Meggy's Stratocaster project

[Meggy]

Hi folks, yes I know it's not long since I finished the telecaster, but I seem to have the guitar building bug, so am embarking on another parts build, to make a Stratocaster this time. Not perhaps a widely used guitar in jazz, but I intend to try! Anyway, for my money this is nevertheless the most iconic electric guitar, and I have always thought just about the prettiest design ever - I've been playing for 30-something years and not had a strat in all that time, so I just fancy having one!

This is going to be a UK parts-sourced build, like the telecaster - current state of play is I have received all the parts except the body. I got the neck from CH Guitars (ebay) - it is a 9.5" radius, 22 fret, rosewood board. Seems quite nice to me, although I am planning to re-finish it with Tru-Oil:



The last image there shows one issue - I am fitting a set of Wilkinson EZ Lok tuners that give a staggered post effect, hopefully eliminating the need for strings trees. However, the headstock is a little thicker than standard, so that the string hole on the end tuning machines does not quite prutrude enough. I am buying the body from Phil at Guitarbuild.co.uk so have sent the neck to him to ensure a good fit to the body, but he is also going to take a shim off the front of the headstock to fix the problem with the tuning machines. Hopefully I will have the neck back, plus nice swamp ash strat body in a few days time.

[Meggy]

Just to add a bit more - I'm going for gold hardware (again...) plus a tortoiseshell pickguard, cream pickup covers and controls. Most of the hardware, including a set of Wilkinson WVS pickups, has come from Guitar parts spares online -Axesrus - one other bit is a Wilkinson trem unit with steel block.

I have spent the last few days putting together the pickguard assembly, and then completing the wiring. I'm using a circuit called the "Strat SP" which gives the usual 5 strat pickup combos, but also series wiring and phase-reverse options, with added control of these given by a "fade control". For anyone interested, the circuit is detailed here on the Guitar Nuts 2 forum: GuitarNutz 2 - The Strat SP. I was going to try to keep things simple, but somehow I'm just a sucker for fancy circuits - quite a soldering job to do, but here are a few pics of the job:



Note the Russian paper-in-oil capacitors - do these really improve the tone? I very much doubt it, but perhaps they add a bit of "mojo" or something. Anyway, glad that's all out the way, can't wait to get the body and neck back from guitarbuild.co.uk now.

[jazzbow]

I use paper in oil caps for single coils, namely P90's and CC style humbucker and 500k pots and I must say that the tone roll off is great. full on bassy tone at one point with an audible graduation up to the other extreme. Add to this the interaction with the guitar volume and a warm valve amp and you have tone heaven. So on the strat that would be great, I have a job on the go with a strat conversion to SSH and we'll be putting on these caps.

[stevedenver]

youre gonna love having a strat
imho pick ups make a big difference
and not all oil in paper caps are equal-but it is very important to get the right value, as they can really affect the sound of the guitar-as do correct values pots and taper-all depends on what you like

i have used the paper and oils in my les pauls-some are nice -and some were very harsh, brittle and piercingly treble

very nice project you have

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by jazzbow

I use paper in oil caps for single coils, namely P90's and CC style humbucker and 500k pots and I must say that the tone roll off is great. full on bassy tone at one point with an audible graduation up to the other extreme. Add to this the interaction with the guitar volume and a warm valve amp and you have tone heaven. So on the strat that would be great, I have a job on the go with a strat conversion to SSH and we'll be putting on these caps.

Originally Posted by stevedenver

youre gonna love having a strat
imho pick ups make a big difference
and not all oil in paper caps are equal-but it is very important to get the right value, as they can really affect the sound of the guitar-as do correct values pots and taper-all depends on what you like

i have used the paper and oils in my les pauls-some are nice -and some were very harsh, brittle and piercingly treble

very nice project you have

Thanks chaps - I really am looking forward to having a strat, perhaps for a bit of Eric Johnson-ish chordal stuff with chorus/delay - might be use-able in a jazz context. The pickups are not super-expensive boutique models I admit, though I was recommended them by another guitarist I trust as being excellent value, plus close to the kind of sound I'm hoping for - they can always be upgraded later if required, but I'll see how they go to start with.

As to the caps, it seems opinion within the guitar community is sharply divided - some think it makes a big difference, others think the whole thing is a con, and not much in between. I mentioned it on another forum and was shot down in flames for even considering the idea - kind of made to think it probably wasn't important... anyway, I bought some nevertheless, and after reading your comments I think they might have some benefit after all.

