Hardware and Electronics in Depth

Greetings... here's another of my creations. A '71 Strat clone featuring a 22 fret Warmoth neck with the large CBS style headstock and reproduction late 60's/early 70's headstock decal, a Mexican made 60's RI neck and again, a pickguard assembly wired up with GFS pickups and quality electronic components.

So lets talk hardware first... compatibility is the big issue here, but it doesn't have to be. As a general rule, Mexican made hardware fits Mexican bodies and the vintage US and Japan parts are interchangeable. 99% of the time this rule holds true but every once in a while screw holes don't exactly match up. For something like the pickguard, it's no biggie. I've never cared if I had to drill an extra hole or two to install the pickguard. Sometimes aftermarket pickguards present problems with fitting too snug around the bridge plate though this is easily solved by sanding them down. The biggest hang up with hardware is the bridge. The screw spacing is critical unless you want to "fill & drill". The slightest mistake will leave you tearing your hair out. Tuning and intonation will suffer if not done perfectly which is why I stick to what fits.

String spacing is also something to keep in mind and can create headaches if not taken into consideration. The narrower spacing (Mexican made bridges as well as those on the HWY 1 Strats) are perfect for taller frets or if you're planning on installing a humbucker in the bridge position. With "standard" spacing you're strings will ride closer to the edge of the fretboard and hence, be apt to slide off the edge which drives me nuts. The spacing of the pole pieces on humbucking pickups also tends to be narrower than that of standard Strat single coils and hence, line up better with the narrower string spread. Callaham offers some great products for upgrading your bridge to help remedy these (and other) problems associated with Fender bridges.

A quick word about the quality of Fender bridges... frankly they suck, and if you want to build a really quality instrument you should consider replacing it with one from Callaham. That being said, you can get by fine with a Fender bridge but if you have an extra $100 or so, buck up and replace it...it makes a significant difference in tone and sustain.

As far as the neck hardware goes, there's very little to consider except your choice of tuners. Someplace like Warmoth will drill the tuner holes to fit whatever tuners you want to use. Most all tuners have different diameter posts and different screw hole patterns so beware... try to avoid the "drill and fill" scenario. I installed Kluson brand tuners on the sunburst Strat pictured in my previous post and while they were supposed to fit, they were a little loose. My fix? A little wood glue which did the trick and I haven't had any problems. If you're drilling holes for the tuner screws (as I had to do on the red Strat pictured) make sure you line them up correctly. Warmoth necks don't come with holes drilled for tuner trees or tuners. In the excitement of assembly, I didn't do a perfect job and as a result my tuning pegs are ever so slightly pitched to one direction. Not a huge deal, the tuners work fine and I seriously doubt anyone but me would notice but proceed with caution.

As far as the pickguard assembly goes, I think I'm going to save that for another post. Hope all this has been helpful so far...