sumphead

I have to agree with Mr. Swede. But I would say scale legth first, then pick-ups as even after market tele-type pups sound twangy too. I guess I would say pick ups first as long as they are tele-ish. Lip stick tubes sound pretty tele-ish in the neck pos of a strat, at least mine does. R-

I'll start saving 'em... You wouldn't happen to be playing anotellis this Sat. would you? I'll be home for a visit. R-

Im still a rookie by all senses of the word both player and builder. I do however have a passion for the strat and tele. I have 6 actually. Not all fenders either. One of my favorite guitars is a squire tele. I changed the pickguard and knobs for the aesthetic appeal and the pups are the GFS vintage. So for less than around $60 I have a tone monster. As for the strats I even have a charvel strat with a set of pups from a G&L lagacy that is well straty. I would leave the nut and frets as long as they are "good enough" and you can play them, but GFS is great for just this sort of thing as they are not top quality but definately worth the prices. Perhaps one of thier wired pickguards to choose your fancy and then replace those pups with the hot strat set in the clearance section? For $50 that's would change the sound and pretty it up bit. HTH, R-

I loved them all and envied the skills even more. Godins work had me awe-struck. It was Setch's bobbin covers that sealed the deal for me. R-

Everyone here had valid points. For me it sounds like a deal even in less than perfect condition. Now when I was in high school, there would have been nothing better to buy, at any amount that I could wrangle, for whatever it was that I was into at the moment. Not many descisions you make (except really stupid ones) are going to effect you at all in your near adult life. Again for me, even though I make a better than average living, "mikeynomics" don't go to well with the financial czar (AKA the wife). I would have to justify it somehow like, selling off one of the kids---er I mean another guitar. I apologize for turning a simple question into a life lesson but don't sweat it either way. Your job as a teen is to get what you can when you can and chase girls. Ooo and drive too fast, stay out to late, and try not to piss off your parents too much...

There are tons of opinions on tools and you will get answes that vary greatly. So, here's another one: The General rule of thumb that you get what you pay for is true for the most part though I think there is a lot of overpriced junk as well. When it comes to Delta I am under the opinion that there are two types of products; the good with a price tag and the cheap/cheaply made. I have a Delta X5 unisaw tablesaw that I would sell off one of the kids to keep. 52" Biesy fence and I dropped a router (porter cable) in the end of the extention. I also have a Delta 10" miter saw that the wife bought as a gift a few years back because it had the Delta logo. I think it was around $100 new and it definately isn't top shelf. Porter Cable was aquired by Delta and are still all quilty as far as I know. And I have also heard rumer that Some of the Craftsman Pro grade/series of power tools are contracted out to both Delta and Bosch. Bosch is quality IMO as well, though I have never owned one. Can't say much about Ryobi as there is no HD near me and that seems to be the house brand anymore, but I have heard a few good things about thier contractor table saws. Hitachi has become a favorite of mine lately too. Well priced quility stuff. HTH, R-

Possum you shouldn't buy any of them. You should put what you have in a box and send it to me! :0) I've become somewhat of a strat junkie lately. So far I am up to 3. Well 2 1/2 as I broke the headstock on one last night. I threw up a little... But it was a bastard strat anyway. Seriouslt though, I love my new hobby of building, but I also love the classics and an original neck is the way to go. What's wrong with the exsisting neck? Wanna sell it to offset the cost? *GRIN* I seem to be in need on one, LOL. R-

While I am fairly certain it will work on other hardened finishes as well I can only speak for poly... Being an acrylic geek there is a product called NOVUS available relatively cheaply. It is a 3 part mild abrasive liquid kit used for removing scratches from acrylic. Starting at part three, which I find slightly more abrasive than regular compounds then part two, which I find most useful. It seems slightly less abrasive than other compounds for a nicer finish with less swirls to deal with. Part one is simply a polish/cleaner. I will post pics once my retore project is completed, but I though I would share if some of the more expert users here would like to give it a shot. It is readily available at any plastic supplier (look in the yellow pages) and is relavitely cheap at around $7 per bottle retail. I think it's like 10 oz bottles and goes a long way. Another tip, it that use a soft cotton cloth daiper on a palm sander and it takes out a lot of manual rubbing and swirls, but a regular buffing wheel would work fine as well. If you can't find it locally and want to try it our, let me know. Maybe I can get a sample or two. HTH, R-

