couple of things I can't help but mention: when you're fitting the neck into the body you DO NOT want to slide it in that way because the neck is tapered, getting wider as it goes to the upper frets. it should be fitted from top to bottom, as in from the face of the body down into the neck pocket. DO NOT blow on hot solder joints to help it cool faster. you could end up with air bubbles inside resulting in cold joints. take some wax or soap bar to the tips of the screws before driving them into the pilot holes to minimize cracks and ensure smooth insertion.
@@GearGasms np. I was talking shit on one their RUclips videos saying 'Why are you putting out this content when your customers still can't even order.' They responded back an hour later saying they're open again. 😂😂
As someone who has ruined a finish in his life time... Place a towel on the guitar when soldering... all it takes is a little splash of flux or a droplet of solder to ruin the moment ;) Looks beautiful by the way :)
I'm in a punk band so my Fender is already all dinged up. when I work on it I just give 'er and whatever happens, happens. I'm really really careful when I work on my buddies Epiphone though
The whole point of a parts guitar is to make something unique as a project, you just bought a disassembled mexican strat and paid more to put it together yourself
I agree, he might just as well have bought a strat, disassembled it and then put it back together. There is no point to what he did here. I think this is more like an advertisement for Stew Mac. I have noticed that Fluff’s channel is doing many more promotions these days, a shame really, although I suppose the guy needs to eat...
@@worldofameiso5491 Have any of you put a guitar together, a kit or otherwise? It's a great learning process, esp. for someone just starting out playing electric guitar.
Here I thought the entire point of staggered tuners, was to negate the need for the stupid string tree.... Also, please use the correct driver bit for your screws.
Yeah at first I was surprised he didn't mention it when he talked about the staggered tuners... And once he started talking about installing a string tree my first reaction was "oh no...". The string tree is basically just a dirty fix for a fundamental design flaw.
I'm in the middle of having one pieced together, and it's SUPER similar so this is really cool to see! I went with a: -Fender Robert Cray sunburst strat body, I've always wanted a string through hard tail strat -Fender American Deluxe neck with Maple Fretboard and compound radius and Micro Tilt -Hipshot Fender Retrofit Staggered Locking Tuners -Hipshot Hardtail Bridge -Fishman Pre Wired Strat Pickguard. Going for that ultra modern sleeper deal. But man, seeing that roasted maple with the sunburst is killer, good looks!
That sounds amazing. I too much prefer hardtail Strats - mine has a standard trem so I fitted a Tremol-No years ago and it's solid as a rock now but ideally I'd go for a Hipshot like you did. That's gonna turn out AWESOME.
With staggered tuners you dont need string trees. You're just adding a extra point that can increase tuning instability. The less places your strings touch the better. Staggered tuners are made to unitilize the string trees.
Yeah, but I think Fender staggered tuners still require you to use a string tree. They use two different heights divided between groups of three tuners, whereas brands like Sperzel and Hipshot do it in groups of two, making the height even lower and allowing you to get away without using a string tree. I'm sure Fender did it on purpose so you don't have to take the string tree out and leave the exposed hole there, because most Fender models come with regular tuners.
@@GearGasms Do you people ever consider that maybe he doesn't want to take the craziest, most expensive materials because it'd be misusing the companies good will? Jesus you're the kind of people that when you're invited to dinner, you'll take the most expensive items on the menu on purpose because someone's paying for you.
I built a telecaster parts-caster recently and it was a nice little project. It didn't take long because it was just bolting bits together but it was great fun.
6:50 Not trying to be overly critical here but. I would not use a power drill on a new fender. Most beginners that never used a drill are defiantly going to strip the screws out that way. especially the big neck screws. Also, run the chance of drill new holes with the screw as it goes in in a new direction. better to take some time and do it slowly with a regular screwdriver
I've built a kit guitar before. They can be nice but you may want to upgrade some parts like tuners/pickups when you do it. Also it's more fun to get an unpainted body and come up with something you won't find on the shelf. I found some blue-green color shifting paint. I call it the Baja Blast guitar.
Buy a screw driver bit that fits. Milwaukee make some excellent screwdriver bits for electric screwdrivers. While the impact rated screwdriver bits are overkill, they do "bite" into the screw heads and are almost impossible to slip. Tip for installing the pickguard/scratchplate: Mark three initial screw holes, drill and install and just tighten the screws until just snug - then mark the rest of the holes. You're guaranteed not to have anything slip.
