Clapton Strat with TBX and Midboost

[angelodp]

Hello friends. So I have a pal that found this Strat in a Dumpster. Its actually in excellent condition except for one missing Lace Gold in the Bridge position. I am in the process of replacing that and fixing up some sloppy wiring.

My question. Since I have never played one of these guitars, might anyone that has this model chime in with what is good, bad and ugly. I have read some threads where the word mud gets used a lot. I suspect that a change of pickups may be in order, but first I want to get it going. The TBX... thats the dual gang pot...yes?

Any suggestions as to where to take this guitar. I know very subjective. The Neck is a V, very nice and grey body. Battery was in there so long it spewed it contents and disintegrated the battery leads.... can replace.

I suppose I am wondering if taking this to stock Strat with mid-sixties (I wind my own ) pickups might be the best bet.

Cheers to all

Ange

PS He found a second RED Fiesta Strat in the Dumpster... Mexican... filthy...now perfect and surprisingly great little guitar given the B level components. It does sound very good though.

Two Strats - one Dumpster.... what was that narrative?

[newey]

Jan 25, 2021 0:24:38 GMT -5 angelodp said:

Since I have never played one of these guitars,

Really?

Of course, Strats come in various flavors. It sounds as if this one had active electronics and Lace pickups installed. I'm not clear on whether that is from the factory or not- Is this a clone or an actual Fender?

As far as taking it back to '60's Strat specs,that's a good idea if that's what your friend wants- Is this for him or for you?

I'd certainly go with a 5-way switch for the "Strat quack", although Fender was still using the 3-way switch up until the early '70's. It's never going to actually be a vintage '60's era Strat, so the cork sniffers will be unimpressed no matter how "period correct" you make it.

But who is going to be playing it, and for what style of music, should probably drive the conversation over what to do with it.

Two Strats - one Dumpster.... what was that narrative?

I'm guessing one really PO'd girlfriend . . .

[angelodp]

Hey Newey, yes factory Fender circa 1995, per stamps on neck and body. Its for a pal who is not a player. I am curious to hear what this thing does. I love Clapton but not so much the latter tone. Never understood why he migrated away from what was the stellar tone of all time way back when. I will get the Lace pup soon and try out the stock version. The second Strat (Mexican) with pot metal saddles, smaller potentiometers, pups with ceramic magnets, cheaper tuners, actually sounds great, comparable to any vintage Strat I have? Fiesta Red w/ maple neck, whats not to like. I did have to completely disassemble every screw and nut, clean recondition and then setup. Oh by the way have you heard of Evaporust? This stuff is amazing for removing rust. Its biodegradable, does not smell much, re-useable and does the deed in a few hours....truly amazing.

yes PO'd girlfriend sounds about right.

Best Ange

[newey]

Really PO'd, if this is an actual Clapton Signature model- new ones run over $1600USD.

The first Clapton Signature models were intruduced in 1988, and the Lace Sensor Golds were discontinued in 2001 (They now use Fender Vintage Noiseless ones), so the dating of this in the 1990s seems right. Also note that, per Clapton's request, the tremolos were blocked with a wooden block, which could be removed by someone wanting to have the whammy bar available. (See if yours still has the wood block for authenticity)

I'd rebuild it as it was meant to be, midboost and all. Assuming it is playable, this thing has value over and above that of a run-of-the-mill 25 year old Strat, based on it being a Clapton model. After all, he still has a few fans out there

If your buddy wants a Strat more like a '60s vintage model, any old Strat could be retrofitted with 1960- style pickups (Fender makes reissues), etc.

[angelodp]

Yup it has the wooden block. 1995 stamped on neck and body (paper slip). I agree, get it back to original shape. Its in remarkably great shape for the journey its been on.

Best A

[angelodp]

Ok so its all together. I am getting a strange resistance reading on the pups... 88k on each one....as read from the guitar cable. Battery is installed, all pots at max???

[angelodp]

Newey, any ideas on the larger than expected readings on the pups? 88k? What am I missing.

A

[newey]

Feb 4, 2021 21:57:55 GMT -5 angelodp said:

Newey, any ideas on the larger than expected readings on the pups? 88k? What am I missing

If you're reading it at the cable, you're not just reading the resistance of the pickups but of the circuit as a whole. With a passive circuit, you can "do the math", as the saying goes, and "back out" the effects of the pots, etc., to get the values for the pickups themselves. ChrisK had a tutorial on how to do that, in the references section.

But with an active circuit, even if it is turned off,that method won't work- and I don't know of any other methos that will work.

More basically, you said you had it all together, but you didn't mention any problems other than the resistance readings you are getting. Does it work properly, or are you having problems?