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.

 

MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster | Part Three

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Here is the third and final post on this totally awesome MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster. Happy owner Enche' Nodi dropped by after the photoshoot and entertained me with a bit of spanky cleaned-toned stratolicious noodling. I managed to shoot a short video of Enche Nodi's adventures in Stratland; which you may view HERE. Well, folks, that's about it for this post. Thanks for visiting. Stay home, stay safe; and God bless.

 

 

MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster | Part Two

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One, we saw just how badly this MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster was in need of an overhaul; so to speak. I started off by dismantling all hardware and electronic components. The neck and headstock were cleaned with naphtha, rosewood fretboard reconditioned; and frets polished. Then, as the pickup covers were being removed for cleaning; I noticed that the fragile coil windings were totally exposed. This simply would not do, and so they were gingerly wrapped with black cloth pickup tape.

The body cavities were shielded with conductive shielding paint; and the whole underside of the pickguard with aluminium foil. As for the electronics, everything was replaced save for the pickups. Among the new components were Alpha A250K pots and a Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack.

There was also a rather large teardrop-shaped patch of wood exposed just below the "football" output jack plate. The nice part about this "injury" was that the wood showed a distinctive grain pattern. So, it definitely was not basswood. I'm guessing it's either alder; or even Japanese Ash (Sen). This was indeed an exciting discovery (for me, at least). The exposed wood was stained with ColorTone #5030 Vintage Amber and sealed with several coats of super glue.

Perhaps the most challenging part of this job was restoring the vibrato bridge. The saddles were corroded right down to metal as most of the plating had gone the way of the dodo. It took me more than 8 hours to remove the frozen saddle-height adjustment screws and derust the saddles to where they looked presentable enough. As it turned out, the saddle-height adjustment screws, as well as intonation screws and springs; had to be replaced.

Once all that needed to be done had been taken care of, this MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster was reassembled, polished; and strung with Ernie Ball 009-042s. In Part Three, we'll look at a mini photo shoot of sorts; where this lovely guitar was kind enough to pose for a few pictures :)

 

MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster | Part One

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

One fine day, legendary Kuantan muso Enche' Nodi came a calling, bringing along his latest acquisition; a fine-looking MIJ Squier Stratocaster. He wanted the Strat restored to gigging/recording condition; as he is a working guitar, bass, and oud (gambus) player. 

According to Guitar Insite, this guitar was manufactured by FujiGen in either 1990 or 1991. I was also pleased to discover, thanks to Planet Botch and the Squier-Talk Forum; that this guitar was one of the early MIJ Squier Silver Series Strats that "did not have a 'Silver Series' identifier on the headstock." Besides this, I'd managed to determine a number of specs, as shown in the next paragraph.

Torino Red finish
Solid wood body
Zero shielding save for some foil under the pickguard
Individual cavities for each pickup
Gotoh tuning pegs
Vibrato bridge with no branding on the saddles
Ceramic single-coil pickups
Gotoh YM-50 five-way switch
Full-sized 250K pots
Plastic-bodied "Made in Japan" output jack
Truss rod adjustment on the headstock face
Maple neck with "skunk stripe"
7.25" radius rosewood fretboard
21 vintage-size frets

Time and tide had certainly taken their toll on this fine specimen of stratiness; and I knew that I had my job cut out for me. Grime, crud, rust and corrosion were the order of the day; as can be seen in the pics posted here. In Part Two; we'll take a look at what was done to get this Strat back into shape.