THANK YOU so much for the advice on going super slow when starting to drill the post holes for the bridge. Doing that to avoid chipping the paint is so smart. I never would have thought of that and I would have been SO bummed. You are the best.
Run the drill backwards for the first little bit. You’ll need more pressure, but once you get past the polyurethane and into the body, you can go the conventional way. I love this guitar build, by the way. I’ve done a cheap DeLonge copy but I’m gonna add a neck single coil and wire a 3-way selector switch to split the bridge humbucker in position 2. I’ve done it on a HSS Strat and it works great on bridge+middle.
The tele would be cool. They are great to play but I can’t stand looking at them. Butt ugly. Lol! I know guitars aren’t supposed to be about how they look. But to me, they are pieces of art. I regularly spend huge premiums to get very minor aesthetic upgrades on guitars I buy. I recently sold my first real strat just to get the exact same model in a different color. It was a big financial loss, but I am SO much happier with one with the exact color I wanted (fiesta red. Vintage gooeyness. It looks like it hasn’t dried yet and I love it). I just talked my buddy into spending an extra $1000 on his new PRS to upgrade to a super rare custom color. He is beyond thrilled and says I was right. He thinks it was worth every penny. And I do it with cheap guitars too. I got a J Mascis squier Jazzmaster instead of a cheaper squier Jazzmaster because the j Mascis had the aesthetic I wanted. I payed almost double but it was worth it. And that guitar plays better than a Mexican Jazzmaster anyway. Best squier ever built by far. See the reviews and you’ll understand. It’s beyond amazing. A real pro guitar built by squier.
Nonsense. I always saw a perspex pickup, because all those horror colours you all like, are, well, YOUR taste. And by definition I want something else. One ought to build ones guitar oneself, buying is brrrrrrr! And never nick any pickups anymore, you nutty boy! Nick pickups?!
The pearl and aged white with that green is so nice looking. I liked the white guard but the pearl one just fits better. Great video! Love the easy to follow mod guide
I love building partscasters; it's so enjoyable, even if mine isn't perfect. It feels so personal and unique. The tone is incredible! I recently shared a video of it, connected to an obscure Italian tube amp from the seventies. The clean and drive tones are fantastic with this setup.
And i bought a Fender Strat for 960 dollars, Fender locking tuners for about 100 dollars, pickups Seymore Duncan Hot rails, DiMarzio Air Norton S, DiMarzio Pro track 520 dollars, Fender 500K pots for about 51 dollars, and a Fender Professional II scalloped neck, rosewood 810 dollars. and might switch the pickguard to Fender pearl white like the one you have there that cost about 60-70 dollars. Have not changed the pots, put in the pro track nor the swapped the neck yet as I'm waiting for the pickup to arrive and the neck. Lastly have to buy string tree / guiders but but those are pretty affordable between 16-22 dollars. That's how i personalize my guitar. I also have a Squier Affinity Telecaster that got the Fender Strat tuners, has a DiMarzio chopper pickup, going to swap the pots to 500K and change the neck pickup to either fast track or cruiser neck, will swap the neck to a US telecaster neck and set locking tuners on it, swap the bridge to a US Fender one with 3-point saddle and that's it for the Tellie. Also bought a LA gear4music guitar for about 120 dollars, which I put the Fender single coil pickup in, and will not change pots on that one at least until they have to be replaced but then will keep that one at 250K pots, going to put the Fender neck on that one, will require some adjustments and alteration as I had to do with the Squier headstock when installing Fender tuners because of the measurements not being the same, and put a Fender bolt on plate on it just because why not.. some like to spend as little as possible and get the best result a budget guitar can give them where I am the oposite and want the best and that doesn't come cheap! I'm also swapping bass pickups on my fretless fender j bass to either EMG-J or Fender noiseless and I have a Chicago guitar4music bass with a J and P pickup that I also will swap to some high quality pickups! Not gonna swap out the electronics on either one of the basses, unless I'm convinced that doing so will be better with the pickups i choose. I'm hooked on modifying my instruments and it makes my instrument feel way more personal, specially since I'm doing all the work! Not a luthier but I've learned to solder in school in 2004, and just was surprised over how easy it is do do modifications my self. Also learned how to setup string gauge action and how to intonate my instruments here on TH-cam and how to do do a service on my instruments! So far I've not messed up my instruments and I'm quite happy!
Rub some bar soap into your screw threads, it'll help to cut those new holes, especially in the neck. And, if your body neck screws are one drill size bigger the screw threads wont grab hard and transfer the clamping force of the plate directly to the neck. If the screws are tight in the body holes the clamping force only holds the plate against the body and cant pull the neck tight into the neck pocket. Its gorgeous!
Okay I'm sorry.... but whoever said your pickguard was ugly is probably just a jealous you know what. I think the white pearl pickguard with the two Invader-type pickups looks absolutely amazing! That being said, the black pickguard doesn't look bad either. But honest to God, your first thought I feel was brilliant. Two Invader looking pickups with the white pearl pickguard against the sea green body~ it looks incredible. Plus, you have extra tones with that configuration that you can't get with the black pickguard and single humbucker. All in all though, it's so much fun just to experiment with different ideas and setups. So I guess there's no right or wrong as long as you're having fun, right!? Great video! Thank you 🙏
Thanks dude yeah totally agree, the 2 invader style humbuckers is a really cool setup!! And the coil split toggles makes it even better haha I just love single pickup guitars too much I suppose
Great video, you make the process look so easy. I'm completing a Tele build at the moment, but could be tempted to do one of these as well. Can't wait for a follow up where you show set up steps - this'll be the hardest part for me, as I don't necessarily have all of the correct tools for the job e.g. nut files etc. - here's looking forward to some tips.
