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Post subject: USA parts in Japanese guitars.
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 8:05 pm
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Hey All,

Question: Is it possible to put hardware from a USA Strat on one made in Japan?

Further, do the parts of USA, Japanese and Mexican Strats mix and match in all directions? Only some?

Any insight would be welcomed.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 9:47 pm
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I don't believe you can mix and match in all directions. I have noticed differences in pickguard holes. I had a WD pickguard for a Malmsteen Strat and it fit just fine. A few years later I tried another WD pickguard for another Malmsteen Strat and some of the holes were off.

I think there are some differences between the American bridges and the Mexican bridges as well.


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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 10:00 pm
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WD? Is that Warmoth? And, where were/are the Malmsteens made?


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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 10:25 pm
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No WD is not Warmoth. WD Music. They are located in Florida if I'm not mistaken and they have an online store where you can buy all sorts of guitar related stuff.

The Malmsteen Strat is American made.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 10:35 pm
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Well, the WD stuff throws another twist into the mix. I'm trying to figure out if even the stuff that is authentic trademark Fender stuff can be interchanged.


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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 10:48 pm
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Going all authentic Fender parts:

Pickguards are the same size, but the number of holes and the placement of holes may be different.
Single coil pickups (except those for the Elite Strat) are all interchangeable. To use humbuckers you would need a different pickguard.
Tuners should all be interchangeable
Most of the pots and switches are interchangeable, there are a few exceptions.
There are different bridges with the most common being the 2 screw and the 6 screw. The 2 screw is what is commonly used on American Strats unless it is a Vintage Re-Issue then it's a 6 screw. MIM's use a 6 screw as well as most MIJ's. With exceptions on some MIJ's which used a variation of the Floyd Rose bridge.

Confusing ain't it?

Then there are the multitude of aftermarket parts.

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Post subject:
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 10:59 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
Confusing ain't it?


Crazy. I'm sourcing parts from several different places and am a bit concerned that I'll end up with a pile of parts that won't work together.

Kinda sucks. The whole Gibson/Epiphone thing is the same S.N.A.F.U. Are the $@! axes metric? Is that it?


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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 11:05 pm
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If you need any help you can either ask here in the Forums, or you can contact me privately and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction as far as what parts you will need.



BTW:

Epiphone uses Metric parts.
Gibson uses Standard parts.

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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:47 am
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Texas_Flood_Lenny wrote:
CAFeathers wrote:
Confusing ain't it?


Crazy. I'm sourcing parts from several different places and am a bit concerned that I'll end up with a pile of parts that won't work together.

Kinda sucks. The whole Gibson/Epiphone thing is the same S.N.A.F.U. Are the $@! axes metric? Is that it?



That could well happen! I recently modded a MIJ to the point that the only original parts are the body and neck. Fortunately I did my homework and made double sure I was looking at the right parts before ordering. But, even at that some physical mods were required, boring out a hole for a tuner, relocating a screw hole for pickguard, etc.... My point you may ask? double check what your ordering (will save you lots of headaches down the road) and if you have doubts, take advantage of chets offer for assistance. He does top grade work!

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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:05 am
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CAFeathers wrote:
... Tuners should all be interchangeable ...

I thought the American tuners had the two alignment pins on each tuner, while the Mexican ones do not.
:?:

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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:04 am
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Drat. It looks as if it's all unravelling. I have a line on a vintage MIJ Strat body and another line on a complete gold hardware setup from a MIM SuperStrat and yet another line on a loaded pickguard from an '02 USA Strat.

Never gonna happen, is it?


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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:50 am
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... :arrow: ...


Last edited by Texas_Flood_Lenny on Thu May 14, 2009 6:55 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:57 am
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BigJay wrote:
Anyway, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but its best to be aware of the variables before you put your money down.


Is it ever possible to know too much? :)

The hardware is from '97 SuperStrat which I'm told is now called a Deluxe Player's Strat. Both the MIJ body and MIA pickguard are SSS configured.

Another thing I should mention is that the MIJ Strat body includes the neck so at least that part shouldn't cause any difficulties.

Is it safe to say that keeping all elements of a FrankenStrat exclusive to country of origin is the best foolproof method of assembly? In other words, will vintage USA parts always be compatible with modern USA parts and modern MIJ's with vintage MIJ's, etc.?


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