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Post subject: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 8:46 pm
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I purchased and received the Fender 'aged white' accessory kit. Two things I noticed, the 'aged white' knobs in this set look more cream colored and darker than the separate 'aged white' knobs I bought awhile ago. 2nd thing, the backplate that comes with the kit seems to be more 'mint green' colored than 'aged white'. Is that by design? I think the set looks too dark in contrast to my parchment guard, so think maybe I need a 'mint green' pickguard.


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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:28 pm
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Most of the parts in those aged-white accessory sets look grotesque and artificial but it seems that some batches look worse than others. Adding to that, different companies each have their own ideas of what "aged white" should look like. You might try some mixing and matching of parts between alternate brands to arrive at a happy medium. And to set the record straight, no vintage Strat ever had a mint green trem cover -- they were all single-ply white, just as with the pickguards of the pre-1958 instruments.

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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:24 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Most of the parts in those aged-white accessory sets look grotesque and artificial but it seems that some batches look worse than others. Adding to that, different companies each have their own ideas of what "aged white" should look like. You might try some mixing and matching of parts between alternate brands to arrive at a happy medium. And to set the record straight, no vintage Strat ever had a mint green trem cover -- they were all single-ply white, just as with the pickguards of the pre-1958 instruments.

Arjay


Thanks, yes, they are so glossy and cream colored they stand out like a sore thumb on a parchment or mint guard. Do you know of any aftermarket ones to look at?


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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 11:22 pm
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Every company making Strat parts seems to have its own idea of what constitutes "aged white". I often have to mix and match the pieces from differing sources to arrive at the most pleasing visual balance.

This Firemist Gold '63 hardtail is wearing a mint-green Fender pickguard harvested from a Robert Cray signature model, with Fender's parchment covers and knobs......

Image

This sunburst Buddy Holly tribute clone retains its original MIM Fender pickguard but features DiMarzio aged-white pickup covers and Fender parchment knobs.

Image

The Surf Green '56 clone below has Fender's standard single-ply white pickguard, white Dimarzio pickup covers, parchment Fender knobs, and a custom-fabricated "football" switch tip in white.

Image

In my case, it's mostly trial and error to create the vibe I'm looking for.

A couple of things worth mentioning: you can dial down the gloss of new parts by gently scuffing them with some 1000-grit emery cloth. Also, the mint guards that Fender actually installs on a production guitar seem to look more authentic than the pickguards they sell as stand-alone accessories.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:08 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
Every company making Strat parts seems to have its own idea of what constitutes "aged white". I often have to mix and match the pieces from differing sources to arrive at the most pleasing visual balance.

This Firemist Gold '63 hardtail is wearing a mint-green Fender pickguard harvested from a Robert Cray signature model, with Fender's parchment covers and knobs......

Image

This sunburst Buddy Holly tribute clone retains its original MIM Fender pickguard but features DiMarzio aged-white pickup covers and Fender parchment knobs.

Image

The Surf Green '56 clone below has Fender's standard single-ply white pickguard, white Dimarzio pickup covers, parchment Fender knobs, and a custom-fabricated "football" switch tip in white.

Image

In my case, it's mostly trial and error to create the vibe I'm looking for.

A couple of things worth mentioning: you can dial down the gloss of new parts by gently scuffing them with some 1000-grit emery cloth. Also, the mint guards that Fender actually installs on a production guitar seem to look more authentic than the pickguards they sell as stand-alone accessories.

Arjay



Very nice Strats you have there. I have come to the conclusion, and correct me if I am wrong, that some new Fender guitars (American Standard for one), come with a different color of aged-white covers, knobs, etc., than Fender makes available in their separate parts & kits they sell. The ones on the guitars are not as dark and yellowish cream colored, and to me look a lot better.


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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:32 pm
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You may be right. As I mentioned, the mint-green pickguards installed on production guitars look more realistic than the separately-packaged accessory pickguards. It may be a similar situation with the pickup covers and knobs as well -- I've never consciously compared them.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:40 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
You may be right. As I mentioned, the mint-green pickguards installed on production guitars look more realistic than the separately-packaged accessory pickguards. It may be a similar situation with the pickup covers and knobs as well -- I've never consciously compared them.

Arjay

I have no doubt this is the case. It must be a marketing tactic or something. If you go to Fender's site and "build" your own Strat, there is an option for 'aged-white'. Even allowing for some variance of computer color differences, there is no way the aged white kit parts are even close in color to the one's the production guitars come with. It's a shame, I don't want to have to buy a new guitar to get the color scheme I want.


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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:54 pm
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You can often find "take-off's" from new or near-new guitars on Ebay. The Stratosphere in particular is a good source for pristine factory Fender parts.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: aged white parts come with mint backplate?
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 7:20 am
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Just thought I'd wade in here to help give some perspective.

I own both a number of Fender strats, one of which is a 2007 AmDlx. This guitar came with a mint green guard and aged parts. I have retrofitted an olympic white AmStd with authentic Fender aged white parts and a Fender mint green pickguard. These were separately sold accessories and they match those found on the production strat 100% perfectly. The only reason I can think for Fender parts not matching is if one set is exposed to more UV light than the other. I keep all my guitars in their cases to prevent this.

Just to reiterate though, the back plate in the accessory pack is mint green and that's how it is meant to be according to Fender.

I'm currently in the process of looking for a replacement bridge pickup for my AmDlx but Seymour Duncan don't make aged white pickups (except for the Antiquity models which are heavily relic'd) and Dimarzio's aged white is more akin to Fender's parchment parts. I want something hot but am not a fan of the Hot Noiseless pups. I could change the SD covers if I went for one of their SSL line but I've heard a number of people say that the Fender covers don't always fit. Plus I really want another noiseless type pickup as I love that quality of the SCN but again Fender covers won't fit stacked pups.

If only Fender had a wider range of pickups to choose from...


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