I love old tube amps. If you dig them as much as I do, this blog is for you. Guitar, Hi Fi, recording gear, nothing beats the warmth and character of this antiquated technology. Shared here are tips to keep your much loved old amps in good shape, and tips how to improve your new gear. Have a comment or suggestion? Leave it here! Thanks for reading!
So I have this opportunity to sit and play my good buddy Sonic Dave's real 1964 Stratocaster. He bought it back in the 80's out of someones closet in Rochester. I've known Dave for 30 years now and I've gotten to play this workhorse many times. It's been around the block and arrived with a fresh re-fret from Division Street Guitars in Peekskill. His guitar is the one that inspired me in the first place.
So how does mine stack up? First some photos....
Aside from some little visual things, location of the 'football' jack cup, where the tuners sit on the headstock, I gotta say Musikraft did a stellar job making this neck. The body by Guitar Mill is first rate as well. The contours are a little deeper, more like an early 60's body. People obsess over the whole "One piece body" thing and that cracks me up. Mine is 2 pieces, the real one I count four!!! But, who really cares about those things. How do they play side by side?
Really I can sum it up quite easily. His is old. 53 years old. It sounds 'experienced'. It's warmer, lacks a certain glassiness to the tone. Acoustically as well as electrically. This is to be expected. Wood mellows with age, pickup magnets mellow with age.
Other than that I'm still delighted with mine. I don't feel the need to obsess over an old one. Give mine a few more years on the planet and it will sound as warm. Really, the difference is splitting hairs. Impossible to quantify but I'd say it's just a bit warmer than mine.
And understand, his may possibly be my personal favorite Stratocaster. It's a truly great one.
I have faith that mine will grow into that warmth. My Esquire was kind of awful the first year but last week I got to play some great old ones. I came home and played my Esquire and forgot all about those expensive guitars.
How does the neck play? They are quite close. Mine is slightly bigger but if I actually had a career in music and one was my backup, I'd make the switch in 30 seconds flat.
Only other differences will happen with age. Yup, his pickguard is greener. Mine is the same color as his on the underside. People can't smoke in clubs any longer so that is a factor. But give it time.
Both are fantastic Stratocasters. Both feel rather hand made, hard to describe. A lot of new ones feel factory, something missing. I've felt that way about them for a long time now. If you can roll your own I think you are making a better guitar. So get out there and give it a go! It's fun and worth it. And now I have something I coveted for a long time in replica form, and I dig it.
Here's my main guitar. I built it on my rooftop when I lived in Williamsburg Brooklyn 3 years ago:
Photo by Starina Catchitoorian:
Beach gig!
I started out a Jimi freak when I was 14 years old. So naturally I played a '69 Maple cap Stratocaster ($750 in 1990!) for years. Trouble with a Strat, something Dave Navarro said to me: "Trouble with a Strat is you wind up playing Strat things on it...." They do have a way of commanding you to play certain things. So during the grunge scare of '92 I bought my first Jazzmaster, a beat to death 1964 model(100% original, $750 in 1992!). I played that guitar for years. Best part was I didn't know how to play a Jazzmaster so I really feel like I started to find myself on that guitar. It wasn't until '99 at a guitar show in Portland that I bought my first Telecaster, a refinished black 1966 maple cap model ($750! Notice a trend??) that was light as a feather and trust me, I really didn't know how to play that guitar. I sold it in 2003 and doubled my money. It gets played in church now. I've bought and sold a lot of guitars over the years and that is the only one I regret selling. I had the bridge pickup rewound by Fralin to make it hot like an early 50's model. That was a great guitar. Rent and debt! Bah!
But the guitar I've always wanted is the Fender Esquire, namely ones made in the early 50's. They cost a lotta dough now. I have played some that were not to my liking at all and priced about $15k, and played some that if cost were no object I'd just pay whatever it takes.
To find one in Copper? There may not be any. There are only a handful of copper Telecasters in existence. I'm not too keen on the new Fender product, the relic or reissue series. Good stuff but I'm way too picky.
And really I'm totally happy with this one that I built. I have about $400 into it! It gets played every day.
The neck is just an Allparts V. They're great. I may upgrade to a Musikraft cause they are better and I can afford it now but like I said, this guitar keeps me really satisfied as is.
The body is pine, bought from Clearfork Designs on EBay. His EBay name is Ohlar. It's super light, about 3 pounds and a few ounces. I met the guy who makes them at the Dallas Guitar Expo. He's just a great guy. Super warm and friendly. You can tell when that kind of vibe goes into something one builds. I bought another body from him there that I am going to do something with next year. It's lightweight ash.
So I used Guitar Re-Ranch products to do the finish. Desert sand undercoat, copper then clear. They make great stuff. My only error was not doing a sanding sealer. Oops! Well, the grain shows through now. Fender wouldn't let that happen, but I'm not Leo!
