Metal Strat Conversion

monquixote

Here is my very abused 1980 Strat (No it's not a relic ) 

It's adorned with a Super Vee Blade Runner and a fully wired Frigid Haze guard from Alegree 

My current guitar lineup is this, an AO 50's Tele and a DGT and they cover clean and the lighter end of rock really well.

I didn't really have anything that covered the heavy end of the spectrum so I got an idea to do some tweaking to it. 

A bit of fiddling and BEHOLD:



Added a 920D Billy Corgan pickguard 

I've also changed the jack socket to a solderless one so I can easily change over whenever I want.

I've restrung it will 11s and tuned it to drop C for extra rock power, but I may yet change to Eb 

First impressions of the Billy Corgan pickups are pretty good. 

The bridge BC1 is is a modded Tone Zone and the neck BC2 is an Air Norton. The Corgan mod to make them a sig is to add more bass which is a decent idea with the bridge bridge as I always knock a bit of tone off a Strat bridge pickup. The same can't be be said of the neck which could do with a bit more spank but it's great for some dark lead sounds.  
They are both ferociously hot and have a really focused sound that can handle infinite amounts of gain.

The pickups tap in position 2 & 4 and the standard spec chopper in the middle is quite bright and stratty so these positions all sound much more as you would expect.

Overall I'm stoked with the conversion and reminded that despite all the boutique, hand wound stuff Dimarzio do make some bloody good pickups. 

Who wants to recommend some fun drop tuned riffs?

Strangefan

I love that, coolest strat I have seen, play carcass heartwork on it, that's my go to nasty riff

Bennyboy-UK

Mick Mars time!

monquixote

Bennyboy-UK said:

Mick Mars time!

I guess it's a big more Dave Murray in appearance (fun fact I've played one of his actual guitars) 

skunkwerx

Try some Killswitch Engage - My last serenade!

andy1839

Nice!
I got my Corgan strat for similar reasons. They really are great pickups.

ThePrettyDamned

That might be the coolest strat I've ever seen! 

thegummy

Nice. The combo of Air Norton and Tone Zone is something I've considered trying for a long time.

Fancy putting up a wee demo video? Maybe also including some position 2 or 4?

Your guitar looks amazing too; I didn't know an 80s Fender could age like that.

When did Fender start doing paint jobs that don't wear away like that but instead comes off in chips or chunks?

Funkfingers

thegummy said:

When did Fender start doing paint jobs that don't wear away like that but instead comes off in chips or chunks?

The wear on monquixote’s The Strat is chips and chunks. There are so many lost areas that they all join up.

monquixote

thegummy said:

Nice. The combo of Air Norton and Tone Zone is something I've considered trying for a long time.

Fancy putting up a wee demo video? Maybe also including some position 2 or 4?

Your guitar looks amazing too; I didn't know an 80s Fender could age like that.

When did Fender start doing paint jobs that don't wear away like that but instead comes off in chips or chunks?

I'll see about doing a demo. I don't have my Helix hooked up to a computer at the moment, but assuming I can get it working with my Mac I should be able to record some clips.

The finish is a bit of a mystery. I think it's defective.

It's actually Lake Placid Blue, but I think the top coat hasn't cured properly and has gone the yellowy brown colour which makes it look green. It's also quite soft so it wears rather than cracks. Where the finish is wearing away it goes LPB and also silver as I think it has a silver base coat to make it look shiny. That's what results in the weird 3 colour look.

Reverend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOAafxf-IL0
drop d classic riffing

ICBM

monquixote said:

The bridge BC1 is is a modded Tone Zone and the neck BC2 is an Air Norton. The Corgan mod to make them a sig is to add more bass which is a decent idea with the bridge bridge as I always knock a bit of tone off a Strat bridge pickup. The same can't be be said of the neck which could do with a bit more spank but it's great for some dark lead sounds.  
They are both ferociously hot and have a really focused sound that can handle infinite amounts of gain.

The pickups tap in position 2 & 4 and the standard spec chopper in the middle is quite bright and stratty so these positions all sound much more as you would expect.

If the Chopper is quite bright and Stratty, the other two must be absolutely mental! I've got a Chopper in the bridge of mine and it's anything but bright compared to the middle pickup, which is a 'normal' Strat pickup (actually a hum-cancelling one, but same tone and output).

soma1975

Great looking Strat

monquixote

ICBM said:

monquixote said:

The bridge BC1 is is a modded Tone Zone and the neck BC2 is an Air Norton. The Corgan mod to make them a sig is to add more bass which is a decent idea with the bridge bridge as I always knock a bit of tone off a Strat bridge pickup. The same can't be be said of the neck which could do with a bit more spank but it's great for some dark lead sounds.  
They are both ferociously hot and have a really focused sound that can handle infinite amounts of gain.

The pickups tap in position 2 & 4 and the standard spec chopper in the middle is quite bright and stratty so these positions all sound much more as you would expect.

If the Chopper is quite bright and Stratty, the other two must be absolutely mental! I've got a Chopper in the bridge of mine and it's anything but bright compared to the middle pickup, which is a 'normal' Strat pickup (actually a hum-cancelling one, but same tone and output).

Indeed they are bananas hot.

They are amongst the hottest in the Dimarzio range.

King85

What colour is that? It's a beauty

monquixote

King85 said:

What colour is that? It's a beauty

It's actually LPB

You can see from under the backplate what colour it should be.

I think the top coat has reacted badly to sunlight and yellowed. 

You can see along the edge of the contour where it's rubbed the top coat off the real colour showing.

It gives a very cool multi colour effect.

MattFGBI

That is amazing. 

monquixote

MattFGBI said:

That is amazing. 

Thanks @MattFGBI

I'd be interested to know if any of your Fender boffins know what might have happened to the finish.

ThePrettyDamned

monquixote said:

thegummy said:

Nice. The combo of Air Norton and Tone Zone is something I've considered trying for a long time.

Fancy putting up a wee demo video? Maybe also including some position 2 or 4?

Your guitar looks amazing too; I didn't know an 80s Fender could age like that.

When did Fender start doing paint jobs that don't wear away like that but instead comes off in chips or chunks?

I'll see about doing a demo. I don't have my Helix hooked up to a computer at the moment, but assuming I can get it working with my Mac I should be able to record some clips.

The finish is a bit of a mystery. I think it's defective.

It's actually Lake Placid Blue, but I think the top coat hasn't cured properly and has gone the yellowy brown colour which makes it look green. It's also quite soft so it wears rather than cracks. Where the finish is wearing away it goes LPB and also silver as I think it has a silver base coat to make it look shiny. That's what results in the weird 3 colour look.

It looks amazing! That honestly is the best looking strat I've ever seen. 

It looks like yellowed poly - I assume this only occurs after lots of years of a technically less-good finish being applied than modern poly that promises yellow-free looks for years. 

MattFGBI

Without a thorough inspection it's hard to say but the fact it's gone green does suggest the top coat has yellowed, possibly with UV exposure over time.

Looks like it started life in this range: 
https://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/fender/1982/en_12.html

We're not in the office at the moment but I have the original English version of that catalogue.... when I can get it I'll try and scan the page and the specs for you. 

gusman2x

Absolute stunner! Maybe the best strat I've ever seen. ANd I'm typically not for matching headstocks on strats either. Gorgeous.