Mine started as a Starcaster Strat by Fender wjich I stripped completely of all but the trem plate and neck backing plate then ended with many replaced and upgraded parts and electronics.. all costing a bit more for this build.... including 3 P/P 500K vol Pots for coil split on 3 quad rail humbuckers , 3 -500K tone pots 6 chrome knobs, 3 -.047 tone caps a 6 pin sp/st toggle switch to activate the bridge and neck p/u regardless of the 5-way switch position. added a brass full sized trem block roller saddles ans string trees locking tuners A custom hand made stainless steel extended pick guard held to the body by black screws to mount all the extra pots and switches including the relocated output jack. also black strap locks then a custom stars and planets ,space theme paint job on body and head stock with a 2K clear coat fine sanded and buffed to a glassy shine........ renamed to the .....Stellarcaster It cost a total of less than $400 USIf ordered from anywhere else would cost a few thousand at least. O did it all myself to my personal desired specs...lol the original guitar was under $100 used and the rest of it bought on Amazon.. all but the spray paint used from the can for major painting or and used in an airbrush for the finer details, decanted into a small container for use in the airbrush... all mine... very cool and completely unique.
Looks very nice - Cheap guitar or expensive pick guard? Nice tip on the scoring of the paint. I would have just charged in and made a pigs ear of it. On the copper tape, did you buy it as copper shielding tape or have you looked at copper slug tape from the garden centres and budget shops? Sometimes the same product can change price depending on what use they put on the label. Whilst I'm on about shielding what do you think of the conductive black electrical shielding paint that contains graphite? How deep is the electronics cavity in the Strat? Is it deep enough to get a decent quality push pull? If so then you could have used a couple of push pull /push push pots in the pearl pick guard instead of toggle switches.
You maybe should have explained the trick with the straight edge when installing the tuners. Some people may not have known why you did that and skipped it. Same goes for the tape wrapped around your drill bit to mark for depth. For those wondering, the straight edge made sure his tuners were lined up perfectly. And the tape was placed in a pre measured spot to make sure he drilled down to the correct depth. Great tricks. This video is packed with smart tips and tricks that may not be so obvious to some people. People like me. Me and my soooper entelijent publik scool edgecashin.
Nice to hear that those Guyker locking tuners aren't crap. I have their copy of a TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece on one of my guitars, and it's really impressed me.
loved this. would be awesome if you could showcase your lessons learnt in terms of part selection. i've been thinking of doing something similar but im always hesitant of buying a body and neck from different sources. i dont mind doing some sanding like you've done here but having the neck and body remotely fit would be a very big step to make this process less tedious
Thanks Sten and yeah you make a good point, I often just buy stuff and worry about making it fit later so I forget sometimes that most people won't want that
This video is a big inspiration, I'd want to try building something like this in the future. How do you find those pickups? They have a really cool aesthetic, the whole pickup assembly with the switches is really nice, very versatile setup. This is what I could find out about the pickups based on a reverse image search: Magnet: Ceramic. D.C. Resistance: Neck: 10±0.5 Bridge: 12±0.5
Personally for the price you'll not get much better of a pickup setup, are they as good as Seymour Duncans? No. But are they value for money and very good anyway? Yes! I think if you use this as a base and replace the pots + blade switch you could have a killer setup
@@Giant_Guitars That is a great way to look at this stuff. The strat has been copied and mass produced so much that it's easy to find decent parts for it on a budget as well. Really a no brainer if you want to build your own electric.
Amazing build, I bet it stands head and shoulders above the quality of any Classic Vibe or Player Series. Shows how much Fender is up charging their products. Just one little thing I could not help but notice. You may have run into the same problem that Aaron from Warmoth ran into with the Wilkinson compact series bridge. There are a couple of videos on their channel explaining the issue. The block on some of the more modern Wilkinson bridges is only 36 mm deep compared to the full size Strat bridge depth of 40-42 mm. I believe that is why the springs are dangerously close to the cavity at the back. Swapping the block with a full size one will alleviate the issue. The short block is ideal for the thin body of a Squier Affinity Strat though!
To prevent the paint chipping, instead of going excruciatingly slow i would have clamped a scrap of wood over it. Also running the drill in reverse before drilling helps to prevent tear out if you decide not tu use the wood
Cheers I'll try that! I've only ever done it in the reverse where I put a block under something to prevent tear out when you go the whole way through but I guess it makes absolute sense to do it the way you describe also!
If you go to the trouble of adding copper shielding to the cavity, is that not an opportunity to save yourself soldering onto the claw? Just run a wire to the cavity and screw it in place, or even have some insulated spade/crimp connectors so that it's easily removed and reattached?
Nice string guider/ string tree! also sure the matt black pickguard looks nice, but I think the pearl white is very nice! One of the nicer ones in my opinion but black works well too! did you just throw the pickups in the bin? lol! Cheap ones i guess?
Thanks 🙏 well they sound great for the price, I think if you're on a budget then you'll not get much better for so cheap. If you've got a bit more to spend then definitely upgrade them, especially the electronics. But totally good as is for the price!
I built a 7 string strat but had issues with the ground noise. Got pretty frustrated with it and left it in the corner of my room. Your build video is really inpiring, might finish my work finally.
Finish it bud 🙏 grounding buzz or noises can be a real pain sometimes and I still get issues like this all the time, I'm confident you'll get there with yours!
You made a comment about the strap buttons being too small near the start of the video. I like to use tall bass string retainers as strap buttons (example: Gotoh RB30). You almost don't need straplocks with a pair of them.
Great video. I really want to do something like this but it's a little scary. I have an inherited Yamaha Pacifica from a friend that is ancient. I'm a beginner so it's OK for me now. I like the feel of the body and neck but the electronics need replacing. I am thinking of buying a cheap HSS loaded pickguard for a fender from Amazon and swapping it into my guitar. I would love to know if you think the sound in the cheap pickups are good enough.
Thank you bud 🙏 Yamaha Pacificas are superb little guitars - the first guitar I felt properly comfortable to play was a Pacifica! Every cheap pickup will be different but I'm sure you can find good sounding cheap ones yeah. Just maybe take the pickguard off your Pacifica first to make sure you have enough space under there for all the electronics!
So it's like you got your swimming pool back with a hot tub in the space. Kidding, I think the Chinese are great I usually figure you win some you loose some when you have problems How much did you pay for the wilkinson trem. if you don't mind sharing that. I like the neck on that thing.
