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Post subject: HEAVY Strat!
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:14 pm
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I have a '75 model Strat, and it's by far the heaviest Strat I've ever encountered. Does anyone have an idea of what kind of wood was used in those years?

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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 1:57 pm
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Maybe an ash body?


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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:48 pm
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I think it could be northern ash which is heavier than swamp ash. The sustain and harmonics are worth the weight tradeoff on some of them.

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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:25 pm
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Not sure, but I e-mailed Fender about a similar deal with my Aerodyne strat (which is basswood)... they said it was just "some pieces of wood" that were heavier than others.


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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:41 pm
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Thanks for all the replies! I'll agree that it sounds great, and I'd never trade it for another. You can get a good workout hauling it around . . .


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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:39 pm
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Hey, jclind, my 1975 (that I bought new in 1976) is also my heaviest strat. Still. it's not as heavy as a Les Paul from that era.

What are the mods on that '75 of yours?

Mine has an extremely NICE one-piece ash body!

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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:37 pm
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orvilleowner wrote:
Hey, jclind, my 1975 (that I bought new in 1976) is also my heaviest strat. Still. it's not as heavy as a Les Paul from that era.

What are the mods on that '75 of yours?

Mine has an extremely NICE one-piece ash body!


Mine could also be a one-piece body, and I recall having heard it was ash sometime ages ago. The switches are 3-position toggles for each pick-up, allowing in/out of phase connections. The tuners are Schaller minis, the nut is graphite, the knobs from a Tele, the rectangular output jack has a pre-amp inside. I've also had it shielded, upgraded pots and the pick-ups were boosted.

The bridge in the picture is the old stock one, which I replaced with a Star-Tracks bridge by Stars Guitars of San Francisco, now (sadly) out of business. Finally, the frets were replaced with jumbos. In short, the only original pieces are the screws in the pick guiard, neck and the back plate.

This guitar is indestructible. I've dropped it, taken it in cargo holds on trans-Atlantic flights, and it's never failed me. Here's my other Strat:

Image

It's an '83 Walnut Strat limited edition that I was very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time when they went on sale. It's also had a lot of upgrades (pick-ups, pre-amp, mostly). Yours looks like it's in mint condition. If your case is the same is mine, it's really strong. I got a tweed case for the Walnut Strat, but it's not nearly as sturdy. . .


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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:44 pm
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just how much does it weigh?


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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:12 pm
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jclind wrote:
Yours looks like it's in mint condition. If your case is the same is mine, it's really strong. I got a tweed case for the Walnut Strat, but it's not nearly as sturdy.


It's not quite mint, there are some dings (cymbal dents, etc) and spots where the finish is worn down (either a bit or down to the wood). There are some upgraded parts: 5-way switch & Graph-Tech saddles, but I have the original parts.

The pickups are mid-'90s "57/62" pickups, which are quite nice, BTW. One original pickup is long gone. Another had to be rewound (by me), and it and the third are currently in the doubleneck "Strat" I made last year.

The case is strong, but I did have to re-rivet the latch.

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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:51 pm
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If you have a heavy 70's Strat, it is probably ash(Norhtern). A weighty guitar can also mean that the wood came from the bottom of the tree, where the wood is denser.
I had a early 70's Strat ; ash body, maple 'board, and hardtail bridge, that out weighed my Les Paul!


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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:34 am
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I have an early production '82 strat..... this was just before they started making some major changes..... so mine still has the cool big 70's headstock and the 3 bold neck attachment..... I love the guitar, but I agree..... these things are HEAVY lol..... I picked mine up pretty cheap about a year or two ago ($599 canadian) because it had been modified by a previous owner.... It has this set of seymour duncan pickups that have red covers :? They sound pretty incredible though so I'm happy with the guitar and don't see it as a downfall. I thought they were single coil pickups.... but I had a problem with the neck pickup and took it in to a guitar tech.... and he told me the pickups are actually single coil sized humbuckers.... and the neck pickup was damaged so he wired it up to use it as a true single coil.... and I actually think it sounds even better now! lol Now when I compare the neck pickup to the middle and bridge I can def. tell they are humbuckers lol


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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:09 pm
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stratwhore wrote:
.... and he told me the pickups are actually single coil sized humbuckers.... and the neck pickup was damaged so he wired it up to use it as a true single coil.... and I actually think it sounds even better now! lol Now when I compare the neck pickup to the middle and bridge I can def. tell they are humbuckers lol


Was it one of these? I have one in the neck position on my Walnut Strat:

Image

I think there's also a stacked humbucker. I use it for solos, while I prefer the single coils for chords. I also like the single coils pickups in the middle and bridge positions. The sunburst Strat (the heavy one) is custome wired so that if I use two, they work as a humbucker. I use the middle and neck pickups for solos, the middle for chords and the bridge pickup when I use the wah wah pedal.

When I originally got the sunburst, it had a chrome humbucker in the bridge position. The guy who bought it had it installed, but wasn't happy with the sound and wanted to trade it for something else. I walked into the music store in the middle of the deal and agreed to take it, as long as they replaced the humbucker with the original single coil.

Ironically, it was the same guitar I'd tried out a few weeks before at another store in San Angelo, TX, where I was stationed for several months in the USAF. I would have bought it from them, but the sales guy was rude and didn't take me seriously as a customer, so I went to the other store and ordered one.

It had the black pick guard, but white pickup covers and knobs, making it look like a saddle shoe. I bought black covers and replaced the knobs with chrome Telecaster knobs, which are all still on the guitar. Later, when I had the custom switching installed, the guy made a custom black pick guard. I eventually sold the chrome humbucker, so it worked out all the way around.

I feel like that guitar was meant to be mine, since it actually followed me from the one store to the next. It's been through a lot, but I'm convinced it's nearly indestructible. I've dropped it, banged it into all sorts of things, and it keeps on going . . .


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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:56 pm
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no it wasn't one of those..... the pickups are discontinued..... and they have red covers :S......... I have no clue what the are.... I just know they are seymour duncans.... and apparently single coil sized humbuckers


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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:32 pm
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The SD's I put on my Walnut Strat date back to '82, so I'm sure there have been plenty of models come and go over the years . . .


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