My last guitar I built. Ordered parts. Except the body, actually carved, cut and routed a piece of wood into my super strat. Fluff is right, no better pride to have a guitar to your specs you built yourself. I put about $800 in mine. I love it. My main guitar
If you dont mind imma say mine; - A strat style body, but altered to be a little like a Jem, but still recognisable as a strat. - The bottom right quarter of a strat pickguard (like EVH’s frankenstrat) - EMG active pickups - Flamed Maple neck with a V style headstock w/ locking nut - Floyd Rose Special - Ernie Ball Power Slinkys - Fender Locking Tuners
9:28 an easy trick that you can do is put masking tape on exactly where you want to put the pick guard so you can hold it on, then use a thumbtac to push in pilot holes! Easy and comfortable so you don’t mess up on pilot hole angles. Also alternatively, you can use one of your new pickguard screws to hold the piece on that way as well by using a pre existing hole on the guitar already!
I appreciate the fact that it clearly states «includes paid promotion», a lot of other youtubers fail to mention that and those guys have no integrity. You did the right thing.
I have to redo the finish on my bass because someone at school thought it would be a good idea to let go of the heavy exit door which is metal and cracked the polyester resin finish on the back. It's flaking off too
I repair guitars, and there's no doubt about it. that Stew Mac is the absolute best place to go. to get all the tools, equipment, parts, and accessories. to do any kind of repair on any kind of guitar. over the years I have purchased a very large number of tools, equipment, parts, and accessories, from them. that makes my job easier and makes the quality of my repair work unparalleled. however I must warn you the prices of there items are a tiny bit on the high side. but more than well worth it because the quality of their items is simply the best. and they are quite easy to deal with and I have been very satisfied with everything. if your new to working on guitars. or have been at it for many years there's simply no place better than Stew Mac.
Very nice!! As Leo Fender truly intended, all of his guitars were to be 'partscasters'! All interchangeable parts that make up a solid, beautiful and functional instrument. I think Leo is rolling in his grave that the Custom Shop (as great as those instruments are) are fetching $3 - $4000 from about $500 worth of parts. I've built 8 Strat's and Tele's from parts so far and they are all as good if not better than some of the best guitars I've ever played. Thanks for putting up the video!
If you can afford it, this is the fastest way to make your own guitar to the exact specifications that you want ( Fender and Warmoth are the prime choice). No particular skills required. Beats buying a kit which requires finishing ( can be fun too) and often calls to change some of the hardware and electronics that come with these kits. Great video Fluff. This should inspire lots of people to do the same!
There was a sparkly thunderbird bass neck and body at a local music shop and the fretboard was fretless, I had to get it lmao. 2 years later it’s my own Frankenstein bass, sadly I might have to replace the neck because there was a small crack when I first got it, and it is now bigger
If you've ever built a computer or rifle, then a guitar is an easy build. I got a mixed Charvel pre pro and Fender parts kit at a garage sale for $40 years back. I couldn't play guitar at all at the time, but it was a fun build. Found the guitar again in my dad's attic a couple years ago and thankful it wasn't sold at auction.
I'm wondering how you'd determine where a body was built (US/China/Mexico etc)? Is it indicated on the body somewhere or would one have to do the legwork and take measurements of the routings as they appear to differ based on where it's from?
@@daleonov oh ok, thanks. So other than that there's no way of telling? I'm asking because I see nice partscaster strats at this pawn shop by my house all the time and want to be sure what parts I'd need to order if I were to use a body of one of those to build my own.
*angry nerds incoming* Some of my nerdy "um, actually's" below. If you saw more, add it to this list in the reply's! Sorry Fluff, this type of content causes this type of comments :D 2:25, 2:49 Guitar clamp (and only one, why lol?), straight edge, fret leveling tool, fret hammer and some other items he didn't use in that build. And it's not enought to build a neck in any future video. 8:10 Aren't 3 springs enough, especially if it's locked? 9:40 You can also mark just a few holes, drill them, put in screws, then mark the rest while the pickguard is 100% secure against the body. 10:21 Did he forget to solder the bridge grounding wire? 11:20 He didn't tap the pickups that are supposed to be off in some of the switch positions 11:31 Strap buttons suddenly appear after this transition. Magic! 13:20 Looks like he's just eyeballing the nut slot depth? Also, cuts just parallel to the fretboard with no angle? Also, would be a good idea to sand a lot of material off the nut so the slots are not that deep (especially since he specifically mentioned that tuning stability is his pet peeve). Also, there's a special ruler from StewMac for marking nut slots they they love to show off soooo much, but not in this video. 13:54 He skipped truss rod adjustment before adjusting the actions. Although he did mention that it "looked pretty good: Also, he didn't show how he did it. Nut cutting, truss rod adjustement and action adjustement would be perfect opportunity to show off stewmac's filler gauge, string height ruler, fretboard radius gauge and he blew it. That would earn StewMac a lot of money! 14:44 Middle pickup height is waaay off. Which reminds me, he never touched pickup adjustement screws. 15:16 No cover on tremolo, but I assume it's just a personal preference. Anyway, looks like a decent guitar! But I would definitely take it to a local tech to finalize it. *Update:* just made a whole video about that build. lol.
