Stratovariaxe

I have an XII and will clean up the parts and see if I can have gold plated. I thnk not as the saddles look as if they maybe stainless steel

Fender XII or Venus XII??? If you have an original Fender XII, do not mess with it...there is actually a small but dedicated vintage market for them, it would be way better to use a Venus XII for parts rather than mess up a vintage instrument.

Do you think the saddles can be bought separately ? Eg to make a 12 string tremollo assembly ?

Nope.

Yes it is a Fender XII Sunburst , very tasty guitar to play and I forgot to photo the old original strings before I took them off, as they are strung differently toa normall 12 string.

I believe for the octave 6, 5, 4, and 3rd strings that from memory they use, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st ? Definitely with light strings and velvety feel under your fingere. Does anyone know for sure what they use ? Could it be 2, 2, 1, 1st, oe even 1,1,1, 1st .

Yes they were the original strings after all these years and they only went dead recently about 2 years ago - ( maybe more as I hadnt oilded themm and the guitar was standing exposed in a cupboard for 20 years at least . That unusual combination of strings helped give it that more balanced 12 string sound that was acoustically sounding when going through an amp unlike the Burns Double six I once had that was heavy sounding ( mine was not strung in unison strings and pitch, but like a conventional 12 string, guess the previous owner had no idea that they are strung with 2 identical string sets, mandolin style, no octaves only unisons.)

The modern 12 string strats use the gotoh bridge which can be found here, in gold:

http://www.allparts.com/store/guitar-bridg...002,Product.asp

I have one of these in chrome. Really cool bridge. I was going to be putting on a hollow 12 string les paul, but the guitar got damaged before I finished it and I'm in the process of converting to 6 string which means I have a set of 12 string hardware which I need to make a new guitar for

Pete

Yes I meant the 12 string Venus, as it has all the same hardware the XII Fender had. I have an XII and will clean up the parts and see if I can have gold plated. I thnk not as the saddles look as if they maybe stainless steel

On the other reply, the bridge I have looked at and seems to do the business , and other peoples opinions matter and help when making theses choices. Do you think the saddles can be bought separately ? Eg to make a 12 string tremollo assembly ?

Check Angela's Instruments for vintage Fender parts.

I set out to build one of these a long time ago; occasionally you can snag the original vintage parts on eBay, but be prepared to be patient (like, years). But I've seen the original pickguards, loaded with pickups and period-correct pots, come and go (infrequently). I saw an original bridge once, it went for over $200.

You won't find another source for that bridge anywhere, and you certainly won't find it in gold; if you can't source the original, your next best bet is to score a Squier Venus 12-string for parts, it uses the same bridge. Then find someone to electroplate it for you.

Thanks I saw those and they dont look bad , yes I am after a Venus too if anyone has one

Steve

Hi, I also want to build my own 12 string and wanted the exact parts Fender use for the bridge assembly. Any ideas where I can buy same and what price for all the parts saddles etc, wanted in Gold.

Thanks

Steve

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks....=strat_baritone

that has the maple necks with maple fretboards listed about halfway down the page

whilst i dont want to encourage faking a fender there is loads of info here about applying decals, even on the main page

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/phs.htm

I'm sure there is loads of info on the warmoth forum as well

Thanks, I thought Wamoth didnt provide fretting service, so they do the whole lot including nut etc

Thanks for more links will read up on decal fixing procedures for best results.

Great site and resource here.

Steve

so warmoth charge $167 which you could finish yourself or pay an extra $95 for the vintage tint

neck $167

Finish $95

Postage $50??? (i reckon less for just a neck)

Total = $312

Now even allowing a lot for customs thats going to come out under £200 for a very well made and well finished non-standard neck

if you wanted to save a bit you could get some vintage tint lacuqer from here:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/lacquer.html

which will probably get you down to closer to £150 - maybe less

If you just wanted a normal strat neck you could do it cheaper and it would be easy to find but finding a baritone cheaper will be a challenge, it certainly wont be better than what you would get from warmoth.

Yes £200 all in may sound good, but applying a Fender style transfer afterwards, will that cause problems ? Do I need to varnish head again after eg ?

Thanks for the advice.

PS Problem is warmoth dont do maple only rosewood style fretboards.

Warmoth offers baritone conversion necks....basically allows you to convert your body to a baritone scale without having to move the bridge.

Thanks for the reply. I was aware of that , but they are too expensive for me to buy and get to the UK. Was hoping some experts here know of alternatives makes or supplieres and manufacturers by small time guys.

Are there any past 6 string Bass and tremolo projects that have been discussed here ? I am new so please bear with me.

thanks for pointer all the same.

Steve

Hi Does anyone have a surplus neck, ideally with maple fretboard, stained and varnished vintage style, with machineheads ? Looking for a Strat Vintage headstock, maybe even a Telecaster version too. Alternatively any helpers to make one

thanks for any interest and replies if forthcoming

Steve