Building my own custom Fender Stratocaster - 100% Walnut chambered body from Warmoth - Fender American Stratocaster neck - One piece solid Rosewood - Seymour Duncan P-Rails HSH setup with 49 possible combinations
As a beginning guitarist (1 month, 5 lessons) and an intermediate woodworker, just thinking about eventually building my own (read 1 book so far), this is giving me all sorts of ideas. I’ve got a long way to go before I could build something that doesn’t far exceed my ability to play it, but this is inspiring to think about.
I really enjoyed this. The guitar looks amazing. You should add a few sound samples at the end! I came across this because I am putting together a HSH strat of my own. I took a lot of inspiration from this.
You are right, and I will do that. I am still working out how to record the guitar tones so they sound the same in the video as in person, but as soon as I figure it out, I will upload dome sound samples for sure. Thank you!
Great stuff. I did something similar in 1979 already. Also a walnut body but with a maple/rosewood neck. I have 20 different pickup options with 3 single coils. There is also a preamp/ booster built in my superstate, giving me everything between a very clean tone to a chord tone that would scare Tony Iommy and a lead tone that would make Santana run for cover. Obviously it also makes standard strat tones and also the preamp tones by Clapton and Gilmour. Back in 1979 then there were no P-rails. I now wished there were. Btw I have design planned for a new guitar that goes even more bonkers: over 1500 (!) pickup options. Will be fun if I ever get to it.
I have a similar project going on. Rosewood neck large headstock from Warmouth 500.bucks HSH Seymore Duncan, Hot rodded set humbuckers and a quarter pounder single coil in the middle. I went with the Alder body. also Warmouth. ( oiled it ) I was actually looking at the same body you used and considered Mahogany etc. but price was an issue. Almost went with the Tele body. Thing is a guy can always change bodies, necks, pickups etc. no limits. Gold frets, Sperzel tuners, Wilkenson Vibrato bridge. Tortushell pick guard. It's funny. I'm having trouble finding the wire diagram for the configuration I want to use. I'm not looking for a great many selections. It's an HSH with a 5 way. 1 volume 1 Tone. The tone will be push pull to split the humbuckers. I just want the 5 way to work as a 5 way in either up or down on the push pull. All the push pull should do is split the humbuckers. So it's kind of a Strat when up Humbucker when sown. CAN'T find it anywhere! I never liked how close the fender Vol is to the strings. I always hit it accidently so I orderd a guard with two holes. eliminating the usual vol location. Once this project is done I'm going to make a Shop Strat to experiment on. Get a cheap neck and bolt it up to an old body I have. Then get some cheep or used pick guards etc. and load up various combinations. That way next project will be easier. The planning and the budget took the most time. As you said. I can easily calculate somewhere around..$1,300. to $1,500., but it's fun and a learning experience. You can buy a Fender HSH for around $600.$ 700 but Not with the rosewood neck and custom personal touches. If anyone happens to know where I can find the wiring I'm looking for let me know. As of yet it seems I'll have to settle for something else. Good luck>>
Wow, that sounds amazing. As for the writing diagrams, I’ll look around. I have gotten a few from Seymour Duncan’s site, as well as 920D and Fralin. If I find any I’ll let you know.
Fair point. It sounds closer to a Les Paul Modern Axcess model, which usually has a Floyd Rose in it, like my Alex Lifeson model. But as far as the pickup tone alone, it's very similar to a Gibson Burstbucker sound.
I bought the neck from Fender, and some of the parts, such as the tuners and bridge. So that's why there are Fender logos on some of it. I bought the raw walnut body from Warmoth and finished it myself. Then ordered the pickups, and pots, and soldered those in.
If you haven’t man go check out Brian May of queen his guitar is one of a kind build he did with his dad when he was a kid, even the pick ups are home made
Sorry, I changed the pickups recently for an experiment. However, I am posting a video with the same pickups in another guitar this week, and I will circle back around to this guitar with the new pickups in it as soon as I can.
Fair question. Two main reasons.. 1 I am not very good yet. I was a collector for years, but just started taking lessons last year. Second, I have had some nerve damage in my left arm, and have a hard time pressing down hard enough to make the notes sound clear. I am working on strengthening my hand to hopefully be able to do some basic tone samples in future videos.
Those jack of all trades SD pickups lack the true sound in each pickup mode in my opinion. Tried them twice and junked them. I`d rather have three or five selections that actually sound good. Beautiful guitar though.
Fair enough. I really like the P90 and the parallel humbucker sounds on these, but I do not like the single coil hot rail tone very much. So I ended up putting a set of Fralin vintage single coils in this Strat, and moved the P-rails to my Epiphone Les Paul. (video on my channel) I think they sound better in that guitar, and I’m loving the Fralins in the Strat. (I’ll make a video on that one soon)
2 mins in and not a word about the pickups. 3 mins in and not a word about the pick ups. 4 mins in and not a word about the pickups. 4:53 the word pickup is used.
