Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster | Part Two

◀ Part One

In the previous post, I highlighted the main external features of this stunning Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster. Now, I've dismantled everything because it's going to be thoroughly serviced, cleaned and polished.

Hardware wise, everything was in good shape except for the bridge. Rust had begun to take root, especially on the stamped bent-steel saddles. It took lots of Autosol, steel wool, various lubes, and a Dremel polishing attachment to get things up to snuff. 

On to the body, then. As expected, there's no shielding, save for some aluminum foil under the pickguard where the controls are. I really like the "worm route" in the bridge pickup cavity, it's a nice vintage touch. 

Now, the electronics. This ST72 features three ceramic single-coil pickups, a Hosco VLX53 five-way lever pickup selector switch, Gotoh A250K mini-pots, 0047uF (473) tone cap; and generic output jack. I was kind of disappointed seeing mini-pots instead of full-sized ones, I must say. I mean, they could put in a Hosco switch, but not full-sized pots? Guess Fender Japan had to save a little money somehow.

The wiring had been tampered with, as I spotted splicing and heat-shrink tubing on the black and white wires to the output jack; and the totally gnarly solder connections on the output jack tabs. Well, as the volume pot was stuck, I'd have to remove a couple components; and might as well do some rewiring while I was at it. The stuck pot was turning again after some spray lube and lots of coaxing with a set of pliers; thank goodness. A spritz of contact cleaner; a few quick rotations both ways; and this pot was back in the saddle.

I replaced the spliced wires with a length of shielded coaxial cable, and added a lock washer to the output jack socket to prevent it turning by itself and coming loose. You'd be surprised at how many manufacturers try to save a few bucks by not using a proper lock washer. Instead, they'll simply add another hex nut on the inside; making it doubly-difficult to remove the jack from the jack plate for servicing. Nope, you won't find this shortcoming on Switchcraft #11 jack sockets.

Once the electronics and hardware had been serviced, this ST72 was reassembled and set up with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (010-046). I was secretly pleased that Shaifful requested 10s and not 9s like most players. He has found that 10s give him a much beefier tone than 9s; you see. Way to go, Shaifful! Last but not least, tonewise, this ST72 oozes a totally righteous Strat vibe; I do declare. Don't believe me? Well, give this YouTube Video a listen and tell me I'm wrong.

Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster | Part One

Part Two ▶

Here's a gorgeous Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster belonging to Shaifful SENI. Shaifful politely requested that his pride and joy be thoroughly cleaned, polished, serviced and set up; and I was only too happy to oblige. You see, Shaifful is the son of the late Che'gu Ahmad Kisai; a dear acquaintance of mine from the '80s. And that makes him family in my book.

Now, there are lots of MIJ (Made in Japan) Stratocasters around, including many versions of the ST72. As such, I was unable to obtain specific information on this particular model. I believe the experts out would do better than me, based on the serial number and pictures I've uploaded. So, whatever specs stated in this post are from my own observations. As to what it sounds like, here's a short YouTube Video I uploaded that highlights all five pickup positions.

As you can obviously see, the finish is a three-tone-sunburst. The body wood looks like alder to me; but I can't be certain. What I can tell you, though; is that it's definitely not basswood. The neck is one-piece maple, so there's no separate fretboard. The headstock is the big '70s style, and sports Gotoh tuners, two string trees with nylon spacers; and a "bullet" style truss rod adjustment nut.

The maple fretboard features a 7.25" radius and 25.5" scale. The nut appears to be bone, based on visible file marks and nature of the nut slots. The 21 frets are of the small, vintage variety; while the fretboard markers are black dots. I must point out that the fret ends have been meticulously shaped; testimony to the quality of Japanese craftsmanship.

"Made in Japan" and the serial number have been silkscreened onto the neck heel, while the neck plate bears an engraved "F" logo. Now, let me see if I've left anything out. Ah, yes; one very interesting feature of this ST72 is the larger-than-usual tremolo block. I reckon it's almost as large as the "big blocks" found on some US Strats. Nice touch, methinks.

