Mahogany Strat Build

[Jack_H]

While imbibing adult beverage and browsing Warmoth website, I came across a screaming deal of chambered strat with figured mahogany top that I just couldn't refuse. Here it is after six coats of Formby Tung Oil Finish in satin. Not terribly imaginative but I do like the look of natural wood grain. I like how the tremolo routing looks like a surprised face.

Now I am waiting for the neck from Warmoth.

 

[teleme01]

That looks sweet, I always enjoy pictures of building guitars.

 

[Jack_H]

Seymour Duncan Everything on a pickguard from Etsy. I am waiting for the neck before I start screwing it down.

 

[bagman67]

Seymour Duncan Everything on a pickguard from Etsy. I am waiting for the neck before I start screwing it down.

View attachment 61839

Very nice. So many of the printed pickguards are garish or just... meh. This one is a perfect fit. That's a real beauty of a build you have going on there.

 

[Rick]

That everything axe set is on my list of possible pick ups for my next project. I'll be following. I'm curious how that middle pick up matches with the others. What kind of pots are you using?
Looks good.

 

[Jack_H]

I actually bought the Loaded Pickguard and moved the parts over. It's a little cheaper than buying parts separately and I don't have to do any soldering.

 

[Rick]

Probably 250K pots, 22cap? ... still curious about how that middle pickup plays. I've found the regular JB to be stellar, and the 59 sort of like chicken, goes with everything. Are you using a 5 way switch? I'm thinking 500k pots, because I put them in everything.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

Try the 250k pots first. I would probably leave the 250k volume control and swap the tone pot for 500k.

 

[Jack_H]

Just got the neck, roasted maple with rosewood fretboard and Hipshot locking tuners. I put the neck on so I can drill holes for the pickguard. Once that's done I will finish the neck and put it all together. I really like the wavy headstock pattern. However, the bridge pickup and bottom pot seem to be rubbing against the routing. I hope they are not under undue pressure or interacting with the copper shielding.

 

[Eddie-Applegate]

Looks amazing!

 

[Rick]

Usually I wait on drilling the pickguard holes until I've installed the bridge as it calms my ocd when it comes to having the strings line up. In terms of sound no difference it's just visual . Looks great!

 

[Jack_H]

Still need tuning and adjusting but everything's all connected now. After I connected the wirings I plugged it in and did the tap test, and and sound came out clean so that's a good sign. The neck came straight and the fret ends are smooth enough to use though I haven't check the fret level. The rosewood fretboard looks very nice after some lemon oil.

I bought the neck plate from FSR Shop off eBay over a year ago. They had a good selection but seems to have closed.

 

[Rick]

I'm dying to know how the pickups sound, in particular the middle .... do you like them?

 

[Jack_H]

I got the tremolo set up and the guitar tuned, but when I plug it into my Spark 40 and strum the speaker makes a low static noise. This only happens when the switch is on the bridge only position, and only when the strings are vibrating (more noticeable with A/D/G strings). The noise disappears when I move the switch to other positions while the guitar is still playing and reappears when I move it back.

I think we can eliminate fret buzz and outside interference as cause. Any thoughts?

 

[Rick]

Does it sound electrical, like an extra umph of current? Does adjusting the tone or volume Pot do anything?

 

[stratamania]

Check the wiring of the bridge pickup, for instance are the red and white wires correctly joined and then insulated. Are the green and bare wires correctly grounded.

 

[Jack_H]

Thanks for the tips. I will check when I get the chance. It's kinda like radio when tuned to an empty station, light hiss with some crackle. It was a pick guard set so it was factory pre-soldered, but I did notice that when I install it the bridge pickup and the second tone pot were rubbing against the body. Maybe the contact with copper shielding caused this.

 

[Jack_H]

I did as Rick suggested above and when I turn down the tone pot the noise went down as well, so it's definitely something with the pot. I cut off a section of copper shielding where the soldering stuck out just far enough to come into contact. And voila! The hissing and crackling are gone!

As for the pot and cap values, the instruction says the tone pots are 250K, though it's also showing what looks like ceramic orange disc cap. What I got is something different.

 

[VanHeGen]

Looks great!

 

[Spud]

I did as Rick suggested above and when I turn down the tone pot the noise went down as well, so it's definitely something with the pot. I cut off a section of copper shielding where the soldering stuck out just far enough to come into contact. And voila! The hissing and crackling are gone!

As for the pot and cap values, the instruction says the tone pots are 250K, though it's also showing what looks like ceramic orange disc cap. What I got is something different.

Looks like it could be a Mallory cap,which IMO is better than a ceramic disk.