I can't actually remember how much I paid for the trem because this was so long ago, I tried to scroll through my purchase history there but couldn't find it sorry! If I had to guess I'd say £20-30 because I was working in a budget for this one.
I would love to see a video on making the sharp fret edges smooth. I have a warmoth neck i want to put on a strat i bought, and i will, but id really like to dress the frets so the edges arent so sharp. Would like to watch a video on ot before buying any fret files. I'm sure you'd do a great video on it whenever you have time!
Oh, and I meant to add - You do a great job of dealing with the inevitable, insufferable, TH-cam jerks, wads, a-holes, haters, and the just generally miserable people who have nothing going on in their lives, then to post negative comments. I loved the one about the Harley Benton because he assumes the quality of yours vs theirs, BUT most importantly because "it doesn't require any work."! I mean, THAT alone explains everything! Lol
Really enjoyed watching this. I’m an admirer of your work as seen on Instagram - getting an insight into how you do it was great. Keep ‘em coming dude!
I did a Partscaster build out of Fender parts and whilst it's a great build, I wouldn't go down that route anytime soon because of budget. What you've done here is a perfect alternative and a challenge I'm going to try when funds allow!
Not sure why you remove the neck pickup sounded like it needed a height adjustment I just ordered the same Pickguard with a single coil middle pickup. Hope it sounds as good.
Awesome video! I'm looking at building a t-style guitar at the moment. Out of interest can I ask why you are not a fan of Wilkinson parts in general? Been looking at their pickups and tuners, for the price looks tempting
Honestly I think it was mostly a parts snob thing and I had no real reason to be. I had a bad experience with a black Wilkinson Tele bridge years ago but I don't think that was Wilkinson's fault tbh. I'd 100% try them again, this bridge has been great for the price!
great vid.. and dealing with the finish with drill bits is not easy.. sharp tools go slow.. i did hear that turning the drill backwards will help a bit as well.. when doing a partscaster.. the NECK is the best place to spend money.. Pickup next.. looks great now.. lol.. enjoyed this..
Thanks bud and yes someone commented here about going backwards with the drill bit so I'm going to test that out! You're 100% right and (obviously not this video) most of my partscasters start with a neck - like the block inlay Gold Thinline I did a few months back!!
Thanks Mark, glad you were recommended me! Thanks for the sub! There's plenty more in Northern Ireland that I wish would do similar to this on TH-cam too!
@@Giant_Guitars aye, there's a decent amount of players for such a small country. You've got me looking at a strat body now when I've still got an unfinished 7 string I'm building lol.
First of your videos and that pickup removal got me wondering why I'm looking for a HSH strat with splittable humbuckers when I've actually only played bridge pickup for the last 30 years.
A rheostat switch wired in series parallel would have been an interesting solution to the second scratch plate not marrying up - could have run tone and volume from the bridge to it...anyway, just got through working on a strat of my own today, so pumped to watch vids like this. Cheers! Great work. Do an Esquire for less than a hunnert quid! Then, ship it to me. Kidding, Not really. I'll play songs on it, and post it to my tiny channel. Luv, bruv.
I've been following you in instagram for a couple months now. Igood thing you were in my recommendations, didn't knew you have a youtube channel. Definitely dothe £100 build
Thanks bud I appreciate it 🙏 I just started TH-cam at Christmas there, wish I'd started sooner haha. And yeah I'm currently still shopping around for that £100 build but it's coming!
Love your pickguard comment lol!! And the guitar of course:) Did you dismember the pickguard and put it in that little bucket of trash you threw away at the end?
awesome video, i've just started looking for parts for my first build. i was thinking of doing the finish myself but seing the quality is probably better than i'd manage i might just get a cheap finished body too
Awesome stuff mate, definitely worth trying your own paint job of you want a really custom colour but if you can find one like this that you like it's definitely worth the money
I know you said you're not a fan of Wilkinson stuff but you should give their EZ-Lok tuners a try, I've used them on a few builds and they're rock solid tuners for a budget price.
What a well made video, thanks very much. I reluctantly sold my 2 guitars last year as I needed the money :( was just watching some Tom Delonge videos, that's maybe why this video came up not sure (the invader pickups and colour make it look like a TD signature model). Decided I'm gonna be making this over the next month or two 👍
@@thegoodguy44 well I wouldn't say it's lame and you've watched the video so you were curious to click and look at it. It's expensive yeah definitely for a guitar with one pickup and no switching options but that's a signature model for you.
You need to bin that plastic gasket on the neck plate, it screams "CHEAP" to anyone looking. PS - I agree that the pearloid looks nicer. Although I'd have kept the white one, and just rounded off the broken end a bit more.
I agree, those plastic gaskets are horrible lol but I was just using everything pretty much as I bought it! If that broken piece of the white one had been in the back I'd have just glued it back on haha
Nice Deftones riff!!! I heard 7 Words (different song) when it first came out on the radio but they never announced who it was so i spent almost 3 months trying to find theband name. Was a much different time. Anyway great build! Love watching your content! Thanks!!
This guitar looks awesome, apart from the fake orange tan on the neck! It is hard to buy a Fender or a Fender copy without these tinted necks these days, the only guitar I have seen with a natural maple neck is the Squier Bullet
I tried to do this, but it didn't sound right, the strings went in tune, but anything i played was out of tune, also my one pickup, one volume emg 81 set up buzzed consistently like a mad man...so i kinda gave up on it...
No you can also get gloss black without those lines. When you look at a pickguard and it says 3 ply or 5 ply that's how many layers it has (lines) so you can find 1 ply and it won't have any
@@Giant_Guitars I was going to ask if you knew it was in drop C# but didn’t want to come off like I was criticizing lol. I only know what tuning it’s in cause I wrote almost all my bands songs in that tuning so I know which songs use it lol.