GF shipping is very reasonable and I think you can add it to the cart and calculate cost from there without checking out anyway. Or you can do what I just did and buy $200 worth to get free shipping (I'm a sucker for a deal, LOL). Actually I bought the hardware for my next two projects, but the hardtail bridge I went with blueflame music on eBay. They look sharper with heavier metal around the saddles. Just search hardtail strat bridge. The mightly might is what I ended up with. It can to $20 shipped I think. HTH, R-

SOLD, thanks all R-

Hey guys here's the post I made over at the "other" site. I thought I'd offer it up here before going to the shop or eBay. Man I hate doing that. Here's was the post: Serial Number: E743339 I was told by the original owner he bought it in 84 or 85 and the serial numbers were not sequential. If you use the serial number theory it would make it a 1987. It is in fabulous condition for it's age with very few nicks as described below. All Original fender pick ups, sealed "fender japan" tuners. ORIGINAL Kahler trem with locking nut. This is not the Kahler marked for Fender like most this is actual OEM Kahler USA trem with all of the fine tuners. Metallic Red with white 3-ply pickguard (in great shape) and naturally aged knobs and pup covers. Traditional the single body route with no obvious paint fade from under the pickguard. Neck pocket is very clean. The neck and pocket are both match marked ST-625 K (. The rear trem cover is recessed and there are a few small nicks in the body where the cover meets the body. There are several small body dings "dimples" that are so small and fine that they are not pictureable and only noticable when holding the guitar up close. None of these are even through the finish and could be buffed out it ease. The only chips through the finish are on the bottom back near the strap button and fairly small at that. The headstock logo is perfect with the serial number. There are a few small dings on the bottom back edge ofthe headstock from what looks like cymbal slaps, but I doubt this guitar was ever gigged. The neck is a strait 22 fret with a rosewood fretboard. the frets show a little wear but whoever owned it preiously obviously did not play lead. Most of the wear is on the first 4 frets. There is still plety of life left in them. Another tiny (I mean small)ding to mention on the bottom edge of the fretboard at the 9th fret but in not only barely noticable but doea not effect playability at all. The action is currently set to a medium low, but of course sould be set up for your preferences. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to mention everything. This is an awesome Strat and in Excellent condition for it's age. Very vintage feel almost a subtle relic without the beating. It's beautiful and I love her, but I want a maple board on an oly white. $300 Shipped. Other pics: www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat2.jpg www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat3.jpg www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat4.jpg www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat5.jpg www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat6.jpg www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat7.jpg www.magnumreefsystems.com/strat8.jpg The only trades I will consider is for another strat in as good condition in with maple/maple neck. This is a great axe! Thanks R- Indianapolis, IN I think I forgot to add the $300 shipped is to the conus only and I would prefer to only send there as I have never shipped outside the US before. But I will if buyer is willing to pay shipping. This will ship as well packed as I can make it or as requested. But I plan on including a new padded fender gig bag. Padded then again in a standard box. But I am open to suggestion. Thanks all, R-

Primal that is a pretty awesome idea. I'll kick it around... Yeah Mick, I have a few different bodies, but the exchange program just makes more sense for everyone involved. I am excited and can't wait for the acrylic to start flyin' Oooo Oooo that smell... R-

Hey Rob thanks for jumping on board. It seems like most everyone wants something else in exchange for the original which is a great plan as long as it works out ok with getting the originals from eveyone. Let me work through these and/or use you as a standby if someone doesn't get them sent out. I would definately love to have a strat on hand. R-

Hey D, I've given a lot of thought to it and perhaps after my current projects I might. The biggest issue with that at the moment is that I only stock 1" acrylic. Since I buy wholesale I would have to buy an enitre sheet of 1.75 and that runs up to $1500 per sheet. I could solvent bond two sheets together, but a bond that large may alter the caritly a little. I will play with it from time to time though and gauge results. As for the temps I think we are almost there. I have a positve response from Duff and Skatz (PMS sent). Pm sent to algee as well. R-

