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  • Far from what my nickname suggests, I do actually like and own a wide variety of guitars.

    Anyway, just to prove my previous comment wrong, here's my latest acquisition:



    It's a stripped '78, a few non original parts obviously, but probably the cheapest vintage Fender you can buy (and possibly for good reason).

    I've always known late 70's strats left a bit to be desired regarding workmanship, the forearm contour is nearly non existent and the neck joint is maybe lacking in straight lines, all of which I was expecting.

    One thing I wasn't expecting though was the weight, I knew these were on the heavy side, but this is easily the heaviest guitar I've ever held, 5kg (11 lbs)! Compared to my Les Paul (3.9 kg) and my Tokai Les Paul (no weight relief, 4.3 kg) this thing is on another level!


    My plans are to have it refinished in vintage white, I was considering having the contours shaved to modern/vintage specs, if it's for myself I definitely would but I'm actually thinking I might one day move this one on as I can't imagine picking this one up very often when I have a few far more comfortable strats to play.


    My question to you guys, if you were buying a late 70's refinished guitar, would you appreciate that someone had the contours corrected at the same time or would you rather it's original slab form?


    I know this forum isn't really here for these questions but I do value all of your opinions ?

  • I'm hardly an expert on the subject of late 70's Strats, but if I'm eyeing something vintage I'm apt to look for something completely (or close to) stock/original.

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    My question to you guys, if you were buying a late 70's refinished guitar, would you appreciate that someone had the contours corrected at the same time or would you rather it's original slab form?


    I know this forum isn't really here for these questions but I do value all of your opinions ?

    If its major market appeal is its vintage, then let it keep all its quirks and charms unmolested.

  • I appreciate the sane advice guys, I do tend to like guitars that have been bastardised, that way I don't need to feel guilty about modding it further. But I agree, I'll just have it refinished and get it looking original again.


    I want to love this guitar, the neck's been refretted and plays and sounds beautiful, but the weight is something I can't get past. It literally feels like it's made of concrete, possibly petrified wood. Even sitting down with it for too long would make your leg go numb, it's almost comical.


    Cheers again

  • I appreciate the sane advice guys, I do tend to like guitars that have been bastardised, that way I don't need to feel guilty about modding it further. But I agree, I'll just have it refinished and get it looking original again.


    I want to love this guitar, the neck's been refretted and plays and sounds beautiful, but the weight is something I can't get past. It literally feels like it's made of concrete, possibly petrified wood. Even sitting down with it for too long would make your leg go numb, it's almost comical.


    Cheers again

    If you ask me, the slab-like-tele stratocasters are rare and deserve a special spot on history. My main player is a 90s strat, not the most contoured form, and I like it a lot. BUT, if you know you wont sell it down the road, just do what you feel like, hell, for a heavy strat like that, I would totally do a pickup pool to reduce weight and get crazy with several pickguards. Heavy strats are a rare beast, and wether or not you think tonewood is a thing, a denser wood will let you implement crazy things as the most strange pickup/bridge/pickguard combo you can imagine, without it feeling you lost something.

    The answer is 42

  • I know, not electric so not much use with the Kemper but still my latest guitar. A 1960s era Kay archtop. Found it today at the local thrift store for $180. I think it's a good deal and it looks great, has all original parts and a straight neck. It will be my project for a while to get it cleaned up and re-secure the neck joint that's pulling away from the body. I think the price was low enough that the wife isn't complaining. One man's junk is another man's treasure.

  • I appreciate the sane advice guys, I do tend to like guitars that have been bastardised, that way I don't need to feel guilty about modding it further. But I agree, I'll just have it refinished and get it looking original again.


    I want to love this guitar, the neck's been refretted and plays and sounds beautiful, but the weight is something I can't get past. It literally feels like it's made of concrete, possibly petrified wood. Even sitting down with it for too long would make your leg go numb, it's almost comical.


    Cheers again



    If you are moving it, I wouldn't even bother with a fresh refinishing. The guitar looks good the way it is, that's the way a relic job should look like.

  • I know, not electric so not much use with the Kemper but still my latest guitar. A 1960s era Kay archtop. Found it today at the local thrift store for $180. I think it's a good deal and it looks great, has all original parts and a straight neck. It will be my project for a while to get it cleaned up and re-secure the neck joint that's pulling away from the body. I think the price was low enough that the wife isn't complaining. One man's junk is another man's treasure.

    Maybe a project to crank up the guitar with a pickup?
    https://www.premierguitar.com/…re-kay-k6868-style-leader

    Be the force with you ;)

  • I had a late 70s Strat when I was on the road back in the day. Thing felt like a Les Paul hanging off my shoulder. Like this, it was a maple neck, and if ever there was a poster child for the stereotype of crappy 70s Fenders, this was it. The most unstable neck I've ever had in my life. You even looked at it the wrong way and it went out of tune.


    If you are moving it, I wouldn't even bother with a fresh refinishing. The guitar looks good the way it is, that's the way a relic job should look like.

    I completely agree. I mean, if you're interested in maintaining "vintage" value, refinishing a guitar does bad things to your sale price. If you want to keep it, then I'd modify it extensively, starting with a leather grip wrapped around the first five frets to make it easier to wield in battle as the blunt instrument that it is.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

    Edited once, last by Chris Duncan ().

  • Are they hot or cold rails? I have some hot rails on a Jackson neck and mid that I have not bonded too yet.

    I did this in the mid 90s (and I've slept since then), so I can't remember the name. In any event, they'd be on the colder side as I chose them to get bluesy Strat stuff (think Hendrix) in single coil, Clapton "woman tone" in humbucking.


    I personally don't think a hot pickup is usually a good fit for the neck of a Strat, at least for the classic rock stuff I play. I put different Seymour humbuckers in the bridge, and those I wanted hot so I could do Eddie (badly) or split the coil and twank like a Strat. I doubt they make either version anymore.


    I was really happy with both pups and have kept them for 25 years and counting in the G&L. They're also still sitting wired up in the pickguard I lifted from the Strat when I converted it back to stock. I kept it all intact so I could drop it back in and flip it back to Frankenstrat if I wanted. Seymour Duncan makes great stuff, but like all things guitar it's a matter of finding which variety suits your needs.


    As a case in point, the new PRS CU24 has 85/15s pups. I like them very much. However, they're noticeably hotter than the pups in my 20 year old McCarty, and I've grown accustomed to the clarity I get for overdrive sounds with it. Going into the same profiles (typically M Britt Friedmans), the 85/15s are too hot. They sound good and rock-y, but I lose that articulation, and dialing back the volume knob doesn't get me to the McCarty sound.


    In the studio I may just use the McCarty when I want that sound, but the CU24's role in life is a versatile gig guitar so I don't have to do changes. So, now it's back to the tone hunt finding profiles that will match these hotter pups and rock like the Friedmans without fuzzing out the articulation.


    Always something to tweak. But nice problems to have. :)

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

    Edited 3 times, last by Chris Duncan ().