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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:27 am
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Sean any news on your 1954 Strat fanpage?


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:03 pm
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I've been a bit distracted with work, but I'm looking for something cheap (or free) for hosting.

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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:14 pm
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Tomcaster wrote:
I finally changed my trem block as well - together with Raw Vintage springs and Callaham screws everywhere on the trem assy (pivot screws, intonation screws, saddle screws).

Quite an exhausting job :-)

The results are very pleasing. I try to be as sober as possible because I also put fresh strings on but in general it sounds richer, as if the sound transfered throughout the instrument without any obstacles. Very organic tone. I like it a lot. Plus the springs give a great reverb effect that was not present before.

I will keep playing it and see how it behaves when the strings will get duller but for now I am very pleased.

No issues with hole alignment anywhere, btw. When I assembled the trem I have screwed in the three plate holding screws slowly and when they were still pretty loose I went in with the trem arm and adjusted everything to go in smoothly.

EDIT ONE WEEK LATER:

This really did the thing. The mods really let the guitar shine, they prolongue sustain and give an excellent frequency response accross the whole spectrum. Overdriven sounds are a dream. It sounds a lot richer as well and simply is great fun to play. It went from a good guitar to a real keeper!


I also changed to the Callaham block some years ago and the only things that I can say with certainty about it is that it gives a more vintage style block appearance without the deep bullet-string holes and it dropped the overall weight of my '54 MB by 2/10ths of an ounce. The change was strictly motivated by vanity. I've heard other claims of improved sustain and tone but the human ear is not good in audio comparison without immediate A/B comparison (not possible with this modification). We certainly want to believe those things if we've done the work to "improve" our guitars. It would be good to see an actual lab test to support the sustain improvements that Callahan claims. I realize my scepticism is a wet-blanket response to mod-motivated guitar geeks (of which I am one). I just think many manufacturer claims are basically snake oil with only anecdotal claims and no hard data to support them. -Marty


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 8:24 am
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Well for me it was not quite like that. I would have liked to keep this guitar stock because it is a Masterbuilt.

I don't believe that the steel composition is different. What motivated me where the shallow string holes because this 1cm difference does impact tension and the overall feel of the string. Again, I changed the block together with the springs and the trem screws so I am not sure which factor contributed most but the tone certainly improved. I simply have more fun with this guitar, it sings a lot more, it sounds deeper. It has become the best Strat I have ever played.

It is a certain pity that Fender copromised on this detail. But there are other small compromises - the pickups are apparently wound by machine and not by hand, the cap is not a PIO. Small things one could still tweak and I guess then you will reach the ultimate goal.


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 6:28 pm
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Tomcaster wrote:
Well for me it was not quite like that. I would have liked to keep this guitar stock because it is a Masterbuilt.

I don't believe that the steel composition is different. What motivated me where the shallow string holes because this 1cm difference does impact tension and the overall feel of the string. Again, I changed the block together with the springs and the trem screws so I am not sure which factor contributed most but the tone certainly improved. I simply have more fun with this guitar, it sings a lot more, it sounds deeper. It has become the best Strat I have ever played.

It is a certain pity that Fender copromised on this detail. But there are other small compromises - the pickups are apparently wound by machine and not by hand, the cap is not a PIO. Small things one could still tweak and I guess then you will reach the ultimate goal.


Alright Tom, I won't repeat my skepticism but we can certainly agree on the unfortunate nature of Fender's decision to compromise on the block detail. I guess they figured because it was not as visible, they could get away with the modern block that accommodates their Fender Bullet strings. Indeed, the steel composition is the same and if you take the Fender tour and ask about cold rolled steel, you'll get an earful from the tour guide as to the fact that Fender does indeed use cold rolled steel for their blocks. As for hand-wound pickups, my understanding is that no Fender pickups were ever wound by hand. Abigail Ybarra used a hand held machine/device to wind the pickups - as was done in the 50's. By the by, she retired recently. I didn't know that detail about the non- paper in oil caps. Replacing that means re-soldering which is normally a no-brainer but with an MB '54, I gotta think about it. -Marty


