Advice needed on Stratocaster project

Hydra19

I have an ESP Strat that is my best guitar, so I'd like another Stratocaster, which will be sent off to be nitro finished in lime green.

I'd like a Strat as close as possible to my Navigator, I had a Custom Shop Fender that wasn't as nice so now I'm looking at Tokai Springy Sounds as I've always wanted to try one.

The thing is this guitar will be modded to most likely accept a bridge humbucker and the nitro finish.

Do I need to look for ST80 which are finished in nitro or does it not matter since I will be sending it off for a nitro finish anyway? That leaves just the body pieces of wood as the difference. I realise the Springy Sounds are guitars of a great reputation so I don't want to mod it and ruin it for someone in the future, although I'm sure some Springies have been modded for humbuckers. Either way. I'd get a new pickguard so I can always pop the old one with the stock pups back.

The few guitars I'm targeting have been Tokai ST80 with rosewood fretboard and a 1983 Tokai block logo guitar. Small price difference. 

Am i wasting my time modding a Tokai or should I just look for an HSS setup already? If I go for Fender it costs a bit more than my budget, these Tokai fit right in and I believe they have very nice necks. This is the reason I'm not getting the neck and body made, as I cannot be sure how the neck will feel. 

If you were going to build your desert island dream strat, which route would you go?

sweepy

Go for a Mexican Classic , best modding platform by far imho 

bbill335

Hydra19 said:

If you were going to build your desert island dream strat, which route would you go?

parts.

munckee

Issue is what effect will modding an 83 strat have on its value.  If you intend to keep it then it doesn't matter but everything's a keeper until you want something else!

Springy sound are very good quality I've only played a couple but they were both really nice.

coffeehouse

If you are going down the refin route then I'd think an existing nitro finish would be a lot easier to strip off than poly... so should be cheaper to get done. The advantage to starting with an existing guitar for a project (rather than parts)  is that you already know that fundamentally, the neck and body together make a great guitar....

sawyer

GSPBASSES neck and body bitsa.

meltedbuzzbox

I wouldn't get hung up about nitro personally

DrJazzTap

sweepy said:

Go for a Mexican Classic , best modding platform by far imho 

I would say partsa, but if you get carried away it works out a lot cheaper to buy a Mexican classic.

merciful-evans

Hydra19 said:

If you were going to build your desert island dream strat, which route would you go?

Warmoth

John_A

The issue with partscasters IMO is you cant tell whet it's like until its finished, I've built a few, some of which were perfect, some not so much, a good Strat is more than a sum of its parts.  Pretty much what @coffeehouse said above.

If you are getting it refinished then a Tokai Goldstar is pretty much the same as a ST80 springy, but the springy has a nitro and slightly different (not better IMO) pickups.  Springy's are good but overpriced IMO, the value is really just based on collectability, not how good they are, although they are good.

My issue with old Tokais is the vintage radius and very often low frets, just because they are old and have been played alot, but if you find one you like then go for it.