That's about it for this post, then. In Part Two, I'll be taking everything apart so we can have a good look at what's inside this Japanese beauty. Till then, stay home, stay safe; and God bless us all.

 

Vintage Aria 1820 Restoration: Part Four

Quick Links:    Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

This is the fourth and final post on a vintage Aria 1820 short-scale bass restoration job. The bass has been refinished in Flat Black, rewired, reassembled, set up with Ernie Ball 2852 Short Scale Regular Slinkys; and tested with the help of my trusty Laney RB2 bass amp [Gain: 3, Volume: 5, Bass/Mid/Treble: Flat, Compression: On]. 

Both pickups are working, but their output is definitely much lower than typical modern-day bass pickups. One other thing I've noticed is that the amplified volume of the A string is considerably weaker than that of the G, D and E strings. Tell you what. I've uploaded an audio file to SoundCloud, so do give it a listen :)

Vintage Aria 1820 Restoration: Part Three

Quick Links:    Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

This post is the third of an ongoing series on a vintage Aria 1820 short-scale bass restoration job. At this point in time, the body had been separated from the neck, a couple holes plugged; and the headstock refinished in Tru-Oil. The existing tuner peg holes had also been reamed to accommodate new tuners; and they fit nicely.

Now it was time to deal with the badly delaminated body. First of all, as much of the existing finish, sealer and grey autobody filler was scraped off with the aid of a heat gun. Following this, the delaminated edges of the maple top and bottom were glued and clamped to the ash center layer. Once the glue had dried, a sanding we did go; right up to 240 grit.

Having sanded off the dried glue, remnants of the old paint and sealer, as well as the most of the autobody filler; specific areas of the body that needed to be repaired were clearly visible. These areas were repaired with glued-in slivers of wood, and also wood dust mixed with super glue. Once sufficient time had elapsed, the clamps and tape used were removed; and the whole body sanded once again.

The next step was sealing, filling, and strengthening the body before anything else was done to it. Several coats of super glue were used for this purpose, with a lot of sanding done in between coats. After the last coat of super glue had been sanded, a generous layer of Elmer's Wood Filler was applied. Once the filler had dried, the body was sanded yet again; creating a sufficiently even and smooth surface.

Meanwhile, the pickups needed some work. They were functioning, for sure; but it was the leads and magnets that needed attention badly. The frayed ground/shield braid and cracked insulation meant that a short could occur unexpectedly. Also worrying was the fact that the pickup magnets could move around as they were not properly secured to the bottom of the pickups. That being said, the best remedy was to replace the pickup leads; and attach the magnets securely with a little hot glue.

As for the filthy and discolored pickguard, it was given a good scrubbing and hung up to dry. The underside was then shielded with aluminium foil. Cheap, yes, but it does the job. Following this, the new three-way toggle switch, Alpha pots, tone cap and Neutrik NYS229 output jack were installed. 

Getting back to the body, new holes had to be drilled for the neck plate and screws, and the neck reattached in preparation for the next task; locating the correct position for the new bridge. After taking lots of measurements and drawing the necessary guide lines, new bridge-mounting holes were drilled. The bridge was then installed temporarily to check for proper string/neck alignment.

At this point, most of the holes that needed to be drilled had been drilled; save for the pickguard. So the pickguard was laid on the body, aligned with the edges of the body and neck pocket; and taped in place. The holes for the pickguard screws were then drilled using my trusty Cremel [Chinese Dremel knock-off]; and countersunk 1/2" screws installed. A new tug bar was also test-fitted, as the original one had long been lost in the mists of time. 

Once the positioning of all components had been finalized, the neck was separated from the body once again, and the pickguard removed. As one can guess, this was done in preparation for the next step of this Aria 1820 Bass Restoration; namely refinishing. Refinishing should be covered in an upcoming post, so do stay tuned for updates. Thanks for checking in, and God bless :)