Hey I'm not a real big guiatr player but I really want I buy a crappy stray copy and fix it up. My best deal on a guitar is 30$ for an amp and knock of strat (no logo) from a carnival! I've read up on how change stuff and will change every thing from pots to the neck. I have a small budget bit it's long term. The pu config I want is HSH and I'll start when I get the guitar. It would me cool if you strat experts out there could give me some advice on every thing to know about customizing strats. I have 0 exerience so help a guy out!
Will

Google is your friend.

Search on project guitars
guitar modifications,
etc

You'll get a ton of information, even videos showing you how.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Sounds like a good idea. If I were you though, I would save a bit more and buy a used Squier; something that would last a little while longer. Especially with the mods you want.

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"You won't part with your's either"

Fender American Standard Stratocaster 2006

Fender Standard Telecaster 2007

The one you have would work out very well for experiments and things that you might feel uncomfortable doing to a Fender or even to a Squier. After you mess around with it and figure out what you like/dislike, you'll know what you want to do if you graduate to a higher end guitar.

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Does the guitar stay in tune? Cheap guitars are great for fixer uppers but some of them refuse to stay in tune. Check that out first. If so, go for it. You can always move a pickguard to another upgraded guitar later.

Orville said it all.

Well, the first piece of advice that I would personally offer is that if it's a no name knock off, be very careful about which replacement parts you choose to buy. Take bridges for example...a Mexican Standard and something like an American vintage Ri, while they may look very similar, they are going to have different spacing for the mounting screws and thus also have different string spacings. I mention this because you said you plan to replace the neck. If the new neck is a direct replacement for something like an American Standard but the bridge is an import, the neck which is a 2 7/32 spacing is going to be different than the bridge which may only be a 52mm spacing (or something different entirely!). As I just stated in another thread, something as simple as replacing the pickguard can also be challenging if you end up plugging and re-drilling screw holes just to mount it.

Also, since this is as you say a no name knock off, before I'd change the neck (assuming there's nothing wrong with it like being twisted), I'd actually look at the body first. For example, is the body -real- wood and not just some sort of cheap laminate/ply? Definitely something to consider.

There's probably going to be a ton of little things too...tuning keys for example. If it's a no name knock off, it may have -very- cheap covered tuners. If this is the case you'll have to decide if you want to go with something like vintage Klusons or drill the holes in the headstock out for something a little more conventional.

I would also suggest playing the instrument for a while and figure out exactly what you're going to need before you decide to rip it down. Just because it's a no name Strat doesn't mean that it's of poor quality. Until you get your hands on it and play it for a while you really won't know what you have...sometimes folks get very lucky and find a diamond in the rough as it were.



Now all of this said, in my opinion at least, it -IS- worth it! In my mind this is one of the best ways to learn about how and why your guitar works and I tend to think that people who understand these things also tend to appreciate their instruments a bit more. Also, there's nothing quite like the feeling of taking what many would consider a piece of garbage and turning it in to a unique and wonderful instrument. One of the wonderful things about a Strat (regardless of brand) is their modular design and the nearly infinite number of ways you can build/rebuilt them to your own needs and desires. As others have stated, there is a ton of info on the internet and you may even wish to check with your local library for a couple of books on the subject. Either way, welcome to the wide and wonderful world of building your own Strats. Just be warned...it can be quite addictive .

Good Luck!
Jim

[quote="will pumpkin"]....Go into Ceri's post "Saving a trash body", and read that thread from the get go.

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"Another day in paradise!"