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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:36 am
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strayedstrater wrote:
That's a beautiful guitar. I've always dug those brass "keyhole" saddles.

"It has brass bridge saddles, a brass nut, thicker Les Paul style frets, and dip switches for each pickup."

I hate that I'm so pitifully pedantic, but those are mini-toggle switches (they look to be on-off-on so you can reverse the phase of each pickup), not DIP switches. Here's what a DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch looks like:

Image

(That's a slider DIP -- there are also rotary DIPs and rocker DIPs, but all DIPs are designed for PCB mounting.)

Sorry -- I know that no one cares about DIPs.


No, you are absolutely correct about the terminology. Terminology is important. :) I guess micro switch is a bit more accurate. I used them as simple on/off switches for the pickups so I could chose them individually. I got tired of fishing for the sweet spots on the standard standard switch and this gives me the option to turn on all 3 or do a neck/bridge combo. I got them for .$10 ea at Radio Shack back when they sold all kinds of transistors, switches and other doodads.

I laughed about the "posilock" strap button. Mine was a piece of leather with a hole in it that I would sometimes stick on after the strap. It was all I could afford, lol. And yea, a few guys did the inlaid pickguard thing; never fancied it myself but it did look kind of cool.

At some point, I'm going to take it to a luthier and have it refretted. I did it myself and while they work, it looks like they were done by a 17 year old...which they were. :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:27 pm
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[quote="JmiJ"I grabbed this one from my phone. The guitar still has the Grovers on it. I'll post some better ones in the pics thread tomorrow....

It has brass bridge saddles, a brass nut, thicker Les Paul style frets, and dip switches for each pickup. All were popular mods back then. The switches gave it a bit of versatility in the studio. The previous owner put the extra string thingy on it for some reason. It's the most "strat" sounding stratocaster I have ever heard.

Rory Gallagher played a set with it at Starr's nightclub in '78 (I think) when he broke 2 strings on his guitar. I was in the house band and happened to be standing next to the stage and just handed it to him, lol. He played it like I never could. Great player...RIP.
[/quote]

As Arjay said, Nice guitar with some history. I imagine you do get some odd offers.

The wife didn't think your joke was funny? I get it!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Please post new pics here, many of us don't keep up with the pics thread and I'd for sure like to see them.

BTW, Where is Starr's nightclub?

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:29 pm
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I wasn't sure what folks wanted to see, but here goes. Sorry about the size but I didn't have a chance to edit them:

I did a lot of research and found a site that had a ton of definitive info (http://home.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html) that allowed me to date the guitar as it does not have a date stamp on the neck, which is not unusual with this era. I also compared it with '69s offered for sale. I estimate that this is a late summer of '69 manufacture:

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In this one, you can see that the decal has been lacquered over, which is as it should be. The sides and the rest of the neck are polyurethane. They did a very sloppy job on the peg side of the headstock where the lacquer was splattered over the poly. It may have been done by hand judging from that:

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Here you can see the cheap switches. I almost always left the controls pegged at 10 and adjusted the everything at the amp or the pedals. I don't like the way the strat tone controls clip the highs:

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I don't know if the yellowing was caused by age or beer and cigarette smoke, lol. THe fretboard has a lot of dents from years of banging against amps and stands. It was kind of beat up when I bought it, but I never noticed the dings when I played it:

Image

Image

Here's the case it came in. I thought it was a Fender case but I think it's a knock off. It does have the burnt orange interior though:

Image

And to answer your question danagos, Starrs was a club in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pa.. It was owned by Steven Starr, who went on to open a venue called Ripleys and for a time the Trocadero, a former burlesque club. He is now a rather famous restauranteur. He put the Philly food scene on the world map.

I worked as a bouncer in a number of clubs on South St. Sometimes I got to play on the off nights in the house band or as the opening act for some of the local bands. Met a lot people before they were super famous. Some guy named Springsteen comes to mind. He came to a club I was working at called Grendel's Lair to see some friends of his play. I uh...flagged his sister at the door because she didn't have a ticket. But she was cute so I let her in anyway. :oops:

I was working at The Hot Club when Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played there and fell in love with sweaty, dark haired women for time. I jammed with David Byrne and Tina(?) when Talking Heads came through. She played a Jazz that was almost as tall as she was, lol.

John Fitch, who wrote "Shame" was a friend of a friend. Great guitarist and songwriter. But he HATED, "Shame". He called it shoo-be-doo. Still a hit is a hit. He let me play the Martin D acoustic the record company gave him. And I got to see a gold record up close, lol.

Philly is a big music town, but I was one of the few black rockers around. Not that I hate R&B, but I just didn't feel it. Unfortunately, that was the only kind of work I could get, so I played whatever, whenever.

