Grateful Dead Music Forum

I came across this guy on Reverb. He offers dual jack plates for your OBEL-equipped Jerrycaster in oval/rectangle and brass/titanium, as well as a fully built up OBEL buffer with switches and knobs for dropping in to a Strat pickguard. He also has done "Boost of the Dead" and "Samson '78" pedals

https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=OBEL%20Farm

I’m not visualizing where the five way switch would fit in with that

wpmartin1979 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:15 pm I’m not visualizing where the five way switch would fit in with that

Below the switches.

tdcrjeff wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:43 am

wpmartin1979 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:15 pm I’m not visualizing where the five way switch would fit in with that

Below the switches.

Ah yes okay, but that is the only place that the battery would fit no?
In the listing it says that you should “drill through the back of the guitar to the tremolo cavity” and that the cavity makes a good place for the battery- however in my experience with Strats batteries don’t really fit behind a decked trem - if you have a newer two point trem then maybe but not with a vintage trem- you could maybe put it where the springs would go, but need to have some springs to ground the guitar and depends on the cavity depth which can vary- this is where installation could get dicey.
Best solution is pay the $80 to a luthier to install a battery box - then your ready to go with no worries
BTW I had a Boost of the Dead pedal and though it was great - definitely sounded like a Stratoblaster and when combined with the buffer had a nice effect - recently sold it cause I have blasters in a couple of my guitars now and found it redundant but definitely a cool pedal - Farm makes really high quality stuff

tdcrjeff wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:43 am

wpmartin1979 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:15 pm I’m not visualizing where the five way switch would fit in with that

Below the switches.

Is that yours? Mustang bridge is an interesting pick.

I am glad this popped back up!!! I have been wanting a source for flat Strat jack plates rather than making my own which is time consuming and not great quality.

I use one jack and one pot, but those dual jack plates should work perfectly!

KirstieTheWolf wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:34 am

tdcrjeff wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:43 am

wpmartin1979 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:15 pm I’m not visualizing where the five way switch would fit in with that

Below the switches.

Is that yours? Mustang bridge is an interesting pick.

Not mine, it's from a Farm listing on Reverb.

If your stratocaste had a swimming pool rout would the battery fit in there?

tdcrjeff wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:09 pm

KirstieTheWolf wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:34 am

tdcrjeff wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:43 am
Below the switches.

Is that yours? Mustang bridge is an interesting pick.

Not mine, it's from a Farm listing on Reverb.

almost figured that.

I wonder what kept them frow wiping away the grease from the pickup selector

Latetothebus wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:32 pm If your stratocaste had a swimming pool rout would the battery fit in there?

Yes, but it would be a real pain to get to. If you are disabling the trem, the rear cavity is the perfect place for the battery. I usually leave the rear cover off and use the trem springs to hold the battery in place. That makes it super easy to change with no tools.

A rear cover plate with built in battery door would be pretty cool if you don’t like the exposed look.

>> If you are disabling the trem, the rear cavity is the perfect place for the battery.

Agreed. I used this approach for my current #1, my heavily modded '98 USA Reverend Avenger.

Another place to hide a battery in a Strat is to turn the recessed jack-plate upside down - the “innie” becomes and “outie” with plenty of space underneath for a battery accessible by just two little screws. Here’s a pic of a Strat XII I used to own that I did this to.

Bill, tgo

I cut my own jackplate and used the Farm Obel module on this build. I think I may have bad solder connection on the 5 way switch. I have not touched since I tweaked my rotator cuff in September.


I routed the back for a 9V battery box w lid


It's at the ranch presently or I would have posted more pictures. I used a heavy duty enclosed 5 way switch that was a bit wider than standard which complicated the installation.

Battery box install