Strat Project
This is the guitar that got me into assembling Fender-style “partscasters”. I didn’t put it together, but right after I got it I made a new nut, rewired it, and put in the first of several sets of new pickups. The neck it came with is from a U.S. made California Series Strat, from 1997 or so. It never seemed like quite the right neck for this guitar. The guy who originally ordered the guitar specified a wide, vintage-style string spacing at the bridge (a gold Callaham, pricey), and this neck didn’t quite fit that spec. So, after the great results I got with my project Tele and Esquire, I decided to order up and install a new Allparts neck on the Strat.
Long story short: the neck fit the Warmoth alder body perfectly with only a bit of sanding. This neck has jumbo frets, 22 of them in fact, and after some level-and-crown massaging, plays great. I re-installed the gold vintage-style Gotoh tuners and a gold string tree and made a nut out of Stew-Mac’s vintage bone. I think the rosewood fretboard makes the fundamental of the note stronger. The maple-board Fender neck always made this guitar sound a little too “tinselly” to me. Can’t prove it (this is an issue that is hotly debated on some guitar forums) but I am happy. The body is just shy of four and a half pounds, which I think is a good weight for Strats.
So, once again…lightweight, resonant wood, great parts, a tight neck-to-body joint, and a good setup make a great guitar. It ain’t rocket science, but it’s fun!