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Max Online: 390 @ 10/02/12 01:42 PM
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#292533 - 04/02/12 10:50 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Megi]
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Ape09090
Old Timer
Registered: 01/12/11
Posts: 1188
Loc: South Wales
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very cool to see those fella's doing it the same way and I'd agree with the 24'' one myself,that length would give me a more confident approach knowing that full contact for the full length of the neck was there
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#292548 - 05/02/12 11:06 AM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Ape09090]
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Oldjono
Professional Forumite!
Registered: 15/09/09
Posts: 852
Loc: Dorset
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Looks brilliant, how much was the overall cost of the parts? If Fender made it what would their build costs be? Then there is their 'mark up' to consider too. (We appreciate they would get their parts at a fraction of the cost we mortals have to pay) You must have saved a few quid.
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#292554 - 05/02/12 12:51 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Oldjono]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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I tend to lose track of costs! but let me work it out... rough costs, including postage, were:
£170 for the body (one-piece swamp ash, http://www.guitarbuild.co.uk)
£100 for the neck (www.axesrus.com)
£70 for the pickups (outrageous bargain! - Ebay handwinder in the States)
£30 for pots, switches, capacitors and jack socket (axesrus again)
£26.50 for Wilkinson WVC trem unit (axesrus)
£7 for cream (i.e. aged white) knobs, switch tip and pickup covers (axesrus)
£18 for 2 gold mini toggle switches (wd music) - had to pay a bit more to get them in gold - £2 ish each for chrome ones in Maplins! 
£19 for scratchplate, backplate, pickguard screws (axesrus)
£17.50 for Wilkinson tuning machines (axesrus)
£5 for tusq nut blanks
... and there's probably about £15 or so for other small things I've forgotten.
I had all the finishing materials I needed from my previous telecaster build (sandpaper in various grits, wire wool, Tru Oil). Also I did buy a set of fairly pricy nut files but I don't include these in the cost of the instrument! And I haven't included the cost of the first neck I didn't end up using, or the set of Wilkinson pickups I didn't use either - those 2 are about £100 in total eek  , but they will get used for another guitar one day (or I could re-coup some cost by selling on Ebay).
Actually another eek - it adds up to a bit more than I thought, getting on for £500! You don't tend to notice so much if you buy bits over a fair period of time! But on the other hand, and I'm not just saying this, the guitar is a killer (I gave it to a professional guitarist friend to try - he said it was the best strat he'd ever played, and he's played a few!) - it plays beautifully, and sounds amazing.
What would Fender charge for a one-piece swamp ash body, ebony fingerboard strat with handwound pickups? A lot I guess, surely well over a grand, possibly closer to 2 grand I would have thought. Could I get that if I tried to sell it? no obviously! but happily I don't want to. At the end of the day I have a beautiful and unique guitar, made very well (because I did it! ) to my exact design and preferred specs, that I'm going to enjoy playing for the rest of my days, that I could not have afforded anything like as good as in a shop, so it's a great deal from that perspective. I admit I did push the boat out a bit with things like the one-piece body - I could have got a nice 3-piece from guitarbuild for £80 or so for example, and I'm sure that would have been pretty nice too.
And the enormous fun and knowledge gained from the whole operation is worth something also IMHO. It puts a smile on my face every time I look at the guitar too! 
Edited by Megi (05/02/12 02:26 PM)
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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#293617 - 29/02/12 05:49 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Megi]
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Blue Dog
One of the Regulars
Registered: 14/02/12
Posts: 54
Loc: Scotland, UK
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Nice work Graham, Congratulations.
Your right though about all those bits adding up. You kinda think: Machine heads £20, jack socket £5, scratchplate a tenner etc, just little bits of cash here and there, but before you know it you've spent a few hundred quid. Its always worth it though as you say.
I was interested in what you said about the Strat body you got from Guitarbuild, I ordered a 2 piece alder '72 custom deluxe tele body from there a couple of weeks ago (still waiting for it to come)and you've reassured me about the quality.
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#293621 - 29/02/12 07:36 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Blue Dog]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Thanks BD, as you say, it does add up, though with the benifit of hindsight I could have been a bit more economical maybe. My honest opinion is that the guitar is easily the equivalent of something well over a grand, possibly close to two, in terms of quality (he said modestly, and of course I could be accused of being biased LOL, but still...). I've had 2 bodies from Guitarbuild now (the strat and a custom rout tele one before that) both swamp ash, and both have been excellent quality IMO, I do think it is a big factor in the tone of the guitar too. Hope your alder body will not be much longer, what I can say is if it is anything like the one's I've had, it should certainly be very good.
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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#294921 - 29/03/12 04:04 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Megi]
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Ape09090
Old Timer
Registered: 01/12/11
Posts: 1188
Loc: South Wales
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Graham,
how are you getting along with the Wilkinson staggered machine heads now?
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#294926 - 29/03/12 05:50 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Ape09090]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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They are just fine - working well and a good design, although I'm not using the double hole locking facility - I just use them like standard machine heads, i.e. only to get the staggered height effect. Also, sorry, but if you were thinking of putting them on the strat neck I sent you, don't go there, because the headstock is just a bit too thick for them to fit properly. You would have to get a mil or 2 taken off the front headstock surface, which could be a bit tricky to do! (unless your carpenter friend could do it?).
FWIW though, I think the Wilkinson stuff is made in the same Korean factory as the non-branded locking schaller type ones axesrus sell, and probably a lot of the other unbranded ones as well. It all seems to be good quality, and IMO there is a lot to be said for just using standard machine heads and a string tree for the high E and B string - if strung up properly, I don't think you'd notice any real difference regarding tuning stability.
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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#294929 - 29/03/12 06:48 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Megi]
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Ape09090
Old Timer
Registered: 01/12/11
Posts: 1188
Loc: South Wales
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I was considering them for my Tele build,not having to use a string tree is attractive.
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#294930 - 29/03/12 08:04 PM
Re: Megi's strat proj - the finished guitar!!!
[Re: Ape09090]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Thinking about it, there is no reason not to give the Wilkinsons a go for the tele - it's always possible to use them with a string tree if you find it necessary, but if not so much the better. Depends how deeply cut the headstock is in the end - they do seem to vary a bit in this respect I've found. Also check the tele headstock is a mil or 2 less thickness than the strat one. IMO they are very good quality machine heads though.
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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, sorry guys, I will get that done I promise. Still loving the 