Anyway, I never really made it. I got married, went into IT and put my strat in it's case for almost 30 years. No regrets really. It's a hard life and most of us don't get where we want to be. Now, I am trying to relearn how to play just for my own enjoyment. The good part is that I can play what I want, how I want. That and bore youngsters on forums with tales from an old has been who is likely half the player they are... :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:45 am
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A very interesting post JmiJ.


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 12:32 pm
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JmiJ wrote:
And to answer your question danagos, Starrs was a club in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pa..
I was working at The Hot Club when Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played there and fell in love with sweaty, dark haired women for time. I jammed with David Byrne and Tina(?) when Talking Heads came through. She played a Jazz that was almost as tall as she was, lol.

Philly is a big music town, but I was one of the few black rockers around. Not that I hate R&B, but I just didn't feel it. Unfortunately, that was the only kind of work I could get, so I played whatever, whenever.

Good story indeed. I'd say the guitar looks "authentic". I'm no youngster and that's not boring.

Hope the "sweaty dark haired women" loved you back. :)

I'm surprised you didn't mention Hall & Oates. Daryl is a particular favorite of mine. Too R&B?

Greetings from North Jersey,

- Dan

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 3:01 pm
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danagos wrote:
JmiJ wrote:
And to answer your question danagos, Starrs was a club in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pa..
I was working at The Hot Club when Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played there and fell in love with sweaty, dark haired women for time. I jammed with David Byrne and Tina(?) when Talking Heads came through. She played a Jazz that was almost as tall as she was, lol.

Philly is a big music town, but I was one of the few black rockers around. Not that I hate R&B, but I just didn't feel it. Unfortunately, that was the only kind of work I could get, so I played whatever, whenever.

Good story indeed. I'd say the guitar looks "authentic". I'm no youngster and that's not boring.


+1

Nor to me either.

I'm sure we've all got a few tales to tell.

Rawk on!

8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:59 pm
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Thanks for the pictures and stories.

Too bad it had those other tuners on it.

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:20 am
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orvilleowner wrote:
Thanks for the pictures and stories.

Too bad it had those other tuners on it.


Well, when you do studio work, they don't pay you to constantly tune your guitar. :P The old tuners in those day were usually pretty mediocre. If you are Clapton, it's someone elses problem to keep your multiple guitars in tune, but when you are a broke $@! musician with only one, you have to make it as reliable and consistent as possible. The old tuners would actually slip a little and I couldn't fix them, so I just put on a set of Grovers and called it a day. I wish I had kept track of the parts though.

Anyway, this guitar is for playing, not for some rich guy to hang on his wall. When I die, I hope the next owner plays it until the body falls apart and the pickups catch fire. :lol:

And for the record, I did like to listen to R&B, including H & O, but playing it...not so much...


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:22 am
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JmiJ wrote:
Well, when you do studio work, they don't pay you to constantly tune your guitar. :P The old tuners in those day were usually pretty mediocre. If you are Clapton, it's someone elses problem to keep your multiple guitars in tune, but when you are a broke $@! musician with only one, you have to make it as reliable and consistent as possible. The old tuners would actually slip a little and I couldn't fix them, so I just put on a set of Grovers and called it a day. I wish I had kept track of the parts though.

Anyway, this guitar is for playing, not for some rich guy to hang on his wall. When I die, I hope the next owner plays it until the body falls apart and the pickups catch fire. :lol:

And for the record, I did like to listen to R&B, including H & O, but playing it...not so much...

I like your concept of Strat as a working man's tool rather than a connoisseur's Objet d'Art.

It's part of the reasoning behind why I built my "Relic-ed" Partscaster. It's got everything I wanted in a Strat and any dings, mods or mishaps are part of it's charm. I can always say, "I meant to do that". :D

Image

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:34 am
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danagos wrote:
JmiJ wrote:
When I die, I hope the next owner plays it until the body falls apart and the pickups catch fire.

I like your concept of Strat as a working man's tool rather than a connoisseur's Objet d'Art.


Word!

8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:03 pm
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danagos wrote:
JmiJ wrote:
Well, when you do studio work, they don't pay you to constantly tune your guitar. :P The old tuners in those day were usually pretty mediocre. If you are Clapton, it's someone elses problem to keep your multiple guitars in tune, but when you are a broke $@! musician with only one, you have to make it as reliable and consistent as possible. The old tuners would actually slip a little and I couldn't fix them, so I just put on a set of Grovers and called it a day. I wish I had kept track of the parts though.

Anyway, this guitar is for playing, not for some rich guy to hang on his wall. When I die, I hope the next owner plays it until the body falls apart and the pickups catch fire. :lol:

And for the record, I did like to listen to R&B, including H & O, but playing it...not so much...

I like your concept of Strat as a working man's tool rather than a connoisseur's Objet d'Art.

It's part of the reasoning behind why I built my "Relic-ed" Partscaster. It's got everything I wanted in a Strat and any dings, mods or mishaps are part of it's charm. I can always say, "I meant to do that". :D

Image


Wow...that is a beautiful guitar. Do you have other pics? I want to get a better look at the finish.

