Got a DP strat on Monday. I have been researching for months trying to decide on my next strat. I have to have a 12" radius and there aren't too many options so I tried this. I knew I hated the stock brown pick guard so I ordered a replacement. Here is how it turned out:




I do not like the vintage noiseless pu's AT ALL. Sound like they are stuffed in a drum. I have a set of Texas Specials on the way (I cover a lot of SRV/Hendrix). Hope they sound better.

My question is the string tree. I hear the strings "pinging" as they are caught and released under the tree. I really want to put a roller tree on there. But I also see the graphite trees. Any opinions on this?

Hi AlkyHauler, welcome to the Forum.

I've always thought that Deluxe Player was a tasty model. Love your new pickguard against the trans blue. Neat.

Regarding the stringtree. I have no special preference between the roller action one and the graphite. But before you go for either just try a couple of little experiments. First, take your strings out of the tree and just let them run au naturale for while. If you find them jumping out the nut slots or you think the tone is diminished in some way then you've identified why you want a tree. If not, then play them de-tree'd (erm...) evermore. One less source of friction to contribute to return-to-pitch issues with whammy use.

If you do find you need the strings tree'd in place then howsabout lubricating the underside of the tree flange with some graphite off the end of a pencil? Might help with that pinging.

Otherwise... well, I guess I like the look of the roller trees.

Cheers - C

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Thanks for the welcome! I am going to try the lube first on my existing tree. It looks like to me the roller trees will not hold the string low enough to achieve the same effect as the stock one. I ready several threads on other forums where people said the same thing, the new rollers wont work because of the height difference in the string pick-up points (vs the stock butterfly one which puts the string almost flush with the headstock).

OK, but just give the strings a try right out of the tree first. Some people need a tree on a Strat, some don't. If you can do without that's the best of all, I'd have thought - no?

Anyhow. Enjoy that pretty Strat!

Cheers - C

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The white pearloid pickguard against the transparent blue ash is a class act!

+1

You'll likely need new volume and tone pots to interface the Texas Specials -- those typical work best with 250K's.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Thanks guys, and yes I am going to use CTS 250K split shafts so I dont have any issues.

Your next step......?

A steel trem block.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

lol looking at those now. I want to get the pu's and pots in place before I do anything else.

Smooth.

Beyond that, I wouldn't change a thing.

It's gonna be a real sweet guitar once it's dialed in.

Rawk on!

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

great idea, will try this as well

G'day,
I am in the final stages of a guitar build based on the DP Strat neck and body.
I was also experiencing the same problem with the stock string tree and have replaced it with a nice US roller one. A bit of Graphite in the nut and problem solved. It does certainly hold the strings much higher but in my case they don't slip out. It may be different for you, depending on string gauge and playing style.



My build also included a AVRI tremolo, which fits straight into the DP with no mods. These have a full steel block, but I can't compare it to the standard block because I never had one.

These are high-end Mexican Fenders but I agree that the tortoiseshell PG looks terrible on the blue, the pearly white looks great on yours . I, on the other hand, went the other way and got rid of the finish

Check out my controversial build here.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50159

And welcome to the forum.

.....Mark.