@@erikrummel6277 haha criticism is good though 😊. I actually recorded Rammstein Engel but played this at the end while the camera was still going and preferred it in edit so that's what we got 😁
@@erikrummel6277 if you're looking on eBay go through the categories to browse under the specific 'necks' category and filter by 'ending soonest' if nothing there you like change it to 'lowest price first' and browse around. If nothing on eBay you could try other similar sites 👌
Thank you bud and yeah the pearl was nice too 😀 if I'd had a pearl single hum pickguard lying around I'd have used it as that was a spur of the moment thing.
THANK YOU so much for the advice on going super slow when starting to drill the post holes for the bridge. Doing that to avoid chipping the paint is so smart. I never would have thought of that and I would have been SO bummed. You are the best.
Or some tape
Run the drill backwards for the first little bit. You’ll need more pressure, but once you get past the polyurethane and into the body, you can go the conventional way.
I love this guitar build, by the way. I’ve done a cheap DeLonge copy but I’m gonna add a neck single coil and wire a 3-way selector switch to split the bridge humbucker in position 2. I’ve done it on a HSS Strat and it works great on bridge+middle.
Man, you made it look so easy to build this strat. Kinda inspired me to get back on track with my tele and jazzmaster projects that has yet to finish.
Do it Donatello! You'll not regret it. Send me some photos of them when you get to them 😄
Finish the Jazzmaster and post a vid!
The tele would be cool. They are great to play but I can’t stand looking at them. Butt ugly. Lol! I know guitars aren’t supposed to be about how they look. But to me, they are pieces of art. I regularly spend huge premiums to get very minor aesthetic upgrades on guitars I buy. I recently sold my first real strat just to get the exact same model in a different color. It was a big financial loss, but I am SO much happier with one with the exact color I wanted (fiesta red. Vintage gooeyness. It looks like it hasn’t dried yet and I love it). I just talked my buddy into spending an extra $1000 on his new PRS to upgrade to a super rare custom color. He is beyond thrilled and says I was right. He thinks it was worth every penny. And I do it with cheap guitars too. I got a J Mascis squier Jazzmaster instead of a cheaper squier Jazzmaster because the j Mascis had the aesthetic I wanted. I payed almost double but it was worth it. And that guitar plays better than a Mexican Jazzmaster anyway. Best squier ever built by far. See the reviews and you’ll understand. It’s beyond amazing. A real pro guitar built by squier.
Pearl looks so much better...also, I'm surprised the nick pickups lasted as long as they did 😂
Haha I know, I had it in the house like that for about a week and it was killing me 😭😂
Nonsense. I always saw a perspex pickup, because all those horror colours you all like, are, well, YOUR taste. And by definition I want something else. One ought to build ones guitar oneself, buying is brrrrrrr! And never nick any pickups anymore, you nutty boy! Nick pickups?!
@@voornaam3191 you ok dude?
@@Giant_Guitars Hmmm.
@@voornaam3191 you don't know what a nick pickup is......how the uneducated live is beyond me
The pearl and aged white with that green is so nice looking. I liked the white guard but the pearl one just fits better. Great video! Love the easy to follow mod guide
I agree it was a stunning combo 👌 just works so well. Thanks bud 🙏
I agree in regard to the pearlized guard, except that one with a slightly green tone would have matched this guitar body better.
I love building partscasters; it's so enjoyable, even if mine isn't perfect. It feels so personal and unique. The tone is incredible! I recently shared a video of it, connected to an obscure Italian tube amp from the seventies. The clean and drive tones are fantastic with this setup.
And i bought a Fender Strat for 960 dollars, Fender locking tuners for about 100 dollars, pickups Seymore Duncan Hot rails, DiMarzio Air Norton S, DiMarzio Pro track 520 dollars, Fender 500K pots for about 51 dollars, and a Fender Professional II scalloped neck, rosewood 810 dollars. and might switch the pickguard to Fender pearl white like the one you have there that cost about 60-70 dollars. Have not changed the pots, put in the pro track nor the swapped the neck yet as I'm waiting for the pickup to arrive and the neck. Lastly have to buy string tree / guiders but but those are pretty affordable between 16-22 dollars. That's how i personalize my guitar. I also have a Squier Affinity Telecaster that got the Fender Strat tuners, has a DiMarzio chopper pickup, going to swap the pots to 500K and change the neck pickup to either fast track or cruiser neck, will swap the neck to a US telecaster neck and set locking tuners on it, swap the bridge to a US Fender one with 3-point saddle and that's it for the Tellie.
Also bought a LA gear4music guitar for about 120 dollars, which I put the Fender single coil pickup in, and will not change pots on that one at least until they have to be replaced but then will keep that one at 250K pots, going to put the Fender neck on that one, will require some adjustments and alteration as I had to do with the Squier headstock when installing Fender tuners because of the measurements not being the same, and put a Fender bolt on plate on it just because why not.. some like to spend as little as possible and get the best result a budget guitar can give them where I am the oposite and want the best and that doesn't come cheap! I'm also swapping bass pickups on my fretless fender j bass to either EMG-J or Fender noiseless and I have a Chicago guitar4music bass with a J and P pickup that I also will swap to some high quality pickups! Not gonna swap out the electronics on either one of the basses, unless I'm convinced that doing so will be better with the pickups i choose. I'm hooked on modifying my instruments and it makes my instrument feel way more personal, specially since I'm doing all the work! Not a luthier but I've learned to solder in school in 2004, and just was surprised over how easy it is do do modifications my self. Also learned how to setup string gauge action and how to intonate my instruments here on TH-cam and how to do do a service on my instruments! So far I've not messed up my instruments and I'm quite happy!
Rub some bar soap into your screw threads, it'll help to cut those new holes, especially in the neck. And, if your body neck screws are one drill size bigger the screw threads wont grab hard and transfer the clamping force of the plate directly to the neck. If the screws are tight in the body holes the clamping force only holds the plate against the body and cant pull the neck tight into the neck pocket.
Its gorgeous!
Oh good tips thanks for this 😀
i like the placement of the switches, it leaves enough space under the volume pot to turn it comfortably with your little finger.
