This is the pretty much finished Strat. Originally, it was a standard run of the mill Mex Strat, bought brand new for around €400. I made some changes myself and got help from Dan LB for the complicated stuff like the pickups and battery compartment installation and routing. Dan also provided some of the bits for me like the graphite nut and neck plate. It’s mostly genuine Fender parts, except the nut and pickups.
All in all, it’s nearly there apart from some minor setup work to be done. Even now though, it’s sounding sweet as candy and quiet as a mouse when idle. The output out of the EMG active pickups really has to be heard to be believed!
The cost of modifying it may have been nearly the same price as the original guitar but it was well worth it to have a one-of-a-kind custom awesome sounding strat the way I’ve always dreamed! Very happy, and grazie mille to Dan for all the work!
More Info On Building The Guitar
Most of the parts were obtained through Thomann and StewMac
The original Fender Mex Strat Upgrade model is, however, not available anymore from Thomann but they still do a Mex Strat Classic for about €500. The Fender aluminium pickguard can be found here for 60 quid. Although the Strat came with security strap locks attached, I still had to fork out a measly €13 or so for the strap end locks. The genuine Fender volume and tone knobs set will set you back about €6.50 on Thomann and the locking tuners will cost around €75. I went for the Satin Chrome finish, but they come in a few different finishes. The tremolo back cover and jackplate are standard Fender Strat components and are very easy to find in all sorts of finishes.
The best part though is probably the EMG-SA pickups which can be found here on Thomann for just over 200 quid. They do versions for all sorts of guitars and well worth a gander if you’re thinking of getting new pickups. Being active, they do require a battery and perhaps a battery compartment to be constructed. Dan managed to get hold of a battery box, which he also fitted for me. Perfectly, I might add! Dan also sourced the graphite nut, extra springs for the back of the bridge and the Fender “F” neck plate.
Most of the hard work was done by Dan, as he’s had experience customising guitars and basses so I’d trust him to do a great job. He didn’t disappoint. There was a lot of finicky soldering and routing done to the guitar and the whole job took about 7 hours in total to do. The best part came when we plugged it in… clean… through a PA system… and it WAS CLEAN!… Loads of level, no hiss. The sound was (and is) classic Strat with that “rawk” attitude.
And, in case anyone is wondering, I won’t be selling it… ever!