Hi all. Looking for some guidance.

I've got an '08 American Standard 3TSB with maple neck. I love the guitar. I've owner her for nearly 4 yrs. and have kept her in great shape (of course it helps that I'm only a bedroom player with no outside gigging to potentially do some cosmetic damage). The only thing I'm considering changing on her is to do some aging. You see, my dream guitar is a CS AVRI '57 Strat, and I simply drool over the aged look of the pickup covers, volume/tone knobs, selector switch/whammy bar tips. Not the "relic" look necessarily, but rather the off white, more natural aging look. I just can't justify the expense of buying a CS Strat at this point in my playing "career".

I would assume that replacing the knobs with the off white or aged look would be simple, but I'm wondering how difficult it is to replace PU covers and the plastic tips of the whammy bar and selector switch. Is it something that can be done by an amateur? Have any of you done this type of cosmetic mod? Were you happy with the result? Anyone with any pics to share?

Thanks.

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2008 MIA Standard Strat 3-tone Sunburst
2007 Taylor 310 Acoustic
Fender Blues Junior NOS Amp
Digitech Bad Monkey OD pedal

Yes, you can very easily do this yourself. Nice to see someone going for the "closet classic" look rather than asking about the proper way to attach the guitar to the back bumper of their car, lol.

The knobs and pickup selector switch will be easy. Just be careful to apply gentle force to both sides of the knob so you don't bend the split ends of the tone pot shaft. The pickup covers are pretty easy too. You'll have to remove the screws holding the pickguard on, then gently pull the pickguard up so you don't accidentally detach any wires. Just loosen the pickup cover screws all the way, remove the pickups one by one, and the cover will just slide off. I'm not sure about the tremelo arm. That seems like it will be a $@!&*, maybe someone has a trick?

I recently put some Seymour Duncan pickups in mine, and they came with aged covers, so I got the Fender "aged" parts kit to match. The knobs that came on my guitar were a very hard, shiny plastic, and just didn't look right considering how aged and nicotine-stained the guitar's finish is. The set looks really yellow in the package but once you put it on the guitar it kind of blends in.

You could also try the good old "soak all the plastic parts in coffee" method, but then you'll have to buy another set of white parts if you decide to undo it.

Here's a closeup of my guitar with the aged p/u covers, knobs, and selector switch:

It wasn't the look I started out to get but in the end I think it is a better look then I started with. The pups are vintage noiseless in the aged white (What started the change over. Local shop only had the off white and black). The knobs and switch tip were the stock ones and the arm is and old one from an american strat picked up somewhere. The 11 screw 1ply guard is a Lollar guard.
Here is how it looks now. Aged covers.

The look I wanted at first. All white

And stock the day i brought her home.

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

Hi
I changed the tremolo arm tip from my old (loose) arm to a new one (which fitted a lot tighter without wobbling about)
I could have just left the new tip on, but the original tip looked better finished off

If you soak the tremolo tip in hot water, then wrap a cloth or small towel round it, you can then use a pair of pliers to unscrew it off the thread if there is one, or waddle it back and forth pulling it off slowly if there is no thread (you will be able to tell almost instantly if it's threaded)
Ted

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Ted

"All right, guys, uh, listen. This is a blues riff in "B", watch me for the changes, and try and keep up, okay?"

Thanks for the tips, guys. And your Strats look incredible. I'm hoping if I decide to do this that my 3tsb/maple will look half as good as yours.

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2008 MIA Standard Strat 3-tone Sunburst
2007 Taylor 310 Acoustic
Fender Blues Junior NOS Amp
Digitech Bad Monkey OD pedal

I would try the guitar builder here on the website first, http://www.fender.com/community/guitarbuilder/ But that is one of the great things about strats. Easy to change parts to get a look you want.

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

Play her 30-40 more years, I bet she'll age then...lol

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08 Fender Highway One Tele-Sunburst
09 Squier Custom Tele II-Blonde
04 Squier Standard Strat Antiqueburst
07 Washburn D10SCE natural with Rosewood backing
Fender Mustang II amp


Experience is the best teacher