Okay, from other prople's comments: - Wrong screwdriver bits (wasn't he a car mechanic once?) - Pickguard should be placed so that strings are perfectly aligned with pickup slugs (not sure about that one) - No need in string tree if the tuners are staggered. Besides, is it really a MIM body? They usually have different routing and 3 holes under the bridge, not just one. I should probably do a video about all that?
Yep. It was pretty scary stuff … Bet Stew Mac were pleased that they will now sell a bunch of guitar kits and parts that won't ever get used, or won't get installed/assembled properly …
Congrats Fluff. It feels great doesn't it? If you did it correctly, you want another one. If you don't want another one, you didn't do it enough! haha. You're right though, this was a super easy build, I've got half a dozen under my belt, from Warmoths, to cheap Chinese kits, to a parts-caster for a body I made from scratch out of 2x4s. And the difficulty curve is all over. This dad is proud. \m/ Beard on.
should have gotten the neck relief set before cutting the nut, and it would have gone fast if you had setup a guide file and pre cut the nut slots it would haveb een fast dialing in the nut slots later on.
when screwing the screws in first time into the guitar, wipe the screw on a bar of soap first, wipe off any excess. this includes body and neck screws, such as string tree, tuner screws etc etc. you get a much easier time screwing it in and less chance of splitting the wood
Also I think an interesting video would be to bring a parts kit like this to a master luthier at fender or Gibson or who ever and have them build it, and then watch them judge it and make slight modifications and adjustments that a master luthier would notice lol
I built a VERY similar guitar from stew mac parts.. Fiesta Red... Black pick gaurd and white pickups nobs... Same one! haha Cool. MIM roasted premium neck.. Was beyond bad ass.... Body was tight and well done. Parts fit perfectly. Damn nice build. Went smooth as glass little setup. I did the 5 peg traditional Tremolo Replacement from Floyd Rose. Damn is that thing awesome. The have a little steel piece that bolts into the five wholes and hold out little arms for the tremolo to rest on.. No mod needed.. (It's just a drop tremolo).. but if your cool with that the thing is really nice. block is nice too.. Well done.. Piece of stainless steel. Not the bull crap blotter metal. Build turned out great man. All the parts showed up neatly packed in a box... Almost felt like a KIT it was so well packed... haha.. I don't work there at StewMac promise. WarMoth is also AWESOME way to go for parts caster that are finished parts you assemble.
So this body and neck are both made in Mexico. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact I have two MIM strats myself but for what StewMac is charging you can get an already built MIM guitar for about this much, probably less if you shop around. It's still a cool project and the customization options are great.
I have the same neck on my 2005 Mexican Standard Strat SSS, which just got it replaced last year. It features 22 frets, synthetic bone nut, 12" radius fretboard, and flat oval neck profile. Super comfortable and thin, IMO. Additionally, I also got the hardwares, electronics, and accessories swapped out for black Hipshot keystone locking tuners, black Hipshot 6-screw tremolo bridge, black SD Hot Rails, and black accessories. The black color matches really well with sage green metallic body, IMO. Sonically, the Hot Rails has turned my strat into a monster riff machine from SSS to HHH! And I would supposed to dub this a semi-superstrat? Hmmmmm. 🤔
This is more like a Lego kit for children than a true partscaster project. This is the absolute antithesis of the spirit of such a build. Even just that it all came in one box... No.
I've built several Strats, quite a few partsocaster but quite a few where i carved the neck and had the body made from a blank. I've used several roasted necks but always kept them raw, with no finish. I have a neck that i made from an old 120+ year old hutch. It has a pretty stunning flame to it, which is unusual (at least to modern standards) because it was from a corner post/leg that was completely hidden, so no one would ever actually see it, so i don't get why the furniture builder would have used that, but i digress. Looking at that neck with the glossy finish to it made me decide just now that I'm going to shoot the fretboard and front face of the headstock and keep the rest unfinished. That good really looks good on the roasted neck.
Maybe I missed this part, but did you attach a grounding wire to the trem claw? You need to do that to ground the bridge and strings (and your body via your fingers), which prevents extra pickup humming
Well, he doesn’t actually build guitars. He just takes stuff from Warmoth and assembles them (and doesn’t do the greatest job if I remember correctly).
Texas Special pickups? A Stevie Ray Vaughan fan I'm guessing. I did a similar build years back. I picked gold vintage wireless tuner, gold pickup cover, gold knobs and bridge. I also used gold string guides and gold skull locking strap locks. The pickguard and tremolo cover were vintage white. I drew a picture of Stevie and had a vinyl sticker made from it and put it on the tremolo cover. It came in at just under 1200 dollars.
