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Post subject: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:22 am
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Howdy all...

I got to finishing up my latest project last evening and the wiring spilled into this morning. I got up early and hit the shop before I have to go to work and so she's done! Well, not entirely done (the "neck on" toggle is not functioning but I can sort that out when I eventually change out the MIM Std pickups... I wanted to love them but it ain't gonna happen. They're OK for now but will probably opt for some Fat 50's down the line.

Anyhow, everything but the neck is a 2011 MIM Standard Strat. The neck dates to 1980 and was already converted to a 4 bolt (and done well :) ) so thats how this little number came together. I had a "blackie" guitar back in the day with a similar set-up; MIM body and a '75 neck and it played terribly. This one is playing like butter! Just need to finish by checking the intonation and it'll be good to go until I get back under the hood one of these days to change the PUPs and mess with the wiring.

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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:04 am
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Great looking Strat you have there. Good work. :D

Keep checking back with all your mods.


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 5:29 pm
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Nice job! Classic Black and Maple...I am digging it!

T2

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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 5:39 pm
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T2Stratman wrote:
Nice job! Classic Black and Maple...I am digging it!

T2


Thanks... yeah, it's hard to beat the 'ol black/maple combo looks wise.

And regarding those pickups... I spent a good hour messing with their heights and have achieved what I believe to be an "as good as it's gonna get" tone. I have to confess it's not too bad and really sounds pretty darn good with OD and distortion. I think I figured out the toggle wiring mishap too after reviewing my schematic... it's an easy fix I'll get to the next time I have to do a string change. I honestly don't see any more mods for this on on the horizon (and I hardly ever say that... :lol: )


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 5:46 pm
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It looks great. I love the big headstock.

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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:34 pm
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orvilleowner wrote:
It looks great. I love the big headstock.


Me too... I'm a sucker for the 70's 8) 4 of my 5 strats have big headstocks.


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:05 am
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I favour the feel of a rosewood fretboard, but nothing beats the look of the classic black/maple strat. That's a beauty!


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:19 am
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44james wrote:
I favour the feel of a rosewood fretboard, but nothing beats the look of the classic black/maple strat. That's a beauty!


I'm getting so I can go either way... I have always seemed to prefer rosewood myself but my latest "main player" has a maple neck and I really like it. It is noticeably brighter in tone and certainly feels different to play but the tone of that guitar is just outstanding. With my maple American special neck, the finish is not so think... on the '80 neck it's slopped right on. There is a noticeable difference in feel even between those two necks though both are fine with me. I'm not too sensitive about feel, if the tone is there, I can make do with it usually.

Now that I have the pickups adjusted on the MIM/80 those pickups are sounding great too... I got another good session in on it last evening. There's a lot to be said for setting pickup heights correctly. I found this general rule of thumb setting on line somewhere and tried it... worked for me.

Quote:
Okay, here are the specs I use to set the heights for each Strat pickup. These measurements make a very good starting point for any Strat with standard Strat single-coils:
Bridge pickup
• Low-E string: 2.5 mm/0.0984"
• High-E string: 2.0 mm/0.0787"

Middle pickup
• Low-E string: 3.0 mm/0.1181"
• High-E string: 2.5 mm/0.0984"

Neck pickup
• Low-E string: 3.5 mm/0.1378"
• High-E string: 3.0 mm/0.1181"

Adjust humbuckers a tad lower than powerful single-coils, as a starting point.

powerful single-coils such as Fender’s Texas Specials, you should lower the pickup height a tad to avoid having the magnets pull on the strings and interfere with vibration.


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:56 am
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I have a new SRV strat that I'm getting used to. Wife bought it for me for our 10th wedding anniversary.
Played a Les Paul all my life until now.
I'm having a little trouble getting intonated and string height for buzz. Slowly working them out.
What I want to ask regarding your pickup heights is if those measurements are fretted distances or open?
Also I have the Texas specials you mention so add another mm or so?

No truss rod, tremolo, three single coils, individual string heights, this thing is kind of a marvel to me.


BTW, nice looking rig. Good job.


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:29 am
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oops.
Looks like there is a truss rod in there. Just not where I was expectin' to find it.
hmm. :?


