Parts-o-caster 60's Strat copy build

[NXC1978]

OK, so I have made a decision on the body...

After exploring my options I decided to go with my first thought of just having Scotty make me one the exact way I want it. Flick posted this photo on another thread showing the Fender custom colors. I have decided to actually go with Daphne Blue instead of Sonic. (Daphne is the color on the bottom of the stack and sonic is the one above it)

Scotty is going to paint it Daphne Blue over 3 color sunburst (all nitro) on a two peice alder body shaped to 62 specs. I will relic the body myself.

[NXC1978]

This CS strat is Surf Green, but hopefully mine will look similar when I relic it.

[aidb]

Like the idea of painting over sunburst. Gives it that xtra mojo factor.

[Olli]

Originally Posted by NXC1978

This CS strat is Surf Green, but hopefully mine will look similar when I relic it.

I´ve played one of these - they are really, really nice and have a certain coolness. Unfortunately it was not for sale.

[NXC1978]

One more update...

I got these parts from a 2006 MIM 60's strat. I aged them all myself. I might have gone a little overboard on the jack and the trem plate. All parts are ready for "tryouts" we will see if they make the final cut!

The plastic came out pretty good in my opinion! Let me know what you think guys. If it looks like ass do me a favor and be honest!!

[aidb]

You may find this site interesting:


Anatomy of a 1955 Stratocaster - Table of Contents - Strat Collector News

It'll give you an idea of how far to take the relicing on the metal parts.

[NXC1978]

thanks that is a cool site, I think I may have gone a little over board on the corrosion with metal parts, but if it looks good when assembled I will go with it. The flash on my camera seems to make the rust look slightly worse than it is in person. I may end up swaping out the jack and bridge plate when it is all said and done. I am pretty satisfied with everything else so far.

I ordered some more parts today... A bone nut, tuners, string tree, alum pick guard shield, and a set of Texas Special pickups. I will post more photos as I make more progress.

By the way-That "Strats year by year" section is really ineresting too!

[gishuk]

good call on the colour, i started reading this thread and was going to suggest daphne blue instead of sonic blue.

if i was custom making a strat myself it would be daphne blue for sure.

[classic]

All the best for your project ... sounds great to me !!!!
... and I realize you're doing that job with all your passion ...

I didn't care about the finish when I'd assembled MY Strat, but I understand your point of view concerning the relicing possibilities ...
BTW ... the Daphne Blue is looking like this one ... my project ...


... and the result ...

[NXC1978]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Man your strat turned out really nice!!! Is that a deluxe neck? That white pickguard with those cream knobs/pickup covers looks really good on the Dapne blue body.

A friend of mine emailed me the link to this limited edition custom shop. What is intresting about this one is the pickups.. Texas Specail in the Bridge (SRV), Clapton's Lay Down Sally in the mid, and Jimi's Red House in the neck!

Buy Fender Custom Shop 64 Relic Strat Electric Guitar | Solid Body Electric Guitars | Musician's Friend

[classic]

YES ... it's a 22 frets Deluxe neck which I had left from a considered project some years ago and the Fender Vintage trem ...
That was the beginning ... but my main concerns were not to buy a guitar for more than 1K ...
I'd chosen the VanZandt Blues Model which you can see mounted on the red plastic templet ... a nice attachment of ACME who ship the prewired sets this way ...
That sparkle Strat is nice, although I'd prefer a different color ... and way too much what I'd pay for a Strat !!!
Sorry, bro ... my Strat is unique with a wonderful sound and is meeting my requirements completely ... although I've never played such a CS-guitar I'm disbelieving the CS Strat being worth the huge amount of $$$ over mine ...
... and to be honest ... the nitro thing would make one difference only: YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE HAVING IT !!

[NXC1978]

the nitro thing would make one difference only: YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE HAVING IT !!

Yes, I am probably opening pandora's box here, but I think the thickness of the finish is the most important factor. I have an 05 USA standard 3 color burst strat and it sounds really good acousticly and plugged in. I noticed that the poly finish is really thin on this one to where you can see a bit of the wood grain in the reflection at just the right angle on the body.

The only reason why I wanted the all nitro finish on this build is because I have an early 60's theme going.

Didn't Jimi Hendrix's 68-69 CBS strats have a poly finish?

[gishuk]

fender switched to poly in 64/65 didnt they? so they would have yea, didnt seem to stop him being a genius with em

i think the point about thickness being more important than the poly/nitro choice is a good one, PRS use a poly finish but its very thin and leaves the guitars being very resonant

[Blues4U]

NXC78,

looks like it will be a cool project and I hope it turns out like you want it to.

One word of advice, when drilling pilot holes in your neck and headstock be sure and mark your bit so you can stop before you drill all the way through. I haven't done it, but I have seen and hear enough stories to know it happens quite frequently to us ammuture luthiers.