Great it sounds like a good start. Duff would you want the explorer back in acrylic or one of the others? Skats couls send the PRS and get the explorer in return. And AlGee I would love both the LP and the tele. Would you want both back in acrylic or would you like the PRS or Explorer? Of course I'll send all the originals back too. Heck I can even offer black acrylic as an option (though I think seeing the centerline would be one the biggest benefits). Let me know guys and I'll PM the address. Ronnie

Hey I think we're on to something. Would the PRS be a single or double cut away? I know at the moment I have enough acrylic in cutoffs to do at least 10 bodies or 5-6 complete sets. R-

Thanks Duff, I am not totally out on any of those ideas. I would actually like to build up a collection different styles. Let me look into those designs a little, and I'll let you know. R-

OK here's the deal. Since I am an acrylic fabricator I have the medium but no starting point. I am wanting to reduce the margin of error as much as possible (acrylic is not a forgiving medium). So if interested I would like you to send me your templates in mdf, ply, masonite, or anything that can be flush trimmed so I can copy it and I will also make you a copy in cell cast acrylic and send it back to you. Sort of a win-win for just the cost on the one-way shipping. I'll pay to send both the original and acrylic copy back. These templates will be made from cell cast acrylic (hard resin poured acrylic) this stuff is HARD and does not melt or scratch very easily. Not to be confused with extruded acrylic from Lowes or HD. I make big aquariums out of this stuff. I will use larger cut-off from my other acrylic projects so I may even use up to 1/2" material (no more bearing skip). At the moment I am looking for tele and smaller LP syles, but I can accomodate almost anything. Thoughts. R-

I knew I was forgetting something! Aw, hell another CNN interview to avoid. Actually we have a bitchin' break/work policy. We can't work for more than two hours at a time in fear that our brains will melt. R- SIDE NOTE: Hey MODS please fix the spelling in the title. There's nothin' like being the idiot who mis-types the title in his first thread.

I agree totally with you guys. But being a first restore/custom project I would n't have wanted to screw anything up IF it were a collector. I didn't really care. In any case it is not one of the older non-numbered models. The inside of the neck is stamped 20 Feb 1997. The body (after removing several stickers) is solid. Too soon to tell but I am almost positive it's alder. So it turns out to be a fairly good looking pre-fender (2002) player. I couldn't be more satisfied. Thanks for the "bucket" msound. I'm at work but will get pics later today assmbled and in pieces. R-

OK guys this dating is driving me nuts. This from the Jackson website: "NOTE 1: There were approximately 750 Bolt-on Charvels made from 1979-1981 without serial numbers. The first serial number used was a Strat-style guitar with the Heineken beer bottle label painted on it, November 9th, 1981. These neck plates say "Charvel PO Box 245, San Dimas, Ca, 91773". The last Early Charvel was#5491, built in January of 1986. Neck plates with numbers 5492 and up were supposedly destroyed but some of them do turn up from time to time...BUYER BEWARE!! These are not real Jacksons!" Possible I have 1 of 750? I know, I know a pic. Yeah well my usual host is dead. I business website but I am completely too stupid to know how to do it without having my web guru do it. Cute FTP pro something..blah blah. R-

Ahh, I see. I did not know that. Good news - I talked him down to $60. Bad news, I still can't date it. I took some pics, I'll try and get em up soon. Now for the fun of openening it up. It sounded excellent when I got it home and tuned it up. R-

I never really give much thought to noise. But it is about the same as the smaller PC but nothing is as loud and the 3hp. I would bet it would be quieter than a skil for sure. R-

Yup I have one, and it;s one of my favorites. I use a 1-1/4 Porter Cable for smaller stuff and used to use a 3HP PC monster for the tougher jobs. I now use the hitachi for that. With the 1/2" shank I can burn through 1" cast acrylic with no sweat. It seams to be very well built and has less chatter than the big PC. Worth every penny. R-

Sweet! I used to hang out at antonelli's all the time. Since I am a Charvel-idiot I have to ask what you mean by "pre-Fender Charvel"? R-