guitarman

I'm embarrassed to ask... The Klusons look pretty easy to put on my strat neck. I just want to make sure I did it right. Before anyone starts....I ran the search engine and found many opinions on tuning machines....just no advice on installing! Maybe I used the wrong "tuning Key"words! Ha!! (I know...terrible joke) Anyone give me a brief ideas on how to do this...or a site that has pretty pictures for those of us who no read good? Any input would be appreciated. Guitarman

Thanks all, Great replies that help me have a more informed conversation with someone who knows more about this sort of thing than I. Bowser....you take a great picture. Guitarman

Unusual question, People here always talk about the right way to begin and complete a project. Years back I made the mistake of getting a crappy tech to switch bodies on an old strat of mine....the body wasn't original but the neck IS an original 1972. The thing has always had intonation problems and upon closer inspection....I think the durn neck is on wrong!! The high E-string almost leaves the neck past the 12th fret...looks fine near the first fret. I'm taking this to a GOOD tech on Monday......but I'm just WONDERING When some pinhead puts the neck on wrong....can it be corrected using the same body?? OR do you have to get a new body to avoid weakening the neck joint?? I'm worried!! Any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Guitarman p.s. It's my own fault....I should have realized the guy was a dunce when he tried to tell me that ALL the wiring has to be re-done when moving a strat pickguard (not just the input jack and ground). I did not let him convince me....but I should have laughed, and walked right then.

Thank you Godin. You really summed up my dilemma well....I would love the HEAT of the Seymour quarter pounders (without cheese) and if I could defeat ridiculous hum....all the better. GREAT website about shielding....detailed with good descriptions of EVERY step taken for a newb like me. I'm more and more amazed with the innovations and ideas surrounding the improvement of such a simple guitar as the strat. Great reply bud! Guitarman p.s. One member of my band had a Godin, then switched to a Les Paul....now Gibson's are damn fine guitars....but he says he misses the Godin! Now that is an honest compliment.

Thanks DOC!!!!! Much appreciated..... I will be talking with my pal the guitar tech soon.

Looks good, I had a candy-apple Red Hamer explorer when I was younger....gradually wore the paint off the rear-horn bumping into things. Then switched to other guitars for convenience.... Just picked up an epiphone explorer in a music store...and amazingly...it felt just like the old one and I could not believe how comfortable I was. Like riding a bike...it felt SO familiar. good for you. this is still one of the coolest shapes going. And I have to wonder....does that much wood make for a better sound??? I gotta wonder. GREAT JOB!!! Guitarman

Ha! Thanks for the replies, I think my strat might need some shielding..... Forgive me...but are the hot stacks really noiseless?? I gotta look into that. Thanks again, guitarman

Yep Another personal attack. Clearly someone is upset (over nothing). I'm not going anywhere. Read silvertonessuckbutigotone to see someone who posts with class. Flamers are inconsequential. Guitarman

Ha ha ha!! Well put!!! Do you know of a hot strat pickup that still sounds like a single coil, without making enough noise to sound like a frickin blender!!!!! I have a hot dimarzio now that sounds GREATTTTT, but when not playing,...the noise is ridiculous. I'd love to hear about a single coil that is hot, but does not make a ton of noise. Perhaps the fast-tracks or the hot rails??? I dunno. Thanks for the cool reply. Guitarman

Lord Stratomaster.... I tried to make a similar point and got nowhere. It was never my intention to try and turn anyone off the guy. That can't be done anyway!! THANK YOU for pointing out the overwhelming effort to buy everything that SRV had. And NO...I do NOT know why people do get so upset about bringing those things up. Careful....they will be calling you a troll soon. YAH!!! The guy is talented. No doubt. The SRV wannabe thing talked me out of buying one of his cds. Still.... Silvertonessuckbutigotone makes an interesting point. He is singing on his newest work, and there is an effort to not use the exact same rig as Stevie anymore. I did a little homework and there has been a bit of a shake up. Perhaps his new stuff is a welcome departure from the guitar hero worship of the past. To the people that have both albums....are they night and day, or are they quite similar?? Interested to know if it is worth my money!! I have very little of that lately. Thanks again Stratomaster......another poster proving they can have a point of view, that differs from another person....and they don't make any personal attacks. Guitarman

Silvertonessuckbutigotone I just wanted to thank you for being so respectful with your posts about KWS. I thought you were eloquent and very polite. While other people took it personally and tried to put me down (like some high school clique) you disagreed politely and made some damn fine points. I think I might have been too hard on the lad. I STILL think that guitarists are a little too eager to follow fashion.....but we can agree to disagree. We are both secure enough!! You are a good man. Thanks, Guitarman ADMIN EDIT: This belongs in email or PM. Next time, please do so. This post will be deleted soon.

