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Post by vonFrenchie on May 12, 2007 22:59:54 GMT -5
For a long time I said I would not buy a fender stratocaster simply because they are over played and many guitars have better features. The problem is other strat style guitars, like the Jackson Soloist, Dinky, BC Rich Assassin and almost all Ibanez guitars, have are floyd roses, rear routed, over priced or dont have the pickups Im looking for. So why buy a guitar thats good in one area but is bad with everything else.
I was looking at a Jackson Dinky JS30 but it has a floyd rose and the wiring doesnt leave much room for adding on. So I took a gander at the fender section on musicians friend. Right away I saw four or five strats that have everything I want (except the neck, wizard or speed neck, and the pickups, which i would have replaced on any other guitar).
So, here is my question to you. What strat, sub 650 dollar range, do you recommend?
Pickups, number of frets and color does not matter. All that matters is if it has a tremolo and is top routed. If its top routed then I can just cut out the pickup cavity and put any pickups in it.
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Post by hammeroff on May 12, 2007 23:16:03 GMT -5
If you want better tuning stability find one with a modern 2 stud trem. Other than that, I'd say pickup the cheapest one you can. Maybe it's time to just start building your own guitars though  |
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Post by vonFrenchie on May 13, 2007 15:13:57 GMT -5
I was looking on Warmoth for a body but they are so expensive. I dont have to tools, right now, to start building guitars, though I will some day.
Where in Wisconsin, this is obviously directed to Hammeroff, can you get body and neck blanks?
If I get a strat with a two point trem can I just drop in a Wilkinson tremolo or will there be any routing required?
Also the lowest price Fender strat with two point trems are 950 bucks (that I could find). Do you think the price drops alot when they are used?
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Post by sumgai on May 13, 2007 16:44:09 GMT -5
vF, Have you considered craigslist? Right now, there are more than 25 such units, spread across the various locales of your state. Might be worth your while, if you get my drift.  Oh, and welcome to the Dark Side! ;D sumgai |
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Post by wolf on May 13, 2007 18:20:45 GMT -5
I'd say one of my favorite guitars is the Saga kit guitar, which I built about 6 years ago. (It is a Strat copy). This might be a good "starter" for you if you want to get into serious building (which I never did).
If nothing else, a lot of your guitar skills will be required.
Even after you've built the thing, you'll still have to adjust the action, the intonation, file the nut, adjust the truss rod and shim the neck. (I really had to do all those things).
Maybe a more expensive kit wouldn't require such drastic adjustments but then again how many guitar kits sell for less than $100?
So my sub $650 Strat recommendation is the Saga guitar kit.
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Post by hammeroff on May 13, 2007 20:16:26 GMT -5
I'm not sure about the body and neck blanks in Wisconsin, I'd probably just go with internet ordering.
I'm pretty sure a Wilkinson bridge won't be a drop in fit to a Fender 2 stud body. It might be, but I'd hate to lead you in a direction that leads to unexpected hard work.
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Post by vonFrenchie on May 13, 2007 20:35:22 GMT -5
Theres no craigslist near me Ive found some fender two point strats on ebay for 300 bucks I was looking at Carvin's strat copy kit which sells for around 420 bucks (with the wilkinson trem) According to warmoth there is a bit of routing and redrilling required (the studs are larger and the trem block is a tad larger) www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/options_guitar_bridge_routing.cfm |
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Post by vonFrenchie on May 13, 2007 20:39:14 GMT -5
Oh, and welcome to the Dark Side! ;D Thanks... it feels good and the cookies are delicious |
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Post by sumgai on May 13, 2007 20:42:20 GMT -5
I'm not sure about the body and neck blanks in Wisconsin, I'd probably just go with internet ordering.
I'm pretty sure a Wilkinson bridge won't be a drop in fit to a Fender 2 stud body. It might be, but I'd hate to lead you in a direction that leads to unexpected hard work. No, they won't drop right in, but the re-work isn't all that hard, either. Just depends on your point of view, that's all. OTOH, I prefer the Hipshot offering myself. I tried a couple of these things and fell in love. But what sealed the deal was that they offered a special bridge plate to accomodate my piezo saddles. Nice and smooth, and for my needs, very sensitive. I'm sure it can be tamed down if you're too rowdy, but then again, you might see things differently.  Oh, yeah, they're an easy retro-fit, hardly any work at all.  HTH sumgai |
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Post by ChrisK on May 13, 2007 22:57:29 GMT -5
So you'll be replacing the neck and pickups anyway? So I presume that since you'll be replacing the neck and pickups anyway, you have sub $650 to work with for the rest of the guitar. Even if you use a finished Warmoth body, you can still add a vibrato and controls and come in at under $650. (Watch the candy store, there are often nice ones at around $300, like this one {$299}.) guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=repair&action=display&thread=1174081104 |
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Post by vonFrenchie on May 14, 2007 19:44:02 GMT -5
So you'll be replacing the neck and pickups anyway? I would replace the pickups... not the neck. I was actually thinking pretty hard about buying a Carvin body and neck then the hardware from Warmoth and then buying Dimarzio pickups from my local music shop. |
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Post by bam on May 15, 2007 19:15:56 GMT -5
actually, if you're not into that strat "look", -- how about Peaveys ?
Another suggestion: new or used Mexican-made Fender Strat, about $150-250. Take the body, and make a frankenstrat.
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Post by ChrisK on May 15, 2007 19:44:05 GMT -5
I've been "NOT" working on a three humbucker guitar for some years now. This is the body, a book-matched chambered Warmoth Strat copy;  Speaking of a DiMarzio-centric build; This was to be a DiMarzio-focused guitar. This is a four humbucker (8 coil) guitar if'n I use the DiMarzio Multibucker (a Fast Track and a Chopper?) in the bridge (I have one that I converted to 8 wire). I was planning to use the DiMarzio Tone Zone F in the bridge, the PAF Pro F in the middle, and the Air Norton in the neck. I also have a FRED F, a Steve's Special and another PAF Pro F, so I will use what gives the best tone in an all-walnut chambered body. I have all of these pickups, I have the body, I have a neck, I have a Wilkinson vibrato with Fishman piezo saddles, but I can't seem to avoid being distracted by other.................oh, shiny! |
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Post by vonFrenchie on May 15, 2007 22:03:47 GMT -5
I'm going the route of the Carvin body and neck. The only problem is what pickups I want. Id love to have a Super Distortion in the bridge and an Air Zone in the neck (a friend of mine has an air zone at the neck of one of his double fat strats and I love that sound) but Id like to have another humbucker or a single coil in the center. I was thinking that this would allow me to cover more ground genre wise. I was looking at the Chopper or the Super Distortion S (I like the high bass response). What do you suggest?
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Post by beckerologly on Jul 24, 2007 5:09:08 GMT -5
I was just about to say Carvin body and neck....
Then I read your last post.
(does anyone want to be middleman and post me a Carvin that I ordered? I live in Australia and carvin factory direct only delas with Americans and Canadians)
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Post by sumgai on Jul 24, 2007 12:47:17 GMT -5
beck, I was just about to say Carvin body and neck....
Then I read your last post.
(does anyone want to be middleman and post me a Carvin that I ordered? I live in Australia and carvin factory direct only delas with Americans and Canadians) I'll do that for ya! I've done it for others, no problem. PM me with all the details of what you want, etc., and we'll see what happens. sumgai |
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