Upgrading a Mexican Fender - worth it?

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ChéChé Frets: 304
edited July 2020 in Making & Modding
Hi guys,

I have a 50s Classic Player Strat, one of the Custom Shop Designed models. I was thinking of swapping out the neck for a roasted maple C shape, switching out the bridge and adding some new pickups.

Question is, is this a worth* investment or is it worth buying a new Strat?

With the mods in mind the only original element would be the body and wiring, two elements I don't believe make a huge different tonally. What are the benifits of this outside something that I could design from the Fender Custom Shop?

*The idea of "worth" is subjective, I know. I guess being my first Strat mod I'm looking to hear some opinions. The guitar is worth around £600-700 resale, neck would be nearly £300 and pickups anywhere from £150-300, maybe more if I opted for a Tomatillo set. So I'm looking at a total spend of around £1,300, which brings me in line with something price wise of a second-hand American Vintage series.

Cheers,
Shaun
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Comments

  • Jez6345789Jez6345789 Frets: 1756
    To me a well setup classic player is a good working and sounding Strat does the Strat thing pretty well.

    throwing 1300 quid at it to me would be a waste and other than on a mental level is roasted maple that much better when you bolt it to a 3 or 5 piece spread body, again are you improving the wiring and  to me those fenderpickups are over priced 

    but if it floats your boat do it but you will probably be better off saving the old parts and putting it back to stock if you want to sell it as you never get much back for what you put into upgrades better off usually selling them stand alone.


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  • ChéChé Frets: 304
    edited July 2020
    Thanks for the reply :)

    Just to point out, I wouldn't be throwing £1,300 at it. That would have been the total amount spent including the price I paid for the guitar. It's about £600 of upgrades. The neck upgrade is more for the shape as I'm not a huge fan of the V. I guess i could round the edges of it to make it more comfortable.

    Would investing in something like a mexican Roadworn or AVRI be a better use of funds than upgrading what I have?

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    I really don’t get the fashion/fad for roasted maple at all... horrible stuff. I would just get an American Vintage if that’s within budget.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ChéChé Frets: 304
    edited July 2020
    Thanks for the insight as always @ICBM
    What's so horrible about it?
     
    My current Fender has Shoreline gold finish wish I really like, hence I'm thinking of keeping the body and upgrading the rest of it. I guess the Aztec Gold in the AVRI range comes close.

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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    Taking a £600 guitar and adding £700 upgrades to it will not result in a £1300 guitar.

    It'll always be a £600(?) guitar with upgrades.
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  • rze99rze99 Frets: 2261
    No. Not if you buy new parts. But buy used parts upgrades and they are much more cost effective improvements and, if you sell it, just part it out to minimise losses if you have  the time and be bothered. 
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    If you swap the neck, the pickups and the bridge then it's basically Trigger's broom isn't it ? might as well budget another £100 for a body and build a whole new guitar. :)


    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • usedtobeusedtobe Frets: 3841
    Just sell it and buy something else. 
     so if you fancy a reissue of a guitar they never made in a colour they never used then it probably isn't too overpriced.

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Ché said:

    What's so horrible about it?
    It’s soft and weak, and feels and sounds ‘dry’ and insubstantial.

    Just get a nice proper maple neck that hasn’t been ruined by breaking down the strength of the wood.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • King85King85 Frets: 631
    ICBM said:
    I really don’t get the fashion/fad for roasted maple at all... horrible stuff. I would just get an American Vintage if that’s within budget.
    It's not often i'd disagree with @icbm but i think roasted maple is lovely.
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  • ChéChé Frets: 304
    I do like the look and feel of roasted maple. To my understanding is it not the same idea as kiln-drying wood to lessen it's moisture content so it's workable?

    I guess, if the maple has already been kiln-dried, roasting it further holds no benefit?

    Guitar playing is 50/50 looks vs. playability no? ;)
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    Ché said:
    I do like the look and feel of roasted maple. To my understanding is it not the same idea as kiln-drying wood to lessen it's moisture content so it's workable?

    I guess, if the maple has already been kiln-dried, roasting it further holds no benefit?

    Guitar playing is 50/50 looks vs. playability no? ;)
     Kiln drying and torrification (roasting) are different processes.

    Kiln drying replicates natural drying, just in a speedier and more controlled manner. 

    There are many benefits/disadvantages to air/kiln drying depending on the wood you have and the usage you need it for

     As long as the wood gets down to the same moisture content, you can pretty much treat it the same once it's in its final plank and acclimated to it's it's environment.  



    Torrification is about changing the woods structure altogether, replicating ageing, not initial drying.   Wood does change as it ages.  It loses its hygoscopic abilities making it more stable and it becomes stiffer.  It loses some of its internal tension, and can become more brittle.

    There are various levels and if you take the roasting too far it definitely weakens the wood... Well, too far and it's just charcoal.   A light roast  is  just a little past the initial dry state of the wood

    Either way, you need to be aware there are some risks due to the process.   It is definitely more likely to split or chip out when working. 