Yeah that's true, you could roll it nicely with your hand!
The pearl is so much nicer! It's really impressive what you can put together for relatively cheap
Thanks bud, it's definitely worth checking around for these cheap parts!
Okay I'm sorry.... but whoever said your pickguard was ugly is probably just a jealous you know what. I think the white pearl pickguard with the two Invader-type pickups looks absolutely amazing! That being said, the black pickguard doesn't look bad either. But honest to God, your first thought I feel was brilliant. Two Invader looking pickups with the white pearl pickguard against the sea green body~ it looks incredible. Plus, you have extra tones with that configuration that you can't get with the black pickguard and single humbucker. All in all though, it's so much fun just to experiment with different ideas and setups. So I guess there's no right or wrong as long as you're having fun, right!? Great video! Thank you 🙏
Thanks dude yeah totally agree, the 2 invader style humbuckers is a really cool setup!! And the coil split toggles makes it even better haha I just love single pickup guitars too much I suppose
Great video, you make the process look so easy.
I'm completing a Tele build at the moment, but could be tempted to do one of these as well.
Can't wait for a follow up where you show set up steps - this'll be the hardest part for me, as I don't necessarily have all of the correct tools for the job e.g. nut files etc. - here's looking forward to some tips.
Working on this video right now, I hope to make it my next upload! Hope your Tele turns out well 👌
Mine started as a Starcaster Strat by Fender wjich I stripped completely of all but the trem plate and neck backing plate then ended with many replaced and upgraded parts and electronics.. all costing a bit more for this build.... including 3 P/P 500K vol Pots for coil split on 3 quad rail humbuckers , 3 -500K tone pots 6 chrome knobs, 3 -.047 tone caps a 6 pin sp/st toggle switch to activate the bridge and neck p/u regardless of the 5-way switch position. added a brass full sized trem block roller saddles ans string trees locking tuners A custom hand made stainless steel extended pick guard held to the body by black screws to mount all the extra pots and switches including the relocated output jack. also black strap locks then a custom stars and planets ,space theme paint job on body and head stock with a 2K clear coat fine sanded and buffed to a glassy shine........ renamed to the .....Stellarcaster It cost a total of less than $400 USIf ordered from anywhere else would cost a few thousand at least. O did it all myself to my personal desired specs...lol the original guitar was under $100 used and the rest of it bought on Amazon.. all but the spray paint used from the can for major painting or and used in an airbrush for the finer details, decanted into a small container for use in the airbrush... all mine... very cool and completely unique.
Sounds like a superb project, I'd love to see some photos of that sometime bud
Looks very nice - Cheap guitar or expensive pick guard?
Nice tip on the scoring of the paint. I would have just charged in and made a pigs ear of it.
On the copper tape, did you buy it as copper shielding tape or have you looked at copper slug tape from the garden centres and budget shops? Sometimes the same product can change price depending on what use they put on the label. Whilst I'm on about shielding what do you think of the conductive black electrical shielding paint that contains graphite?
How deep is the electronics cavity in the Strat? Is it deep enough to get a decent quality push pull? If so then you could have used a couple of push pull /push push pots in the pearl pick guard instead of toggle switches.
You maybe should have explained the trick with the straight edge when installing the tuners. Some people may not have known why you did that and skipped it. Same goes for the tape wrapped around your drill bit to mark for depth. For those wondering, the straight edge made sure his tuners were lined up perfectly. And the tape was placed in a pre measured spot to make sure he drilled down to the correct depth. Great tricks. This video is packed with smart tips and tricks that may not be so obvious to some people. People like me. Me and my soooper entelijent publik scool edgecashin.
Thanks bud
Nice to hear that those Guyker locking tuners aren't crap. I have their copy of a TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece on one of my guitars, and it's really impressed me.
Maybe running the drill backwards to start the holes in the paint would help with chip out. That's how you get the hole started in gel coat usually.
Thanks bud I'll be sure to try this
loved this. would be awesome if you could showcase your lessons learnt in terms of part selection. i've been thinking of doing something similar but im always hesitant of buying a body and neck from different sources. i dont mind doing some sanding like you've done here but having the neck and body remotely fit would be a very big step to make this process less tedious
Thanks Sten and yeah you make a good point, I often just buy stuff and worry about making it fit later so I forget sometimes that most people won't want that
This video is a big inspiration, I'd want to try building something like this in the future.
How do you find those pickups? They have a really cool aesthetic, the whole pickup assembly with the switches is really nice, very versatile setup.
This is what I could find out about the pickups based on a reverse image search:
Magnet: Ceramic.
D.C. Resistance:
Neck: 10±0.5
Bridge: 12±0.5
Personally for the price you'll not get much better of a pickup setup, are they as good as Seymour Duncans? No. But are they value for money and very good anyway? Yes! I think if you use this as a base and replace the pots + blade switch you could have a killer setup
@@Giant_Guitars That is a great way to look at this stuff. The strat has been copied and mass produced so much that it's easy to find decent parts for it on a budget as well. Really a no brainer if you want to build your own electric.
Lol that neck pickup trash can is hillarious, well done sir!
Thank you mate 😂
That thing turned into such a mean machine at the end. I can't wait to see the setup video. Nice work!
Haha thanks bud, yeah I'll get to that soon, I want to do it with minimal tools etc too
Amazing build, I bet it stands head and shoulders above the quality of any Classic Vibe or Player Series. Shows how much Fender is up charging their products.
Just one little thing I could not help but notice. You may have run into the same problem that Aaron from Warmoth ran into with the Wilkinson compact series bridge. There are a couple of videos on their channel explaining the issue. The block on some of the more modern Wilkinson bridges is only 36 mm deep compared to the full size Strat bridge depth of 40-42 mm. I believe that is why the springs are dangerously close to the cavity at the back. Swapping the block with a full size one will alleviate the issue. The short block is ideal for the thin body of a Squier Affinity Strat though!