Solid video. Thanks for sharing a 1K custom to you guitar build. Getting used to swapping parts in and out of a guitar is a fun part of owning guitars over time.
great video! really love roasted maple neck strats/teles. you're right, building a guitar like this would definitely create a very personal connection with the instrument.
Stew Mac: "Go ahead, build the custom guitar of your dreams! Go wild!"
Hairy dude: builds a stock Strat
True. Very disappointing video.
This is for their upcoming IG giveaway
Sunburst Strat, rarer than a unicorn ya know 😅
@@earhornjones yeah, you don't have a lot of choice there
🤙😅😅😅
I think your philips bit is too small for some of those screw heads. The sound of it continuously slipping out drove me crazy.
The feels... I always go by hand.
I came from watching on my TV to opening my RUclips app on my phone looking for this comment, haha.
Right! Totally missed it while I was looking for mistakes in the build.
Stripping the screws like
Same here. I thought he had a mechanic background too...
My boss thinks I am working.
same
Same
haha same
My work thinks I’m bossing.
Same lol
couple of things I can't help but mention:
when you're fitting the neck into the body you DO NOT want to slide it in that way because the neck is tapered, getting wider as it goes to the upper frets. it should be fitted from top to bottom, as in from the face of the body down into the neck pocket.
DO NOT blow on hot solder joints to help it cool faster. you could end up with air bubbles inside resulting in cold joints.
take some wax or soap bar to the tips of the screws before driving them into the pilot holes to minimize cracks and ensure smooth insertion.
Great tips!
yes, and yes!
Solid advice
Oh damn that last one's a real pro tip. Thanks ;)
@@n_sweep true
When you’re tapping to test the pickups you should still tap all 3 for each position!
That’s a great point!
Yes, you can have a connection on the switch that’s not supposed to be there.
… and it was really useful to test the volume/tone controls when there was no sound … then declare they work fine !
But to tap single coil you need special pickup
What if you don't know how to tap clean yet?
you should totally do a warmoth build when they start taking orders again.
ajdrinkard 2000 I second this idea
They started taking orders again a couple days ago. I placed an order yesterday.
Mike Justice that’s awesome to hear. Thanks!
@@GearGasms np. I was talking shit on one their RUclips videos saying 'Why are you putting out this content when your customers still can't even order.' They responded back an hour later saying they're open again. 😂😂
Wait what happened with Warmoth?
As someone who has ruined a finish in his life time... Place a towel on the guitar when soldering... all it takes is a little splash of flux or a droplet of solder to ruin the moment ;) Looks beautiful by the way :)
Omg yes, I had chills watching that
I hear ya! Hell, I put a towel down when tightening screws in the event the driver slips!
I did a video for a Tele pickup swap and got comment roasted for the same thing lol.
I'm in a punk band so my Fender is already all dinged up. when I work on it I just give 'er and whatever happens, happens. I'm really really careful when I work on my buddies Epiphone though
Or even a piece of cardboard masked onto the guitars body
Always set neck relief, then action and THEN cut nut slots!
Yep agreed also for fret level and crown as well..
The whole point of a parts guitar is to make something unique as a project, you just bought a disassembled mexican strat and paid more to put it together yourself
fluff knows this, im sure he didnt pay for anything
Loooool exactly what I was thinking. Also seems underwhelming as a project, given that they were all fitting parts
I agree, he might just as well have bought a strat, disassembled it and then put it back together. There is no point to what he did here. I think this is more like an advertisement for Stew Mac. I have noticed that Fluff’s channel is doing many more promotions these days, a shame really, although I suppose the guy needs to eat...
@@worldofameiso5491 Have any of you put a guitar together, a kit or otherwise? It's a great learning process, esp. for someone just starting out playing electric guitar.
Jim Perdue don’t think fluff is just starting out playing el guitar my guy
Here I thought the entire point of staggered tuners, was to negate the need for the stupid string tree....
Also, please use the correct driver bit for your screws.
Yeah at first I was surprised he didn't mention it when he talked about the staggered tuners... And once he started talking about installing a string tree my first reaction was "oh no...". The string tree is basically just a dirty fix for a fundamental design flaw.
Yeah he doesn't need the tree. Cool build though
I'm in the middle of having one pieced together, and it's SUPER similar so this is really cool to see!
I went with a:
-Fender Robert Cray sunburst strat body, I've always wanted a string through hard tail strat
-Fender American Deluxe neck with Maple Fretboard and compound radius and Micro Tilt
-Hipshot Fender Retrofit Staggered Locking Tuners
-Hipshot Hardtail Bridge
-Fishman Pre Wired Strat Pickguard.
Going for that ultra modern sleeper deal.
But man, seeing that roasted maple with the sunburst is killer, good looks!
