Question for Tele/Strat players

[Structo]

Thanks Ron, that is an Allparts SRO-C neck.

I think the Allparts necks are the greatest value among Fender Licensed necks available.

It has a 10" radius withe heel adjust truss rod.

It also has taller frets than vintage but not so tall to cause the notes to go sharp when mashed.

This neck has become my favorite now.

I got it through a friend at ReRanch who is an Allparts dealer for around $130. The full retail on these is $157.
I stained it with Stew Mac Color Tone vintage amber stain diluted with water.
Once the desired tint was achieved I finished it with Tru Oil.
I created the wear on the back of the neck by leaving that area unstained and then rubbed cigarette ashes and other grime into it.
Then I applied the oil over all of it.
I sprayed the headstock with nitro clear with about 6 coats.
Later I wet sanded that and polished it before applying the waterslide decal.

The body I bought from the same guy is a Mighty Mite swamp ash body that I grain filled, sealed, primed, color coated and two cans of ReRanch clear gloss. I also rolled the fingerboard edges.
I think I paid $85 for that.

One of the hardest things for me to do was after I had wet sanded and polished up the body to a showroom finish I had to distress it.

I started by dropping handfuls of hardware (nuts, bolt, washers, etc) from a standing position onto the body that was laying on the floor.

My plan was to create a '61 strat that had been gigged but also well taken care of. I went a little past that goal but I think it still is a pretty decent relic job.

The forearm and belly contour wear was created by rubbing those areas with a Scotch Brite pad then sanded with fine sand paper.

The metal parts were aged in muriatic acid.

The pickguard was wet sanded to take the shine off then tinted clear lacquer was sprayed mostly on the outside edges.
Then I wet sanded the areas that would be rubbed by my right hand to mimic wear.

The knobs and pickup covers were sanded with fine paper to mimic 37 years of play and also have some tinted clear on them.

[blue_dog]

Thanks Ron, that is an Allparts SRO-C neck.

...

The knobs and pickup covers were sanded with fine paper to mimic 37 years of play and also have some tinted clear on them.

Nice work on the tele!

back to the question, for relics I really like the Nash guitars (haven't played them). I've tried the suhr chambered guitars and they sound amazing. my workhorse is a 80's MIJ strat '57 reissue, good bang for the buck.

[Ron Worley]

Tom-

Obviously, I haven't played it, but it looks sooo nice... and holds it's own to the Fender Custom shop relics I've been drooling over lately....

I might just have to do a strat or a tele myself- for $500, that sounds like a fun project....

I must check out the Allparts stuff, they're down the road in Houston..

Ron

[Rob S]

Ron...... A few Tips if I may/ You may recall the Rory Clone? That too was mainly Allparts. Well Neck and Body.
We stumbled upon the most amazing process for aging Scratch Plates, Pickup covers, in fact all things Plastic.

It also worked a treat on the Neck.

Call you later.

Rob

[Rob S]

Ron...... A few Tips if I may you may recall the Rory Clone? That too was mainly Allparts. Well Neck and Body.
We stumbled upon the most amazing process for aging Scratch Plates, Pickup covers, in fact all things Plastic.

It also worked a treat on the Neck.

Call you later.

Rob

[Ron Worley]

Thanks mate, speak with you this weekend....


RLW

[billyz]

Nice job on the Relic Strat. Color looks good and not an unrealistic relic look. $500 is darn cheap. What kind of pickups? Tailblock?

For a 1000-1500 I would check out an Eric Johnson Strat as well. I have played a few that were great an a few that were so so. Also, the John Mayer was not bad either if you want the rosewood board.

Don't know the price of the new Gibson satin finished 335 but they felt good in the hand. And the low end PRS se models are good for the bucks.

Then again, I always liked G&L guitars. ASAT's are cool, especially with the big p90 ish pickups. The can sound like anything and sustain for days.

[Structo]

Pickups are Toneriders, their Classic Blues.

The trem is off an American strat.

Toneriders are a pretty good bang for the buck.

When they first came out you could get a strat set for $65.

Now I think they are around $85.

I also put a base plate on the bridge pickup which takes some of the ice pick out of it.

All the other hardware is Callaham.
I think his stuff is the best quality out there.

I used one of his trems on my other strat I built and it is very nice.

[Structo]

Ron...... A few Tips if I may you may recall the Rory Clone? That too was mainly Allparts. Well Neck and Body.
We stumbled upon the most amazing process for aging Scratch Plates, Pickup covers, in fact all things Plastic.

It also worked a treat on the Neck.

Call you later.

Rob

Care to share your techniques?

[billyz]

Wow, That is great stuff. I bet it sounds great too. Nice job. how about some more photos?

[skyboltone]

Hi Benoit:
Personally I'd be all over this one if I hadn't just bought a PRS. It's my color and everything.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0266706860

[Jammin'John]

I'm on my 3rd tele build.
You can go on the cheap or spend a fortune on a partscaster.
G&L's are fantastic used guitars.
They take a big hit on 'cause they aren't fenders.
They have a Tribute series that is made in korea as well.
Very good value.


JJ

[skeezbo]

Back in the day guys that couldn't decide between a tele and a strat often added a middle pickup and a 5 way switch to their tele's. The other, less well traveled, option is a hard-tail strat. If you are planning a build and don't rely on a whammy, why not consider that option? The best strat I ever played was a '61 hard-tail. It was kind of tele-like, and I am a tele guy.

There are a lot of used '52 Reissue teles floating around for about $1000. These are really well made guitars, in my opinion, and the recent ones have the very vintage sounding alnico 3 magnets in their pickups. Find a light weight one with a big neck and you are all set. Find a Japanese one if you can and save a few hundred bucks, but you may have to spend the money you save on better pickups and hardware.

Skeez

[Structo]

Wow, That is great stuff. I bet it sounds great too. Nice job. how about some more photos?

Which guitar?

[benoit]

So the DIY thing has got me really intrigued. What are the hardest parts for someone who has never done this before?