Appreciate that but 😃 and thanks for the info on the Wilkinson, that totally makes sense and I didn't realise 🙏
To prevent the paint chipping, instead of going excruciatingly slow i would have clamped a scrap of wood over it. Also running the drill in reverse before drilling helps to prevent tear out if you decide not tu use the wood
Cheers I'll try that! I've only ever done it in the reverse where I put a block under something to prevent tear out when you go the whole way through but I guess it makes absolute sense to do it the way you describe also!
Hoooly... You replied in 3 minutes on an 11day old video. If the contet hadn't gained you a subscriber, this definitely did!
@@gialtro well thanks 🙏 I'm not always so quick haha I just happened to be on my phone and saw your comment as it came through. Appreciate it bud 🙂
If you go to the trouble of adding copper shielding to the cavity, is that not an opportunity to save yourself soldering onto the claw? Just run a wire to the cavity and screw it in place, or even have some insulated spade/crimp connectors so that it's easily removed and reattached?
Nice string guider/ string tree! also sure the matt black pickguard looks nice, but I think the pearl white is very nice! One of the nicer ones in my opinion but black works well too! did you just throw the pickups in the bin? lol! Cheap ones i guess?
Lol yeah the pickups in the bin was just a joke for the video haha but they were cheap 😂
@@Giant_Guitars haha gotcha! I was like "no way he is just throwing pickups, unless they were like a dollar a piece 😛
love this build, I am thinking about putting those pickups on my Strat, are the pickups & electronics okay - would you recommend them?
Thanks 🙏 well they sound great for the price, I think if you're on a budget then you'll not get much better for so cheap. If you've got a bit more to spend then definitely upgrade them, especially the electronics. But totally good as is for the price!
I built a 7 string strat but had issues with the ground noise. Got pretty frustrated with it and left it in the corner of my room. Your build video is really inpiring, might finish my work finally.
Finish it bud 🙏 grounding buzz or noises can be a real pain sometimes and I still get issues like this all the time, I'm confident you'll get there with yours!
You made a comment about the strap buttons being too small near the start of the video. I like to use tall bass string retainers as strap buttons (example: Gotoh RB30). You almost don't need straplocks with a pair of them.
Thanks bud I'll look into them!!
Great video. I really want to do something like this but it's a little scary. I have an inherited Yamaha Pacifica from a friend that is ancient. I'm a beginner so it's OK for me now. I like the feel of the body and neck but the electronics need replacing. I am thinking of buying a cheap HSS loaded pickguard for a fender from Amazon and swapping it into my guitar. I would love to know if you think the sound in the cheap pickups are good enough.
Thank you bud 🙏 Yamaha Pacificas are superb little guitars - the first guitar I felt properly comfortable to play was a Pacifica! Every cheap pickup will be different but I'm sure you can find good sounding cheap ones yeah. Just maybe take the pickguard off your Pacifica first to make sure you have enough space under there for all the electronics!
So it's like you got your swimming pool back with a hot tub in the space. Kidding, I think the Chinese are great I usually figure you win some you loose some when you have problems How much did you pay for the wilkinson trem. if you don't mind sharing that. I like the neck on that thing.
I can't actually remember how much I paid for the trem because this was so long ago, I tried to scroll through my purchase history there but couldn't find it sorry! If I had to guess I'd say £20-30 because I was working in a budget for this one.
I would love to see a video on making the sharp fret edges smooth. I have a warmoth neck i want to put on a strat i bought, and i will, but id really like to dress the frets so the edges arent so sharp. Would like to watch a video on ot before buying any fret files. I'm sure you'd do a great video on it whenever you have time!
Thanks Jim I'll try include all that in my setup video for this one 😁
love the final outcome. I would appreciate knowing how easy it was to transfer the pick ups and wiring over from the pearl guard to the black one.
Thanks bud! It was very simple to swap. If you're pickguard is the right shape etc it's not a big job to do! 🙂
@@Giant_Guitars Can you explain the single switch and single volume knob? I am want to emulate this combination.
That's a cool Stratocaster!
I respect your skill in processing it!
Appreciate that bud thank you 🙏
Oh, and I meant to add - You do a great job of dealing with the inevitable, insufferable, TH-cam jerks, wads, a-holes, haters, and the just generally miserable people who have nothing going on in their lives, then to post negative comments.
I loved the one about the Harley Benton because he assumes the quality of yours vs theirs, BUT most importantly because "it doesn't require any work."! I mean, THAT alone explains everything! Lol
Haha thank you my friend 🙏
Really enjoyed watching this. I’m an admirer of your work as seen on Instagram - getting an insight into how you do it was great. Keep ‘em coming dude!
Thanks Jamie that means a lot to me, honestly
Love how the first thing you play is My Own Summer! 🤘
Thank you 🙏
I did a Partscaster build out of Fender parts and whilst it's a great build, I wouldn't go down that route anytime soon because of budget. What you've done here is a perfect alternative and a challenge I'm going to try when funds allow!
Definitely do it! I love finding cheap ways to make decent and fun instruments and would love to see more people do the same!
Not sure why you remove the neck pickup sounded like it needed a height adjustment I just ordered the same Pickguard with a single coil middle pickup. Hope it sounds as good.
Just me messing around haha, single pickup builds are my style. Good luck with yours bud hope it works out!
I've been building a guitar for the past month and you've used the exact same bridge and tuners! for the price, the tuners are brilliant
Awesome dude 👌 I'm glad you agree, if you have me on Instagram send me some photos of your build, would love to see it!
Awesome video! I'm looking at building a t-style guitar at the moment. Out of interest can I ask why you are not a fan of Wilkinson parts in general? Been looking at their pickups and tuners, for the price looks tempting
Honestly I think it was mostly a parts snob thing and I had no real reason to be. I had a bad experience with a black Wilkinson Tele bridge years ago but I don't think that was Wilkinson's fault tbh. I'd 100% try them again, this bridge has been great for the price!
And thank you 😁
@@Giant_Guitars legend, cheers 🫶
great vid.. and dealing with the finish with drill bits is not easy.. sharp tools go slow.. i did hear that turning the drill backwards will help a bit as well.. when doing a partscaster.. the NECK is the best place to spend money.. Pickup next.. looks great now.. lol.. enjoyed this..
