I literally made a Partscaster with the help of one of my great friends out of a Classic Vibe two-piece body, Fender MiM V-Profile neck and Hot Rod pickups. We found a sticker on Etsy that said Fender Partscaster and so we bought it, rubbed off the Fender Stratocaster on the neck and stuck that one on in its place. I can tell you a few things, one is that it feels better to play than any Strat I've tried from Fender, and two is that it feels absolutely wonderful watching your masterpiece come to life.
I enjoyed this immensely as the relic custom shop Fender Stratocaster bug has bitten me lately. Been jamming Lynyrd Skynyrd songs on my Strat and it's been alot of fun and that's what playing guitar is all about.
"Profile" strats...made in Japan in the 80's are great Guitars. I changed the pickups on mine to Dimarzio silent single coils and it sounds as good as any USA Strat. It's worth keeping an eye out for Profile guitars. They where so close to Fender that Fender took them to court and shut them down. I've seen them sell for as little as $300.
Not just Profile strat copies...pretty much any 70s Japanese strat copy made in Matsomuko are amazing guitars. I have a early 1970s CMI strat copy that is specced like a 50s strat. Bought it for £50, and put in £250 worth of upgrades (Jescar stainless steel frets, Tex Mex pickups, SuperVee Bladerunner bridge, Freeway 10-way selector switch) - and now its an absolute beast of a guitar.
I subbed. I've a wonderful Partscaster myself. MIM Fender custom body ( 2 humbuckers, no single coils) and an MIA Fender Custom Shop neck with gold tuners. Electric blue with white pearloid pickguard and black knobs and pup caps. Just got it a couple of hours ago for $250 CAD, and I'm already in love with it.
DARRYL FULTON thanks for doing that. I’m very fond of that Strat - it’s a mongrel but a great guitar. Thanks for watching and the kind words. Best Matt
from every person I've seen say mim strats are really an exceptional value. I bought one in 08 and love it and aside from little things every $1100 guitar i play at the local shop isn't massively better. I saw one with an exceptional fret job with rounded frets but aside from that (and pickup variations) it didn't strike me as say twice as good at twice the price. plus i plan to do some fret end work on my own and swap out the pickups making it even better (hopefully). And total it'll still come out at maybe $120 bucks more instead of $500. not to mention in 2008 the economy crap and the mim i bought new was at least $100 cheaper than they go for now and i've seen them even $200 more.
I'm not sure I meant to sound like I'm playing it down... I actually kept that white japanese Strat and sold the US one to a mate. Thanks for watching! Matt.
TONE There isn’t any Japanese wood, they haven’t any natural resources so they purchase raw wood from America and ship it to Japan to mill there. This is probably a plus due to their quality control. ( A Nissan will last longer than a Chevy) I think he is probably referring to its monetary worth when finished compared to an American made one. This seems backwards from how it should be, but it’s just the way that it is.
@@michaelalbro6856 It has to do with their culture and their ingrained aversion to shame, or embarrassment, bringing shame to your employer or your family is like the worst possible wrong one can do in Japan.
buying a loaded pickguard and saying ''this should have some nice pickups in it'' makes absolutely no sense to me. the wiring part and electronics are probably the easiest thing to do and pickups are the heart of your sound. so choosing your own and putting it in by yourself is the key point for me. and to prove my point, the luthier had to resolder the thing. :D still, i decided to dive into the partscaster thing because less and less guitars fit my needs, as i learn new stuff, and this seems to be the easiest, most intuitive thing to do to get yourself a true workhorse guitar. so props for this video and everyone making them :)
ha. a funny thing happened after this... i have an old green squier strat that i've dismantled years ago (which happens to be my first electric guitar). i get excited and say to myself ''lets make it new!'' i order a pack of seymour duncan single coils, get a nice neck from my buddy (now i owe him $$$ for that piece :( )..... and then figure out that affinity strats have a different size neck joints, so nothing fits.... needless to say, the mailman will bring new pickups this week and i have to put that on hold untill i get a new body. the moral of this story....everything doesn't fit, so when building these out of old parts be sure to double check the measurements. peace out! :)
this was very enjoyable, and that strat looks nice. i like the look of the neck, it looks like it feels good. a mate just did a long needed setup on my strat and it's nice to have it in working order after many years.
