Latest Lightweight Build

[ElementMan]

Hi Everyone!

Presenting my lightest lightweight build. This one weighs in at 6 lbs 15oz. It feels so feathery and organic in my hands (a little too new-age, I know). Here are the details:

(1) The body is from Warmoth. It is birdseye maple with swamp ash as the core wood. I finished it 100% in shellac, which I mixed from flakes. I went blonde, then amber, then blonde. The feel is incredible, and I think it really brought out the figuring of the wood.

(2) The neck is also Warmoth. I bought this one off the rack. It is Gibson scale conversion (24.75"), standard thin, 10-16" compound radius, maple with dark rosewood. It is also finished in shellac, and the feel is fantastic. BTW: I did not think I would love these neck specifications, but I was dead wrong. I love this neck!

(3) Pickups are from Sheptone. They are the "Good Enough for Leo" set, which are vintage spec. They are spectacular on this Strat. Sheptone is probably better known for their outstanding humbuckers, but I have to say: I have bonded with these babies like crazy. The fellow who owns and winds for Sheptone (Jason) is very approachable. Great experience with these.

(4) 100% custom electronics soldered by yours truly. I installed the Ilitch noise canceling system (backplate version), but because I am curious, I put it on a push-pull pot so I can turn it on and off (up is off). I only turn the system off so that I can see how much noise it is eliminating . I truly hear no difference in tone. In addition, this one has an Emerson high end cap (.22) and blender pot. All pots are 250K.

(5) Stuck to my beloved Gotoh 510 six screw trem with FST mechanism. I can't speak highly enough about these bridges. Sound is great, tuning is rock solid, trem arm never wobbles. As others have noted, you have to remove a small amount of wood from the trem route, which takes 30 seconds with a Dremel tool. Superb tremolo, and you can buy for < $100.

(6) My usual and beloved open gear locking tuners from Hipshot, with pearloid buttons. This things are feather light and smooth as heck. Highly recommended. Plus, I used my standard Tusq XL bridge, and hardware from Callaham.

(7) Mint green pickup guard that I had from prior build. I believe it is from WD music. Always great pickguards from them.

Thanks!!! And keep building!

LJM

 

[Exhead]

Beautiful and the mellow overall tone of the woods is very pleasing. Now we need sound clips. Congrats on a successful and attractive build.

 

[ElementMan]

Thanks Exhead! This guitar sounds like it looks (if that makes sense). Very mellow and natural. Position 2 and 4 are my faves. I use this one for clean sounds and natural tube overdrive. I will try to post some clips! If I do, I will also highlight the amazingness of the Ilitch system. It is that good...

 

[Bowmap]

I hadn't thought of using shellac. I need to look into that. The pros and cons vs nitro lacquer.

It really caught my eye on that body.

 

[Slacker G]

Cool. You have a great looking guitar there. The first thing that came to mind when I looked at it was that it looked like a Warmoth body. The natural finish was a good choice.

I have a Warmoth Birds Eye Swamp Ash body with a Birds Eye Maple neck & F.B. It is the only Birds Eye Swamp Ash that I have ever seen. I have an aged white MOT white guard on mine. Warmoth has some great wood.

You did good.

 

[Lateralu_s]

thats sweet did you shoot the shellac or french polish method ?

 

[Murdog]

Very nice! Love it!

 

[ElementMan]

I hadn't thought of using shellac. I need to look into that. The pros and cons vs nitro lacquer.

It really caught my eye on that body.

Shellac is a wonderful substance for natural wood guitars. I like to dissolve flakes in Everclear liquor. It is super safe, no fumes, cleans up easily. It is certainly less durable than nitro lacquer, but it is simple to repair, should the need arise. If you ever get tired of guitars, you can use the body for a cutting board, because it is food safe . Love the stuff.

 

[ElementMan]

thats sweet did you shoot the shellac or french polish method ?

Hi There! I used what I call "modified French polish." I use the traditional method of filling pores with pumice (not needed in maple top, but needed on ash back and sides). Then I apply shellac with a French polish pad made from very old cotton bedsheets with cotton gauze in the middle. This particular guitar was padded over maybe two weeks with probably 40 sessions ("coats", although these aren't really coats, since shellac is so thin and each "coat" melts into the previous one). I prefer a 1.5 lb cut, which goes on smooth and which rarely needs olive oil. Where I differ from the classical way of French polishing is that I lightly dry sand every 5 or so sessions, using Eagle Abrasives Buflex product, which is really amazing stuff. Very lightly sand with 2000, 2500, 3000. If I have a noticeable rag mark, I mighty bring it down to 800 grit, using Eagle Abrasives Asilex dry sanding product. Then I work my way up. Shellac powders beautifully (fine white powder) and flattens well. With the right wood, the outcome is really beautiful!!!

 

[ElementMan]

Cool. You have a great looking guitar there. The first thing that came to mind when I looked at it was that it looked like a Warmoth body. The natural finish was a good choice.

I have a Warmoth Birds Eye Swamp Ash body with a Birds Eye Maple neck & F.B. It is the only Birds Eye Swamp Ash that I have ever seen. I have an aged white MOT white guard on mine. Warmoth has some great wood.

You did good.

I would love to see that! I have never seen birdseye ash. I have a love hate relationship with ash. It sounds the best (to my ears), but you really have to work to fill the grain. I am rather amazed that, on this guitar, I was able to grain fill the back with pumice. I enjoyed it WAY MORE than Timbermate and similar. Like, infinitely more, because I didn't need to sand the stuff off... Thanks for your kind comments!