That sounds amazing. I too much prefer hardtail Strats - mine has a standard trem so I fitted a Tremol-No years ago and it's solid as a rock now but ideally I'd go for a Hipshot like you did. That's gonna turn out AWESOME.
the world needs more Hardtail Strats so well done dude that sounds awesome!!!!!!!
With staggered tuners you dont need string trees. You're just adding a extra point that can increase tuning instability. The less places your strings touch the better. Staggered tuners are made to unitilize the string trees.
Yeah, but I think Fender staggered tuners still require you to use a string tree. They use two different heights divided between groups of three tuners, whereas brands like Sperzel and Hipshot do it in groups of two, making the height even lower and allowing you to get away without using a string tree.
I'm sure Fender did it on purpose so you don't have to take the string tree out and leave the exposed hole there, because most Fender models come with regular tuners.
If you build a partscaster and it sounds like ass, is it in fact a "shartscaster"?
Derpimus Maximus ya
Till this comment I always thought the bassoon was the instrument that most resembled the fart. Now I'm wondering....
LoL
The oboe.lol
I’m killing my last 30 min at work watching this. And now I want to build one of my own, thanks Fluff.
I love how he just built a Fender guitar, figured he'd do something wacky lol
Dahugebigbang I know! I feel kind of like he wusses out and took the easy way
Dahugebigbang no doubt! $1000 for a Mexican tele!!! Naaa.
@@MrShreddykruger not a tele
I mean I feel the same way but if u look on the stew Mac site it’s either a near stick strat or a near stock tele. There aren’t that many options
@@GearGasms Do you people ever consider that maybe he doesn't want to take the craziest, most expensive materials because it'd be misusing the companies good will? Jesus you're the kind of people that when you're invited to dinner, you'll take the most expensive items on the menu on purpose because someone's paying for you.
Well done, Fluff! Beautiful instrument. Kudos to you and Stew Mac. Thanks for sharing
I built a telecaster parts-caster recently and it was a nice little project. It didn't take long because it was just bolting bits together but it was great fun.
6:50 Not trying to be overly critical here but. I would not use a power drill on a new fender. Most beginners that never used a drill are defiantly going to strip the screws out that way. especially the big neck screws. Also, run the chance of drill new holes with the screw as it goes in in a new direction. better to take some time and do it slowly with a regular screwdriver
I've built a kit guitar before. They can be nice but you may want to upgrade some parts like tuners/pickups when you do it. Also it's more fun to get an unpainted body and come up with something you won't find on the shelf. I found some blue-green color shifting paint. I call it the Baja Blast guitar.
Buy a screw driver bit that fits. Milwaukee make some excellent screwdriver bits for electric screwdrivers. While the impact rated screwdriver bits are overkill, they do "bite" into the screw heads and are almost impossible to slip.
Tip for installing the pickguard/scratchplate: Mark three initial screw holes, drill and install and just tighten the screws until just snug - then mark the rest of the holes. You're guaranteed not to have anything slip.
There really is an art to cutting nuts!
I usually use a fingerboard
radius gauge then finish up
filing , great job Fluff
Been watching a lot of kit guitar videos in the last few days. Perfect timing.
I’m just about to do my very own all American made fender thinline tele. Cheaper than buying new and I got some beautiful handwound pickups too.
Check out the channel DIY Gene. I think he has a video on there where he actually makes one. You might be able to do the same if you have the tools.
My last guitar I built. Ordered parts. Except the body, actually carved, cut and routed a piece of wood into my super strat. Fluff is right, no better pride to have a guitar to your specs you built yourself. I put about $800 in mine. I love it. My main guitar
I’m a simple man. I see dad building a guitar, I click.
If you dont mind imma say mine;
- A strat style body, but altered to be a little like a Jem, but still recognisable as a strat.
- The bottom right quarter of a strat pickguard (like EVH’s frankenstrat)
- EMG active pickups
- Flamed Maple neck with a V style headstock w/ locking nut
- Floyd Rose Special
- Ernie Ball Power Slinkys
- Fender Locking Tuners
Luthiers are crying all over the world.
Nope.
What could be have done better?
because he did a great job and they are rendered superfluous?
One can always do better but I think he did alright.
@@mrksdlx I mean he just built a Fender with Fender off the shelf parts. Not much to that really.
Thanks!
That things awesome the only thing I'd change is change from white to black plastics
9:28 an easy trick that you can do is put masking tape on exactly where you want to put the pick guard so you can hold it on, then use a thumbtac to push in pilot holes! Easy and comfortable so you don’t mess up on pilot hole angles. Also alternatively, you can use one of your new pickguard screws to hold the piece on that way as well by using a pre existing hole on the guitar already!
Cheers from Texas!!!! Love your channel great content and always enjoy seeing your new videos.
I appreciate the fact that it clearly states «includes paid promotion», a lot of other youtubers fail to mention that and those guys have no integrity. You did the right thing.
