Harley Benton ST-62 Thorpy's mod attempt

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ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
edited February 2015 in Making & Modding tFB Trader
So my harley Benton ST-62 in vintage white arrived yesterday. A lovely not-valentines gift from the wife.

Cost of guitar (B-stock) was £60 but free to me!! I also got €50 of thomann vouchers for writing some nice long reviews.

The planned mods were:


Locking strap-locks £10
locking tuners £29
new saddles £42
new pickups £60 (amazingly)
new wiring £20
add tone control for bridge pickup (free)
add the super seven wiring  (with SPST switch) £2
New scratchplate £15

Here are the stock before pictures as in my excitement i forgot to take any of the actual guitar.



So out of the box the guitar played ok, it sounded pretty good, was a bit noisy butter the money i don't think you can really complain...... apart from the fingerboard and frets.

Never have I seen a more disgusting piece of wood on a guitar. It looked like someone with dead fingers had rotted all over it. The frets were dull and gritty. The nut was cut nicely though.
The bridge is the cheapest nastiest thing I've ever seen, i really want to replace it, if only to get the block (made of spit and toothpaste) out of this guitar.

The reason it was a B-stock was due to the scratch plate. the tortoiseshell layer had delaminated form the white plastic and a corner of it had snapped off. I thought that this wouldn't matter as i was going to replace it anyway- luckily i didn't snap the thing though.
Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    The best laid plans of mice and men.........a lot of the mods i had planned failed to work for me.
    • the stringsaver saddles i bought did not fit as they were too wide ( i checked beforehand but alas) 11mm vs 10mm. they now have to go back
    • the scratchplate i had doesn't fit, not just the holes not lining up, this is more terminal. its just too big and butts up against the bridge.
    • I couldn't get a replacement tremolo block to fit the crappy bridge.
    On the plus side:

    •  I managed to rescue the tortoiseshell to a degree, i superglued the delaminated piece back onto the top and aside from the corner being snapped off, it looks pretty good.
    • The Fender Customshop B-stock 54 pickups fit nicely and use vintage wire which I'm very happy with.
    • the strap locks went in with ease
    • the tuners came out easily but...... i needed to drill the holes out to fit the locking klusons. this was ok though as it allowed me to ensure the pushfit grommets went in easily.
    • I had an SPST and some vintage cloth covered wire to wire up everything else.
    • Changed the input jack to a switchcraft one
    • Most importantly though i cleaned the fretboard and polished the frets.... this took bloody ages


    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • NiallmoNiallmo Frets: 467
    Looking good! Impressed with that.
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    edited February 2015 tFB Trader
    So with all the mods done the guitar sounds great, plays great and is warm to my ears which for a strat is no mean feat!! the extra SPST adds two more modes to the switching. when the bridge is engaged and the switch on, the guitar has both the neck and bridge running in parallel. when the 2nd position is selected and the switch is on then all three pickups are running in parallel. These are two different and lovely sounds. the are warmer and beefier, perfect for a bit of blues!!

    still can't believe i got the pickups for £60 and if you take off the vouchers i had they are more like £23!!!! for customshop pickups.

    The next stage of the modification is to replace the bridge. I found a nice wilkinson one that should fit, look good and replace the shonky POS on it. fingers crossed.
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • FuzzdogFuzzdog Frets: 839
    What's the body thickness on these, just out of curiosity?  Tempted to grab one as a home for some of my miscellaneous spare Strat bits, and would be nice if they can take a full size trem block without it poking out the back. :))
    -- Before you ask, no, I am in no way, shape or form related to Fuzzdog pedals, I was Fuzzdog before Fuzzdog were Fuzzdog.  Unless you want to give me free crap, then I'm related to whatever the hell you like! --
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    Fuzzdog said:
    What's the body thickness on these, just out of curiosity?  Tempted to grab one as a home for some of my miscellaneous spare Strat bits, and would be nice if they can take a full size trem block without it poking out the back. :))
    it is 44mm thick from the base of the term plate to the back of the guitar..
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    edited February 2015 tFB Trader
    Update time: I managed to sell some components from the original guitar and i have used the funds to buy a new bridge, its made by wilkinson and is a lot better quality than the bridge that was on it- Cost £30. Firstly the block is actually block shaped and steel rather than being a zinc alloy. It reminds me of a PRS block the way it feels under  the palm. I sanded the neck to remove the gloss and provide a satin feel to the neck, it feels great now and I think suits it better too. Finally I fitted a Oil City Steel plate to the bridge pickup, it is now louder and seems to have more balls to the tone. Overall i think i am probably done modding for now, i can't think of anything else i want to do at this stage. Oh and i put a sticker on the back, as its mine and i can!!

