Coodercaster Build UPDATE PG 6, AUDIO PG 8

[StevenO]

Going to get this bad boy up and running soon. Anybody have any more suggestions about what to put in the bridge position? I want something funky!

[Invader Zim]

Update?

[StevenO]

I'd love to give a good update, but to be honest, the guitar sat in a gigbag at a repair shop for about two or so months before any work began on it and when work did begin, I was told that what I wanted wasn't possible and the price would be about $350 for the wiring and cutting of a stock 1 ply Strat guard (not a blank). I thought that was ridiculously overpriced especially since nothing I asked for could be accomplished, so I got the guitar back and it's just sat in a stand ever since.

I'll probably just put the Strat guard back on and have it as a typical Strat set up rather than a Coodercaster, eventually.

[StevenO]

I put the Strat guard and pickups back on the guitar. I'm not really a Strat guy so it's a little uninspiring.

Not sure if I should try other pickups or if I should try out a different wiring scheme? Series? Neck and bridge option?

Hmm...

[Ursa Minor]

I know you're probably not a humbucker guy, but here me out....

What about something like a PAF-style or P-90-style single coil-sized pickup? I'm sure you can find a used Duncan or something from GFS for fun. Either option is stronger w/ more mids than strat pickups. (I dislike strat pickups). Might push your amps in different ways and doesn't require any heavy mods.

[StevenO]

It's actually something I have considered... Looking at Lace and similar.

The weird thing is that when I listen to old recordings I have made with this guitar, I'm always struck by how good the guitar sounds! I only use the neck or bridge pickups and they really do sound good. The neck is super pretty and the bridge pickup has a nice stringy/jangly quality to it that really works in an early Who kind of way. But when I play the guitar on it's own, I always feel like my Tele just eats it for breakfast. Kind of annoying, but at least I know it sounds good

Strange! Maybe I should just have two pickguards wired up for this purpose?

[Ursa Minor]

I have two pickguards for my strat. One is the standard config, the other is my lace sensor setup (which is usually permanent in that guitar.)
It's easy enough to switch the two. If I were more industrious I would wire it up w/ plugs so I could swap without re-soldering the ground and input jack.

I think strats are good in a mix so I can understand how by itself it might feel kinda dull compared to your #1 Tele.

Are your original strat pickups the foreign ceramic type?

[StevenO]

The pickups I have in it now are the Fender CS '69 pickuos, supposedly signed by Abigail Yibarra (probably not wound by her though, not that it would matter). They sound fine, but I find all Fender stock pickups sound kind of boring.

Here's how it looks now, which isn't terrible. Just rather traditional/classic:

[Ursa Minor]

We've talked about the CS69 pickups. They're supposed to be very good - but i agree its sort of just sounds like a strat. No gettin' around that.

That guitar has a classic look though. I think it looks great as-is! (I know I'm no help!)

But re: pickups, my 2p is to try something strat sized. What about a lipstick pickup? Kinda going the other way since those are squeaky clean and low output. I had a Talman with lipsticks that sounded excellent. And they were the cheap Kent Armstrong type. You could also get a Tele-style bridge pickup - with a metal baseplate. Combine that with the 69-neck pickup.

[StevenO]

Honestly, maybe I'll just keep it as is and then eventually get a cheap pickguard to cut up and finally shove those old dearmond pickups in it in series and have them running straight to a volume pot and output jack...

I've been saying that for years, but...

For now, I think I'll buy a new Gotoh vintage style trem for it and actually, you know, use it!

[Ursa Minor]

Always a good idea to have different guards for strats. They're so easy to swap out.

I'm also a big fan of upgrading hardware.

[Con-Tiki!]

guitar looks pretty good, apartment looks even better.
if you could survive with one pickup, i would suggest getting a blank guard(probably $12-15) and top-mounting that hershey bar pickup. +vol/tone.

if you get ambitious, i had a 3-way switch on my single (valco) pickup strat, and found my pseudo-esquire switching to be pretty versatile. for the front position, i think i used a .005uf cap, no resistor at all, middle to the v/t, back straight through.

[StevenO]

Thanks for the comments! Apartment is messy with wires, cables, guitar parts and an Xbox (that I don't know what to do with, I bought it off a friend just to help him out). I do think the guitar looks fairly decent. It's coming together, in any case.

I'm thinking you're right, I should just buy a blank pickguard. Right now in my Amazon cart I have a 3 ply aged white and a 3 ply light mint guard. Might buy both just to mess around with. Which would look better with some dearmonds in it?

Still thinking about the Gotoh bridge... The current one I have is FINE but it's a mid-90s Squier trem and probably could use with an upgrade.

[Ursa Minor]

That Gotoh would be a great upgrade - just make sure to check the measurements. It should be fine but are probably variations of imperial vs. metric. Either way it'll have tighter tolerances and is probably more solid. I've always been curious about changing the trem block since that seems like a popular mod but I never had the inspiration to pull the trigger.

I like that blank pickguard Idea. Especially since you'd have holes to drill at most, no routing if its all top mount. As long as the strings clear the hershey pickup - that'd be the only thing I'd worry about. But those PUs are pretty flat to begin with....

I also vote mint over aged white or parchment. Your body is stark white so its' a nice contrast.

Or....other end of the spectrum maybe a 50's white 1-ply. Or black bakelite - 1-ply. (I've wanted a black 1-ply for my blonde strat for ages...hmmmm...)

[StevenO]

I'd love a blank 1 ply white guard but they seem to be hard to find for a decent price. If I make a mistake, I'd rather botch a $15 piece of plastic than a $45 one. But that's just me!

With that said, I'll be buying a blank pickguard anyhow and see what I can do.