I have to redo the finish on my bass because someone at school thought it would be a good idea to let go of the heavy exit door which is metal and cracked the polyester resin finish on the back. It's flaking off too
Was it an Ibanez?
@@michaelczesnozki1671 it's a Yamaha RBX170Y
:( that’s terrible I’m sorry
I repair guitars, and there's no doubt about it. that Stew Mac is the absolute best place to go. to get all the tools, equipment, parts, and accessories. to do any kind of repair on any kind of guitar. over the years I have purchased a very large number of tools, equipment, parts, and accessories, from them. that makes my job easier and makes the quality of my repair work unparalleled. however I must warn you the prices of there items are a tiny bit on the high side. but more than well worth it because the quality of their items is simply the best. and they are quite easy to deal with and I have been very satisfied with everything. if your new to working on guitars. or have been at it for many years there's simply no place better than Stew Mac.
Fluff: "...narrower than it's counterpart"
Me (a counterparts fan): "NO SERVANT!"
NO SERVANT OF MINE!
@@Gersi3007 turn your back and flee
yessir haha
Very nice!! As Leo Fender truly intended, all of his guitars were to be 'partscasters'! All interchangeable parts that make up a solid, beautiful and functional instrument. I think Leo is rolling in his grave that the Custom Shop (as great as those instruments are) are fetching $3 - $4000 from about $500 worth of parts. I've built 8 Strat's and Tele's from parts so far and they are all as good if not better than some of the best guitars I've ever played. Thanks for putting up the video!
His drill was skipping more than my journey CD I got in 2003
If you can afford it, this is the fastest way to make your own guitar to the exact specifications that you want ( Fender and Warmoth are the prime choice). No particular skills required. Beats buying a kit which requires finishing ( can be fun too) and often calls to change some of the hardware and electronics that come with these kits.
Great video Fluff. This should inspire lots of people to do the same!
There was a sparkly thunderbird bass neck and body at a local music shop and the fretboard was fretless, I had to get it lmao. 2 years later it’s my own Frankenstein bass, sadly I might have to replace the neck because there was a small crack when I first got it, and it is now bigger
Gavin McKay You could try glueing the crack, wood glue is really strong.
@@andrewwinch474 hell, the wood usually fails before the glue.
If you've ever built a computer or rifle, then a guitar is an easy build. I got a mixed Charvel pre pro and Fender parts kit at a garage sale for $40 years back. I couldn't play guitar at all at the time, but it was a fun build. Found the guitar again in my dad's attic a couple years ago and thankful it wasn't sold at auction.
I have built a couple of PC's but never a rifle.... How do you make rifles.
I'm in the middle of redoing a 93 Jackson Dinky myself🤘🤘
Way to go Fluff! Nice to see the pride you have in building that killer Strat!
That
Neck
The shine is unreal.
was just about to say... damn
Fluff i have the same roasted maple neck. I love it.. this is awesome video thanks bro
Came for the guitar. Stayed for the beard
Underrated
Was I just watching the shopping channel? StuMac ad central!
Hey Fluff, there is a ruler that you can get for nut slotting. It makes it a whole hell of a lot easier and quicker.
I throw the stock nut in the garbage. I use the TusqXL Preslotted Nut, and just file the underside to set 1st fret action. Nice build!
The colour of the neck matches the body and, I don't like strats, I'm the les paul guy but it looks cute
I'm wondering how you'd determine where a body was built (US/China/Mexico etc)? Is it indicated on the body somewhere or would one have to do the legwork and take measurements of the routings as they appear to differ based on where it's from?
Written on the website. But the pickup routes and one hole instead of three under the pickguard do not look like what you see on a regular MIM body
@@daleonov oh ok, thanks. So other than that there's no way of telling? I'm asking because I see nice partscaster strats at this pawn shop by my house all the time and want to be sure what parts I'd need to order if I were to use a body of one of those to build my own.
there's a build number inside the cavities as well. sometimes it's a sticker under the pickup cavities. Indicates the country
*angry nerds incoming*
Some of my nerdy "um, actually's" below. If you saw more, add it to this list in the reply's! Sorry Fluff, this type of content causes this type of comments :D
2:25, 2:49 Guitar clamp (and only one, why lol?), straight edge, fret leveling tool, fret hammer and some other items he didn't use in that build. And it's not enought to build a neck in any future video.
8:10 Aren't 3 springs enough, especially if it's locked?
9:40 You can also mark just a few holes, drill them, put in screws, then mark the rest while the pickguard is 100% secure against the body.
10:21 Did he forget to solder the bridge grounding wire?
11:20 He didn't tap the pickups that are supposed to be off in some of the switch positions
11:31 Strap buttons suddenly appear after this transition. Magic!