Thanks bud and yes someone commented here about going backwards with the drill bit so I'm going to test that out! You're 100% right and (obviously not this video) most of my partscasters start with a neck - like the block inlay Gold Thinline I did a few months back!!
Hey man, just got recommended you randomly. Cool to see somebody from Northern Ireland doing this type of content.
I've subbed and I'll keep watching.
Thanks Mark, glad you were recommended me! Thanks for the sub! There's plenty more in Northern Ireland that I wish would do similar to this on TH-cam too!
@@Giant_Guitars aye, there's a decent amount of players for such a small country. You've got me looking at a strat body now when I've still got an unfinished 7 string I'm building lol.
What ever it is from bottom of nut to 12 fret. It s hi ould be from 12 fret to front of bridge saddle first string. And 4th string saddle.
First of your videos and that pickup removal got me wondering why I'm looking for a HSH strat with splittable humbuckers when I've actually only played bridge pickup for the last 30 years.
Haha I feel you! 😂😂
Great video. Feel free to do more of these
Thanks 😊 I still try my best
Reverse the drill bit until through paint, then complete drilling hole forward.
I'll try that 👌
A rheostat switch wired in series parallel would have been an interesting solution to the second scratch plate not marrying up - could have run tone and volume from the bridge to it...anyway, just got through working on a strat of my own today, so pumped to watch vids like this. Cheers! Great work. Do an Esquire for less than a hunnert quid! Then, ship it to me. Kidding, Not really. I'll play songs on it, and post it to my tiny channel. Luv, bruv.
Haha thanks bud, I'm actually doing a bit of an esquire build right now but not a cheap one lol
I've been following you in instagram for a couple months now. Igood thing you were in my recommendations, didn't knew you have a youtube channel. Definitely dothe £100 build
Thanks bud I appreciate it 🙏 I just started TH-cam at Christmas there, wish I'd started sooner haha. And yeah I'm currently still shopping around for that £100 build but it's coming!
Love your pickguard comment lol!! And the guitar of course:)
Did you dismember the pickguard and put it in that little bucket of trash you threw away at the end?
may anyone help to list the name of what tools that you used?
- drills?
- drills pin?
- ...?
Man that is actually beautiful!!!!!! Great partscaster !!!! Excellent video
Thanks again bud, I appreciate that!!!
you should do more vids like this, epic dude.
Thanks dude I will for sure
I think it looks awesome with both pick guards and the neck
Thanks bud
Man I love this stuff. Max bang for the buck all the way. Great build. 😎
Haha thanks, I hope the £100 one comes close
Awsome build, I put the same trem on all 5 of my strats. Well done 👏
Thanks Mike, yeah I was pleasantly surprised by it and still am. I'll not write them off so easy next time.
@@Giant_Guitars my favorite neck for parts caster, maple fender players series MIM. Amazing
awesome video, i've just started looking for parts for my first build. i was thinking of doing the finish myself but seing the quality is probably better than i'd manage i might just get a cheap finished body too
Awesome stuff mate, definitely worth trying your own paint job of you want a really custom colour but if you can find one like this that you like it's definitely worth the money
When scoring the paint at about 10:10, I have had good luck running the drill on reverse, it has a much duller "grab" on the finish.
Thanks dude I've heard this a couple of times now and I'll try it next time for sure 😃
I know you said you're not a fan of Wilkinson stuff but you should give their EZ-Lok tuners a try, I've used them on a few builds and they're rock solid tuners for a budget price.
Cheers dude I'll definitely give it a try then
What a well made video, thanks very much. I reluctantly sold my 2 guitars last year as I needed the money :( was just watching some Tom Delonge videos, that's maybe why this video came up not sure (the invader pickups and colour make it look like a TD signature model). Decided I'm gonna be making this over the next month or two 👍
Thanks bud, I hope you do make one! Good luck and send me some photos when it's done 👌👌
How lame is that Tom Delong guitar! So expensive for so little
@@thegoodguy44 well I wouldn't say it's lame and you've watched the video so you were curious to click and look at it. It's expensive yeah definitely for a guitar with one pickup and no switching options but that's a signature model for you.
You need to bin that plastic gasket on the neck plate, it screams "CHEAP" to anyone looking. PS - I agree that the pearloid looks nicer. Although I'd have kept the white one, and just rounded off the broken end a bit more.
I agree, those plastic gaskets are horrible lol but I was just using everything pretty much as I bought it! If that broken piece of the white one had been in the back I'd have just glued it back on haha
Nice Deftones riff!!! I heard 7 Words (different song) when it first came out on the radio but they never announced who it was so i spent almost 3 months trying to find theband name. Was a much different time. Anyway great build! Love watching your content! Thanks!!
Thanks Spencer, I appreciate that 🙏
Just knew the pickup removal was coming. Stay true to what you like!
Exactly haha
That middle position sound so cool, a bit like a jaguar’s middle position 18:44
Yeah it was nice for sure 😄 until I removed it haha. Thank you bud 🙏
Been a while since I’ve done a parts guitar. You’ve made me want to do another. Great video
Thanks James, glad to be of some inspiration and I hope you do another!!
Wilkinson makes awesome bridges ive got a brass trem and bridge on my strat
Hola, muy interesante el vídeo, me puedes compartir la marca del mástil, o la tienda donde lo compraste? Se ve de buena calidad!!
It's a Fender Tom Delonge Stratocaster
Seems like you could wire the coil split in with push pull you couldve made two volume one tone no switchs
Yeah this is true
Great video, will you do any videos about electronics, haven't touched that part yet 😅
Literally my next one 😁 I'm editing it right now
@@Giant_Guitars amazing to hear! I’ll be starting on my own strat diy build next week and have never soldered a thing 🫣
@@arnevanraepenbusch9950 love to hear it, well I hope it helps! I'll probably release it Friday evening.
this video made me realise that i can actually build a guitar, i had no idea it was possible. month or two later, im knee deep into building one.