Westheman (Westheimer) You played the trump card!!! Good for you! You took your ball and went home. I made a great point that identified what silvertonessuckbutigot one did Namely-respond respectfully and deal with the issue. He dealt with the issues I mentioned and made a great point. We don't see eye to eye, but he can respond to the issue instead of calling me a troll or insulting my intelligence or calling me ignorant. and you and Drak just tried to discredit me and MAKE it personal. Nice to see that if you lose, you will pull the thread. The only person who made this matter a personal one....is you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are a coward. SILVERTONES- You are a respectful poster and I thought your last post made a lot of sense. You are welcome to write me and disagree with me any time you want. At least you know how to have a discussion. To anyone else who can read this.... DO NOT EVER DISAGREE WITH A POINT OF VIEW, WRITE ABOUT SUNSHINE AND PUPPIES NEVER STAND UP TO OTHER MEMBERS WHO TRY TO PUT YOU DOWN INSTEAD OF DEAL WITH THE ISSUES And most of all NEVER SAY YOU DONT LIKE AN ARTIST THAT THE MODERATOR LIKES. There....agree with westheimer all the time and it will all go fine. Now you know the rules. Guitarman

Drak, We are not too far apart on this one. Going back and reading the posts to see how people got so out of shape about this...I noticed three things. 1. The biggest KWS fans are the ones accusing (a flame in it's own right?) me of trying to start trouble. And now I have to defend myself? Truth is you don't know my motives and even though I write them down...you are not looking for them. Pretty arrogant to declare my motives for me. 2. You said almost exactly what I said..read your quote that I am posting from the third post of the thread. (Never used the quote option...hope it works). And by your own admission....I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS OPINION. Many have criticized the guy for the SRV worship/copyright infringement. 3. You take off points for relic'ed strats.....me too. I think it is posing as well. See we see eye to eye on things!! All I know is that if this guy does not want to sound like SRV he REALLY went out of his way to get EVERY specific effect and equipment needed. Come on now!! If you say that his sound has changed, fine....your word is good enough. Seriously!!! Westheman Nice sarcasm being put into play. For someone against flaming, you are pretty good at it! I'm informed enough to read the artists critics and interested/informed enough to read an article about him when he was a young man. Informed enough to buy a new magazine that explains where he has been and his battle with booze. New edition. You are a fan...give it a read!! Interesting stuff. One of the rules of a discussion (when people had respect for each other) was to carefully consider what the other person was saying and see if there was some merit in the point. This is not the same as carefully reading a post looking for something to grab and try to discredit or put-down the other person to try and further your point. It is a juvenile thing to do. From what I read about the man I formed an opinion. It happens to be the opinion of many of his critics. If you think the point is not valid. Cool. Say that, instead of...."you just don't know enough". Would it be so wrong to say "Really?? I hear something different. It is the same genre, but there are a few techniques that really differ from SRV. Try listening to [insert song here] you will notice [observation here]" See...that is being respectful and still disagreeing. You may be absolutely right and I might be absolutely wrong. But you have to do a little better than that. Make a point....I was accused of not participating...but I have my reasons, I have my point and I don't mind disagreement, or even if I am proven wrong. Most of all. It's kind of unfair to accuse someone of being uninformed if they don't see things your way, and it is REALLY unjust to accuse someone of being a troublemaker because they have a different way of thinking. I guess Ned Steinberger is a heretic of the greatest degree. Look forward to reading you on less sensitive subjects....if there are any! Guitarman