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:35 pm
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Nokie, Tom and I both put in Pigtail 54' trem blocks, not Callaham(supposed to be made exactly as a 1954 trem block), as you, I did it only to have a correct 54' block, not expecting a tone change, but as Tom did, I feel there was a postive change.However, we both added Raw vintage springs, which I have used in a few strats, IMHO these add the most change to feel, and tone, they are fatter/softer than new stock springs as the early 50's springs were.My guitar buddy swears by them, so I tried them and really was surprised, using 5 feels like 3, as they are not as ridged as the stock springs, and the guitar sounds more alive .Check them out, it's a cheap/easy reversable mod.
P.S I also added a Luxe paper and oil repro cap, just looks correct, and I was soldering the 5 way switch anyway, a must have for me(my mb 54' is a daily player).


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:13 am
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The most important thing is that these guitars sound great as instruments and they are incredibly well crafted. This gives a phantastic base for these final little improvements.


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:38 pm
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They are indeed fantastic guitars. While I'll continue to challenge the reliability of anecdotal tone improvement claims resulting from specific component changes, I certainly like the ones that you guys have done in the interest of authenticity. Do ya think that Fender will go the extra mile with a 60th anniversary strat next year?

I think the most significant improvements in tone that can be made to these guitars, as with any guitar for that matter, is in improving our playing technique.

-Marty


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:22 am
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I hope Fender does not put out a 60th anniv. it would take away from the 50th(and I really don't think they can top it, or even match it, IMO)I believe you can make small improvements with some component changes, but if you don't start with a great guitar they won't really help much.I once had a CS60's strat that just was not right to my ear, tried one of those expensive titanium blocks, it was even worse, sounded thin, tinny I just got rid of the guitar and moved on. Nokie, no truer words were spoken here, the one thing I always need to improve my sound with is more practice(by the way I have seen your youtube clip and that really tells me you live by your words, awesome clip!)
I think the bottom line is a guitar geek like me likes to add those little touches to our already great 50th anniv. 54's.


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 12:56 pm
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my56strat wrote:
I hope Fender does not put out a 60th anniv. it would take away from the 50th(and I really don't think they can top it, or even match it, IMO)I believe you can make small improvements with some component changes, but if you don't start with a great guitar they won't really help much.I once had a CS60's strat that just was not right to my ear, tried one of those expensive titanium blocks, it was even worse, sounded thin, tinny I just got rid of the guitar and moved on. Nokie, no truer words were spoken here, the one thing I always need to improve my sound with is more practice(by the way I have seen your youtube clip and that really tells me you live by your words, awesome clip!)
I think the bottom line is a guitar geek like me likes to add those little touches to our already great 50th anniv. 54's.


I'd have to agree that I hope they don't come out with a 60th Anniversary MB Strat for the reasons you mention. That and the fact that I won't be able to afford it for a while having just taken the plunge yesterday on a '63 Jaguar (white with white headstock). Thanks for checkin' out the clip and the kind words! -Marty


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:45 am
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Good news: it´s not too late. If you missed to grab a 50th MB Strat in 2004, here´s your second chance! Who knows where they found them...

Bad news: price tag. :-)

http://www.musicstore.de/is-bin/INTERSH ... 40Page%3D1


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:03 am
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It's cool that some are still for sale new, but the prices are.... well stupid IMHO.


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:21 am
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I agree...seems they are not interested in selling them quickly. :-)

I heard they came untouched from a massive collection, the owner had at least one 50th from every Masterbuilder. The same with other MB series....a new dimension in guitar collecting?


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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:48 am
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Some others are collecting models in all the available colours, so...

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Post subject: Re: 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster Owners!
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:42 am
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There is definitely a fun factor!


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