    Its  also going to be more likely to snap if it suffers a hard knock, precisely because it's stiffer and has lost some of its ability to spring back

    I still like the stuff.   
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    Ché said:
    Would investing in something like a Mexican Roadworn or AVRI be a better use of funds than upgrading what I have?
    The budget of approximately seven hundred Pounds ought to buy a pre-owned MIM Lacquer Roadworn or USA Special/Performer series instrument. 

    Selling the MIM CP in stock spec should finance any hardware upgrades … or go towards an all-American guitar.
    Be seeing you.
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  • ZenOvertoneZenOvertone Frets: 231
    WezV said:
    Ché said:
    I do like the look and feel of roasted maple. To my understanding is it not the same idea as kiln-drying wood to lessen it's moisture content so it's workable?

    I guess, if the maple has already been kiln-dried, roasting it further holds no benefit?

    Guitar playing is 50/50 looks vs. playability no? ;)
     Kiln drying and torrification (roasting) are different processes.

    Kiln drying replicates natural drying, just in a speedier and more controlled manner. 

    There are many benefits/disadvantages to air/kiln drying depending on the wood you have and the usage you need it for

     As long as the wood gets down to the same moisture content, you can pretty much treat it the same once it's in its final plank and acclimated to it's it's environment.  



    Torrification is about changing the woods structure altogether, replicating ageing, not initial drying.   Wood does change as it ages.  It loses its hygoscopic abilities making it more stable and it becomes stiffer.  It loses some of its internal tension, and can become more brittle.

    There are various levels and if you take the roasting too far it definitely weakens the wood... Well, too far and it's just charcoal.   A light roast  is  just a little past the initial dry state of the wood

    Either way, you need to be aware there are some risks due to the process.   It is definitely more likely to split or chip out when working. 

    Its  also going to be more likely to snap if it suffers a hard knock, precisely because it's stiffer and has lost some of its ability to spring back

    I still like the stuff.   
    Does this also affect the neck stability & potential for chip out if one was to have a future refret I wonder (I've got an Ibanez AZ with Roasted Maple neck/fingerboard)?   
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    I have to say, I have a great partscaster comprising a scruffy Fender MIM body, a Warmoth neck, HSS pickups: Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup + Tonerider City Limits mid & neck, and a Fender bridge; it is a really good guitar.

    I'm also putting together another Strat based on a MIM body I bought on a whim: red flamed body, Schaller Floyd, SD JB bridge and SD middle & neck pickups to be fitted, Fender neck & machines; it's almost done, but I need to sort out a few bits; I think it'll look better with a black pickguard.

    This is my current selection of Strats (dunno how I came to have so many, but ho-hum...):
    1. Leftmost is a sunburst USA Strat standard - it has a real feel of quality. 
    2. Fender MIM black Strat; at the moment I've swapped the neck for a spare one I had (which was allegedly on a guitar in The Blues Brothers movie, so the person told me after I bought it). It's also got a Roland pickup on it
    3. The red-flame MIM Strat.
    4. The Partscaster with the Warmoth neck.
    5. A Squier Affinity Strat - basically a Strat, but with each part not quite as good as a full Fender.
    6. A pink Bullet Strat - I picked up the barebones in a shop closing down sale.
    7. A Levinson Blade Texas - I swapped its non-Fender headstock neck for an older one I had lying 'round. Its neck fitting is the most precise I've ever had on a guitar.

    As far as this thread goes, ie. upgrading a MIM:
    • The best guitar is the partscaster with the Warmoth neck; I got the neck first and the body happens to be a MIM; however, I wouldn't get a complete guitar and then morph it into that.
    • The black MIM has a reversible mod (ie. to put its original neck back), but if I were to start upgrading pickups & hardware I'd be better off swapping the neck back and getting a new body to do a parts build. It came with the Roland synth pickup add-on, which I might remove.
    • The red MIM is something I've assembled from parts, but none of them were cheap; the full Fender MIM model with that body is roughly (or less than) my outlay on it.
    So my advice is don't upgrade the MIM; if you want something better, either buy a better guitar to start with or put together your own.

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  • phil_bphil_b Frets: 2010
    as you are changing most of the parts why not just buy another body and build a parts caster then you have a second guitar and leave your MIM intact
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  • ChéChé Frets: 304
    Great info, thanks everyone! Loving the Warmoth @prowla, looks gorgeous.
    I think a partscaster or even custom shop might be the way forwards as I'm very peculiar about
    neck shapes. Failing that, If I can get my hands on a Ernie Ball AL model, I may be able to sell most if not all my guitars. Keeping this strat stock seems the best move.
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    Ché said:
    Great info, thanks everyone! Loving the Warmoth @prowla, looks gorgeous.
    I think a partscaster or even custom shop might be the way forwards as I'm very peculiar about
    neck shapes. Failing that, If I can get my hands on a Ernie Ball AL model, I may be able to sell most if not all my guitars. Keeping this strat stock seems the best move.

    Cheers!

    I have to say the Warmoth neck is really (really!) good.
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  • DrBobDrBob Frets: 2998
    Definitely check out the Albert Lee, they are phenomenal guitars 
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Do your research on the neck profiles for the other models mentioned - there can be some weird ones .....

    Given the amout of modding you're planning I wouldn't bother unless it's going to be your intro to modding and/or THE keeper strat for you.  (You'll never get the cost of the parts back)
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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