Modification: Fender Blacktop Straocaster

If there is a "lesson" that you're going to get tired of reading about, it's this: After-market modifications to stock guitars yield negligible value increase on the secondary market.

Modifications are fun though, and are a great way to make you "fall in love" with a guitar that you don't want to sell but can't seem to enjoy anymore.  Just so happens that I have just such a guitar.  Imagine that.

You'd think I was trying to write an introduction or something...

Fenders Babies?

About 4 years ago, again visiting family, I went out to the local music store with my wife to see what was in.  I knew the owner, and for once he was there on a weekend afternoon, so we had a nice chat as I checked out what was on the wall.  I pulled a Sonic Blue Stratocaster off the wall that caught my eye, a Blacktop Stratocaster.  A new model at the time that was getting some positive reviews from trusted sources.

Plugged into a DRRI, I liked what I heard.  The split sounds were unexpectedly excellent thanks to some fancy wiring, and overall build quality seemed good.  Even better, the guitar was priced below Mexican Standards, and had the more vintage correct logo, which I always found aesthetically more pleasing.

I wanted rosewood though.  I had been pretty firmly a rosewood neck guy, and couldn't see myself really bonding with the maple.  The owner had the solution - take this one home, and he'll order the rosewood version.  When it arrives, just bring the other one back.  My wife gave the green light - something about "once the baby is here you're not going to be buying guitars."

Sold.  And pffft.

Now, Fender being Fender, the order took a bit longer than I had hoped, but once my guitar arrived I was pleased as punch.  The shop even did a setup before I got there.

A digression: The big shops always tell you if you buy a guitar they will set it up for you.  It sounds like a good deal, until they tell you after the fact that their tech is backlogged 3 weeks.  This is exactly what happened when I bought my USA Telecaster from L&M in 2001.

I'm not sure I would have bonded with this guitar if not for my daughter, who hadn't been born yet.  We had decided that Pink Paisley would be the theme for the fabrics and lamp shades in her new room, and Sonic Blue (or a close enough approximation) would be the color of the walls.

Pictured: A sonic blue guitar

After about a year and another guitar purchase, I wasn't enjoying the Blacktop.  I found it sounded dead to my ears (new strings or not), and every sound was just over compressed mush with no sustain.

But I couldn't sell it.

I had developed an emotional attachment to the guitar (a costly emotional weakness to be sure).  Not only was my daughter's room painted to match, but it had become "her guitar."  Pictures like this sealed the deal:

Once she got tap shoes she wasn't allowed to do this anymore!

Quick, to the soldering iron!

Can't sell it, can't live with it.  There's only one solution: Somebody get me my goddamn soldering iron.  Oh, and coffee.  Strong, black, and preferably fair trade.  Just like I like my women?

Dammit Krieger!

Barely Clinging to Life Man?

Well, no.  But it certainly came to life when I was done.  Here's the before and after:

Before

After

I had been keen to try out Guitar Fetish based on a few factors (reviews, price, favourable Canadian dollar) and this seemed like the perfect excuse.  I went ahead and ordered:

1. GFS "Classic II" Alnico 2 Vintage Wound Humbuckers (Bridge and Neck)
2. A Dozen Alpha Brand pots, 250 and 500, A and B
3. A couple of 5 way switches
4. Some gold "speed knobs"
5. A Brass Replacement Block

Everything arrived and went in without much of a problem, although the "Made in Mexico" block did not line up with the tremolo arm bore properly - clearly this MIM had an import bridge plate.  Since the bar is something I never use, I lost no functionality, and decided to live with it.

The improvements were substantial.  I can't recommend replacing the block enough, and the pickups were equally fantastic.  For those unaware, and "Alnico II" humbucker is pretty much guaranteed to be targeted at folks looking for Slash's tone.  These probably aren't as nice as the Duncan signature versions, but for a quarter the price, I'm pretty impressed.

Another digression: If you want to scoff and start talking about CTS pots and some boutique builder's trem block that costs 3X what I spent, have at it.  Spending the total value of the guitar on upgrades is stupid.  My US stuff gets Callaham and similar.

If you click-to-enlarge you should be able to make out the misalignment

The only other change I made was the wiring - rather than volume/tone/tone, I wired the controls NeckVolume/BridgeVolume/Tone.  Obviously this guitar was going to be my little nod to Gibson among Fenders, and I've always liked the two volume approach (though Gibson puts theirs about 300 yards from the strings).

Obviously, I won't be selling this guitar - I enjoy playing it again and if my daughter ever wants to learn, this one is hers. Gun to my head though, remember my rule - Strip everything out, return it to stock, and sell the upgrades separately.

Or have a baby and paint the room the same color.  You know, whatever.