MiM Strat - to mod or sell and start again?

Fuengi

Following on from @Jonathanthomas83 thread about upgrading a strat, I'm still mulling this one over but would be interested in views / advice. 

I bought a used 2009 Olympic White MiM Strat about 5 years ago and have never really completely bonded with it, at least not like my Tele or Ovation acoustic.

I bought it about a year after starting to play and had some help and advice from a local luthier in sourcing it and got it for a good price. He convinced me to upgrade the wiring, switching and pickups - all of which he would take care of as he winds his own pickups. 

This was a mistake in hindsight, not because he didn't do a good job - he did, I've had a couple of other experts look at it and they are very impressed - but because I had no idea what I wanted in terms of tone at the time. Also I hadn't really assessed the guitar as it was.

So, instead of sitting on a guitar that cost me just north of £200 I'm more like £400 with the modifications. It might sell for £350. 

It feels great, neck is lovely, sits nicely on me. But I hate the poly finish and the pickups don't have the bite I want.

So do I get the guitar stripped and nitro finish ( have discussed with @lonestar briefly) plus change the pickups out for something a bit more bitey at a cost of around £300 - £400 in the hope it becomes the guitar I want. Or do I sell and put it towards something else? 

zepp76

If you're not looking for the guitar to be a keeper I wouldn't throw money at it. I bought the exact same guitar as yours, a MIM Strat in Olympic white a few years ago with the view to it being a keeper so bought a few upgraded parts for it ( Cold rolled steel trem block, Schaller locking tuners and a 920D loaded pickguard with the "Gilmour" pickups). I haven't gotten round to putting the parts on yet but when I do I'm hoping it'll make for a nice playing guitar. I don't mind splashing a bit of cash on a guitar if it's going to be a keeper but would think twice if I wasn't bonding with it.

munckee

Have you considered stripping it and nitroing yourself?  Look at @poopot s thread where he did that recently.  Then it will only cost a set of pickups.  Most important thing is you like the feel and the neck, if not flog and change.

Fuengi

munckee said:

Have you considered stripping it and nitroing yourself?  Look at @poopot s thread where he did that recently.  Then it will only cost a set of pickups.  Most important thing is you like the feel and the neck, if not flog and change.

I have. Ideally the wood would be good enough to stain and finish without repainting but this is probably a pipe dream. The neck and feel is as good as any strat i've tried. Hmmm...

HAL9000

If I wasn't bonding with it I'd move it on and start again. You could throw a lot of time and money at it and still not bond with it. 

Fretwired

HAL9000 said:

If I wasn't bonding with it I'd move it on and start again. You could throw a lot of time and money at it and still not bond with it. 

^^

This. I'd move on and get something you really like. I'm guessing there's more to your not bonding with this guitar than pickups.

NelsonP

Try out some guitars at £750 then decide. You are not far off new American special pricing (still poly though).

https://www.dawsons.co.uk/fender-american-special-stratocaster-mn-guitar-olympic-white

I think there is actually something in taking a guitar and fixing it up for yourself. You get more attached to it that way.
I have an Epi Casino (with Gibson pickups) that I bought second hand - it needed some fret work due to it having a couple of high frets. But now it's brilliant and I love it.

Jonathanthomas83

I agree re:nitro. This topic intrigues me. Sometimes we are all looking for something we think will be better than what we've got. You're not alone in this quest and I'll be equally as interested in what you end up doing, mate. Good luck with it!

crunchman

If you don't like the sound that might not be just the pickups.  Replacing the trem block might help, but it may just be the wood of the guitar.  If that's the case then you might be better off shipping it on rather than putting money into it.

I've got a Mexican Classic Series that I might upgrade the pickups on, but I actually like it stock.  I've normally found that if I have a guitar I don't like the sound of, changing the pickups doesn't suddenly make me like it.  The only exception to that was one that came with Texas Specials (which are horrible pickups).

Fuengi

NelsonP said:

Try out some guitars at £750 then decide. You are not far off new American special pricing (still poly though).

https://www.dawsons.co.uk/fender-american-special-stratocaster-mn-guitar-olympic-white

I think there is actually something in taking a guitar and fixing it up for yourself. You get more attached to it that way.
I have an Epi Casino (with Gibson pickups) that I bought second hand - it needed some fret work due to it having a couple of high frets. But now it's brilliant and I love it.

Yep, I agree. But I guess you want to start with something you relaly like and tinker to make it even better. 

poopot

Morning all!.
the thread to the baja refinish is here.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/132823/baja-tele-refinish#latest

What is it you don’t like about the finish on your strat? The colour? Or the fact that it’s poly?.

The reason I ask is that contrary to what you read in tinternet there is absolutely no tonal benefit to a nitro finish... the only difference between nitro and poly is that nitro will age differently... that’s it!...

poly will still age, I had a USA strat from the 80’s that started out as Olympic white and before I changed it it had yellowed to a custard colour... it also had a fair few dunks and scrapes in it... 

A cellulose finish may or may not naturally get some checking and dependent on how you use it may or may not “relic” itself.

but... and I can’t stress this enough... there is absolutely no tonal difference between a body finished in nitro to the same body finished in acrylic or finished in poly... 

the only reason i refinished the baja the baja was I hated the colour!... and before I changed the pickups in it it sounded exactly the same after the refin as it did before.

