Upgrade Kit for Stratocaster

[customtele]

Originally Posted by roycew93

That’s my “77” Music Man StingRay 1.
You know, one of the Real Leo Music Mans. I love saying that, it get's the Ernie Ball guy’s all work up.



The reason the neck is off, I’m doing a fret job on it right now.

Making me drool again. The only thing I like better than blue is a nice natural.

[WRGKMC]

"Guy had a cool Idea on how you could 'audition' tone caps of different values to dial in the sound that you want."

You can use an old guitar cord and just solder a few clips and a pot in line so you can test caps and never have to open the guitar or heat an iron to test them out.

Heres a bad mouse drawing. You can go without the pot and litterally put the cap accross the jack to test maximum tone rolloff if you want.

[SoldierStape01]

Originally Posted by WRGKMC

"Guy had a cool Idea on how you could 'audition' tone caps of different values to dial in the sound that you want."

You can use an old guitar cord and just solder a few clips and a pot in line so you can test caps and never have to open the guitar or heat an iron to test them out.

Heres a bad mouse drawing. You can go without the pot and litterally put the cap accross the jack to test maximum tone rolloff if you want.

I think this is money right here.... I am going to actually sacrifice a small run of cord I have laying around with no good other uses.

[roycew93]

More great ideas I love it! Now all I have to do is get the parts. I want to go with a little darker tone, the GFS pups I put in it are a touch brighter than my reissue. And I what to get the two of them to sound pretty close to one another. Any suggestion on caps I should try? I’m looking for that vintage tone.

[mrbrown49]

Originally Posted by SoldierStape01

Just to follow up with what tele said. I found a cool article a while back on Premier Guitar. Guy had a cool Idea on how you could 'audition' tone caps of different values to dial in the sound that you want. It is a 2-parter, the first part has what I just mentioned and the second is basically a run down of the different 'types' of tone caps and the differences between them.

Premier Guitar Part 1

Premier Guitar Part 2

Originally Posted by WRGKMC

"Guy had a cool Idea on how you could 'audition' tone caps of different values to dial in the sound that you want."

You can use an old guitar cord and just solder a few clips and a pot in line so you can test caps and never have to open the guitar or heat an iron to test them out.

Heres a bad mouse drawing. You can go without the pot and litterally put the cap accross the jack to test maximum tone rolloff if you want.

Great idea guys and some great info in those articles. This is why I keep coming 'round here.

[customtele]

If that Watt guy would PTFA and ask questions his guitar would be up & running by now. BTW, PTFA stands for pay the fuck attention. Us Navy guys were doing this long before the advent of computers let alone texting.

[SoldierStape01]

I can only imagine some of the accronyms you have stored up from over the years...

[ettsn]

The second kit (~$36) looks like a good deal, as you'd be hard pressed to buy the CTS pots for much less than that. Three CTS 250k pots, Sprague orange drops, Switchcraft jack and some nice wire will be a nice upgrade.

How about this for an idea (maybe worth it's own post?): Setup an Esquire with a Tele control plate on backwards, but with a Strat style 5way, tied into the tone pot. Full forward would be clean, no cap, then four other cap values (.016, .022, .047, .068?). Gobs of tone options, all on a single pickup Tele... hmm...

[mrbrown49]

Originally Posted by ettsn

How about this for an idea (maybe worth it's own post?): Setup an Esquire with a Tele control plate on backwards, but with a Strat style 5way, tied into the tone pot. Full forward would be clean, no cap, then four other cap values (.016, .022, .047, .068?). Gobs of tone options, all on a single pickup Tele... hmm...

I will gladly subscribe to your mod thread. Include many pics please.

[alcam21]

Hi, first post here!

I had to comment on the above, as I upgraded EVERYTHING on my MIM strat a few years ago.

I undertook this after fitting some Fender Fat50s pickups, and not being that excited by the tone.

I looked into the difference between an old strat, new std usa and my mim. The main difference was the pickups and trem block. I came across a rolled steel block (heavier and denser) to replace the cast zinc item the strat had fitted.
http://www.specialtyguitars.com/trem.html
http://www.callahamguitars.com/
and whilst at it, changed all pots, caps and switches with the cryo treated ones from callaham.

I carefully soldered everything in, tuned and innotated the guitar, and the difference in sound was night and day. Long sustain, harmonics and great tone.

If you are changing the electronics, please consider the trem block too.

[customtele]

Originally Posted by alcam21

Hi, first post here!

I had to comment on the above, as I upgraded EVERYTHING on my MIM strat a few years ago.

