This parts Strat was completed in 1999, made from a throw away body a well known local luthier made (refer to details below). I made a complete set of L series Strat style pickups for it in Oct 2007 to replace the crappy cheap set that was originally in the pickguard assembly I bought in 1999. The new set sound great.
The intention of this assembly was to make it very rough and worn looking, as the neck was already worn and the body picked up from a scrap pile and I wanted to reflect that.
Franken Strat
Audio
Excuse the sound quality, I needed smaller sized files due to having a dial up connection which takes a long time to upload. A few scuffs in the playing, but I can make excuses :) since I don't really practise or play anymore, though I do write and record.
Filename
Media
Size (bytes)
Upload Date
Genre (vague)
Comment
Sample 3
1886606
05/01/2009 20:49
Blues rock
2 extracts combined into 1 audio file. Franken Strat and sh5 bass
Body: 2 piece Alder. This body was a throw away and was never intended to be used as a production piece due to a split in the glue joint at the bridge end, which does not affect playability and has not widened yet. The contours shaped are very nice on this. The rasp marks are still visible and were not sanded out as the body was discarded due to the split (see picture of the back below)
Neck: 1 piece Rock Maple with a walnut fillet on the back for the truss rod channel
Electronics
Although the pickups are based on a 60s L Series Strat set, apart from the middle pickup being RWRP, the electronics are wired with modern modifications for more options.
Pickups: MK custom '60s vintage L series Strat style. Middle pickup RWRP
Pots: 2 x Alpha 250K audio tone split shaft (to be replaced with CTS or Fender), 1 x 250K Gotoh push/pull volume (DPDT switch on bottom of pot)
Switch: Fender 5 way
Wiring: Cloth insulated wire. Wired for bridge tone control. Switch for bridge pickup using a push/pull pot (DPDT switch on bottom of pot) as the volume control. Pull to turn on the bridge pickup with any position selected on the pickup selector switch. The push/pull switch provides additional combinations: neck and bridge; all three pickups
Capcitors: 1uf capaciter, just like the '60s vintage strats
Jack: mono
Hardware
Tuners: Schaller
Bridge: Vintage Strat style
Pickguard: Fender (3 ply, black/white/black)
Control Plate: N/A
Knobs: Fender Strat (white)
Strap buttons: none yet
String retainer: Fender style
Nut: bone
Finish
Nitrocellulose clear on the neck, very thin coat of epoxy on the body.
MK Custom Franken Strat Assembly
® Copyright 2008 Michael Katsilis. All rights reserved.
MK Basses, NSW, Australia mkbasses.com •