After 3 years it's getting pretty worn!
No need for relic stuff, these are my scars and this is my story. I did the silly dowel holes as well, just details:
Finishing I did the lazy susan nail hole method Fender used to use. It's already developing that 'Fuller Tan' visible when you remove the control plate:
I went with Fender hardware and a Mojotone 50's pickup.
I really like Mojo pickups. This is the heart of the Esquire. That simple 1 pickup design forces me to play for real and extract what I want out of the guitar buy using my hands creatively. If I want mellow I need to find mellow. Gnarly is less of a challenge!
I used all CTS pots and CRL switch, the knobs are Daka Ware from the 40's, bakelite and oxblood colored. I like the way they look with the copper body. The switch tip is Daka Ware as well, oxblood too!
The pickguard is bakelite, did the whole lacquer paint circle thing cause I can! The decal I bought from some European vendor. It's pretty accurate!
So this is my baby now. My main guitar. I think it's the simplicity of the Esquire that I like the most. It forces me to find melody, be creative in my playing since I'm not fiddling with tremolo arms and pickups. I just play the thing!
A bit of the guitar in action in a 110 degree room!
And me and my friend Starina....she plays a copper Danelectro. These go together well!
There was a time not long ago when a 'vintage' guitar was just called a 'used' guitar. When I was a teenager I played a blonde 1961 Stratocaster at Chuck Levins in Washington DC that was expensive, about $1200. This was around 1984. You could buy a new top model professional guitar for about the same price or buy this 'vintage' instrument.
That was a lot of money for me then, I was a kid throwing the Baltimore Sun newspaper on Sunday morning, cutting lawns for ten bucks and really, a later not fancy Fender could be had for half that or less. A re-painted one for even less. Point is you could buy the guitar of your dreams for an attainable price.
I got to enjoy a few over the years, refinished ones that could be had at a players price. There was a lot of them around then. They may have been modified by a good player to their liking, nobody cared then, these were just tools. Practice, learn, get a good instrument and join a band. If you could improve it for your needs all the better.
Prices went up and up and up then 2003 happened. A second war started, easy credit and an older generation that would pay anything to get some good memories back skyrocketed prices. The last 2 vintage Fenders I sold were my '61 Stratocaster (refinished) for $3500 and my refinished '66 Maple Cap Telecaster for $1500. I double my money on both of those and only owned them for about 5 years each. Today that Stratocaster would command $10k and the Tele around $5k. I can afford one now but have no interest in paying that kind of money. Fender guitars are the Lego of the guitar world, easy to fake parts and with all that relic jive going on, you need a sharp eye and a lot of experience to make an informed purchase. And I'm a musician. I want something I can carve up, change colors on and make my own should I choose without the 'vintage guitar' police telling me I'm an idiot for lowering the value.
Fender over the years has attempted to capture the spirit of the old guitars by making 'reissue' series and now 'custom shop' and 'relic' guitars. They've been getting better over time. The first series to me, completely missed the mark. Details.... the way the necks feel, the finish, the 'Fender Fender' saddles rather than the 'Fender Pat Pend' saddles, just weird enough pickguards. Little silly things like that. They just seemed to refuse to get it right.
So that drove other parts makers to get it right. You could buy 'Pat Pend' saddles on the black market, decals on the black market, better pickups, better necks and better bodies. Fender would often clamp down and you'd wait a year to find some other counterfeiter to sell you saddles that looked right.
Other builders got better, but the trend was 'relic'. I prefer to put my own dents in my guitar. My scratches=my story. And todays Custom Shop stuff, feels too perfect for me. A great Fender should be just janky enough and not one bit more.
So the goal for me since I like nice things but don't really play Stratocasters these days, is to build something that's as good or better than what other builders make, something as satisfying as the top flight instruments Fender makes with a budget of less than a grand. Something I can schlep to gigs and lessons, enjoy and not be worried about.
I've always liked Fenders made between '64 and '65. I like the transitional logo, the curved rosewood fingerboard, clay dots, green guard and lacquer finish. That's a sweet spot for the necks, not small but not huge.
I have a thing for black Fenders.
We live in a real renaissance period for parts. I like it. Just like the amps I've built, speakers and transformers have gotten so good I lost my lust for old amps.
About this build. The most expensive part was the neck. It was built by Musikraft. I think it cost me around $300. I ordered it unfinished with only a sealer, post '64 dot spacing, real clay dots and with a curved rather than slab fingerboard. I could buy the Allparts '62 neck for about a third of the price and been happy too, those are great. The buy I wanted those clay dots (even though a real old Fender never used clay!) and didn't want to go through the process of replacing those plastic ones. And I gotta say, Musikraft knocked it out of the park with this one. Great product, well worth it. There is something just a little extra special with the detail. The difference between a good guitar and a great one is often the person with a piece of sandpaper. I'll gladly buy another one and may even buy one for my beloved Esquire.