Westhemann, I KNEW as soon as I typed that I had not heard KWS (Except for the Gap commercial I think he did) it would seem strange to have an opinion. so...I tried to explain. As I said...it's a pet peeve. I was interested enough to read the interview and I didn't think about the "SRV-clone" controversy until I read about the guy's set up. I am not kidding when I say it was EXACTLY the same as Stevie Ray Vaughn's (I was far milder on my first post). It even included some pedal with an unusual name (can't remember!!) and at that moment......I was turned off. To be fair to the man....that was some time ago. Maybe he has found his own voice!?!? Surely you can understand having a guitar hero, and then reading about someone who is just duplicating and it would turn you off?!??? I thought I would bring up the issues of originality, conformity and complacency and maybe...just maybe...someone else might have noticed it, or thought to themselves (oh yeah...I remember when people made fun of me because I thought a Fender Squire I tried felt and sounded ok! ) It is only an opinion that I have. It is something that I find distasteful and a little sad. I guess I look at a guy like Jimi Hendrix who was an innovator and all these years later...people keep looking backwards instead of forwards. Really makes me wonder what he would have accomplished if he was still alive. That was a guy not afraid to try new things and follow the beat of his own drum. Just some things to think about. Nothing more. Guitarman

Drak, Don't get your panties in a bunch sweetie!! If you don't see things my way that's ok!! I would be surprised if everyone shared the same point of view. After all....there are a ton of sheep-like guitarists who faithfully follow the fashion (whatever it may be) and it should come as no surprise if some of the followers don't like having their conformity mentioned. Very nice of you to invite me off the forum. Very classy. DEFINITELY laid back!! (Really laughing). Oh and the name calling....VERY laid back. LET IT GO!! Guitarman p.s. are there any other forums I am not allowed to post on, or are there any other subjects that are just too frightening to mention? On what subjects must we all agree? It is hard to keep it straight and say only what everyone likes to hear. p.p.s. Look at my other posts and see the tone. OR just make a knee-jerk judgement...your call.

Anyone heard/used/tried Fender's new hot noiseless pickups??? I really like 'em HOT and I am hoping their idea of hot and mine are similar!! Any info would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!! Guitarman

Ah...you feel that I wrote this because I hope to anger people or start a fight. Not at all! I was more than clear that it is just one man's opinion and nothing more. Also...to reassure you. It has been a topic that my bandmates, and my wife and I have talked about often. In fact...I found an old guitar world mag when Mike Mushok from staind (think that's right) was featured. He was using an Ibanez I believe (good guitars!) and had the strap duct-taped to the horn. I found a collage picture of guitarists that are known or up and comers. More than half in the picture were duct-taping the strap the same way. Coincidence? or faithful followers of fashion. Now if you want some major trolling.... see Ed Roman guitars web site. Interesting guy but REALLY opinionated. In fact....all other guitar brands are terrible (except the one's he fabricates...so surprising!) Sorry if it seemed like a troll session. Not the intention! Besides. "Competition is for horses, not artists". People should not get upset about one person's opinion. Nobody would get particularly upset if I posted my preference for ice-cream. Really. There is no difference. Guitarman

Sorry...I'm not a KWS fan and I've never heard a note from the guy. Why??? I have a pet peeve and it affects poor old KFC or whatever his name is too. This may be fair or unfair. One of the reasons the guy was raked over the coals for so long, is that he is a parrot. That is.....doing someone else's thing. I read an old article about him, his gear and his critics. I had to laugh. They suggested that he is an SRV clone, which he completely denied and then they went through his rig. It is almost IDENTICAL to SRV's. Hmm...ya ok. I guess for me it's like this. Nobody would have respect for me if I bought a basswood strat body, painted stripes on it, and started dressing, acting, playing like Eddie Van Halen. I just don't see this as any different. Yet it happens all the time. If I (or you) became the next big thing on guitar, or merely got noticed in a big way.....whatever guitar we had, or whatever customization was done.....MANY would run out and buy the same gear and go cross-eyed trying to play just like the latest fad. That is why strats and Les Pauls go in and out of style, and many other brands too. If someone famous covers their guitar in gummy bears....well...buy shares in the gummy bear industry!! Cause every wanna-be is going to be needing them pronto! Ha! I think the greatest guitarists in the world....EVH, SRV, JH, JP, JB, EC, MK...perhaps even PMS...are great because of their unique sound, approach, or style. When I see (or hear) of someone just ripping off another guitarist....I think it is a little pathetic. I caught SRV not long before he died in a small town Canadian arena and he really was one of a kind. Very unique, very cool and a real passion for the instrument. He just did subtle things that nobody else did. I'll just bet there are members of this forum that are innovators like EVH and SRV and I admire that!! You may never get the recognition you deserve, but at least you will never be a rip-off clone. This is JUST my opinion. I really don't wish KFC or KWS or whatever his name is any ill. He's making a good buck and doing more than I am!!!!!! Am I wrong on this one?? A lot? A little? or bang on?? What do YOU think!! Guitarman p.s. Originality is what drives me to make my dream guitar and to make it to my wishes and desires.....not someone else's.

