Frankenstrat Partscaster Build

I was handed the components for this partscaster build in a cardboard box, no kidding. The beat-up natural-finished body was solid wood capped with an ash-like veneer on the front and back. The body cavities appeared to be shielded with conductive paint, but further inspection revealed that it was just plain old black paint.

The preloved 22-fret maple neck was scalloped and sported a '70s-style big headstock. Those decals? They were already on there when I got the neck. It was clearly another one of those notorious Chinese "replica" necks. Don't nobody sue me now, you hear? I just put parts together so my clients can have a guitar to play on.

The client had provided me with a battered white pickguard, new Chinese single-coil pickups with cream covers; and replica vintage-style tremolo bridge with bent steel (read: pot metal) saddles. Putting everything together took a very long time, with "measure ten times, drill once" being the word of the day. Basically, the whole process mirrored what I went through on the Candlewood Strat Kit Build.

The bottom of the pickguard was shielded with aluminium foil, and body cavities with conductive carbon paint. New electronic components included Alpha A250K pots, a K73-16 0.022uF cap, generic five-way selector switch; and NYS229 output jack socket. This guitar was strung with 10s, and required a little truss rod tweaking and neck pocket shim to get it playing like it should.

2008 Daphne Blue Squier Deluxe Stratocaster Upgrade

I'd seen this delightful Indonesian 2008 Daphne Blue Squier Deluxe Stratocaster brand-new in the hands of its very first owner many years ago. I also remember being blown away by the superb fit and finish, playability and totally stratalicious tones it was capable of. Since then it had changed hands a couple times; finally landing at my doorstep in none too good condition. The current owner is a gigging musician, and wanted it upgraded for live use. But first, let's take a look at some specifications:

Neck: Maple/C-shaped profile/satin finish
Fretboard: Maple/25.5" scale/9.5" radius/22 medium frets
Pickups: Three Duncan Designed™ SC101 single-coils
Electronics: Master volume/two tones/five-way switching
Hardware: Two-point synchronized tremolo bridge with block saddles
Noteworthy: Parchment pickguard and aged white control knobs

Cosmetics-wise, the aged white knobs and naturally-aged parchment pickguard were absolutely fine. We did, however, replace the stock "Duncan Designed" pickup covers with StewMac aged white ones. The three SC101 pickups are unique in that the coils are copper-tape shielded and grounded to reduce noise. A cool touch indeed, methinks.

Meanwhile, the control cavity components weren't anything to write home about, and to make matters worse; someone had messed around with the wiring at some point in time. Thus said, I was asked to gut the innards and put in new Alpha A250K pots, a K73-16 0.022uF cap, and NYS229 output jack socket. Gavitt wire was used for this rewiring job. The Strat was strung with 10s, given a final setup; and delivered to the owner.

YouTube Video: Demo by Aduka Sariat

References
Squier Guitars Serial Number Decoder
Music Makers Web