I disagree. When we got a closeup of the neck when he was playing, the finish looks awful, and not in a good “relic” way. It looked like a sloppy finish. And for some reason the pick guard looks cheap. I just ordered a cheap pick guard and now I’m worried it will also have an obvious cheap look to it. Maybe I’m just being weird and maybe I’m wrong. That’s just my opinion. That being said, the relic job on the body is a good look. It sounds nice.
I’m now looking up close at the pick guard. Paused at 4:11. I see why o don’t like the pick guard. It doesn’t have the black pinstripe around the edges to help separate the colors and lines. It throws me off. It need the black stripe. Again, just my opinion. And paused at 4:11 the neck looks a bit better. Maybe it was the lighting that made it look awful earlier. I bought some cheap parts to finish a partscaster that has some pricey bits to it. I hope I made the right choices on where to save money.
Knowing how to make a good guitar is knowledge, but it's no rocket science, anyone who knows what they are doing, can make a great partscaster, and if someone REALLY knows what they are doing, they can build something better then anything fender or any company has ever produced, your imagination is the limit.
I totally agree Nathan - my white Japanese start has been built up and it's one of the best strats I've played and it only cost $1200 to make:) Thanks for watching cheers Matt.
as a novice researching such a project i think one hurdle (for a novice like me) is deciphering what is a good affordable piece of hardware that is still good quality and what is just cheap crap/pot metal as they say. It's not insurmountable, it's just takes a bit of work.
Quite right, Der Red. As I mentioned elsewhere, I quite like Guitar Fetish. Yes, they're sourcing Asian parts, I gather; but there's Asian and then there's Asian, it's often a case of "caveat emptor," y'know? So far I've found that their parts quality is generally quite good -- they're selling Wilkinson-brand trems with steel blocks, for example -- and the set neck/body combo I got from 'em had a nearly-perfect neck right out of the box. Sure, I'll get to do a complete fret job, but at those prices, one expects to do a certain amount of work. I hear the cheap necks should be avoided (they have two separate grades,) but the better-grade necks and all the bodies have gotten good reports, near as I can tell. A far cry from a guitar kit I got a year ago from BYO, that had every single hole and inlet done wrong. GFS pickups are inexpensive, but if ya check out a variety of You Tube vids, a lot of 'em sound great! Just a matter of personal preference. I'm sure I'd love Lollars and Lindy Fralins, and I'll get some as soon as I win next week's lottery. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to seeing how my GFS tele pickups sound, once my Tele project is done! Best thing a novice can do is learn, learn, learn. You'll see lots of conflicting info out there; take yer best shot, where some of that stuff is concerned. You DON'T need a thousand bucks worth of tools, as certain folks will try to tell you. Learn as much as you can, and your project is half done!
Get the most affordable strat(even a squier bullet will do) that you like the feel of when you hold and play it and change the crappy parts: ...put a tusq nut in there...new tuners and bridge or at least a new bridge block(brass or stainless steel) and deck it, and new electronics....you ll have a strat as good as anything.....if you spend the time to detail the frets to perfection(i would install new jumbo stainless steel ones) and set it up just right it, ll feel like a boutique instrument(sand the cheap poly and oil the guitar if that also bothers u)...presto...you can have a boutique feeling instrument for around 400 dollars.
Brendan Mason is the only guy I go to for all my guitars. He’s an amazing luthier and such a wonderful man. Go and see the guys at Real Guitars for your guitar setups.✨👌👌👌👍👍👍🇦🇺🇦🇺
The reason I relic'd it was I couldn't be bothered respraying it after the previous owner had sanded it back:) It's super guitar that white strat:) Thanks for watching!
Sell the parts as a partscaster project kit and put the original squier parts back in and sell it at market price. That way you have the parts for another Fender type build in your build inventory.
