that's primarily why I avoid bars... lol... thats how i save to buy gear.

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My source for all my Fender Gear

"I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost

Ditto. And if anyone bothers to suggest that a Les Paul doesn't belong on the Strat Forum - well, we'll see 'em off...

BTW, Twelvebar, who made that LP kit, please? Not that I've looked hard but the cheapy ones I've seen had bolt-on necks. Which is so, so wrong!!

Cheers - C

I'll post it. But there's not a lot to show til I can start finishing work.And even then, its behind the ibanez, my p-bass, and maybe one other body. i kinda want to get some practice in spraying first, it's been a long time since I even painted a fence!!

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Oh, I actually agree...you can certainly build one from all Fender parts for around that price. That said, cvilleira is also correct in that it can cost a lot more than that as well. If you look at some of the after market parts such as the Fender licensed parts from Warmoth, they can indeed be quite expensive! For that matter, with resources such as Ebay, you could probably even build a "true" vintage instrument from parts for much cheaper than you would pay for the guitar as a whole.

My original point there however still stands...a great many people would rather buy a "real" Fender than buy one that some unknown shmoe such as you or me put together from parts...even if those parts are all genuine Fender. Think of it this way...if you were to build a Standard Strat from parts that you got off Ebay, assuming those parts were all brand new, first off unless you were a dealer and selling it "as new" chances are you're not going to get the going price of $550 (post markup of course) for a Standard. Now if you told folks that it's "like new" but didn't mention that you built it, you might get a decent price for it...maybe as much as $500 but if you just happen to mention that said instrument is "made from parts"...dude, that perceived value just went down...a lot. I don't really have any specific statistics to back this up but the moment you say that you built it from parts, the value of that instrument just dropped to around $300 or less...see my point?


Now there is something that I should add to this that I should have mentioned in my first post in this thread. I'm NOT by any means saying don't build or modify your own! Perhaps part of this is simply that as I said before, I don't buy a guitar with the immediate intent of selling it, but I like to "personalize" my instruments and really make them mine. A lot of folks are perfectly happy buying an "off the rack" American Standard...and there's nothing wrong with that, but personally I'd rather have something like my MIM and mod the crap out of it to make an instrument that's as nice, if not nicer than that Am Std that is specifically suited to my needs and my playing style.

Also as far as building goes...my same mentality applies. I certainly love to build and tinker myself. Again here I don't think of the instrument from the stand point of a "financial investment", I think of this as something that I really enjoy doing and get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from. For me if I were to spend $400 on parts and such and built a guitar that's really only worth $250, to me it's still well worth it because of the enjoyment and satisfaction I got from building it!

On that same note, personally I don't see myself ever spending $250 to $400 on something like a Warmoth body or even a "genuine" Fender body from someplace like Stratosphere on Ebay. Again there's nothing wrong with folks who can afford to do that but personally I'd much rather do exactly what I did with this one Strat project I'm working on now...but an old beat up body and "bring it back to life". There's nothing wrong with buying a bunch of parts and slapping them together...sure it's fun, but for me at least, there's something about actually working with the wood...taking it down to the bare wood, coming up with my own colors and as painful and annoying as it can be (LOL!) the hours of sanding, wet sanding, polishing and rubbing that's needed to make a really beautiful finish. Again here there is something much more personal about it for me and when I put something like this together and make something decent and playable, I get that much more satisfaction from playing it! My modified '96 MIM is a great guitar and I love playing her but this guitar I'm working on is going to be truly special to me.

Anyways from that particular point of view this is something that either makes sense to people or it doesn't. Some of us have that creative urge that goes beyond our playing...I just wanted to reiterate the issues in regards to "value" at least as far as the parts vs. money issues goes. In this case you can spend as much or as little as you want on parts but it should also be said that the more you spend, the less your likely to get a return on it. With the Strat I'm building now, as I said before I have a mind blowing $135 in to this instrument so far and -if- I were to turn around and sell it (which I'm NOT) I think I could easily get between $200 and $300 for it. If on the other hand I were to build one from Warmoth parts costing upwards of $1000, it would be unlikely that I could get anywhere near the price I spent on parts...simply because I built it myself.

L8r

Ceri, it was an ebay find.

And to Jim (lomitus) thos kit is the last one I buy. from this point everything will begin as a slab of wood.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I'd floyd the LP mate. Infact looking at your kit i fancy having a bash at a hell awaits era hanneman.

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No no and no

Hey TB,
Ain't nothing wrong with that at all. The biggest reason that I don't cut more of my own bodies is that the wood if often more expensive than finding a beat up body. Here in Northern Ohio, alder especially is a bit hard to find and can cost upwards of around $70 for a decent slab to make a body blank out of. Even on Ebay I've seen alder blanks going for around $40 where as the body I just refinished only cost me $25. More over, if I'm going to cut my own, I'd really like to see, feel and "hear" the slab of wood I'm buying...something that's rather difficult to do online! LOL!!!

Certainly if you have access to the raw wood, cutting your own is very rewarding to say the least. I've done two Tele bodies so far (one ash and one red oak) and I'm toying with maybe doing a Strat out of red oak...but I have to get some of these other projects finished first before my wife kills me! LOL!!! Right now I have 4 build/rebuild projects going on all at the same time with another that's been waiting for me to finish it forever....and this doesn't even include the bass we're building for my wife! I also have a Conn 12 string acoustic that's been waiting forever for new tuning keys, I really need to sit down one of these days and do a major cleaning on my old Kramer (and I'd really like to put some new pickups in her one of these days)...unfortunately the money only goes so far.

L8r,
Jim

My Ibanez is Floyded, one locking system is more than enough hassle for me. Part of what I like about LP's is the no frills, easy as pie stringing approach.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Yeah Jim

I have access to a few good sources for wood. Couple major lumber yards not too far away. a couple that have nice selections of specialty woods.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Partsocasters are like hot rods. We build them because we want to assemble a set of parts, features, specs that do not exist commercialy. It is a truly individual endeavor. As such, it will not appeal to the general public like a plain jane stock Strat.
I also like the casual nature of such a build. No pressure. I am in the process of building a partsocaster, frankenstrat, whatever you want to call it. This is what I have assembled so far;
Allparts maple neck with rosewood board 12" radius, jumbo frets
1980s Original Floyd Rose trem (Made in Germany) THE ONE!
Fender Vintage noiseless pickups with black 3 ply pickguard
CTS pots and 5 way megaswitch
Schaller locking tuners
I am still looking for the body that just jumps out at me. As you can see, I have assembled a set of top notch components, and expect the finished product to be of high quality, and sound great. I don't expect to get a lot in resale IF I ever sell it. I also don't think that I could get only $50 for it either. The big part of putting together guitars is the pure joy of creating it, and playing it. That is worth a lot, and plenty of smiles!!!! People spend lots of money on things to make themselves happy(booze drugs, vacations, women, booze, more booze)and lose that money. If putting together a guitar from scratch makes me happy, and I can get most of my money back at selling time, what a deal!!!

sounds nice. I too like the casual approach, take all the time oyu need, to find or make anything, that way you are totally satisfied. Nothing based on what anyone else wants,though compliments are pretty nice!

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.