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OK.....new scenario....


Bluesape

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YOU make a big splash with your music. You've arrived on the scene. The kiddies are buying your CDs, etc., etc. Your star is rising.

 

Fender wants YOU to design YOUR Strat, Tele, what have you, and market it as an Artist Series model, just like Clapton, Johnson, SRV, etc.

 

The same scenario could apply to other brands.

 

What model would you use as your template, and what enhancements would you go with? http://www.websmileys.com/sm/happy/1055.gif

Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never!
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Chambered Hardtail Strat

Texas Specials

Piezo saddles of some sort.

Locking Tuners

Translucent finishes in primary colours to show off the AAAA or better wood grain

Maple Neck

Compound Radius

Volume for piezo

Master Volume

Master tone

Fully Shielded with copper foil + single point star grounding for best noise/hum reduction.

 

Wait a minute.....can't I get that from Warmoth NOW????????

 

Peace,

 

Paul

Peace,

 

Paul

 

----------------------

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Hmmmnn...

 

Can I have two sig-model Strats?

 

I know, I know- I'll just have to go with one, but with trem and hardtail versions, that'd be O.K., right?

 

I'll go with a one-piece, "quarter-sawn", all-maple neck (purty purty bird's-eye, if possible) with the walnut skunk-stripe, a la vintage-'50s, with 23 frets, a headstock much like that on the recent Eric Johnson Strat ("trick" but small, vintage looking, definitely NO string trees), with staggered-height gold-plated locking-tuners that look nearly identical to vintage units. Vintage '50's style "spaghetti" logo and decals. Stainless-steel jumbo-frets, mild scalloping, "clay" dots. Compound/conical radius, going from 9" to 20". Mildly "rolled-over" fretboard-edges. A Graph-Tech nut. Overall shape 'n' profile a bit on the large side, roundish but slightly asymmetrical, not unlike that of an SRV sig-model's. Graphite reinforced. Clock-key truss-rod adjustment access in back, through the neck-plate, so you never have to remove the neck to tweak relief.

 

The neck-pocket in the body would be precision-milled for a specific neck-angle and an extremely tight fit, so no shims would ever have to be put in there.

 

A one-piece swamp-ash body, very '50s-vintage shape (not unlike that on the EJ), with a very pronounced rib-scoop contour in back. Strap-Locks for sure. Cutaway "horns" would be subtly reduced in size, to maximize available playing-room in the cutaway. Overall, it would still look very '50s-vintage. A recessed cover for the trem-springs cavity would sit flush with the back.

 

Single-ply faded white pickgaurd and all-gold hardware on the trem-model, in Candy-Apple Red with a very subtle gold metalflake sprayed over a gold base-coat. Graph-Tech saddles, two-stud floating trem-bridge, stiff turning trem-arm swings down to lock bridge in fixed-position (no trem movement). The trem-arm would be one-piece, with no plastic or metal tip, and would be good and heavy-duty like on the uncommon Kahler fulcrum-trem. A small knurled-knob that could fit in place of the trem-arm would be included, so that the trem could be "blocked" in place without the arm. Gold-plated knurled Tele-style knobs with a little dot inlayed into each top for reference. Faded yellowed/ivory pickup covers.

 

The hardtail-model would have a Tel-style ferrous bridge-plate and string-through-body ferrules, with a trick intonated three-piece oiled-impregnated brass saddle arrangement. The plate would extend up around the pickup like on a Tele, cutting into the pickguard, but the upper edge would be flush where your hand would contact it as you played. Three-screw vintage Tele-styled bridge-pickup. All nickel hardware (including pickguard and pickup screws, and knurled Tele-style knobs), with a gold-anodized aluminum pickguard. The middle and neck pickups would have very dark brown, almost black, covers.

 

Pickups for both models would be custom Seymour Duncans, based on SD "Five-Two" models, with different types of alnico magnets for the three pairs of strings, to accent biting twang on the wound-basses and a round warm tone on the plain-steel high strings. Middle pickups would be reverse-wound/reverse-polarity for hum-canceling with the other pickups. They would be calibrated for position- neck, middle, and bridge- and have an SD-1 push-top switch in the volume-knob to go between a vintagey '50s-Strat's sparkling bright shimmery swirly tone, and extra windings for an overwound, hotter, big, bold, fat, early '60s-Strat's sound. The polepiece-stagger would be calibrated for DR round-core nickel-plated "Tite-Fit" strings on the hardtail, and pure-nickel "Pure Blues" on the trem-model. Electronics would include master Volume, master Tone, and a custom-tweaked EMG SPC with SD-1 style push-top knob to switch it (the SPC) on and off.

 

Pickup selection would be a fourteen-selection wiring scheme using just three mini-toggles, close together in the same location as the usual five-way, as per an article printed a couple of times over the years in Guitar Player magazine. It would allow for fourteen different series, parallel, and series/parallel combinations of the three pickups, including 'all three on' and 'neck and bridge', all 'in phase'.

