1996 Fender American Standard Stratocaster: Part Three

Related Posts 

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Howdy folks :) Here we are at the third and final post on Enche' Nodi's lovely 1996 Strat. I've included some pics for your viewing pleasure. I've also uploaded an audio file to SoundCloud. Do give it a listen. Finally, though I should have done so earlier; here are some original specs, courtesy of Antonio Calvosa and the good people at Reverb.

Body
Body Material: Alder
Body Routing: Swimming Pool
Body Finish: Black Poly

Neck
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Shape: "C"
Scale Length: 25.5"
Fretboard Material: Maple
Fretboard Radius: 9.5"
Number of Frets: 22
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Nut Material: Synthetic Bone
Neck Adjustment: Bi-Flex Truss Rod/Micro-Tilt Adjustment

Headstock
Type: Small Headstock
Logo: Spaghetti
Decal: "Fender 1946-1996 50 Years of Excellence" on back of headstock

Electronics
Pickups: Single Coil/Flat Polepieces
Controls: Master Volume/Tone (Neck)/TBX (Middle, Bridge)

Hardware
Bridge: Two-point American Standard Tremolo
Saddles: Sintered (Powdered) Stainless Steel Block Saddles/Offset Intonation Screws
Tuners: Fender/Schaller
String Trees: Ezy-Glide
Hardware Finish: Chrome
Pickguard: White/Three-Ply/Eleven Screws

 

2004 Fender 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Fat Strat HSS

Specifications
Finish: Three tone sunburst
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple/skunk stripe/Micro-Tilt adjustment/headstock-end truss rod adjustment/'spaghetti' logo/Schaller locking tuners (no logo)/LSR Roller Nut
Fretboard: Maple/25.5" scale/9.5" radius/22 medium-jumbo frets/rolled edges/abalone dot inlays
Bridge: Fender-Floyd Rose Tremolo System aka 'Blanda Bridge'
Pickup Configuration: HSS
Neck/Middle Pickups: Fender Samarium Cobalt (SCN) Noiseless Single Coils
Bridge Pickup: Fender DH-1 Humbucker
Special Features: S-1 Switching System/Oak Grigsby Super Switch/beveled neck-body joint/50th Anniversary neck plate

References
The Fender Stratocaster "Strat" Plus Deluxe Series
The New Fender-Floyd Rose Tremolo System
Fender American Deluxe Stratocasters

What Went Down
This guitar was de-gunked, de-grimed and de-rusted; amongst a host of other cleanup tasks. As the existing frets were worn out, the neck was refretted with Dunlop 6000s, as per the owner's request. He also had just about had it with the S-1 switching System; and was terribly unhappy about inconsistent performance, hum and crackling. In short, he missed the straightforward control configuration and 5 distinct sounds he could get out of a typical Strat, especially in switch positions 2 and 4. A peek under the hood revealed extensive corrosion, oxidation and a rat's nest of wiring; which explained the problems he was facing.

And so, to give him what he craved, I gutted the innards and installed new CTS 250K pots, CRL 5-way switch, Russian PIO tone cap; and Switchcraft #11 output jack. Yes, it was back to a master volume, two tones; and in-your-face stratty goodness. Looking back, I have to admit that servicing and setting up the 'Blanda Bridge' was a complete PITA. You can download a setup guide HERE if you'd like more information on this bridge.