I did listen to a couple of comparison tests done on the net - it's not easy listening to mp3 samples - but I still felt I could detect differences, and did seem to prefer a paper-in-oil cap in one test (I picked it out blind several times). I've gone for a 0.015uF as the main tone control cap, the other one is a 0.047uF which has to be that value to do it's job in the enhanced tone control circuit - see the guitar nuts 2 forum for info on this if interested. 500K log CTS pots also - I tend to prefer brighter sounds, and reason that you can always turn down the tone a bit to take the edge off if needed.

[rpguitar]

Isn't that a big old crack in the heel??

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by rpguitar

Isn't that a big old crack in the heel??

No, it's a line drawn on in biro for some reason, probably done at the factory. The neck is absolutely fine, though a little roughly finished around the heel/fret-ends - I plan to do some work on it at some point in the build, plus a fret level and dress, prior to re-finishing with Tru Oil.

[stevedenver]

meggy everyone has an opinion on guitar myths -im my experience on these forums , some folks repeat , some folks have first hand knowledge

i too love fancy electronic circuits and have a couple on my guitars as well-they can be very useful indeed-and-sometimes only shine in certain applications, ie low volume versus high gain-i find this esepcially the case with series versus parrallel-you can hear it -but it becomes a lot more at big volume-i have this not only on an LP but also two of my teles

i mentioned these issue because i tinkered a good deal with my les pauls re caps, pots, and pickups

i only mention it so that if youre dissatisfied with the sound, you know that these things can affect it a great deal-

i too like treble-but the tone knob wasnt enough and i changed the value and make of my caps and it made a very discernable difference-and i am not too fussy

youll see and youll probably experiment
nice looking guitars youve got going

youll love it once its finished-there is nothing like a strat
especially, imho, through a fender amp-although marshalls are great too
but that american glassy sound really shines when using a fender-imho

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by stevedenver

meggy everyone has an opinion on guitar myths -im my experience on these forums , some folks repeat , some folks have first hand knowledge

i too love fancy electronic circuits and have a couple on my guitars as well-they can be very useful indeed-and-sometimes only shine in certain applications, ie low volume versus high gain-i find this esepcially the case with series versus parrallel-you can hear it -but it becomes a lot more at big volume-i have this not only on an LP but also two of my teles

i mentioned these issue because i tinkered a good deal with my les pauls re caps, pots, and pickups

i only mention it so that if youre dissatisfied with the sound, you know that these things can affect it a great deal-

i too like treble-but the tone knob wasnt enough and i changed the value and make of my caps and it made a very discernable difference-and i am not too fussy

youll see and youll probably experiment
nice looking guitars youve got going

youll love it once its finished-there is nothing like a strat
especially, imho, through a fender amp-although marshalls are great too
but that american glassy sound really shines when using a fender-imho

The advice is much appreciated Steve, thank you. I think I understand your point with regard to capacitors - i.e. there is no "best type" here, but they do make a difference, so worth getting it right, especially with regard to the cap value? I still take encouragement from that, since I have heard from quite a few people who believe it makes no discernible difference at all! If it seems good with the cap I've put in now, I'll leave things alone, if not quite right, I'll certainly be prepared to try some more experimenting.

Sadly I don't have a nice Fender tube amp to play it though - I'll have to settle for one of the 3 solid state amps I have at first, maybe my Roland Cube 80XL - it does at least have some Fender amp modelling on it. Who knows though, I might just have to invest in a proper amp some day!

[SamBooka]

I have a 50s bumblebee in Emp Reg and my ES125. Love it love it love it!!! In a blindfold test I am CERTAIN I could not tell the diff between that and a 5cent ceramic disc. Just because I cant hear a difference doesnt mean it isnt there, but at the end of the day, as long as I am happy I am happy.

(NOTE: The caps cost me nothing as I pulle them from a wrecked amp.)

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by SamBooka

I have a 50s bumblebee in Emp Reg and my ES125. Love it love it love it!!! In a blindfold test I am CERTAIN I could not tell the diff between that and a 5cent ceramic disc. Just because I cant hear a difference doesnt mean it isnt there, but at the end of the day, as long as I am happy I am happy.

(NOTE: The caps cost me nothing as I pulle them from a wrecked amp.)