Hey there Guitar dude... I'm waiting for a neck to arrive any day now. It was billed as a mighty-mite maple and ebony strat neck with 22 jumbo frets. We shall see. I suspect their idea of jumbo and mine might be different. I noticed that there are always a few necks on ebay...search using both "strat neck" and "stratocaster neck" and finally, "fender neck" to see all the items. Watch the ones that interest you and you can get a good price!!! Especially if it does not have "Fender" on the headstock. That little sticker seems to drive the price up noticeably. If you like something...email the seller and see if they will ship it to Canada if the shipping cost is covered by you. There are a few sellers that will not ship it north, either because of the hassle, or because we were not stupid enough to send our young soldiers to Iraq. Yes...some even said that. On that point...I wish I had the neck to tell you right now....but if it does have nice frets and is a solid/finished item...I got it for a steal at about $150 Canadian(shipping and neck!!). It is my opinion that Fender makes a nice guitar, but it is overpriced and they are trading on ridiculous premises. For example....roughing up a new strat to look like a relic and charging a mint for it. Try that with a car you are trying to sell!!!! Warmoth has a great site for talking about neck options (radius, truss rod, etc) and I believe that they make a fantastic neck.....but you can pay for it too!!! Anyway...agree or disagree with me...I hope I gave you some ideas. Guitarman

awesome replies guys!!! You rock!!! I have added the non-tremolo project and the tail-feather to my list of favourites and I will talk with a qualified tech and see what we wanna do. Silvertonessuckbut I got one... The big issue with splitting the colours (exactly as you have shown..nice work!) is that I also want to split the pickups colour as well. So it has to be PRECISE!!! I'm thinking I will ask the tech to mount the neck, bridge and hardware....then I can easily mark the centerline on the guitar. Making sure it runs right between the pole peices in the pickups for a perfect split personality!! It is not much to take the neck and bridge off and the guitar will not be wired up yet....so I can make my marks and bring the thing to a pro to paint wihout worries. I have not divulged the entire design....but I think it will be striking. Swamp ash strat body with mighty mite ebony neck with 22 jumbo frets....next comes three fender hot noiseless pickups and a tbx boost. That ought to make some noise. Thanks to all for the suggestions....VERY helpful. Guitarman

nobody has an opinion or an idea?

THIS is a cool forum and I am learning plenty. Two questions burning me now. 1. I have purchased a swamp ash strat body, unfinished and it is routed for a tremolo. I don't use em!! I could install the trem and just tighten the springs, or is there a bridge I can somehow mount to make this thing a hardtail??? 2. I want to bisect this strat right down the middle with two colours and it has to be accurate to look good. I need it so accurate that the pickguard covers can be divided right in the middle of the posts and can also be painted two colours. Can I give the body to a pro to paint, using the pickup routs and neck routs as the reference point. Could the pro paint dead center of those two points and then the pickups would line up perfect....or should I get the neck and pickups and everything built on, then paint the body. Love to hear any opinions or experience on this one. Thanks again for your earlier help!!! You rock!

You guys are awesome. You saved me a big headache and a healthy dose of money. Many, many thanks. Guitarman

I have an opportunity to lay my hands on a stratosonic neck for a good price....I am pretty sure this thing will fit on my unfinished strat body but I am worried!!! I worry I will end up with a useless neck. This thing is a 24 3/4" scale which is not standard scale... Will this work on a strat? Just a minor intonation adjustment....or radical disaster!! Am I doing a dumb thing?? You can be honest!! I would love to put this on my strat body, but it is a standard strat body that has a tremolo rout... I was going to block the trem anyway...or tighten the springs until the trem was meaningless. CAN I BUY THIS NECK OR IS THAT A BIG MISTAKE?!? Any information or opinion is DESPERATELY NEEDED for I am a newb building my first solidbody... Thanks to ANYONE who replies!!! Guitarman.