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"finished" Project


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Hi guys, I must admit I haven't been on for quite a while. Brief summary of the story, I had picked up an abused, neglected attic find Strat and decided to copy Blackmore's Sunburst from the late '70s. It was originally intended as a cosmetic copy but after making contact with the man who built the original (Dawk Stillwell) it turned into much more than that! Anyway, thought I'd update you on how my Blackmore Strat project turned out. Well, here it is:

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General body shot with modified trem & 1/4" Stainless steel trem arm.

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Blackmore scallop, took a lot of research to get close to the dimensions

and many thanks to Bruce for his tutorial which helped a lot. General

opinion is what I've ended up with is very close to the genuine article?

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Dummy pickup in mid position as per the original

Here's what I can remember doing to it:

Sperzel locking tuners

Picato RB77 strings

Graphite nut

“Blackmore” scalloped neck

Seymour Duncan SSL-4s bridge & neck (middle is a dummy)

MTC fitted & wired as per Dawk Stillwell’s advice

CRL 3-way switch (spring removed to make operation smoother) wired neck-bridge & neck-bridge

All pots replaced with CTS 250K items

Pickup/control cavity fully shielded

Backplate modified as per the original, cut down to make it easier to change strings (very sensible mod!).

Modified tremolo

Self made ¼” stainless steel tremolo arm

1:1 audio transformer under jack plate to help kill external electrical noise SSL-4s were picking up (I copied the original so well I also copied the noise problems they had with it!)

The work is so extensive that the only part not replaced or modified is the body itself! Everybody who has played it loves it but the greatest compliment it has had is from Dawk Stillwell himself, he reckoned you couldn't get a closer copy without him building it himself . . . wow, praise indeed!

I also have an Olympic White which will be based on the Strat that replaced Blackmore's Sunburst. Picked it up cheap with a damaged neck and neck pocket after falling off a speaker stack! Repaired the damage, replaced the neck and repainted it, originally a natural with a naff grain. It still has a lot of work to be done to reach the same level as the Sunburst but other commitments have kinda put the project on hold just now.

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My two Blackmore inspired Strats. The work in progress Olympic White and my baby, the Sunburst :D

Edited by scottishstrat
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