13:20 Looks like he's just eyeballing the nut slot depth? Also, cuts just parallel to the fretboard with no angle? Also, would be a good idea to sand a lot of material off the nut so the slots are not that deep (especially since he specifically mentioned that tuning stability is his pet peeve). Also, there's a special ruler from StewMac for marking nut slots they they love to show off soooo much, but not in this video.
13:54 He skipped truss rod adjustment before adjusting the actions. Although he did mention that it "looked pretty good:
Also, he didn't show how he did it. Nut cutting, truss rod adjustement and action adjustement would be perfect opportunity to show off stewmac's filler gauge, string height ruler, fretboard radius gauge and he blew it. That would earn StewMac a lot of money!
14:44 Middle pickup height is waaay off. Which reminds me, he never touched pickup adjustement screws.
15:16 No cover on tremolo, but I assume it's just a personal preference.
Anyway, looks like a decent guitar! But I would definitely take it to a local tech to finalize it.
*Update:* just made a whole video about that build. lol.
Okay, from other prople's comments:
- Wrong screwdriver bits (wasn't he a car mechanic once?)
- Pickguard should be placed so that strings are perfectly aligned with pickup slugs (not sure about that one)
- No need in string tree if the tuners are staggered.
Besides, is it really a MIM body? They usually have different routing and 3 holes under the bridge, not just one.
I should probably do a video about all that?
Daniel is the guy I want setting up my gear - sounds like a touch of OCD, ,which when it comes to guitars and setup is MUCH appreciated! 8-)
Rays Metal Tracks Thank you! I'm releasing video version of this list in a few hours by the way, check it out :)
Yep. It was pretty scary stuff … Bet Stew Mac were pleased that they will now sell a bunch of guitar kits and parts that won't ever get used, or won't get installed/assembled properly …
Ohh sounds beautiful and you did a beautiful job putting that start together.
don't blow on the solder joints it creates a cold solder joint! I know it's tempting to but it's not de wey!
Fender locking tuners are amazing
“I ordered uh......(what did they send me?)” lol
Congrats Fluff. It feels great doesn't it? If you did it correctly, you want another one. If you don't want another one, you didn't do it enough! haha. You're right though, this was a super easy build, I've got half a dozen under my belt, from Warmoths, to cheap Chinese kits, to a parts-caster for a body I made from scratch out of 2x4s. And the difficulty curve is all over.
This dad is proud. \m/ Beard on.
you don't need a string tree with those staggered tuners!
This came at the right time! I'm modding a Strat very soon and just got a soldering iron!
Damn, I've had my american pro strat for 3 years and just noticed how the tuners are different heights! hahah
should have gotten the neck relief set before cutting the nut, and it would have gone fast if you had setup a guide file and pre cut the nut slots it would haveb een fast dialing in the nut slots later on.
If you get a prewired pickguard you’re not really building anything. At that point it’s just furniture from IKEA. 😜😜🤘🏻🎸
Bullcrap
Pretty funny, so true
when screwing the screws in first time into the guitar, wipe the screw on a bar of soap first, wipe off any excess. this includes body and neck screws, such as string tree, tuner screws etc etc. you get a much easier time screwing it in and less chance of splitting the wood
When I was building my first guitar I couldn't sleep while waiting for the finish to dry.
Greek?
@@RaceTraitor219 Yep
@@MaskedPhuck Far better than any first attempt has any right to be :)
Wow! Nice guitar!
Oh man the sound of the bit skipping... sounds like "I" was putting it together
Yes. More videos like this please!
Also I think an interesting video would be to bring a parts kit like this to a master luthier at fender or Gibson or who ever and have them build it, and then watch them judge it and make slight modifications and adjustments that a master luthier would notice lol
I built a VERY similar guitar from stew mac parts.. Fiesta Red... Black pick gaurd and white pickups nobs... Same one! haha Cool. MIM roasted premium neck.. Was beyond bad ass.... Body was tight and well done.
Parts fit perfectly.
Damn nice build. Went smooth as glass little setup.
I did the 5 peg traditional Tremolo Replacement from Floyd Rose. Damn is that thing awesome. The have a little steel piece that bolts into the five wholes and hold out little arms for the tremolo to rest on.. No mod needed.. (It's just a drop tremolo).. but if your cool with that the thing is really nice. block is nice too.. Well done.. Piece of stainless steel. Not the bull crap blotter metal.
Build turned out great man. All the parts showed up neatly packed in a box... Almost felt like a KIT it was so well packed... haha.. I don't work there at StewMac promise. WarMoth is also AWESOME way to go for parts caster that are finished parts you assemble.
If they ever make a sequel to Ratatouille you need to voice Remy's son/cousin/long lost bro. Your voice would be perfect for it.