A word on the Fender Custom Shop. They've gotten better at their dots, the older 60's Custom shop models used dyed plastic. The more you played them the newer they got!
Only one company has mastered those mysterious dots and that is:
These guys do such a great reproduction I'd be afraid to buy a vintage one. Apparently they are closing shop. Do read about their dots! It's rather fascinating!
The body I found on Reverb.com. It's made of pine and built by Guitar Mill. I put an offer of around $250 and got it. No, I realize it's not proper alder, I just like pine. And it's about 3 1/2 pounds. My back prefers a light guitar. I also like Clearfork Designs. He lets you know the weight of each body. You want light, order it! Heavy, yes. You get to choose.
I did order an MJT body. Truly great craftsmanship. I just didn't want the checking and scratches. Plus I decided to just do my own finish. It's the most challenging part and I'm still buffing it. But it keeps getting better and it's starting to check naturally. Plus I could put those silly dowel holes in it and do the whole 'lazy Susan nail hole' method of finishing like they used to do. Now of course I didn't set up a spray booth, this was finished on my rooftop in Greenpoint!
Silly dowel holes:
In a few years this body will just look like an old body. The only difference may be in how we see it. Is it something special or not? Older I get the more I realize it's just a matter of perception.
For the finish I used real nitrocellulose lacquer from Guitar Re-ranch:
They have great products and if you follow their instructions patiently you'll have a world class finish. I'm not all that patient so mine is second class but, in a year it will just look worn. I did the 'desert sand' primer coat like they did in the old days, with black over that and high gloss over that. I got it so it's like a black mirror on most of it!
The hardware is mostly Fender. They have that great new 'True Vintage' series. Yes, they make my "Pat Pend" saddles finally and they cost about $30 for a set as opposed to up to $100 for black market ones.
I also used a Fender "True Vintage" tremolo block. I could have spent a lot more but why? I do like the Callaham stuff. I was a dealer a long time ago. Today I'm actually happy with what Fender is doing. It shows someone cares at the Fender company. That's all it really takes, someone to listen to their consumers and respond accordingly.
The pickguard was believe it or not, the next most expensive part:
It was made in Italy. I don't know if they make them any longer. What's so great about it? Why spend $150 rather than $39? Details. It's thick and like the old ones and flammable too! It's the right material and color. This guitar has been in service for all of 8 months now and it's starting to show signs of shrinkage. The old ones age organically, there is a beauty to them. The new PVC ones frankly look cheap to me. I simply can't tolerate cheap looking stuff!
The pickups........ugh. There are so many people making pickups today. I was a Fralin and Chandler dealer years ago, Great stuff. Never liked some of the bigger builders and definitely not crazy about the Fender product. I don't know why cause at the end of the day it's just some magnets with some wire wrapped around it.
I refuse to pay a lot for pickups...... Yeah, I'll pay a lot for a pickguard but that's cause I need to feed my vain streak!
So I like the number '59. I looked on EBay, punched in '59 Stratocaster pickups and up popped a few sets. I chose the one that was around $89 and bought them. I'm happy with them, they sound great!
I simply didn't want to think and do a bunch of research. That's a rabbit hole I don't have the time for. I'm a good player. I've played cheap crappy Strat copies and made them sound just like a Strat!
I used CTS potentiometers and a 3 way CRL switch. The tone cap is an Aerovox .1.
A word about tone capacitors. You can spend a fortune on one. Paper in Oil yadda yadda. It's jive. You're literally rolling off a little bit of highs to ground. The difference is the value. I know a lot of people beg to differ, but the power of suggestion has quite an effect on the brain.
I used a bone nut. I never really enjoy making nuts so I'm glad to say there are pre slotted ones available with perfect spacing. Just deepen them, cut it down to size and polish it out and you're done.
The decal I bought online from a dealer in Europe. Nice product. Not too pleased with how I did the head of my guitar so I may do it again. I've thought about doing a matching black headstock like the John Lennon '64.
And another parts maker is making decent serialized neck plates. Gotta to the L number!
The font is a bit weird but whatever! Like I said, Fender is the Lego of the guitar world.
Under the hood:
Nail holes!!!
So overall I have about $850 invested in this guitar. The more I play it the better it gets, it's starting to really warm up and it keeps getting better looking. I've gotten exactly what I wanted. It plays and feels like an old Stratocaster and is starting to show nice wear, not like a cartoonish 'relic' guitar.
So I encourage anyone to try this. It's fun and in the end you'll have an instrument that is every bit as good as any top flight guitar old or new. Resale value? I'm a music maker. I don't really care though I get the feeling I can sell it for more than I paid for it to the right buyer. But, not concerned about that, I'm just enjoying it now.