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:05 pm
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I used those measurements in regards to how high the pickup cover was above the pick guard...the poles are going to be closer than that unless they're flat like the old 70's strat pickups and some newer models. From there I adjusted the bridge pickup to better match the neck in terms of volume... I think I bumped up the bass side of the bridge pickup a but more.

I don't know if I interpreted those measurements correctly but they seem to be working. The MIMd register in the 6.6ish range when I put the multimeter to them. I think the Texas Specials may be in that range or even a bit hotter. I'm sure someone will pipe up if I'm incorrect...


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:37 pm
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sound on my setup seems a bit "boomy and muddy" on the low end. I guess I'll drive 'em in a little bit more n see how that goes.
Thanks for the clarification.


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:40 pm
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kslappy101 wrote:
sound on my setup seems a bit "boomy and muddy" on the low end. I guess I'll drive 'em in a little bit more n see how that goes.
Thanks for the clarification.



Texas Specials are the best sounding when you give them space to breath I think.
Like the 57 Classic starts to shine with about a 1/2 inch spaced from strings.
The Texas Specials fall into that ball park.

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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 4:36 pm
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Holy expletive! I only had a half day subbing gig so decided to get back under the hood of this thing... the faulty wiring and my OCD were a terrible match.

A brief side note...I love the old style (50s/60s/70s) tuners with the string hole down the center of the post. It makes "recycling" strings pretty easy... I just put new strings on there yesterday and didn't want to waste the set. That's why I was thinking of holding off fixing my wiring mistake until the next string change.

In any event, I got the "neck-on" toggle working and thought, "what the heck, I'll try that RWRP Am. Std middle pickup that I have kicking around and see what happens." What happened was tone magic... the 2 & 4 positions sound like a "real" strat now... good and quacky. Despite registering at 5.91ohm, the middle pickup can hold it's own against the stock ceramics that register in the mid 6s. I boosted it up a little more as it has the flat (albeit slightly raised) pole pieces. It honestly sounds really good... it's actually quite versatile sounding now and I'd recommend the Am.Std middle pickup as a cheap fix for anyone unhappy with the tone of the MIM standards. :) It was really only the 2 & 4 positions I didn't care for... they sounded pretty blah before.

To top it off, I found a tele top hat switch tip in my parts box and threw that on there as a personal touch... it's actually kind of nice to have something a little larger to grab for. That does it folks, it's sounding so good as-is, I'm not even tempted to change the pot-metal trem block out for a steel one. This little project is in the bag! 8)

I'll try and get a video up soon so you can hear it in action... cheers and thanks to all of you who've answered my wiring questions and general inquiries in other posts. -JG


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Post subject: Re: It's a New Strat Mornin'
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 4:57 pm
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JamGuy wrote:
Holy expletive! I only had a half day subbing gig so decided to get back under the hood of this thing... the faulty wiring and my OCD were a terrible match.

A brief side note...I love the old style (50s/60s/70s) tuners with the string hole down the center of the post. It makes "recycling" strings pretty easy... I just put new strings on there yesterday and didn't want to waste the set. That's why I was thinking of holding off fixing my wiring mistake until the next string change.

In any event, I got the "neck-on" toggle working and thought, "what the heck, I'll try that RWRP Am. Std middle pickup that I have kicking around and see what happens." What happened was tone magic... the 2 & 4 positions sound like a "real" strat now... good and quacky. Despite registering at 5.91ohm, the middle pickup can hold it's own against the stock ceramics that register in the mid 6s. I boosted it up a little more as it has the flat (albeit slightly raised) pole pieces. It honestly sounds really good... it's actually quite versatile sounding now and I'd recommend the Am.Std middle pickup as a cheap fix for anyone unhappy with the tone of the MIM standards. :) It was really only the 2 & 4 positions I didn't care for... they sounded pretty blah before.

To top it off, I found a tele top hat switch tip in my parts box and threw that on there as a personal touch... it's actually kind of nice to have something a little larger to grab for. That does it folks, it's sounding so good as-is, I'm not even tempted to change the pot-metal trem block out for a steel one. This little project is in the bag! 8)

I'll try and get a video up soon so you can hear it in action... cheers and thanks to all of you who've answered my wiring questions and general inquiries in other posts. -JG



I got an American Standard Neck in the drawer man.
That thing turned out stunning sorry got side tracked there. :)

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