Dun Dun Duuuuuh


aschleman
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aschleman
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01/19/2007 3:01 pm
The days have finally arrived... Those days I hid my eyes from the way a small child hides his eyes from something he's scared of... Becuase if the child can't see it, it's not really there... Is it? The day I speak of is this day.

I love vintage equipment. If anyone has seen my black Strat... you know this. But my Number One Strat has always been my baby... The one that I've taken care of... The one that I don't set on fire. Well she's getting old sad to say... My Number One is going under the knife... I've ignored her age for far too long. I've been playing GHS Zakk Wylde Boomers on her for a long time, and I finally moved back down to a set of Regular Slinkies by Ernie Ball...... I noticed when I had the strings off the amount of fret wear that she has is insane.... I've been playing A LOT of guitar lately... The nut has become worn down, the frets are almost flat in more than a few areas.... As for the neck in general: It's a maple neck... they tend to warp and bend faster and more often than a rosewood fretboard. My Number One has developed hte old 'rising toungue' condition... So the fretboard is going to need to be leveled... I even think she's worked loose a ground connection somewhere... she's been making a lot more noise than usual...

The list of work that is going to be done to her:
-New nut
-New frets (Dunlop medium's I think... she has vintage smalls on her now)
-Leveling of the fretboard (12" radius)
-Check the wiring... I will probably go in and reshield the inside of the guitar
-I've been contemplating whether or not I should switch to Vintage Noiseless pickups... or possibly the Hot Noiseless pickups.... She has Custom Shop '69s in her now... I love them, but I kind of want to try something else out...

Of course there's the plus side to the aging process... My maple freboard is finally starting to get that vintage look to it. I'm wearing parts of it to bare wood!!! I love the look of a worn in fretboard. The headstock is starting to look it's age too... I love it. The body has a few signs of age as well... The back is getting its share of buckle rash... The pickguard use to shine... it's getting a little dull... The knobs and pickups are getting that mint green tint to them... Ahhhhh vintage instruments. Too bad I'm going to have to spend a fortune to get her fretboard back to new again...

Anyway, I thought I'd share this with my Guitar Tricks Family since this is a major milestone for my first love.



Now I have to decide who I'm going to trust with the frets and fretboard leveling.... I would do it myself but I don't have the time nor workspace to do it anymore.......... :rolleyes:
# 1
strat-man
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strat-man
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01/19/2007 10:20 pm
Dude, that's a proper strat! i'm officially envious! :o check out some reviews and try out some of the noiseless pups if possible caus i was gonna fit some in my strat but read somethin about them that put me off! (tho can't for the life of me remember what it was) might have been too low output or poor tone, but check em out anyway before you buy cause those custom shop 69's you got are sweet pups :)
Strat totin
Six string slingin
Son of a gun

I met my maker, i made him cry, and on my shoulder he asked me why, his people won't fly thru the storm, i said, listen here man they don't even know your born.

strat-man rocks with vox
# 2
grizzlymint
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grizzlymint
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01/19/2007 11:29 pm
Where'd you get that bed spread man? That thing is kickin!

Nice guitar also. Strats are sexy. Good luck on that maintenance. I'd mess it up for sure.
Let your soul shine. Its better than sunshine. Its better than moonshine. Damn sure better than rain.
# 3
aschleman
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aschleman
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01/20/2007 12:05 am
Originally Posted by: grizzlymintWhere'd you get that bed spread man? That thing is kickin!

Nice guitar also. Strats are sexy.


Thanks and Thanks... and Yes they are!

As for the bed spread... You should see the other side!!!! haha

It's just a spare blanket that I keep lying around. The one I have on my bed is a light color so I used that one for some contrast...
# 4
PRSplaya
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PRSplaya
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01/20/2007 12:25 am
That is definitely one sexy strat! I love the flamed maple neck!!!! Good luck with the repairs.
[FONT=Palatino Linotype]Tonja Renee's personal instructor[/FONT]

>HERE'S WHERE I AM NOW<
# 5
polansky
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polansky
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01/20/2007 2:01 am
Strats. strats, strats...mmmm... not really my bag, but, my bro aschleman what can I say... I'm glad you are happy with it, I'm sure it looks great (cause a beat up strat does has something, that's for sure).

Carefull with the repairs, you'll never forgive yourself if somethig goes wrong.
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kinda neat.
# 6
aschleman
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aschleman
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01/23/2007 4:38 pm
Just got off the phone with a nice gentleman from Indianapolis who I'm going to take my Strat to... We discussed what I want done and here's what I decided on:

New custom bone nut
Complete refret (I'm going up one size from vintage smalls to medium vintage)
A partial leveling (I didn't want him to sand off the satin finish on my entire fretboard because it's just now getting worn through to the wood and I like the look of it... So he's just going to sand and level from about the 12th fret to the end of the heel... Because that's where the swelling is occuring and causing the raised tongue.)

I'm pretty pumped... He's going to do all the work for aroud 225-250 USD... I checked the prices to have it done at the Guitar Hospital in Michigan and it was over 500 USD....... So I think it's the best choice. I'm going this weekend to check out some of his work and to drop my baby off...
# 7
aschleman
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aschleman
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01/23/2007 7:09 pm
Originally Posted by: AkiraAwesome, do check his previous work though to make sure he does quality work. And let us know how it all goes. Did he give you a quote in terms of the time it'll take to do?


Yeah, I fully intend on making sure his work is up to snuff before I trust him with my baby....

The quote that he gave me of 225-250 was based on all the work and the time it will take... Any finish touchup work will be extra... but since I have a satin fingerboard with no lacquer... he won't have to do any touchup work besides the very little masking of the fret ends... which is standard and included in the quote. So the total price will be between 225 and 250 USD... That's about average for fret work.
# 8
da_ardvark
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da_ardvark
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01/23/2007 8:55 pm
Fortunatly for me I'm only about 1 hour away from Athens OH. The home of STEW MAC, and more importantly also the home of Dan Erlwine. Quite possibly the formost repairman in the country. He does all my work. Little higher than most but well worth the price. He works on Lucille for BB King to give you some idea of his pedigree. Good luch on those repairs. BTW what year is that strat??

Very nice looking
# 9
aschleman
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aschleman
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01/23/2007 10:06 pm
The body is a babied 1994... the color is honeyblonde burst... the pic doesn't show it real well but you can see the grain of the guitar toward the middle... but the color fades to a solid color toward the outside... just like a sunburst but with just the honey blonde color... they stopped doing that color in 95 I believe... The neck is from a 2000 USA Deluxe Custom.


The place I mentioned "The Guitar Hospital" is in Michigan... That's the guitar repair shop that Dan Erlewine started. He passed it onto Mr. Galloup when he went to do consultant work for Stew-Mac. I called them but their prices are outrageous and they don't garauntee imediate service since they're the main vintage and pro guitar repair shop in the country.... I'd rather get it taken care of than worry about my guitar sitting around in a shop for 4 months. But yeah... Dan's the man.
# 10

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