    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • The Wilkinson stuff is great bang for buck. I've got a Wilky bridge, pups and machineheads for my mod challenge geetar.
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    managed to get the scratchplate i had fitted to the HB along with some roller string trees. The Scratchplate is a mint green one that needed the neck pocket shaping to ensure it fitted the guitar nicely. I also had to fill the original screw holes and place the majority of the 11 screws in new holes on the body. Happy with how it turned out in the end, its much more subtle than the tortoiseshell fake and suits the vibe I'm going for. 


    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    So the scores on the doors are!

    Guitar £60
    Locking strap-locks £10
    locking tuners £29
    new pickups £60 (amazingly)
    new wiring (including pots and switches) £20
    New Steel Baseplate £6
    add the super seven wiring  (with SPST switch) £2
    New scratchplate £15
    New string trees £2
    New wilkinson Bridge £30

    TOTAL cost of mods would be = £234

    but i managed to sell the pickups for £18, the old tuners for £12

    so TOTAL COST = £204!!!!
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • NiallmoNiallmo Frets: 467
    Looking great with the new 'plate.
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  • BigMonkaBigMonka Frets: 1763
    That does look great now and some interesting mods you've done. I can't believe the price you got the pickups for! What made them B stock?
    Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.
    My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    BigMonka said:
    That does look great now and some interesting mods you've done. I can't believe the price you got the pickups for! What made them B stock?
    ah cheers, yeah i think the pickups were b stock because the box was bashed up badly and the bridge pickup had been previously soldered in. still a bargain to my mind
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • ChalkyChalky Frets: 6807
    How do you think it compares to the Vintage-brand strats?
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    Chalky said:
    How do you think it compares to the Vintage-brand strats?
    quite favourably to be honest. I do have to confess i was pleasantly surprised by the neck, with a bit of talc it actually plays quite nicely. The body looks good but i do get the impression its made up of lots of small pieces of wood, aka blackboard. that being said, its resonant and sounds good so who cares.
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • Looking good Adrian. Bet it sounds good too with those Pickups as well. Nice work.
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    Looking good Adrian. Bet it sounds good too with those Pickups as well. Nice work.

    it does! Not too radical from a mod perspective but I'm very happy with the sounds
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • JohnBJohnB Frets: 121
    Looks very good - I think not going too radical was a good move.  I am struggling to recover from an attempt at a radical relic job that the body and finish were unusable for (on an ST20)
     
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  • axewoundaxewound Frets: 0
    I Know this is a bit of an old thread but i'm looking at doing the same to an ST62 can you remember what model the wilkinson bridge was and did it "just slot in". 

    Also what are the stock pickups like? i'm probably going to go with some toneriders for mine
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6090
    tFB Trader
    axewound said:
    I Know this is a bit of an old thread but i'm looking at doing the same to an ST62 can you remember what model the wilkinson bridge was and did it "just slot in". 

    Also what are the stock pickups like? i'm probably going to go with some toneriders for mine

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilkinson-Tremolo-WVP6SB-5-1-Hole-Vibrato-Stratocaster-Strat-Steel-GD/400947936476?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=20150313114020&meid=656395a078554d85aea1323f025519a5&pid=100338&rk=15&rkt=19&sd=111289621225

    It was this one I think. But in chrome. Crucially the holes have a touch of sideways wiggle room. The pickups needed replacing, they were just a touch soulless 
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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