Amazing bud, glad to hear it and I hope it's going well!!
@@Giant_Guitars i actually got a near identical body to yours, maybe a bit more blue than green, i love it
@@RaymondCampesino awesome, they're actually really decent quality too for the price! Glad you got one 😊
This guitar looks awesome, apart from the fake orange tan on the neck!
It is hard to buy a Fender or a Fender copy without these tinted necks these days, the only guitar I have seen with a natural maple neck is the Squier Bullet
For sure mate, the tint can be annoying I agree with that
I didn't like the pearl pickguard either. Glad I watched to the end, it looks absolutely killer now.
Thanks bud 😊
I tried to do this, but it didn't sound right, the strings went in tune, but anything i played was out of tune, also my one pickup, one volume emg 81 set up buzzed consistently like a mad man...so i kinda gave up on it...
Sounds like you didn't get the scale length right in relation to your intonation issue! The buzzing is normal before setup, like this one does!
It would look cool with a matte black body and a clear guard that you can see the copper through it.
Gorgeous build. Love what you chose to do with it. I'm a weirdo and still would have shielded the painted cavity too lol
Haha love it and thank you bud 🙏
thanks for the links! yes on the 100 gbp build! and yes on the giveaway
Anytime 😊
Opening with some deftones ,hell yeah brother
Haha thanks, just me playing the same songs I have done for like 14 years now and not any better than I did 14 years ago 😂😅
I'd put chrome knurled knobs on the controls...
You really did a superlative job here. Absolutely spot on the dollar.
Thanks mate I appreciate that
some of those ebay listings have gone - what was the name of the shop / seller you bought them from hey?
It was a mix of different sellers, sorry I'll see if I can update the links shortly!
this such a great vid... would love to see more.
Thank you 🙏 I'm currently working on a very very similar one but with all real Fender parts and still for cheap so stay tuned 😁
is that a matte black pickguard because the black pickguard has white lines on the edges?
No you can also get gloss black without those lines. When you look at a pickguard and it says 3 ply or 5 ply that's how many layers it has (lines) so you can find 1 ply and it won't have any
The best plot twist!!! I'm also a single humbucker guy! Love it
Thank you 😊🙏
A good job 👍 The end was unexpected 😂
Haha thanks bud
Ever saw the spring done that way though.
"You only need one pickup". Yes Eddie Van Halen - who later changed his mind and had two pickup guitars made with his signature on them.
Unfortunately I'm not even close to EVH level so I'll stick with one 🤣
damn that is a beautiful neck. nice guitar. i liked the pearl pickguard better, but i can take or leave most neck pickups. haha...
Haha yes 😂 honestly my go to is pearl anyway I just didn't have one and that whole cut the neck pickup out was a last minute idea
Amazing! Tempted to have a go myself...
Do it bud! I couldn't recommend it enough 👌 I'd love to see more people trying this kind of guitar
great build and video edit!
Thank you bud
Reminds me of the Tom Delong model. Nice work man!
Inspired for sure, I'm currently refinishing my Delonge! Thanks bud 🙏
@@Giant_Guitars I am watching that video now! Ha.
@@SKULLYARD1971 thank you bud 🙏
You don't really have to buy cheap strap buttons. Locking tuners are like $20, just get them instead
Yeah I was just trying to keep it under 200! But you're right bud
Hey, you wont do that with the gibson neck pickup right? (If you do please tell me where you'll throw it away)
Haha maybe 🤔 most likely. I have a friend who wants to buy it off me so if he doesn't I'll bin the neck pickup 😅
Why do some guitars have 3 pickups if you only need the bridge?
More pickups = more tone opportunities (in a nutshell)
I use guyker almost religiously! They’re hardware is phenomenal for the price!
I couldn't believe these, I will be using them again!!
@@Giant_Guitars and they also carry pickups as well, I have a set of rail humbuckers in white and sound TIGHT and crunchy and clear
@@jesusaguilera3803 I've seen those Hipshot copies, been meaning to do a comparison
@@Giant_Guitars that would be fantastic! I haven’t been able to do a true comparison because hipshot and all of their trems/bridges are expensive lol
I got guyker tuners on my 30" baritone. And they are incredible
Glad I'm not the only one!
I love the mother of toilet seat pickguard, and the best part was the Deftones riff to break it in 😅
Haha me too and in fairness I really like it as HH too! Also no one has noticed I played that riff in slightly the wrong tuning either 🤫🤫😂
@@Giant_Guitars I was going to ask if you knew it was in drop C# but didn’t want to come off like I was criticizing lol. I only know what tuning it’s in cause I wrote almost all my bands songs in that tuning so I know which songs use it lol.
@@erikrummel6277 haha criticism is good though 😊. I actually recorded Rammstein Engel but played this at the end while the camera was still going and preferred it in edit so that's what we got 😁
@@Giant_Guitars I 100% support your decision 😂🤣
I can’t find a reasonably priced neck like you got, any tips? Search criteria?
@@erikrummel6277 if you're looking on eBay go through the categories to browse under the specific 'necks' category and filter by 'ending soonest' if nothing there you like change it to 'lowest price first' and browse around. If nothing on eBay you could try other similar sites 👌
That looked fun and refreshing.
Thanks Patrick
Too many guitars already but it's made me want to finish my jazz bass 🙂👍
Dooo it mate 😄 never too many anyway
Don't tempt me - I've already looked up the body you used and they do it in candy apple red as well....😋😋😃
Great build. Preferred the pearl pickguard.
Thank you bud and yeah the pearl was nice too 😀 if I'd had a pearl single hum pickguard lying around I'd have used it as that was a spur of the moment thing.
Dose a metal pick guard have to be grounded? I have some ideas...
Yeah I've had issues in the past with metal or carbon fibre pickguard and it always came down to shielding or grounding!
@@Giant_Guitars Easy fix. I think... Thanks!
The black pickguard looks sooo much better. Made it louder.
Thanks haha it totally did
Nice , I have those invader knockoffs in a mexi tele, heavy AF