Partscaster Gets Some Help

Here's a good-looking sunburst Partscaster assembled and refinished by a Adel, a 15-year-old schoolboy from Pekan; Pahang. Pretty impressive work, I must say. Reverse headstock, 25.5" scale, 14" radius dark hardwood fretboard, maple neck, locking tuners, two humbuckers, master volume and tone, vintage six-screw tremolo; what's not to like? 

Quite a lot, it would seem. For one, the guitar was unplayable. The action was way too high, especially at the nut; and the strings could not be intonated based on the 12th fret harmonic. Also, the break angle at the headstock was non-existent due to the straight headstock and lack of string trees. The strings kept popping out of the nut slots as if they had a mind of their own.

Then there was the problem of fitting the pickguard. Trying to position the pickguard as I wanted it could not be done. The pickups could only be adjusted so far sideways or be lowered so much before running into wood. Right away I realized that the pickup cavity not only needed to be widened; but deepened too. Besides this, the three-way switch had been wired "backwards." Selecting the neck humbucker gave you the bridge instead; and vice-versa. The volume and tone controls were working as they should; thankfully. 

To compound the problems already mentioned, I noticed that the high E string was almost falling off the fretboard edge and string/pickup polepiece alignment for both pickups was way off. To remedy the situation, I knew that (i) the bridge would have to be repositioned laterally; and (ii) the neck shifted slightly in its pocket.

And so began the task of getting this Partscaster into playable condition. After taking some measurements, the scale length was determined to be 25.5 inches. Only problem was that the saddles, with about 1/16" of play left; were 25.75" from the nut. So I knew that the bridge would have to be shifted forward until the saddles were at the 25.5" mark.

As for solving the string/fretboard edge and string/polepiece alignment issues, it involved deepening and widening the pickup cavity, lots of measuring and testing with a length of string; as well as a slight neck adjustment. All this meant that the old holes would have to be plugged and leveled; and new ones marked and drilled. Tedious, no doubt; but absolutely necessary.

To provide sufficient downward pressure at the headstock end of the nut, a Floyd Rose-licensed string retainer was added. Besides this, the nut slots were deepened sufficiently; and the whole nut reprofiled afterwards. Before re-assembling the guitar, the "backwards" switch wiring was taken care of.

Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of this job was the request by Adel that the tremolo bridge be immobilized and effectively turned into a "hardtail" or fixed bridge. A man wise beyond his years, Adel be! To this end, two more springs were added for a total of five, the trem claw screwed in nice and tight; and a painstakingly-shaped block of hardwood installed in between the trem block and cavity wall.

Once this Partscaster was reassembled and set up with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys; the time finally came to plug it into my Fender Champion 40 and give it a good workout. I must say the tones that emanated from this guitar were way better than I had anticipated. If you'd like to know what this guitar sounds like, do check out the YouTube video I've uploaded. That's it for this post, and thanks for dropping by :)

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.