Grateful Dead Music Forum

I'm going to modify a strat of mine to Tiger specs. Where did those of you who have gotten this sort of work done go? Did you have it done locally, do it yourself, ship it off? I've taken it to a local guy along with the wiring diagram and he thinks he can do it but I'm not sure if I should go that route or send it off to someone who is more experienced. I'd also know how to source the parts. Particularly the two input jack plate for a strat and the AB modpot. I've already got pickups, pickguard, buffer.

I dood it myself. Once I learned how to fish, I was never hungry again.

I recommend Brian at IO custom guitars. He is Milobender on this board.

I also recommend Brian at IO Custom Guitars. He did an amazing job. Cool guy too!

Brian (milobender) did my Strat. Highly recommended.

I do it all myself. It’s not rocket science folks. Practice soldering on some crappy old electronics, watch some videos, visit some forums. Easy peasy.

joethepainter wrote:Brian (milobender) did my Strat. Highly recommended.

+1. He can do all the bells and whistles.

Searing75 wrote:I do it all myself. It’s not rocket science folks. Practice soldering on some crappy old electronics, watch some videos, visit some forums. Easy peasy.

It's great that this is something you can do for yourself. It's a blessing to be talented at any given endeavor. It's also important to recognize that everyone is different, and what is "easy" to some is difficult for others. I did everything you suggested in your post some years ago, and I was never able to get the hang of it. I spent money on tools and spent a lot of time chasing something I ultimately had no talent for. There's no shame in hiring someone else to do this for you.

Thanks for the recommendations. Does anyone have any pictures of their wiring jobs they can share? Would be cool to see how everything fits.

WokeUpDead wrote:Thanks for the recommendations. Does anyone have any pictures of their wiring jobs they can share? Would be cool to see how everything fits.

I'll snap some when I get home this afternoon

If the pics are too big, right click the image and select 'open in new window'.

joethepainter wrote:



If the pics are too big, right click the image and select 'open in new window'.

Thanks! Wow that is some tight and neat work there.

TI4-1009 wrote:

Which guitars are these for? Could you post pictures of the matching tops, or point me to where they might have been posted in the past? I'm wondering because I have a Jerrycaster build to do where I picked up a rear rout body from warmoth, and I'm trying to figure out my switch layout. Really scared to drill more holes in that beautiful top and then discover that I hate where I put the mini switches.

Another option that may be especially attractive for folks local to the Baltimore-DC area is Phil Jacoby http://www.philtone.com. He's done Dead style wiring for me on several guitars, for example (below), this Tiger-style axe he built me from scratch (neck, body, and all). Acknowledgement: When, at one point on that first guitar, Phil was stuck on part of the wiring (this one was his first Dead style wiring job - he's since done many more), Waldo helped us through it.