Deluxe Powerhouse Strat owners club

[JRSIV]

I now own a 2002, Deluxe Powerhouse. Candy apple red, with rosewood fretboard Ser# MZ2145904.I purchased it 3 months ago. It is in mint condition. I had this same model in chrome red, which was the color Fender changed to, back in 2005. It's a very unique model in the Fender line-up, as we know.

the adv picture is from 2005, Musicians Friend magazine. Notice that the ad says "poplar body" (as of 2005)

When I bought this model in 2005, it was said that the body and neck were made in USA, then shipped to the Ensenada facility for finish/paint/assembly. Is it possible this were true?
the clue may be to the routing in the body for the 9v battery slot. This was the only model (that I'm aware of) that had that design...great discussion

Congrats brother! My Powerhouse Strat has become one of my favorite guitars ever. How these sold for just $600 in 2005 is amazing to me; the quality is just plain excellent.

I have one of these 2002's.

If I had known you were looking I would of sold it to you. Fender support on serial indicates Candy Apple Red. All original.

Thanks Exhead, I wasn't really familiar with them until I saw a few on Reverb & then fell in love with them when I got mine.

 

[Neckbone281]

Congrats brother! My Powerhouse Strat has become one of my favorite guitars ever. How these sold for just $600 in 2005 is amazing to me; the quality is just plain excellent.




Thanks Exhead, I wasn't really familiar with them until I saw a few on Reverb & then fell in love with them when I got mine.

I have read that countless times about various higher end MIM models and honestly don't know what to make of that. It's possible that the factory shipped unfinished necks and bodies to the Mexico factory for reasons totally unrelated to quality issues - maybe they were retooling, botched their inventory management or had US staffing problems. I kinda write all that off to marketing puffery.

Except for the MIM Standard Strat model with the ceramic pickups, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another MIM, particularly the artist and vintage models. . .

Thanks, jpmist..."marketing puffery"...made me chuckle. And you're probably right. I had a friend that ran a music store back in 2005, and he was the one that mentioned the finishing of some models (this model in particular) from USA to MX. Is it possible, "what if", Fender was able to keep the retail price down by doing this? In the end, it's a guitar with a lot to talk about, and I've yet to meet a guitar player yet that has ever heard of the Powerhouse model.
** sticker off a 1998 model ***

 

[Maddn]

Hello to this club!
I bought this powerhouse recently. It seems that the previous owner painted the neck with vintage tint, or did they came stock that dark?
A few days ago it lost its noiseless capabilities somehow. I get normal single coil hum now. I already reglued the dummy coil and the battery has still 9,1 volts.
What else can I check?

 

[jpmist]

Pretty sure the neck has a factory vintage toned finish. Yours looks very similar to the necks I've seen and honestly, refinishing a maple neck is so much work to do perfectly I'd be very surprised someone took the trouble.

Dunno what to offer as far as your hum except to take the pickguard off and inspect all the solder joints. I'd start with the input jack and see if there's a loose wire.

Here's your Powerhouse service diagram if you wanna see it: https://p4.zdassets.com/hc/theme_assets/549136/200076499/013-9500_02A_SISD.pdf

Best of luck with it, nice guitar!

 

[Polar1]

Picked this LPB up in 2001 and almost forgot it. Put it in a case 20 years back, just got it out 3 months back when my son said he wanted to learn, anyway here are some photos.

 

[jpmist]

Picked this LPB up in 2001 and almost forgot it. Put it in a case 20 years back, just got it out 3 months back when my son said he wanted to learn, anyway here are some photos.

Lovely! A true case queen. Really like the flame on the neck, a shame the factory put a rosewood fretboard on it. . .

If you haven't read all 22 pages, skim them to the part where if you clip the two transistors you have a greater overdrive boost making it an Eric Clapton copy.

 

[RitcheyAuto]

This is probably a long shot, but has anyone found a sketch showing the location and dimensions for the battery compartment on the back of the body? I have had no luck finding a replacement powerhouse body, so I think I my only option is to get a new strat body and route the battery compartment and circuit board pocket. The circuit board pocket is easy enough, but cannot find a dimensional sketch for the powerhouse anywhere. I did call Fender and asked if they would give me that info since they no longer offer a replacement body that i could purchase… and they were less than helpful. The said they did not have that information. Then i said “I understand that you or your department may not, but someone does.” Then they’d say again that they do not have that information. I said I’m certain that once a model is discontinued, Fender does not just throw away all of their production documents and totally forget what they made in the past and how they did it. Finally convinced them to ask another department. They said they’d email me but its been radio silence.

If no sketch is out there, maybe someone has seen some pictures close enough to use for scale?

 

[jpmist]

This is probably a long shot, but has anyone found a sketch showing the location and dimensions for the battery compartment on the back of the body? I have had no luck finding a replacement powerhouse body, so I think I my only option is to get a new strat body and route the battery compartment and circuit board pocket. The circuit board pocket is easy enough, but cannot find a dimensional sketch for the powerhouse anywhere. I did call Fender and asked if they would give me that info since they no longer offer a replacement body that i could purchase… and they were less than helpful. The said they did not have that information. Then i said “I understand that you or your department may not, but someone does.” Then they’d say again that they do not have that information. I said I’m certain that once a model is discontinued, Fender does not just throw away all of their production documents and totally forget what they made in the past and how they did it. Finally convinced them to ask another department. They said they’d email me but its been radio silence.

