm planning on giving this one a good going over...but as of right now it's playing just fine...no adjustments...just bolted it on. It turns out that we had the wrong size holes for the tuners...but we just re-drilled those. I realize now...what I'd really like is a neck that more closely matches my Michas...24 frets. I don't know shit about music...much of what I play is by positioning and this neck is way off from my other guitar. But I would have to say that a neck swap from Warmoth is easy...seated nicely into the pocket and all the holes lined up just exactly perfect.

[brutusbuck45]

Hey thanks for that info. I hear great things about Warmoth necks. I suppose you get what you pay for. They aren't the cheapest (price) out there. I was looking at the Mighty Mite necks. They are conservatively priced and use Fender-ish peg head also. Like I said previously I have a MIJ Strat so the neck pockets should match as yours did. Its if I decide to build from a Custom body that it seems like more of a potential for having to do re-drills. I love some of the amber quilt Strat-type bodies on Ebay. I was thinking about doing a Wolf kind of thing with one.

Strat.jpg

[waldo041]

j,

thanks for the kind words!

and that things looks as good as i bet it plays!

AWESOME JOB!

those might mite necks are pretty good, i got the maple with ebony fretbpoard on mine. the mm necks come with a very thin sealing coat of finish so they do need to be finished, but are made to fit in strat pockets just like warmoth's.


peace,
waldo

[brutusbuck45]

Excellent! Thanks for the 411 on the MM necks, Waldo.

Peace.

[strumminsix]

Very nice and well done!

[jeffm725]

j,

thanks for the kind words!

and that things looks as good as i bet it plays!

AWESOME JOB!

those might mite necks are pretty good, i got the maple with ebony fretbpoard on mine. the mm necks come with a very thin sealing coat of finish so they do need to be finished, but are made to fit in strat pockets just like warmoth's.


peace,
waldo

I have a mighty mite neck on my gator inspired deal. It is a very good neck for the price (I paid 90 bucks for it).

I have to make an addendum to Waldo's comment though. I agree with Waldo that the finish on the neck is "thin" (Mine has a clear satin poly). However, I do know people who have not refinished the necks and they are fine (I havent refinished mine yet). Refinishing is probably a matter of preference on neck feel, more than it would be for protection or anything.
The other note about refinishing a mighty mite neck is that it automatically voids the warranty.
http://www.mightymite.com/necks/index.html

[strumminsix]

How are the nut slots on the MM necks? I have an old strat that is wall decoration and pondering tossing a maple neck on her.

[jeffm725]

SS......I cant comment on the stock nut slots because I yanked it and put a brass nut on it right away........however I did look at the nut and it appeared to be more than decent...........

[jdsmodulus]

Really nice job!