Question For All The Strat Users Out There......

(1) I haven’t. I just put it back on. Just not sure what to do with it since I don’t do solo work. Just chords and rhythm. So it’s a work in process.

(2) Hadn’t intended to do anything to it other than swap the pickguard for a pearl white one and control knobs for ones with abalone tops. Then I had a pup die so decided to swap all three. And then one tone pot ceased to function properly…. So I replaced all three pots with quality ones.
 
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I'm not going to lie. I'm a Gibson guy. This is currently my only Fender and I don't play it alot. It was an Olympic white 2016 MIM. The only Fender pieces remaining are the refinished body, claw, springs, ground wire, trem base plate and output jack plate. I really don't use the stubby Gilmour bar.
 
(1.) Not me.

(2.) RS pots and caps, and aluminum shield behind the pickguard. Also swapped around the pickups. The '54 Custom shop pickups sound better in my Burgundy Mist '62 Reissue, and put some custom wound '61 spec Manlius pickups in the mongrel '62. Mick knows someone at the Custom Shop who gave him the details on the Rory Gallagher pickups.
 
I dont often play my SSO (strat shaped object), but when I do:
I use the bar on the couple of surf songs I (struggle to) play, and on Chris Isaak "Wicked Game".
So, if the cover song employs it, otherwise I dont.

Mine is a dirt cheap "mod platform" so just about everything besides the body and neck has been upgraded.
 
guitarweasel said:
(1.) Who actually uses the whammy bar?
Click to expand...
I use the whammy bar about as often as the emergence of Cicadas. Definitely set the bridge with a small bit of float.

guitarweasel said:
(2.) What mods have you done?
Click to expand...
Hardly any... The only original part left on my '01 Fender American Deluxe Strat is the candy tangerine colored body, the output jack, the neck plate, the bridge plate, and the strap buttons. I have always struggled playing a traditional style Strat... :BH:

Mods:
Warmoth roasted maple neck/rosewood board with reverse headstock and compensated nut.

Seymour Duncan stacked pickups.

Newer pots and tone cap.

The traditional 1 volume and 2 tone controls were replaced with 1 volume - 1 master tone - 1 pickup blend control that blends in the neck or bridge pickup at any selector switch setting.

Zinc vibrato block replaced with (Callaham) cold-rolled steel block.

Callaham Vintage Style saddles

Pickguard and vibrato cavity cover.

And after all that, I still struggle... :BH::BH:

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(1) I do.

(2) I replaced the standard pickups in 2 of my Strats to Fender Hot Noiseless. The other Strat I replaced the standard pickups with Lace Gold Sensors and replaced the factory neck with a Warmoth Classic 70's maple/maple neck.

Installed the Emerson Custom Strat 5 Way Blender in all of them.

Fender Locking Tuners in all of them.
 
guitarweasel said:
Well actually two;

(1.) Who actually uses the whammy bar?

(2.) What mods have you done?
Click to expand...

All the time...so much so that I wore the Graph Tech Tusq XL nut down to almost touching the first fret in about a month of playing 5 days/nights a week.

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It's a stock Fender 6 screw trem with a custom brass block and brass saddles. Three stock Fender springs are used. Tremolo bridge plate is 3/32" up off the body, so pulling up on an open 'g' will give you b-flat.

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I'm using Gotoh SD-91 Vintage Tuners with absolutely zero movement.

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Locking tuners are marketing hype if you know how to wind strings...with vintage tuners, string trees are not needed.

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I had Dwight Yoakam's/Keith Urban's guitar tech Chris make a custom, high density bone nut for the YelloStrat.

I can divebomb until the string flop around on the pickups and it comes back to perfect pitch evetytime...

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