If no sketch is out there, maybe someone has seen some pictures close enough to use for scale?

You have a few other options on the battery placement. The Eric Clapton sig model simply tucked it under the trem cover after routing a pocket next to the spring cavity. If you have the woodworking tools, that seems the easiest fix.

https://www.strat-talk.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1238.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fff487%2FERAmusicprodction%2Fclaptoninnards.jpg&hash=0c573759eaa1d1aae4361791f0f2869d

Another option is if you deck your tremelo, you can place the circuit board as well as the battery under the trem cover. The battery will cause it to stick up about 1 mm, but I tried it and it does work..

Attached to this post is the Fender PowerHouse tech sheet with a drawing of the back where the battery cover is. With a little math and guesswork you should be able to work out it's dimensions.

StewMac and Amazon have a 9 volt battery box for strats.

Good luck with it!

 

[RitcheyAuto]

Thanks for the ideas. All of the powerhouse models ive seen had a little battery cover that was the same material as a pickguard and was set at an angle. Is the one in that diagram a little box that pops open? Did they switch to that style in the later years of their production run?

 

[jpmist]

Thanks for the ideas. All of the powerhouse models ive seen had a little battery cover that was the same material as a pickguard and was set at an angle. Is the one in that diagram a little box that pops open? Did they switch to that style in the later years of their production run?

Yep, the early models had the screw on white cover over a basic bare wood cavity, the last year or so had the battery box.

 

[Neckbone281]

This is probably a long shot, but has anyone found a sketch showing the location and dimensions for the battery compartment on the back of the body? I have had no luck finding a replacement powerhouse body, so I think I my only option is to get a new strat body and route the battery compartment and circuit board pocket. The circuit board pocket is easy enough, but cannot find a dimensional sketch for the powerhouse anywhere. I did call Fender and asked if they would give me that info since they no longer offer a replacement body that i could purchase… and they were less than helpful. The said they did not have that information. Then i said “I understand that you or your department may not, but someone does.” Then they’d say again that they do not have that information. I said I’m certain that once a model is discontinued, Fender does not just throw away all of their production documents and totally forget what they made in the past and how they did it. Finally convinced them to ask another department. They said they’d email me but its been radio silence.

If no sketch is out there, maybe someone has seen some pictures close enough to use for scale?

Are your trying to mod a standard Strat into a deluxe powerhouse model? keep us posted... here's a couple pics
I wondered why Fender changed the location of the battery compartment, starting in 2005. My guess is a change in where the bodies were cut?

 

[JaredAD]

Just traded for a Powerhouse Strat yesterday. Nearly no volume, even with the boost turned all the way up. When I turn the amp up enough to hear the guitar, it's very noisy. Not sure what's up, but I think I'm just going to try and sell some Tele parts I have in order to buy some Tex-Mex pickups and also to order a Clapton Mid-Boost/TBX kit off Reverb.

The high E wanders too close to the fretboard edge, so I'm thinking I might get a narrower-spaced bridge. I do like the saddles that are on it, though. Will the original pickup covers fit the Tex-Mex pickups? I'd like to keep it looking original.

 

[tonedesign]

Have you checked the battery? A bad 9 volt might cause the problems you're describing (aside from the wandering E - for that, loosen the strings, unscrew the neck screws, make sure your pocket fit is proper and retighten).

 

[JaredAD]

Have you checked the battery? A bad 9 volt might cause the problems you're describing (aside from the wandering E - for that, loosen the strings, unscrew the neck screws, make sure your pocket fit is proper and retighten).

Yep, good battery. Checked the connections at the board and I'm getting 9v there, too.

 

[jpmist]

Can I talk you out of the Clapton kit? The one you already have is the exact same circuit board, you just need to clip two transistors.
There’s a Fender PowerHouse wiring diagram a few posts above this one you might look at to trouble shoot yours.
The E string problem is likely fixed by loosening your neck and repositioning it.
Don’t think a narrower bridge plate is a drop in replacement, the 6 screws are spaced closer for the narrower one.
Nice looking guitar best of luck with it!

 

[JaredAD]

Can I talk you out of the Clapton kit? The one you already have is the exact same circuit board, you just need to clip two transistors.
There’s a Fender PowerHouse wiring diagram a few posts above this one you might look at to trouble shoot yours.
The E string problem is likely fixed by loosening your neck and repositioning it.
Don’t think a narrower bridge plate is a drop in replacement, the 6 screws are spaced closer for the narrower one.
Nice looking guitar best of luck with it!

I've got a wiring diagram. What I need is a schematic so I can check the board and see if maybe I've got a bad cap/resistor. The mid-boost kit with the TBX pot is only 80 bucks and installing is always easier than trouble-shooting.