Well, first of all thanks for visting. Pictured is one of my Strats built from spare parts. An early 60's clone...basically comprised of a '62 MIJ RI body, a USA '62 RI Neck, and pickguard assembly wired with top notch electronics and GFS pickups. But before we explore all that lets talk about tone.
Oh, where to begin... lets start with wood. With an acoustic guitar wood choice more or less is going to determine the overall tone of the instrument. With an electric guitar, it's still important but perhaps not as much so as your choice of electronics. A great explanation of the various tonal characteristics of body woods can be found on the Warmoth page. Towards the bottom of the menu on the left click on the "body woods" link and you'll be able to explore your options. Fender historically has used alder and ash for Strats though other body woods have been used from time to time. (Less expensive and import models are sometimes made of basswood for instance.)
As far as neck woods go... you're basic options are all maple or maple with a rosewood fretboard. In a nutshell, the rosewood board will have a softer feel and slightly more mellow tone. The maple, a little harder feel and slightly brighter tone. You can also read all about neck woods on the Warmoth site as well. (This time towards the top of the menu on the left under "neck woods".)
I've played both basswood and alder bodies and both rosewood and maple boards and really prefer the alder body/rosewood board combo. I like the look of it and it's a pretty tried and true recipe.
The next big thing to consider is pickups. As far as I'm concerned, this more than anything is going to decide the "flavor" of your Strat. From metal to old school Fender twang, your pickup choice should match your musical tastes. Some pickups can handle lots of styles with relative ease and some lean towards one extreme or the other. You can go the cheap route or spend a fortune on boutique options...that's for you to decide. Of course, there are traditional single coils, noiseless pickups, humbuckers...the list goes on and on but lets focus on single coils right now. The Fender '57/'62 is a great vintage toned option, and pretty affordable. I've been using GFS pickups which are WAY cheaper but I've had great success with them. GFS pickups also come with a great wiring diagram so if you're new at soldering it helpful. I'll post some great links for wiring diagrams soon. I've always wanted to experiment with Lindy Fralin's but haven't really wanted to pony up the cash...maybe someday. For a partial list of pickups and descriptions check out Acme Guitars Works' site.
So, and again this is my opinion, these three factors (body & neck wood, and pickups) are going to be the basic ingredients of your Strats tone. In my next blog I will discuss your hardware options as well as electronics in depth... this is where things can get interesting!
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