It’s easy to strip the poly finish off tbh, 20 minutes with a heat gun and a scrapper will get it off... you will be surprised how easy it is. But, a lot of the Mexican strats do have multi piece bodies under a solid colour, you may end up with a body that needs painting again and may not be able to get your natural finish.


the biggest tonal change you can make to your guitar will be the pickups. Before you go and spend money on a new set, have you tried adjusting the height of the pickups you have? Raising them up will give you more volume!... lowering them will give you less volume but more clarity. 

Also, there is no need to spend £400 to get a decent set of pickups. I stumbled across https://www.priborapickups.com/ a while back and took a punt in a set (£55 delivered!!!!!). Tried them and they sounded that good that I replaced a set of fralins in one strat and ordered another set for a different strat.

All that said, it could be the case that the guitar is just not for you!... in which case no amount of refinishing or spending will change that!... 

GoldenEraGuitars

Sell it and start fresh over. Modifying a cheap guitar to the tune of several hundred pounds might seem like fun until you realised you could have built a much better guitar for the same money if you’d started from scratch.

Fuengi

poopot said:

Morning all!.
the thread to the baja refinish is here.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/132823/baja-tele-refinish#latest

What is it you don’t like about the finish on your strat? The colour? Or the fact that it’s poly?.

The reason I ask is that contrary to what you read in tinternet there is absolutely no tonal benefit to a nitro finish... the only difference between nitro and poly is that nitro will age differently... that’s it!...

poly will still age, I had a USA strat from the 80’s that started out as Olympic white and before I changed it it had yellowed to a custard colour... it also had a fair few dunks and scrapes in it... 

A cellulose finish may or may not naturally get some checking and dependent on how you use it may or may not “relic” itself.

but... and I can’t stress this enough... there is absolutely no tonal difference between a body finished in nitro to the same body finished in acrylic or finished in poly... 

the only reason i refinished the baja the baja was I hated the colour!... and before I changed the pickups in it it sounded exactly the same after the refin as it did before.

It’s easy to strip the poly finish off tbh, 20 minutes with a heat gun and a scrapper will get it off... you will be surprised how easy it is. But, a lot of the Mexican strats do have multi piece bodies under a solid colour, you may end up with a body that needs painting again and may not be able to get your natural finish.


the biggest tonal change you can make to your guitar will be the pickups. Before you go and spend money on a new set, have you tried adjusting the height of the pickups you have? Raising them up will give you more volume!... lowering them will give you less volume but more clarity. 

Also, there is no need to spend £400 to get a decent set of pickups. I stumbled across https://www.priborapickups.com/ a while back and took a punt in a set (£55 delivered!!!!!). Tried them and they sounded that good that I replaced a set of fralins in one strat and ordered another set for a different strat.

All that said, it could be the case that the guitar is just not for you!... in which case no amount of refinishing or spending will change that!... 

Poly Finish - I've got a couple of Nitro finished guitars, they just feel much nicer. Poly is cold and dead to touch.

Pickups - I was thinking £300 - £400 for the refinish and the pickups. I've got some Entwistle pickups in another guitar and they are great, very cost effective too.

There is something niggling me that if I sell it I'll regret not trying to get the best from it. If I do keep the Strat the poly will have to go at some point. 

Maybe the thing to do would be change out the pickups to see if I can get the tone I want from it. if I can then I'll keep it and strip the Poly finish.

If I can't then I can sell it and the pickups separately at a minimal loss - provided I can switch the pickups in an out myself (which I've never done and don't own a soldering iron) and don't have to pay somebody to do it.

munckee

I'm a feckless babboon and I have changed pickups.  I also happen to live not to far from you and have a soldering iron!

Fuengi

munckee said:

I'm a feckless babboon and I have changed pickups.  I also happen to live not to far from you and have a soldering iron!

I may have to visit you with a bottle of wine and a guitar!

poopot

@Fuengi  what pickups are in there at the mo?

lovestrat74

I would sell it and use the money to build your own. If you are not totally in love with it now then you will be risking a lot of time, effort and money to hopefully love it when it's done.  I have owned a CS strat and I can honestly say that the current allparts neck I have is easily on a par with it and the MJT nitro finish is better IMO. Pickups are better too..

Fuengi

poopot said:

@Fuengi  what pickups are in there at the mo?

Local luthiers own hand wound pickups. Do a nice job on the cleans but lack bite.

DrJazzTap

If you've not bonded with it...Shift it. Not worth throwing money at it. You won't necessarily get it back. 
A good comparison is to think of it like modding a car. If you change the wheels and stereo etc that's all to your taste. 

victorludorum

Did you try it with the original pickups when you bought it? If you did, did they lack the 'bite' you are looking for? If you didn't, and you therefore don't know, maybe wire them back in and try them as you might be surprised.

Fuengi

victorludorum said:

Did you try it with the original pickups when you bought it? If you did, did they lack the 'bite' you are looking for? If you didn't, and you therefore don't know, maybe wire them back in and try them as you might be surprised.

I did, but being newbie to electrics at the time I don't remember / wouldn't have known, and it was only for a day. I think putting the old ones back in is a good option to test.