 

If someone really, really wanted, ;) there would be a very limited run with "slab" Brazilian-rosewood fretboards in three-color sunburst (everything else same as the Candy-Apple Red trem-model), and another very limited run with "round-lam" pau ferro fretboards in the Sherwood-Green-Metalic vintage Fender Custom-Color with a matching painted headstock (same as trem-model but with all nickel hardware).

 

How's that? I know, too geeky, right? :freak::thu:

 

That's my Strat and I'm stickin' to it!

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Loosely based on my current fleet of instruments, I'm afraid that I will need no fewer than 5 signature models, probably from two different manufacturers.

 

Custom G&L Legacy (strat): Alder body with bolt-on maple neck and fingerboard, black dot inlays, gloss black painted body with black/cream/black pickguard and black pickup covers (i.e. the "none-more-black" finish), gold hardware including locking tuners, straplocks and two-point tremolo, and finally each of the three single coil pickups wired to its own volume knob before the 5-way blade switch (no tone knobs).

 

Custom G&L ASAT Special (tele): Alder body with bolt-on maple neck and fingerboard, black dot inlays, "none-more-black" finish with top and bottom cream body binding, gold hardware including locking tuners, straplocks and G&L "saddlelock" bridge, and finally each of the two G&L MFD single coils wired to its own volume knob before the 3-way blade switch (no tone knobs).

 

Custom Gibson Les Paul: Ash body with maple neck, maple top and ebony fingerboard, block inlays, "none-more-black" finish with top and bottom cream-black-cream body binding, no pickguard, gold hardware including locking tuners, straplocks, tune-o-matic, knobs and pickup covers, pickups wired with a volume and a tone on the rhythm pickup only (i.e. there would only be two knobs and the treble pickup would always be on in the middle and treble switch positions).

 

Custom Gibson Rosewood J45: Ebony fingerboard, block inlays and two-tone burst finish.

 

Custom G&L ASAT 5-string bass: Ash body with maple neck and fingerboard, 4 + 1 headstock layout, black dot inlays, "none-more-black" finish with top and bottom cream body binding, gold hardware including tuning keys, straplocks and G&L "saddlelock" bridge, single Music Man style pickup with Aguilar OBP1 two band preamp (three knobs for volume, bass and treble).

 

I'm available anytime if the good folks at G&L and Gibson would like to make this happen. I'm also willing to entertain offers from Fender/Guild, ESP, Schecter, Sadowsky, Mike Lull, Pete Anderson or any companies/luthiers.

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Caevan- I don't think you've thought this through. I mean, he said you could have ANYTHING you wanted. Think about it a bit and then give us something with more details.

:D

For me to have a signature model by Fender, it would have to be a bass, so I'll keep that for the other forum.

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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I would have a Squire Affinity Strat Signature model with:

 

SRV texas special pickups,

plus an alternate pickguard with Jeff Beck Noiselss pick ups (as a bonus)

preamp

on board tuner

rosewood fret board only

finishes in black or blue

roller nut

floyd rose tremolo

SR switching and tone controls

 

I would have Epiphone make a LP signature model based on a standard LP with no special features. It would just be a kick to have my name on a LP. And an LP doens't need any enhancements anyway.

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Originally posted by Danzilla:

Caevan- I don't think you've thought this through. I mean, he said you could have ANYTHING you wanted. Think about it a bit and then give us something with more details.

:D

For me to have a signature model by Fender, it would have to be a bass, so I'll keep that for the other forum.

O.K., you're right; alder bodies, reverse headstocks, and reverse-angle bridge-pickups on the "Limited Edition" 3-Color SB and Sherwood-Green models... ;):D:cool:

 

Oooh, oooh- I forgotted- the hardtail-model with the gold-anodized aluminum pickguard would come in a two-color sunburst, all necks would be tung-oil finished (with normal finishes on the maple fretboard-faces), bodies would have nitrocellulose-lacquer finishes, and the string-through ferrules on the hardtail would be made of that Graph-Tech composite, too.

 

Obviously, it'd cost a fortune to have ALL of these details included on one guitar, although I could come fairly close by putting together a Strat-stylee with a neck and body from Warmoth, and being judiciuosly picky about other parts, build, and set-up work...

 

GEEK GEEK GEEK GEEK GEEK!! :rolleyes::thu::D O.K., no more now, I promise! I promise!

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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On a Fender, I would have an American Strat with an ash body in metallic (not metal flake) blue with a clear over coat, DiMarzio DP402/DP401/DP403 pickups, modified head to do away with the string trees, roller nut, a hardtail, maple fingerboard, medium frets, and a bird's eye maple neck and head, 1 11/16" neck width, 18" radius fretboard, thin c shaped neck.

 

If it was a Gibson, it would be a Les Paul with triple white binding on the front, single white on the rear, a high gloss transparent black body on flamed red maple, solid black sides and back, nickel hardware, PAF pickups, a coil tap switch for each pickup, split trap inlays, the old "note" headstock inlay, white switch washer, 5 ply w/b/w/b/w pickguard, ebony fingerboard, white binding on the neck, triple white binding on the head, slender 60s neck, medium frets, 5 ply b/w/b/w/b truss rod cover, nickel grover tuners.