I've been looking at some strats at my local GC, but I'm considering just building one. All I really want is a basic guitar with a soft V neck. I just don't want to drop a grand to get it. I also like the idea of doing my own finish.


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:51 pm
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JmiJ wrote:
Wow...that is a beautiful guitar. Do you have other pics? I want to get a better look at the finish.

I've been looking at some strats at my local GC, but I'm considering just building one. All I really want is a basic guitar with a soft V neck. I just don't want to drop a grand to get it. I also like the idea of doing my own finish.

I have been restoring nice guitars with a problem or two off ebay for a few years. The best was a Candy Apple Red Strat Plus with Ultra configuration pickguard. That's my Avatar Guitar on the left.

Like you, I had wanted something with a soft V neck to drop my loaded pickguard into. That's the most expensive part of this $750 guitar with Amalfitano SP pups (1/3 of the total cost), TBX mid tone pot and Blender Pot in the lower pot.

Found a Jimmie Vaughan Strat Neck with dust in the finish on the fretboard but otherwise mint. The body was a Highway One 3T Burst and LACQUER FINISH with superficial abuse. Since it was lacquer I could take the finish down to whatever I felt looked good. The fun part.

When they were ready I used Spray Can Gloss Urethane on the Body and Headstock and Satin on the f'board. Gotta take your time here, several coats and NO Dust trapped.

The Hardware are Gotoh locking/staggered vintage tuners and the bridge is a Callaham. In a day or two it will have an Aged Ivory Tusq XL Nut on it. That will be my first Nut job, besides occasional relatives. :)

"Do you have other pics?" you ask? :?:


Have I got pics? :o


:shock: :shock: :shock: Does the POPE get his PICK? :shock: :shock: :shock:

Yeah I got pictures! :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 1:46 pm
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Hey, I just want to say this is one of the best threads in a long time.

Keep those (non-)boring stories coming!


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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 2:14 pm
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Highline wrote:
Hey, I just want to say this is one of the best threads in a long time.

Keep those (non-)boring stories coming!

Hey JmiJ, he's trying to egg you on. :lol: :lol:

Any story you want to write about well known 70's to 90's rockers, with beer, poverty, fights and mention of clubs, studios and/or LOOSE WOMEN will ignite this thread in a blaze that'll spread!

For every story with a well known rocker there are usually 500 with poverty, beer and the rest of it. :roll: :shock: :oops:

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Post subject: Re: Tuners for 1969 Stratocaster
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:20 pm
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Danagos - That is a an awesome looking guitar. You've inspired me to build my own. Thanks for sharing.

Stories? Heh, tbh I think the only person I have told any of them to is my wife. I turned away from the whole music scene and never looked back. It was the only way I could do it. But here's one. After this, I want to hear some war stories from YOU guys, lol.

Why you should never let Chubby Checker near your BBQ:

A neighbor on my street happened to be a pretty well known local lounge singer/songwriter. He used to play the Pavios circuit. Not my cup of tea, but he was a great guy and knew everybody. We became friends and his house was a hangout for a lot of local talent.

One day he yells at me from his porch to come by tomorrow for a cookout. I get home from work, walk up the street and notice that there are two huge buses parked in front of his house. We lived on a small street of rowhouses so they kind of stood out. I walk in and standing in the middle of the living room is Chubby Checker. It seems that "Chubbs" brought his whole family and crew, plus about 10 cases of bear and I don't know how much food. The house was packed full of people. The grill is fired up on the back deck and he announces that he's going to cook some hotdogs and burgers.

Now normally, I would never do something like this, but my mom was a huge fan, so I run home and get one of her albums for chubbs to sign. I thought she would get a kick out of it and it would prove that I wasn't just playing at music like she thought. Anyway, I go out on the deck and ask him if he would sign it. He turns, hands me a hotdog in a bun, then takes the album and marker and starts signing it. I take a bite out of the bun...then I open it. I have seen some burnt BBQ in my day, but the thing in the bun looked like a long charcoal briquette with BBQ sauce on it and tasted like lighter fluid. I look and all the burgers and dogs are black as coal and a few were on fire! At that moment, I had to choose between spitting a mouthful of charcoal and bread into the face of one of the most famous singers in the world or choking it down and hoping I didn't die. Ah well, the things you do for your mom.

He did write a VERY nice autograph. I took it to my mom, but she didn't believe he signed it! When I came back, I told him she thought it was a joke. He laughed and asked where I lived. A little later, we went down the street to my house. My mom comes to the door. He walks up to her, introduces himself and shakes her hand. She looks at me and says, "that's Chubby Checker!" I said, "yea ma, I think he knows that." :lol: :lol:

From that day on she never again gave me crap about wanting to be a musician. 8)


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