Very therapeutic
To build what you want no one else has to like it but I do
Bet it’s a guitar you go to all the time
Soo many stripped screws lmao Hand tools my dude !!! \m/
Yes drive me down further the diy rabbit hole!!!
I have never been this early!!! Btw I love your videos 😊❤
I found this video really enjoyable , being a fan of modding myself! Cheers man ,Keep it up!
noone :
Fluff: : "And those are all my holes!"
So this body and neck are both made in Mexico. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact I have two MIM strats myself but for what StewMac is charging you can get an already built MIM guitar for about this much, probably less if you shop around. It's still a cool project and the customization options are great.
The staggered tuners negated the need for a string tree.
i was going to say that
I was going to say the same thing. I demand an explanation! Lol.
I have the same neck on my 2005 Mexican Standard Strat SSS, which just got it replaced last year. It features 22 frets, synthetic bone nut, 12" radius fretboard, and flat oval neck profile. Super comfortable and thin, IMO. Additionally, I also got the hardwares, electronics, and accessories swapped out for black Hipshot keystone locking tuners, black Hipshot 6-screw tremolo bridge, black SD Hot Rails, and black accessories. The black color matches really well with sage green metallic body, IMO. Sonically, the Hot Rails has turned my strat into a monster riff machine from SSS to HHH! And I would supposed to dub this a semi-superstrat? Hmmmmm. 🤔
After years and years of asking, this beautiful bastard finally did. Awesome guitar Dad.
This was awesome dude....annnnd now I have a shopping list an arm long with a black custom tele
This is more like a Lego kit for children than a true partscaster project. This is the absolute antithesis of the spirit of such a build. Even just that it all came in one box... No.
I wouldn't say that! There is a ton of mistakes in this build, so definitely not a school project type of job.
Cool guy alert
Same some for the rest of us, bud
😆
Sounds amazing! Looks incredible!
Ooh, shiny! 🙃
I've built several Strats, quite a few partsocaster but quite a few where i carved the neck and had the body made from a blank. I've used several roasted necks but always kept them raw, with no finish. I have a neck that i made from an old 120+ year old hutch. It has a pretty stunning flame to it, which is unusual (at least to modern standards) because it was from a corner post/leg that was completely hidden, so no one would ever actually see it, so i don't get why the furniture builder would have used that, but i digress.
Looking at that neck with the glossy finish to it made me decide just now that I'm going to shoot the fretboard and front face of the headstock and keep the rest unfinished. That good really looks good on the roasted neck.
I’m pretty sure the taller ones go on the bass side and he smaller ones go on the treble
Pretty sure that's what he said
Great guitar Fluff! im digging the roasted maple .. so beautiful
I actually thought about building guitars and giving them away. Like Warmoth or something good like that.
Love these kinds of vids.
Maybe I missed this part, but did you attach a grounding wire to the trem claw? You need to do that to ground the bridge and strings (and your body via your fingers), which prevents extra pickup humming
Andy Frey 7:33 you can clearly see it is attached
@@Ottophil but not the other end!
@@daleonov 10:10 it looks like he cut the footage of him soldering it!
@@MrLeviathan34 he actually cut about half of the steps he made :(
Collab with Darrell Braun on a build vid...the dude is the best at making weird custom guitars from Warmoth.
Well, he doesn’t actually build guitars. He just takes stuff from Warmoth and assembles them (and doesn’t do the greatest job if I remember correctly).
@@darthjarjarbinks8953 , normally Darrell's assembly videos are quite solid. Does a good job
He's also the best at being annoying af
That roasted neck looks amazing!!!
Fluff, what do you think is the best-valued used guitar under $500?
Texas Special pickups? A Stevie Ray Vaughan fan I'm guessing. I did a similar build years back. I picked gold vintage wireless tuner, gold pickup cover, gold knobs and bridge. I also used gold string guides and gold skull locking strap locks. The pickguard and tremolo cover were vintage white. I drew a picture of Stevie and had a vinyl sticker made from it and put it on the tremolo cover. It came in at just under 1200 dollars.
hmm....more like "assembling a fender guitar"
Yeah, he didn’t build anything. Misleading title. People actually seem to think he built it for some reason though.
Looks amazing!!! Great work!!
the neck looks amazing
- Kevin
I love the shine!
Solid video. Thanks for sharing a 1K custom to you guitar build. Getting used to swapping parts in and out of a guitar is a fun part of owning guitars over time.
Pretty sure that this is the exact combo they’re currently giving away on their Instagram....
Beautiful build. That thing sounds great.
The placing of the pickguard has to done so that the string perfectly go over the pickups. Rob
But is it possible ona strat? The slgs on middle and neck pickups are always spaced too wide.
great video! really love roasted maple neck strats/teles. you're right, building a guitar like this would definitely create a very personal connection with the instrument.