Keep us posted.

[NXC1978]

Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement! I need all the advice I can get! I will be on pins and needles when I am drilling those holes, believe me!!

Well, I have a book that explains the procedure that I have read and re-read. Lucky for me I have a large drill press with a vice and it has a stop gage you can set so you won't go too deep. If I set up my machine correctly then the holes should be perfect. The key word is "should" there, LOL!! We will see!

Right now I am just waiting for parts... Scotty was talking about maybe posting photos here of his progress on the body. I am hoping he will!!

[FLICKOFLASH]

Originally Posted by aidb

Love the look.

Has anyone tried the compressed air in a can freezing method for the checking effect?

Real freezing is best that cans give you a shattered mirror look.

[NXC1978]

Thanks for the tip, Flick. I won't use cans! Everything I do is going to be a real slow process since I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Any suggestions and/or constructive criticism is very welcomed!

I got the pickguard wired up with the Texas Specials installed via the instructions that came with them...

I got the cts pots and the 5 way selector from a 06 MIM 60's strat. I need to get a vintage cap!!





I aged my new set of tuners and got them installed on the neck. The bone nut I ordered is the wrong radius, rookie mistake I guess, but I am going to try to shape it using the detailed instructions in this book I am reading. Worst that can happen is I screw it up and order a new one. Don't worry, I didn't glue it in yet!

[NXC1978]

Scotty has posted progress pics of the body here... Looking good so far!!

NXC1978 60's Daphne Blue Stratocaster Guitar Build

[diceman]

Cool thread - great build - I can't wait to see it all finished!

I really think that I'll have Scotty build me something (at least a body and neck) after I've paid for my Rist~o~Caster.

That sunburst undercoat looks fantastic...

[NXC1978]

Thanks man, I am getting really excited about it! If I don't botch the relicing process it should turn out ok.

[diceman]

Just beat the shit out of it! Sidewalk, sand paper, blunt objects, steel wool, and desk corners have worked well for me.

[NXC1978]

Well, if it turns out looking anywhere near as good as your Road Worn I will be one happy guitar whore!

[diceman]

Thanks! I love that guitar - but I think that your Scotty custom will be quite the "one up."

[NXC1978]

Finally got the Monster relic repro "Pat Pend" saddles in and installed. Lucky for me these came pre aged so I didn't have to do it myself. Can't wait to install it in the body!!!

[NXC1978]

Alright, I went to the Dallas Guitar Show this last Saturday and had the opportunity to see some real 60's strats up close.

I noticed two things...

-One, my Fender knobs and other plastic that I reliced don't look anywhere near authentic to me anymore. They are too orangeish-yellowed compaired to the real deal. Also, on every vintage strat I saw the gold letter/numbers on the origional knobs were all slightly "greened". I searched through a few parts vendors at the show for some more accuratly aged ones with slightly "greened" lettering and came accross a set from RS Guitarworks.

-The other thing i noticed was I really over did it on my bridge plate like I had thought. The chrome birdge plates on the origional heavily played strats were still relatively shiny where as mine is way too rusted out. It's an inexpensive part so, I will probably buy a new plate and try again.

Here is a pic of my guard with the RS knobs installed compaired to the Fender pu covers I reliced... I put that plain white cover in the pic for additional compairison.


Here is a pic of a real 62 strat from the show for compairison.


Of coarse, I will need to order the RS pu covers and switch tip too. RS parts are a bit pricey, but worth it to me!

[NXC1978]

Ok, so I'm a cheap bastard (plus I'm bored) so I tried to save some money by relicing those stark white pu covers I had on hand. I used coffee to stain them to match my new knobs and it actually worked out OK. After the coffee, I used a touch of some ebony wood stain to give them just a hint of wear.


Dying with coffee... I filled up the container just enough so that when I put the covers in face down, it only colored a little bit more than the top half of the covers. The bottom half stayed white as though they weren't exposed to UV and didn't yellow...Kind of adds to the mojo factor.


When I was at the Dallas Guitar show I picked up a Luxe vintage repro cap that was used on Strats from late 58 to early 61. The ceramic disc types used later are rumored to not have as good of tone.

[classic]

Originally Posted by NXC1978

The ceramic disc types used later are rumored to not have as good of tone.

They use to influence the tone to more brittle and harsh ... my experiences on all guitars ....
Luxe caps are a good choice ...

[diceman]

That PG setup looks great.

[NXC1978]

Originally Posted by diceman

That PG setup looks great.

Thanks brotha, the body should be in my hands by mid this week. Will be posting more pics of the progress very soon!

[aidb]

Your attention to detail is admirable Nick. The original knobs/pup covers look off white/light cream. I suppose it varies from guitar to guitar. You see some original scratchplates that are still nearly white...no mint colourisation at all.

Keep those updates coming.