Zombie Apocalypse Strat Renovation

 

This is the zombie strat I recently renovated. It features:

Seymour Duncan Blackouts active pickups

Fender locking tuners

blocked tremolo (a la Clapton)

mini-toggle boost switch (connected to jumpers on middle and neck pickup)

Henessee strap locks

machined brass inserts in neck joint

distressed finish

bullet casings

zombies breaking through barricade

bullet shell position markers

grenade

blood spatter pickguard

Walking Dead homage back plate

apocalypse-battered headstock

 maple neck

3 joined piece body (alder or ash)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hiV80xbK50

Pittsburgh Penguins Strat

I was recently commissioned to create a Pittsburgh Penguins themed guitar…

Based on the money invested, I bought a used Strat to renovate. The final specs include:

*Behlen stringed instrument lacquer finish
*Tinted neck, finished as above
*Custom peghead artwork
*90’s era 3d Penguins logo pickguard
*Simple gold matching paintjob
*Special shielding and rewiring- according to GuitarNuts.com
Seriously… this is an amazing mod. With standard Strat pickups, you get rid of your 60cycle hum!! http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php
*TBX tone control installed
*String Saver Saddles
*Fender locking tuners (as used on the nicest U.S. made models)

Lord of the Rings Strat: “One does not simply ROCK into Mordor…”

This guitar was commissioned for my best friend’s brother (by his fiancee). She was able to sneak his old Squire Strat away so that I could revamp it. I had previously created a Middle Earth map on an electric bass for my friend (his brother).

This was a matter of repainting and refinishing the body; I don’t think I replaced hardware or messed with the electronics. The concept I eventually came up with was Sam and Frodo walking into Mordor, looking across the plains of Gorgoroth at Mount Doom, with Barad Dur and Sauron looming in the distance. Some Nazgul fly above and Gollum sits on a rocky outcrop waiting for the right chance to strike. I did some 3D carving that was enhanced by later painting; I etched the entire script from the Ring around the perimeter of the guitar. I airbrushed the sky and plains.

For the peghead, I did a relief carving of an eagle fighting with a fell beast. Around the perimeter I wrote the Dwarvish text from the Lonely Mountain map in the Hobbit. (Not completely appropriate for the scene, but it looks good.)

In addition, I ordered some “Eye of Sauron” eyes on eBay to make custom knobs with some cut down Strat knobs and Sculpey. Finally, I inscribed Tolkein’s symbol at the 12th fret.

Custom Gold Leaf Strat

This is the homemade Gold Leaf Strat that I built this spring. I remember going to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame about 10 years ago and seeing this guitar.  Knowing nothing about gold leaf, I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at. Now I am.
Fender designed this guitar for Mr. Eric Clapton. The Fender Custom Shop will make it for you for about $6,000. I made it for less than that, and it was a pain in my… wrist. I sought out a custom-wired pickguard that simulates Eric’s wiring with Gold Lace pickups and specially designed tone controls. The inside of this thing is like a computer! And the sound is incredible because of it. Honestly, this is one of the first guitars I built to sell that I’m actually tempted to keep.
I put a V profile Fender neck on- the same kind of neck preferred by Clapton and used both on Blackie and the Gold Leaf Strat. It’s beautiful birdseye maple, and I did a vintage amber finish over it.
This guitar features ALL gold Fender hardware, not foreign knockoffs, FENDER. (Even though these Fender parts are made internationally.) IN ANY CASE, this is the good stuff: bridge, strap pins, neckplate, pickguard, backplate, string trees, and Gold Kluson tuners.
I did a lacquer finish over the body for a sleek, polished look. You can tell from the (poor) photographs that this thing glows.

Retro Bandito Fender Stratocaster with Scalloped Neck

This is a unique guitar that I put together using ALL Fender parts. It has a vintage Western theme with an awesome handmade leather pickguard (that alone cost me over $100) AS WELL AS brand new Fender Samarium Cobalt noiselss pickups installed. Check out the specs:

* Relic’ed American Fender Strat body – check the photo. The serial # indicates it was made in February / March of 2000. Light wear applied to the finish overall, heavier wear over some of the contours to simulate aging and a lot of playing.

* Licensed Fender Strat PROFESSIONALLY SCALLOPED maple fingerboard neck. Before I had ever played a scalloped neck, I was concerned that this may cause tuning issues (by stretching the string too far, as the wood is carved out lower). After playing some scalloped necks, I have not experienced any tuning issues, even when playing chords. It really allows you to grab a hold of the strings for bending during solos and gives you better control. I love it!

* Chrome Fender / Schaller tuners- Avoids tuning issues that some people blame on the standard Kluson tuners.

* NEW Noiseless Fender Samarium Cobalt single coil pickups means no more annoying Strat hum in any position! Sound good? You bet it does.

* Chrome Fender tremolo bridge.

* Hand-made black and white LEATHER pickguard. This is one of the coolest things about this guitar: this pickguard is out of this world. If you are into rockabilly, the old west, 50’s era themes, this really sells it. The pictures hardly do it justice. The detail is phenomenal.

*”Bandito” neckplate- A very cool custom image on the plate that completely goes with the Western theme

*Matador pinup girl on the tremolo cavity cover- Again, that 1950’s era Western theme… it’s the details that really make a guitar stand out!

* All of the hardware is of Fender origin, including the tremolo bar.