Cheers Sam, one day I might have to set up a guitar so that I can connect in different tone caps quickly, then I can test the whole thing out to my heart's content. At present I don't have any direct experience with different caps, maybe it isn't a big thing, but I believe there is no harm in trying this stuff out anyway. The Russian caps I've got were pretty inexpensive, so worth a punt!

Overall, I absolutely agree with you though - as long as one is happy that's the main thing!

[helios]

Hi Meggy,
Like your Telecaster project before it, the Stratocaster project, with it's gold appointments, will indeed look elegant! Might I suggest a proper English car in which to transport them:

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by helios

Hi Meggy,
Like your Telecaster project before it, the Stratocaster project, with it's gold appointments, will indeed look elegant! Might I suggest a proper English car in which to transport them:

You might indeed suggest such a vehicle - the effect would unquestionably be highly elegant! Sadly, my current financial status does not make this a likely reality in the near future... Perhaps if I contact Rolls Royce, they might provide a car gratis, for the publicity it would undoubtedly bring them just being associated with my guitars! Or perhaps not...

[jazzbow]

Originally Posted by Meggy

As to the caps, it seems opinion within the guitar community is sharply divided - some think it makes a big difference, others think the whole thing is a con, and not much in between. I mentioned it on another forum and was shot down in flames for even considering the idea - kind of made to think it probably wasn't important... anyway, I bought some nevertheless, and after reading your comments I think they might have some benefit after all.
.

Pah! Naysayers, don't listen to 'em Megs. We wouldn't get to where we are today if we had listen to these naysayers!
Caps cost pennies, and if you're really lucky, free! Every time I go to the municipal rubbish dump I root around for old radios and stuff for caps and bakelite knobs.
Yeah, and as said before, if you're happy then f**k em!

[Meggy]

Cheers Jazzbow, the encouragement is appreciated! Out of interest - you mention that you have fitted paper-in-oil type caps for use with single coil pickups of various types. Does that mean you would use something else for a humbucker equiped guitar, and if so what? Just curious!

[jazzbow]

Generally for caps you're looking at .047 value for single coils and .022 for humbuckers both at 100v. Now having said that the oil/paper caps I used for the P90/CC pickups on my own guitars have a value of .022 @ 200v! I'm no electronic expert (maybe someone here is (Niag, come back)) but for pennies for caps just experiment until you find what you like.

[Meggy]

Cheers that man! Some experiment on other guitars (that I didn't build!) has already steered me to the view that I tend to prefer lower value caps - I find 0.047 way too much, 0.022 useable but still a bit on the high side, and something a bit less about right. Hence I've put a 0.015 into the strat circuit. But of course your right, experimenting is not expensive to do. Interesting with regard to the voltage rating - I've heard the view that higher values sound better somehow, although of course the voltage generated inside a guitar must be pretty tiny.

[jazzbow]

Sorry, didn't answer your humbucker question. May try .033 orange drop for the SSH strat and see how that goes.

Anyhoo, I found this, check out the last paragraph on how to set up a guitar to test out different value caps

http://www.singlecoil.com/docs/caps.pdf

Hope this helps

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by jazzbow

Sorry, didn't answer your humbucker question. May try .033 orange drop for the SSH strat and see how that goes.

Anyhoo, I found this, check out the last paragraph on how to set up a guitar to test out different value caps

http://www.singlecoil.com/docs/caps.pdf

Hope this helps

Jazzbow, you answered while I was typing a reply to your previous post! so confusion reigns... Thanks for the further thoughts though, and the link, I'll have a look at that, cheers.

[jazzbow]

And this. TONE CAP HEAVEN

..:: SINGLECOIL.COM - the musicians DIY electronics source for free !!! ::..*****

[Meggy]

Cheers again, all interesting reading! I'm considering ordering a batch of Russian paper in oil caps from an ebay seller in the Ukraine by the way - I'll probably have more than I can use, but maybe can share the order with a guitar playing friend.

[Meggy]

Hi again folks, just to revive this tired old thread ha ha! There have been several delays to my strat project, mainly caused by me (life gets in the way sometimes...) and I have changed my mind about a couple of things:

1) the guitar body is now going to be made to the same dimensions as a real 1962 stratocaster that Phil at guitarbuild.co.uk is lucky enough to own - I really like this idea, I think it will add a lot of interest to my build.