Good video, i really enjoyed it. I'll watch some of the other vids in the series because i've always fancied doing a partscaster. Do't know if i'll do one but i still find the videos really interesting and informative so you never know maybe these videos will persuade me to do one.
I like my partcaster-strat a lot, but what bothers me is a weight of a whole guitar = 3,8kg. It has a really good&massive brass block and saddles, but i asuume that those 200-300g extra comes from a wooden parts. Are hevier wooden parts good or bad(cheep)?
Partscastering is the way to go. If done right with a lil bit of skill and know how... BETTER THAN THE CUSTOM SHOPS! It wil rival the quality but be even better since it's speced to your fav parts/shapes/feel/comfort/tone.
I found a gorgeous 1 of a kind body on eBay, hopefully I can get it, and I plan on putting a roasted maple warmoth neck on it, not sure about any of the hardware yet.
Good video, but one thing I've noticed - the neck is very high in the pocket, the bridge screws must be on their max, usually unstable in my experience of building (many) partscasters. Doubt it's a Fender JP or Squier neck. If it wasn't for that immediate observation it looks like a great 50's replica !
I'm sure the Fender custom shop bits are really good; sounds just fine on my computer speakers, anyway! Have to wonder, though, if you might not achieve comparable quality for a lot less cash, by going with GFS (Guitar Fetish) parts. I'm parts-building a Tele at the moment with their stuff, and so far, so good.
@2:50 Brenden talks about adjusting the G-pole pieces (magnets). Do you have any info on how he did this? I hear it can ruin the pickup if they are not plastic bobbin type. I tried to see what type the Classic 50s Player pickups were but couldn't tell. Thanks.
Hi Nathan that's a bit technical for my knowledge. I'm seeing Brenden on the weekend so I'll try to remember to ask him and let you know. Otherwise Brenden is Real Guitars in Melbourne he's very approachable so I'm sure he would tell you if you emailed him. Thanks for watching cheers Matt.
Classic vibe neck with locking fender tuners. ONE piece alder body must be a good weight! Wilkinson are better quality than fender for the bridge ( same price) bone nut, loaded fender pickguard. £350 all in.
Hey Connor I bought the Custom Shop parts second hand at a heavily discounted price. The custom shop bridge and trem block I would highly recommend... the other parts are not so important. Thanks for watching!
Was there anything in that body that proves that it's really a Japanese body, or you just took the seller's word for it? And also, how much did you pay for all those parts? Thanks...
One have to be careful about what tremolo to get. US stratocasters are a bit thicker than mexican and japanese. So you risk having the block poke out from the body if you don't get the correct one.
TONE its not a huge deal, But the block will interfere with the lid at the rear and springs will be a little exposed. I got myself a fender customshop tremolo with a mashined brass block. It was meant for fender USA, so it did not fit my squier build.
I honestly thought to be careful of which trem or bridge you get because a MIM strat has a shorter string spacing than say, a US-made one. I believe that the MIJ ("crafted" is a wonderful crap word once put on a machine-made guitar) string spacing is the same as US.
Michael Carey the custom shop term block fitted the crafted in Japan body perfectly. IMHO the crafted in Japan body and neck are really nice. The body is light and very resonate. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Matt
All is great but moving pole piece magnets inside the coil is dangerous and there is no 100% safe way to do it without interfering with the pickup specs. You can apply heat to melt the potting thus softening the coil surrounds but this changes the pole piece magnetic charge. Then, you must recharge the magnets if you have the proper tooling but they'll never be as they left Fender CS.
I like it. In fact anyone buying a premade new relic at what they are asking at custom shops is ridiculous. You'll do best to get a true relic by doing with building on actually parts that saw use and weathering then putting each together from different places and etc. Forming in theory the love child of many used strats. To me that's character. anywho just a strat guy. Lol
After watching for 2 mins I thought... wtf... you have bought all these parts and are not going to put it together yourself? I know time is precious, but man, the reward of assembling your own axe - not just buying the parts and giving them to someone who knows how to bolt it together. I'm sad for you. I have just finished my scratch build partcaster - by that I mean I bought the pick-ups, pots, switches and wire and soldered it all up. I used a fender neck and body (I am not a woodworker or luthier) and sourced all my parts. Then I put it together and researched how to set it up. Today, I just finished the intonation, and it is beautiful :) Come on man... do it again and assemble it yourself. I'm sure it will sound great, but you would connect more if you had invested the time in it.
