Mymozika Frankenstrat Build | Part Four

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

After eight months, the Mymozika Frankenstrat is finally ready. Having finalized the position of the bridge and body-mounted hardware, the control cavity was shielded with conductive shielding paint. Once the paint was dry and the grounding tab screwed in, I was able to wrap up the wiring end of things.

Meanwhile, there was the issue of the gnarly satin finish on the fretboard, back of neck; and headstock. To protect it while in transit, someone had wrapped this beautiful Canadian hard rock maple neck tightly in plastic cling film. As a result of this, the thin finish had crinkled up and developed unsightly lines. 

I'd actually put off dealing with this problem until the very last; as just looking at the damage made me very depressed. Thank goodness a few hours of gentle buffing with 0000 steel wool got rid of most of the lines and smoothened out the finish somewhat. Following this, the whole neck was waxed and buffed.

One interesting feature of this neck is that it sports a vintage 7.25" radius. Based upon the size of the frets, I was expecting the radius to be at least 9.5". In any case, after stringing the Mymozika with Ernie Ball 10s; a routine setup was carried out. Now, what does this Frankenstrat sound like? Ballsy and full of stratty spank, methinks. If you're curious, do check out these two YouTube videos: Mymozika Frankenstrat - Clean Tones and Mymozika Frankenstrat - Overdrive.

It's been a long and bumpy ride, but well worth it. Never thought that those Japanese Fender pickups would work so well with the Fender SCN ST-BR (albeit after some rewiring); but they do. That about wraps it up for this Mymozika Frankenstrat Build. Thanks for dropping by. As always, stay safe, stay healthy; and God bless :)

Note: Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Mymozika Frankenstrat Build | Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

This is the third instalment of a series regarding a very challenging Mymozika Frankenstrat Build. In Part 1, pickguard electronics were installed and tested. Then, in Part 2, the various components were carefully positioned as they should be; and all unused holes plugged and trimmed flush.

Now, it was time to do lots of drilling; and hopefully be able to affix the neck and bridge. To start off, pilot holes for the neck screws were drilled from the inside of the neck pocket using the neck plate as a guide. Following this, the actual holes were drilled; and the rims chamfered with a larger-sized bit.

Test-fitting the neck in its pocket revealed one big problem. The neck was sitting way too low. So low, in fact, that the action would be too high even with the bridge saddles at minimum height. After thinking things out awhile, I chose to resolve the issue by fashioning a tapered wooden neck pocket shim of suitable thickness. 

I'm glad to say that after inserting this shim, the neck was sitting much higher in its pocket; and at the desired angle (neck pitch). The next step, then, was to mark and drill the neck screws; and finally screw on the neck. Whew, what a relief!

Having finalized the position, alignment, and angle of the neck; pickguard and bridge-mounting screw holes were marked and drilled, and the bridge attached. Looking from below, it's a rather tight fit. I believe that some wood will have to be removed from underneath the bridge plate to accommodate tremolo block movement. Well folks, that's it for this post. Thanks for dropping by. Stay safe, stay healthy; and wear a mask whenever you have to venture outdoors.

Note: Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

 

 

Mymozika Frankenstrat Build | Part Two

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

In Part One of this series, the pickguard electronics were installed and tested. That was the easy part. Right off the bat I'd noticed that the pickguard, output jack "football" plate, bridge, and neck weren't fitting as they should. Alignment was way off, and you could not push a jack plug all the way into the NYS229 socket. To make matters worse, the neck pickup end of the pickguard was laying on top of the neck heel. Moving the neck further out in the neck pocket did little good; as the pickguard still would not lay flat.

I first tackled the output jack problem by using my trusty Pro's Kit Rotary Tool (aka "Cremel") to enlarge and deepen the cavity sufficiently. Thankfully, I was able to plug in a guitar cable after a few passes. Next, I determined that the pickguard anomaly was due to the neck pickup not being able to fit in its cavity. So out came the chisels and Cremel, and the pickguard was finally laying nice and flat.

Following this was a rough-fitting of components with the aid of a long steel ruler. I managed to get most everything aligned with the center of the bridge mounting screws 24-1/4" from the inner nut face; as recommended by StewMac.

The pre-existing bridge mounting screw screw holes were unusable in the new setup, so they were plugged and sealed. The end result was a little messy, thanks to the stickered face of the body. I could not get the plug ends flush without damaging the sticker. Well, you can't win 'em all. Meanwhile, I'd already discovered that the current neck mounting screw holes would not align with those of the new neck plate. As such, these were plugged and sealed.

That's where I'm at now with this Mymozika Frankenstrat Build. I reckon the next step will be accurately marking the positions of the bridge and neck mount screw holes, and drilling them with my drill press. Yes, I'll also have to drill mounting holes in the neck heel. Thanks for checking in, and till we meet again; stay safe :)

Note: Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

 

Mymozika Frankenstrat Build | Part One

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

I seem to have a number of regular clients who are not only into run-of-the-mill kit builds; but also mix-and-match "Frankenstein" mutants. Fine with me, always give the client what he/she wants. I do get a thrill putting together one-of-a-kind instruments; such as the Frankenstrat Partscaster and Yamaha EG112C - OLP MM1 Hybrid.

So here we have an old Applause Strat copy, the body of which has been decorated front and back with Mymozika head honcho Wan's own sticker design. For those who aren't familiar with Mymozika, they're an up-and-coming local rock band. Do check out their Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

Back to the Applause, then. The sticker design is pretty intricate, and reminds me of the '60s for some reason. The body is all Wan wants retained. To complete this build, he's brought me a custom '70s Strat-style reverse-headstock Canadian hard rock maple neck, black pickguard, gold hardware; and three pickups. The neck and middle are from a Japanese Fender Stratocaster; while the bridge pickup is a used Fender SCN ST-BR Samarium Cobalt Noiseless.

As the leads on all three pickups are woefully short, I've removed them and soldered on longer hot (+) and ground (-) leads. And, for simplicity's sake, I've bridged the triangular and square solder terminals of the SCN for a common ground (black lead), and maintained the round terminal for the hot lead (white). 

At the owner's request, the stock black pickup covers on the neck and middle pickups have been swapped out for a pair of StewMac Parchment Pickup Covers for Strat. They do contrast nicely with the black pickguard, and more or less match the aged white SCN cover. Okay, that's taken care of. Now, on to the wiring.

I've upgraded the electronics with Alpha A250K pots, a Russian K73-16 0.022uF tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. The neck and middle pickups work together well, and the middle is RWRP (reverse-wound, reverse-polarity) -- nice! So far so good; or so I think. Then, when I kick in the bridge pickup; all hell breaks loose. There's only the faintest of signals, drowned in hum and noise.

What do I do, what do I do? I decide to reverse the leads on the SCN. Now the square and round terminals are the common ground (black lead), and the triangular; hot (white lead). And, who would've guessed; the SCN is behaving as it should. No more weird noises and annoying hum. I heave a huge sigh of relief!

We've settled the wiring issue, but there's still lots more to be done. Do stay tuned for future updates on this Mymozika Frankenstrat Build. See ya real soon :)

Note: Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.