So I'm doing a build on a strat. Played an American Deluxe until it was stolen, got a MIM Reissue that i modified to the point where the body and neck are the only OEM parts. Looking at the prices of American and CS, and the fact I know i'll end up dumping more $$ after getting it right, so decided a build w/ a luthier friend. So i ordered the neck first, quarter sawn maple fromWarmoth. i put it on my existing body so i could get a feel, then shaved some wood off the back profile to fit like a glove, took about 1/4-1/5 of an inch off the face of the headstock similar to the Eric Johnson to make it more lively and eliminate the string trees with staggerd locking tuners. Im putting the order in for the body, also warmoth. Im getting a one-piece, (unfinished like I got the body so my friend could shoot the nitro finish, and keep it MUCH thinner than Warmoth do, who IMO make it WAY too thick). I was going into it thinking that i was going to order a 1 piece alder body, but am now considering the swamp ash. Ive played ash bodies before, and though the wood on a strat doesnt have as much an impact as say, the fingerboard matierial and trem block, does have some effect. i like the weight of the swamp ash, but am use to the alder, and I don't know if Im making too big a deal. I also cannot decide on a finish color. Was thinking black, but looking at the glossy tinted neck, am thinking something different. i have afew electrics with a sunburst, so Im sick of that. Anyone have pics of what they think looks good, throw them up.

Hi windwalker9649: I clearly remember the saga about the Deluxe getting stolen. Man, what a painful episode that was.

Sounds like you are turning a bad story into a good one here. Kudos to you.

Personally, if the grain isn't going to show I'd go for the alder. BUT. Here's an idea. I hear loud and clear that you don't want a sunburst, but if you got a nicely grained one-piece swamp ash body it would be a bit of a shame to completely cover that timber up, wouldn't it? So, if black has caught your fancy howsabout doing a trans-black finish, so's we can glimpse that grain and lack of a center seam through it?

Can't seem to find a picture of a Strat with quite the finish I'm thinking of, so here is a Roger Giffin Standard Hollow Body instead. Just for something to look at. Though with a strongly grained ash perhaps I'd be making the black darker than this:



Anyway. Talking of photos, that's what we want to see from you too, please!

Good luck with it - C

Congrats and good luck on your build. About colors (you asked), and this is only my opinion, (doesn't mean much) but I like the white/blonde color. I think they're the sharpest looking ones. I think that's what its called. I've heard it referred to as mary kaye also. Hope it turns out well for ya. I'm planning on putting one together too pretty soon, I mean I'm gonna buy the parts and have one put together by someone who knows more about em than I do.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

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Here's my 2005 Custom Classic. Transparent Cobalt Blue. It's a shame to cover up a nice one piece ash body. The transparent Bing Cherry is also exquisite. You could invent your own version.


G'daY Ceri, I just read your post. Seems we agree to a degree. The finish on this guitar is perfect. Ultra thin Nitro, so very shiny and dark, almost black in a dimly lit room.

Thanks for the input. I hear you on the transparency on a well figured body. I was kicking around an idea of another sunburst, but using a completely different color sceme. Maybe a lighter blue, or red into a darker almost black shade. It's really going to depend on what I end up getting wood wise, and what Warmoth send me. The thing about doing your own finish is, while you're not tied to a standard production color, the choices can get a bit overwhelming. Ontop of that, this weekend I saw a premonition of a big money black hole opening before me. I have a Martin 000 that actually belongs to my brother, at my place, and for the 2nd time in a year almost to the day, the top split. Its because of the dry air, but I stored it in a hard case w/humidifier most of the time since the fall, and the summer here in the northeast was 90% humidity 6 days a week for 3 months, so i didnt see the need then. Then, after doing a setup for someone, i decided to restring my strat, and an ES 335 I got, and noticed that both bushings for the stop tail just popping out of place when i started to tighten the strings, on further inspection, i saw that both come right out when i pull on them. So its strung, but they're both angled forward. So i cant do that repair, because i dont have a drill press to open the holes up enough to put a piece of dowel in, and i dont trust my hand with a regular drill. I just happend to get a big piece of mahogony from Martin, a piece about 4 inches thick, and a square foot. So if I can get access to a press, i could make the plugs out of that, but i forsee having to pay for it to be done for me. Ahh, well, when it rains it pours.