I undertook this after fitting some Fender Fat50s pickups, and not being that excited by the tone.

I looked into the difference between an old strat, new std usa and my mim. The main difference was the pickups and trem block. I came across a rolled steel block (heavier and denser) to replace the cast zinc item the strat had fitted.
http://www.specialtyguitars.com/trem.html
http://www.callahamguitars.com/
and whilst at it, changed all pots, caps and switches with the cryo treated ones from callaham.

I carefully soldered everything in, tuned and innotated the guitar, and the difference in sound was night and day. Long sustain, harmonics and great tone.

If you are changing the electronics, please consider the trem block too.

Welcome to the dark side. I've heard the trem block can make a difference. Sounds like you took a logical approach. As long as I'm here....... That's why you got a night & day difference. Do it once, do it right & call it a day.

[WRGKMC]

I got a bunch of trem blocks left over from worn out trems. You can drill new holes if needed to mate up with the plate. You just need to be sure the trem arm hole isnt worn out. I have used larger replacement trems arms before. You want to keep the hole small when working the new arm in there. Nothing I worse than a loose arm with a bunch of schlock. One of these days I'm going to design a whammy tha works with the heel of the hand so you can rest your hand on it like the bridge and still be picking without having to hang onto the arm with the fingers.

[alcam21]

Says it all really.

[drunkinminer]

Lots of info can be found here. http://www.strat-talk.com/

[customtele]

Originally Posted by WRGKMC

One of these days I'm going to design a whammy tha works with the heel of the hand so you can rest your hand on it like the bridge and still be picking without having to hang onto the arm with the fingers.

Time for a B&B session, aka beer & brainstorming. I'd go to a trem guitar if this design pans out. Maybe design something similar to a heel & toe shifter on a motorcycle?

[WRGKMC]

Thats the same block I have on my strat now. Add a brass nut and brass saddels and you have both sustain and warmth.

[customtele]

I have zero experience with brass nuts. My question concerns cutting them. Standard nut files? Makes sense from a longevity standpoint. And with a trem you do have a bit of self lubrication from the brass.

[SoldierStape01]

Do they sell brass nut blanks???? Or do you just get a piece of brass and do it completely homemade....

[katillac]

Originally Posted by SoldierStape01

Do they sell brass nut blanks???? Or do you just get a piece of brass and do it completely homemade....

They do make blanks. I've seen them on eBay. I'm not yet confident enough to do my own slotting, so I'll leave that to you guys. I'm still considering a brass nut for my Douglas with a spacer underneath it and raising the bridge on my Douglas and using it for slide play. I can save the Graphtech bridge I bought for it, for another guitar. I'm sure there will be other guitars in my life.

[WRGKMC]

You guys got to try one. They're definately worth the effort.
Yes they do make blanks but are a bit harder to find. Yes they are self lubricating and dont notch out like other nuts. They tend to remain smooth. The only drawback is you need to polish them up occasionally when they get dull. You can polish them then hit them with some clear laquer to maintain their shine if you want.

Tone wise they're my absolute favorite. Except for bone on an acoustic, I like them best.

Its a fairly soft metal to cut. It cuts slow so theres more work involved. I can tell you this, I've screwed up more bone and graphite nuts in my day because they cut too fast. Brass can be reused too. You can remove it with zero harm for say refretting and reinstall afterwards so long as the overall height or shimming isnt an issue.

You can find the strat type fairly easily. The Gibson type are harder to find but I have used many of those as well.

Sound wise they make the guitar jangle with open chords. Its a good jangle and not to be mistaken for steel like the LSR roller nuts which I think sound terrible in comparison.

The other benifit is the harmonics between the nut and a bar chord remain bright. A standard nut will tend to homoginise those harmonics dulling them. Doing pulloffs and hammerons between open strings and fretted notes with the guitar cranked is where you really tell a difference.

They may not be a choice of a super bright single coil because it may have too much definition. But for most other cases, it will be the last nut job on that guitar.

I have a few blanks left in my stash. I have a few guitars with the Earvana nuts. I'm not completely sold on them. I miss the brass brightness and tightness and they have an issue returning to tune with whammy bars and bends because of the wide surface the strings lay on.
I may leave the one on my epiphone dot and go back to brass on the strats. My one strat used to nail the dire straights sound. Now it sounds muddy even though they do correct root chord sharp notes, and forget about using the whammy, you spend hours retuning.
The good thing is the earvana installs are easily reversable. Just unscrew the the string guide and knock out the blank like any other nut.