All guitars are CNC routed. That doesn't exclude the fact that some are better than others. I've had my share of made in japan guitars and they always performed better than their western counterparts. And yes even cheap models such as the Strat played in the vid.
The difference between a California Series strat, which is pretty much a 62 reissue, and a Japanese 62 reissue is that after playing both of them back to back, you'd try to find the sucker to buy the Japanese one so you could buy TWO of the California ones. Sure, the Japanese ones might have been great for the value, but the California ones are even a better value, and better all-around quality.
Might make it feel better to play though and could slightly change the tone. More important things to keep in mind are the friction on the string (at the nut, bridge etc.) And if the string can slip (stretching strings after a re-string can usually ensure that the strings are pretty stable.)
The main reasons squires have bad intonation is that they leave the factory with too much bend in the neck, so the customer doesn't complain about fret buzz on arrival. And also they tend not to cut the nut slots deep enough so it causes the notes in the first few frets to be wildly sharp. Once you solve these 2 problems there's no reason you shouldnt be able to perfectly intonate the guitar with intonation screws on the bridge.
it might, but it's better to change the nut and strings and get a proper full set-up done. CV's are usually playable from the shop, but everything lower than that should be getting a full setup
Hey Wes, I guess I've always had the perception in the 1990's that the Japanese were a step down from the USA guitars. Perhaps with time this can perhaps be rightly questioned. I love my Crafted in Japan 90's Strat - especially the neck:)
TONE Why would anyone dress frets that we’re worn badly anyway? They should of been replaced and levelled initially,your guitar tech saw you coming mate, you should look for someone else!
Chances are you'll save a bunch of money buying a used Mexican or Japan fender and putting pickups in it that will save you money the only thing fun about doing this is building it up and seeing what comes out of it don't get me wrong I would do it if I had money to burn
ostertag89 At last someone else who see’s it as it is,why would anybody spend 1200 dollars on doing up something like this?Iv’e just bought a Mexican Strat deluxe HSS for £700 brand new,with all the latest upgrades,locking tuners,2 point floating bridge,full access heel joint,S1 switching for the humbucker,noiseless pickups,mint scratchplate and aged knobs and switch tip,complete with Fender gig bag.Vastly superior instrument! Sheer lunacy in my book!!
Well that depends on if you want your partcaster to sound like a fender or if you want it to sound like what it is😂😂😂 if you get a slimmer neck guitar and want it to sound like a fender, you’ll have to choose your pickups wisely
Says he doesn’t want to overinvest and then buys custom shop everything lol. That’s the very definition of over investing lol. Great guitar though. I made a Partscaster using all fender American everything to include the body and neck along with custom shop pickups.
Lennon asked Donovan, how do you do that arpeggio? Donovan said: Come home and I'll explain. Days later Lennon composed Julia, a subject that is a thousand times superior to everything that Donovan composed, ha ha
To Make agood guitar first of all you have to know how to pick the right body and combinedwith the right neck everything else is just minor things ...not everybody know to do this they just pick pieces and think they make good guitars ...but its not that simple..😉
I don't care what Fender wants to call it. It is NOT a Tremolo. Tremolo is a change in VOLUME. VIBRATO is a change in pitch. That is a VIBRATO system. Period.
Your luthier didn’t string the tuners right; those are vintage Fender style, or Grovers. They work great when used correctly. Oh wait, you put a capo on the guitar... what a waste...
Terry Hesticles c'mon, you know you love relicing. I like it if it's actually road worn and not bashed, thats dumb. Why would you spend more money on a bashed up guitar than a new one????