2) I decided not to use the rosewood board neck I had bought before, and have just received a satin-finished one, with ebony fingerboard, from Axesrus in the UK. This has a somewhat deeper C profile, more like a vintage strat neck really, with 9.5" radius (as before), medium jumbo frets. I like it a lot, I think you can see from the pictures below that the quality is better:





Plus the walnut truss surround and skunk stripe look classy to me. Wish I'd gone for one of these in the first place, but they have only just started stocking them. That said I do have ideas for the rosewood neck I'm not using anymore - perhaps a hardtail strat with some pickups and parts I have lying around unused at the moment - mad I know, but the building bug is hard to shake! BTW, for anyone planning a build in the new year, Guitarbuild.co.uk tell me they will be offering nice discounts soon if you sign up for their newsletter on the website - worth considering, it might save you a few quid.

I'm now going to make a new nut for the ebony neck using some ivory graphtech tusq material I got on ebay, plus fitting the tuning machines. The swamp ash body should arrive next week now with a bit of luck - assuming it doesn't get too delayed by the Christmas posting rush. Onwards!

[black70bird]

You will not regret going with the ebony fretboard. I did a partscaster build a while ago using a compound radius, 9.5 - 12, ebony fretboard mighty mite neck and am a fan now. I really like how easy bends are with the ebony fretboard and the tone is great. I am more of a blues player and just recently start playing some jazz on a Hofner J5. I will have to try the Strat too.

[Meggy]

Thank black70bird, I've looked at brands like Mighty Mite - they seem impressive. The more I look at my new neck the more I like it - the cost has been a bit more, but I can clearly see what the extra has paid for. And somehow for me, ebony has always spoken of a bit of luxury on a guitar! Nothing wrong with rosewood of course, and the other neck I bought was fine, and perfectly good value for money - I just wish I'd aimed a little higher to start with... It's a learning process I guess!

[Funster]

I built a Strat maybe five years ago. White body Warmoth, compound radius neck, high silver frets, ebony board, Jeff Beck Strat pickups in a harness. I had more fun picking parts and putting it together than playing it. I never fell in love and sold it soon thereafter. But oh, it was a fun project. Good luck to you, Meggy.

[Meggy]

Thanks Funster - I admit I'm a bit addicted to the fun of the building process and picking the parts etc., also I doubt this is very good sense from an economic standpoint. Hope I get something I can like in the end - sorry to here you didn't get on with your own build that you did, always a risk I guess!

[Meggy]

Hi again, just been doing some work on the neck today - I have made a new nut from a Graphtech Tusq blank (I bought a couple of these on ebay for about £5!), and also tested the fit of the Wilkinson EZ Lok tuning machines.

Some pics:

The new nut fitted

The above pic shows the staggered effect the Wilkinson tuning machines give - they have two different post heights, plus each post can be used with either the high or low string hole. They look like they will work very well with this headstock.

The tuning machines look nice I think!

Above are the simple tools I used to make the nut: junior hacksaw, flat file, 250 and 1000 grit sandpaper. At the bottom from left to right are a) the bone nut Axesrus sent with the neck (it's fine, I just wanted to try making my own) b) Graphtech Tusq nut blank like the one I started with c) I cut the blank in half longways, this is the unused half (so each blank is actually enough for 2 strat type nuts!) d) the nut I have made for the strat neck - I used the bone nut Axesrus sent me as a guide for the profile, then made it thinner gradually until it was a snug fit in the slot. Also spent a little time ensuring the base was good and flat, and makes good contact all the way across the nut slot.

Still have to cut slots for the strings, but I'm going to get some proper nut files for that job - probably that will be left until near the end of the build though. I may make a couple of shallow grooves where the outside strings will go, just to use when aligning the neck to the body. Also have to drill small holes on the back of the headstock for the little screws that secure the machine heads in place - I've marked the positions for this.

Ah well, small stuff really, but it keeps me off the streets!

[jazzbow]

Hey Megs, glad to see you are still building!
I've got designs on making a Tele Custom (H/B+ S/C) in the new year of which I'll publish on here.
I found these guys over here in the UK, for GUITARS & INSTRUMENTS
They do there own decals as well as tinted cellulose lacquer!
Get a decal saying 'Funster Meggycaster!'
I had a r/w neck on my tokai strat with a decal saying 'Fondue Fattycaster' that fooled everyone. I swapped to a maple f/b and now we have 'Pig 109' decal. All good clean fun :-)

[jazzbow]

hey mate, yew only got 5 machineheads on that neck........

[jazzbow]

For nuts get this, well worth the investment, great for r/w floating bridges too.
STEWMAC.COM : String Spacing Rule