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Looks nice!
I have looked at Warmoth chambered Strat bodies with a core wood and a cap wood, but cannot tell how they mate the top cap around the forearm cut.
Can you post a pic of that seam from the butt end and the side?
I have a bunch of Warmoth parts but never bought a capped Strat body.

 

[ElementMan]

Hi! The seam is barely visible to my eyes. By the way, this is not a chambered body. I don’t like them very much, tone-wise.

 

[Slacker G]

I would love to see that! I have never seen birdseye ash.

Pics don't do this axe justice. It has a Tele neck on it and a Gold lion neck plate now. I need to take new pics

I changed the PickGuard since this was taken. It has a rail HB in the bridge now and a couple of extra mini toggls.

 

[circles]

Lovely.

 

[skysc]

look amazing man !!!! i have a conversion neck building right now from warmoth to the similar specs to replacxe my Fender performer , should receive it in 8-10 weeks . i took similar spec to you , except maple/maple neck and the wizard thin profile 0.75 at 1st fret

do you like the 24.75 shortscale ?
im a les paul player and just got into strat recently , i love the look of the strat , but my small hands prefer the Gibson scale

n-e way , its a nice strat man . the body came out amazing !!

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Hi! The seam is barely visible to my eyes. By the way, this is not a chambered body. I don’t like them very much, tone-wise.

Took a minute to spot it, looks the the cap is maybe 1/8" or less?
Almost invisible and obviously can be bent over the arm contour?
I wish Warmoth included more pics or info with certain products like the chambered Strat.
I do not prefer that either but had been considering it.
I wonder how they maple cap a chambered ash body?
That thin a cap would need more support, curious.

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Here is what butchery I applied to get this one down to 3lbs from 3 1/2. Losing another 1/2 lb to an aluminum trem block.
Needs some buffing but I think I am done applying finish.

 

[Quikstyl]

Hi Everyone!

Presenting my lightest lightweight build. This one weighs in at 6 lbs 15oz. It feels so feathery and organic in my hands (a little too new-age, I know). Here are the details:

(1) The body is from Warmoth. It is birdseye maple with swamp ash as the core wood. I finished it 100% in shellac, which I mixed from flakes. I went blonde, then amber, then blonde. The feel is incredible, and I think it really brought out the figuring of the wood.

(2) The neck is also Warmoth. I bought this one off the rack. It is Gibson scale conversion (24.75"), standard thin, 10-16" compound radius, maple with dark rosewood. It is also finished in shellac, and the feel is fantastic. BTW: I did not think I would love these neck specifications, but I was dead wrong. I love this neck!

(3) Pickups are from Sheptone. They are the "Good Enough for Leo" set, which are vintage spec. They are spectacular on this Strat. Sheptone is probably better known for their outstanding humbuckers, but I have to say: I have bonded with these babies like crazy. The fellow who owns and winds for Sheptone (Jason) is very approachable. Great experience with these.

(4) 100% custom electronics soldered by yours truly. I installed the Ilitch noise canceling system (backplate version), but because I am curious, I put it on a push-pull pot so I can turn it on and off (up is off). I only turn the system off so that I can see how much noise it is eliminating . I truly hear no difference in tone. In addition, this one has an Emerson high end cap (.22) and blender pot. All pots are 250K.

(5) Stuck to my beloved Gotoh 510 six screw trem with FST mechanism. I can't speak highly enough about these bridges. Sound is great, tuning is rock solid, trem arm never wobbles. As others have noted, you have to remove a small amount of wood from the trem route, which takes 30 seconds with a Dremel tool. Superb tremolo, and you can buy for < $100.

(6) My usual and beloved open gear locking tuners from Hipshot, with pearloid buttons. This things are feather light and smooth as heck. Highly recommended. Plus, I used my standard Tusq XL bridge, and hardware from Callaham.

(7) Mint green pickup guard that I had from prior build. I believe it is from WD music. Always great pickguards from them.

Thanks!!! And keep building!

LJM

View attachment 622627

That's beautiful. I always wanted a natural Strat like that. Saw one once in my local shop with a small headstock like I prefer, then it was gone. Every one I've seen since has the large stock.
I envy you your ability to create something like this. Truly an artist, as are all the STers with this talent. Nice work.

 

[ElementMan]

look amazing man !!!! i have a conversion neck building right now from warmoth to the similar specs to replacxe my Fender performer , should receive it in 8-10 weeks . i took similar spec to you , except maple/maple neck and the wizard thin profile 0.75 at 1st fret

do you like the 24.75 shortscale ?
im a les paul player and just got into strat recently , i love the look of the strat , but my small hands prefer the Gibson scale

n-e way , its a nice strat man . the body came out amazing !!

Thanks so much! From one small handed dude to another: 24.75" scale Strat necks rock! Absolutely. I have five of these, and I ain't never going back... All the best!

 

[ElementMan]

That's beautiful. I always wanted a natural Strat like that. Saw one once in my local shop with a small headstock like I prefer, then it was gone. Every one I've seen since has the large stock.
I envy you your ability to create something like this. Truly an artist, as are all the STers with this talent. Nice work.

Thank you so much!!! In my book, large headstocks are for Jazzmasters. For a Strat, it has to be the smaller one. Not everyone agrees, but I guess that's the beauty of it!!!