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Post subject: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:15 pm
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Tonight after work I finished the Red Delicious Ultra Custom. Very seldom do things happen like they did tonight. I put on the neck, and did the finishing touches to the guitar. Then I strung it up, tuned it, set up the tremsetter and made a few adjustments. Amazingly, the guitar literally fell into place with almost no adjusting and plays incredible. No kidding. The strings fret gorgeously all the way down the fretboard. It is literally amazing when this happens. Usually I need to tweak the truss rod, make a bunch of adjustments to the saddles and the micro-tilt adjuster—kind of playing with it a little here and a little there—to get it to play nice. Not with this guitar. It fell into place nearly perfect.

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Here is a review of what this guitar is about. It started off with a Warmoth chambered mahogany body with a curly flamed maple top. I wired Red Delicious up with 2 - 500k no-load pots. This means when they are on 10 the circuit is totally bypassed. On the lower pot that controls the bridge and middle pickups, I used a Vitamin-Q .033 Capacitor for a new flair. It tapers slower, gently rolling of high frequencies. The middle tone control has the standard .022 cap.

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In the neck I used a Dimarizo Air Classic Neck humbucker (DP190N) which is similar too a 1950s humbuckers, but uses full-strength Alnico 5 magnets. DiMarizo stated: “The Airbucker magnetic field preserves high end sustain and it's easier to capture and hold harmonic feedback at varied frequencies, and chords maintain better clarity.” Really nice and full sounding, yet clear. The I have it wired with the coil-splitting switch which cuts the output by 1/2, to produce more single coil sound. Then in the middle a Chrome Dome standard pickup with is like a Hot Gold Lace Sensor. The bridge is a set of hot Chrome Domes with the high output of a Red Lace Sensor (13.2k each). The can run front, or back or both in series with the mini-switch. The combo? You can get whatever tone you are looking for!

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 4:02 pm
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Beautiful guitar. Looks like you put a lot of thought into that one. I'm curious why you decided to go with a chambered body?

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 4:11 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
Beautiful guitar. Looks like you put a lot of thought into that one. I'm curious why you decided to go with a chambered body?


Many of the custom bodies from Warmoth come that way. They are lighter and they claim, "more resonate." But when I bought this body there were not a lot of highly flamed, pre-made bodies in red to choose from. And those that were available were all chambered, so it was more circumstance than choice or preference. But I have built about 5 now using these bodies and the guitars sound really great, but more from the pickups I would say....

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 4:41 pm
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Yeah, it takes about 8 weeks to get a finished body from Warmouth. Since Strats aren't very heavy, I thought it was odd when I ordered mine and saw that they came chambered.
You've piqued my interest. An HSH Strat is the one configuration I don't have. I do a lot of leads on a neck humbucker and I spend a lot of time on the center position on my SSS Strat. An HSH may be something I "need" and didn't even know it! :)

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 4:53 pm
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The nice thing about this config, is that is is really not a h/s/h setup. It is more a h/s/ss config since the Dually is just two Lace Sensor single coils strapped together. With the mini-switch you get some Tele like tones, as well at fat verses thinner bridge tone. And the 5-way has neck + bridge for the middle position. The whole setup really does the job well! Lol!

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:15 pm
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Chambered or not that is one gorgeous hunk-O-wood! Another fantastic looking guitar from the "X"!

:mrgreen:

T2

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:44 pm
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T2Stratman wrote:
Chambered or not that is one gorgeous hunk-O-wood! Another fantastic looking guitar from the "X"!

:mrgreen:

T2


I agree. I wasn't knocking it for being chambered. I have a chambered L.P. that I love. This guitar looks like a Ferrari. I seriously like it.

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:05 pm
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If you look carefully at the two pictures below you will see I upgraded the RAM memory in the beast as well! :lol: :shock:

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:45 pm
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Are you sure you're not related to Ed Roman?

:lol:
(kidding)

I'm drooling here .... just so you know.
Very nice.
I like the chambered body in my HSH Partsocaster.
I would definitely do it again.

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Last edited by BMW-KTM on Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:48 am
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The neck was taken from a very early post-2010 Strat Deluxe HSS.

The fretboard does have white pearloid dots on it. It also sports a compound radius.

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As the DZ9 prefix suggests this guitar from which the neck was taken off was made a few months before the switch to the US1xxx digits.

You forgot to add those details while writing your post.

Red Delicious - the first custom Ultra build with the post-2010 Deluxe compound radius neck - deserves a mini Floyd Rose bridge IMO.


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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 6:29 am
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Oh Yeah, that's NICE!

The name is a perfect choice, it looks good enough to eat. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 9:24 am
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Oh that is real nice and delicious
Thanks for sharing
mud


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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:17 am
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mud wrote:
Oh that is real nice and delicious
Thanks for sharing
mud

Thanks for your kind comments. Well Red Delicious did not stay around for very long. She is in Germany as a friend there who has bought 3 other guitars from me, really wanted it. He just emailed and said:

"Because I finally unpacked Red Delicious and started to play her!!! OMG!!!! It's like I've known her all of my life, this guitar plays like a dream. Fantastic. Can't keep my hands of her!! D e l i c i o u s ! ! ! Thank you, oh Master of the Stratocaster!!! "

Well that was flattering! :mrgreen: lol

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 2:23 am
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That lucky German dude is a winner.
Obviously you're removing some of the luck, with Delicious falling into place like that on setup.

You have some good things going on with red finishes.
The whole concept I dig it. The pickups config is a great idea.
Good choice also with the Dimarizo Air.
There's a Dimarizo Air Norton ready to go into one of my Strat or Tele's, not sure yet.
I have a Dimarizo Tone Zone on a Strat bridge, auto splits beautifully for that quacky notch Strat tone.

Whoever made your pickguard did a great job.
Shifted the centre forward, and the bridge is moulded, nice.
I've been asked to create some custom guard cuts. Love working with stainless steel.

Just for interest, there's a guy on ebay from Japan who makes coloured Humbucker Stickers that fit perfect, even chrome. They are a good quality super sticky, durable material.
I've used them on exposed humbuckers to match the singles. You see what I mean in the pic.
Latest project is that Lonestar Strat, originally an ugly exposed black humbucker, so it's now vintage cream.

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Post subject: Re: Red Delicious Ultra Custom Build
Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 9:08 am
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Nice pickguards you made for those guitars! Very cool! I have a jobber who is cutting pickguards in quantity. Most are made from the Fender Ultra template and then a few are custom hybrid cuts that I specially requested. Have a GREAT CHRISTMAS!

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