 

A second Gibson would be an ES-335 with the same design as the Les Paul above and single thin white edging on the f holes.

Born on the Bayou

 

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Originally posted by Guitar Geezer:

Interesting...everyone seems to be leaning to Hard tail and no string trees!

Amen about the string-trees, do away with 'em, staggered locking tuners to the rescue!

 

On a Strat, I much prefer a blocked-in or otherwise immobilized trem to a true hardtail. The trem-springs ringing sympathetically inside the body add a shimmery, almost reverby character that's a part of a Strat's essence. Note Eric Clapton's sig-models, he wanted a blocked-in trem for precisely that reason.

 

Although, I do kinda like the idea of a Tele/Strat hybrid with a Tele's bridge and bridge-pickup to be a hardtail...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Heavy alder Strat body, Olympic white with eh full-on relic treatment, left-handed quartersawn birdseye maple neck w/ maple board with original Jeff Beck model neck profile(a big honkin' piece of WOOD, dude), Wilkenson trem bridge with locking tunes and roller nut(of course, no string trees). Not sure about the electronics; might go with the David Gilmour EMG setup, maybe three P90s, maybe a combination of Cool Rails/Hot Rails, or Vintage Noiselss, or Texas Specials, but if they had pole pieces they would be reverse staggered, and the bridge p/u has to be reversed slanted (I really loved the way my Hendrix strat sounded, another axe that got away). That ought to get me by for a while, anyway...

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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Make mine like Paul's, but with P-90's... at least in the neck position. And custom cat inlays in the neck. The largest would look like this:

 

http://members.aol.com/neilbergmn/basic/domguitar.gif

 

And how about my dalmation on the body with dogbones all around...

 

http://members.aol.com/neilbergmn/basic/taylor.jpg

 

Yeah... that's the ticket! :D

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

Soundclick

fntstcsnd

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I would have to say a crate motor orange strat'o'sonic with full black paisley treatment and a solid orange tolex covered headstock with black lettering. Gunmetal hardware.
Live long and prosper unless it is a good day to die.
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It's intersting that an overwhelming majority of you would choose a maple board on a Fender in this scenario, or ebony on a Gibson. Guess I'm not the only one who ain't big on rosewood boards. :D
Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never!
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I guess I should put my dream axes up:

 

A flame top chambered hardtail Strat with V neck, birdseye board, large headstock, 22 frets, mahogany body, Texas Specials, Sperzel locking tuners, fully shielded, with all transparent finishes available, headstock to match finish, no pickguard, no knobs.

 

A quilted top chambered Tele with U neck, birdseye board, 22 frets, walnut body, 3 cream P90s, 5-way, Sperzels, shielded, same finishes as Strat, headstock to match, no pickguard, no knobs.

 

Middle pup reverse wound on both guitars. No knobs because the 5-way will give me all the tonality I can reasonably use with each, and I prefer a pedal for attenuation, since, as a thumb picker, I'm always accidentally hitting my knobs with my loose fingers. :thu:

Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never!
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Originally posted by Bluesape:

It's intersting that an overwhelming majority of you would choose a maple board on a Fender in this scenario, or ebony on a Gibson. Guess I'm not the only one who ain't big on rosewood boards. :D

Count me as a rosewood guy. Although I do like the unfinished Fender maple fretboards. I absofrickinglutely HATED the old slick glossy lacquered Fender maple fretboards.

 

I think I'd have some sort of Strat-like monstrosity with 3 P-90s...wired the same as Strat pickups with a 5 way switch.

"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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Yeah, I'd like a hardtail with no string trees too. But all the tuners on one side...with violin fine tuners (like on a Rose, but no Rose) on the bridge. I LOVE having those. That was the ONLY thing good about my old GIbson Explorer E2 I had years ago.
"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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So, uhmn, Reif, you left out the PRS-style one-piece solid rosewood neck option! ;):D

 

Bird's-eye maple is sweet, ain't it? :cool:

 

As for no knobs, that's an interesting and unusual approach; cool, and it'll definitely stand out. Personally, I like where a Strat's Volume-knob usually is, it's very handy for volume-swells with my little-finger.

 

Mmmmmmnnnn... three P-90's... luscious! Love 'em, another dream guitar for me would be a Gibsony 24-&-3/4" scaled, set-neck axe with three P-90's. I figured I'd stick to Fenders here.

 

I tell you, though, you would very likely LOVE the sound of all three single-coils on in parallel, be they fender-style or "soapbars". Absolutely lush, gorgeous, incredibly delicious shimmery tone! You could always have a micro-switch that adds one of the pickups- say, the bridge- to any of the five-way switch's combinations. That'd allow for the usual operation, plus neck-and-middle and all-three-on.

 

When I get around to it, I'm going to add a middle P-90 to my soapbar-equipped Les Paul Studio/Gem "Ruby"...

 

Waddya think?

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Hmmmmmm.......what about a reverse body Firbird, koa, ebony, chrome hardware, 3 splittable Burstbuckers, 5-way, mini toggles, no knobs? http://www.websmileys.com/sm/sport/sport22.gif
Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never!
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