Nitro Partscaster - Done

JonB

I want a single coil strat and over the past month or so have come to the conclusion that I want it to be a Nitro finish with a little bit of wear. I think this limits my off the peg options to Custom Shop Fenders which is just not realistic, an Andertons FSR is possible but meh and a Golden Era is just stunning but might be something more for the future.

So that leads me to looking at making my own, I do love a project from campervans to push bikes, to guitar pedal kits etc. I'm thinking a vintage vibe with Gotoh aged hardware, a loaded pickguard with tonerider blues and a roasted maple neck. Then with the body put some small chips in and try for some checking.

What I'm struggling on is bodies. When I read up people state 1.8kg is the right weight of a body and I see unfinished Hosco's in this range. But that would mean filler, sealer, coat and lacquer plus a ton of time and right conditions to do to hopefully get a decent finish to then start building up. Another alternative would be a pre-painted nitro body, I've seen these at Northwest guitars, Alegree and Guitar Anatomy but they state weight is 2.5kg.

Is this too heavy a body to build up? I'm used to heavy guitars but would something a bit more svelte if possible.

stickyfiddle

I’m a huge fan of partscasters.

You can get a good enough guitar for around 1k, or you can get a completely zero-compromise instrument for under 2k that’ll knock spots off anything from Fender 

For the latter you do need to know what works for your in terms of specs, and how to  put together, and - crucially - how to fettle it (or who to send to for that bit) but the Tele I put together last year is genuinely right up there with my Danocaster Strat and honestly the best T style I’ve ever played by miles. 

On body weights, 2.5kg is 5.5 lb which feels pretty heavy for a strat body. 4lb (1.85kg) is a good bet for a 7lb strat, which is usually a nice weight. Don’t be shy to give @lamf68 a buzz for finishing either - he’s excellent! 

GoldenEraGuitars

You know.. you can do PayPal credit or klarna with my bodies. 

Then you get the Golden Era treatment

matt_sefton

Buy a body from Guitarbuild and paint it yourself. It’s the most satisfying part of building your own partscaster. I did my 2 partscasters with rattle can nitro and with some hard work and patience you can get great results. I didn’t age mine as I was obsessed with it looking NOS but that’s the only bit I would recommend going to an expert like Scott at Golden Era as making it look genuine is a real skill.
Guitarbuild list all their bodies by weight. My experience was that the actual finish (sealer, primer, colour and clear) added very little to the weight of the finished body. I did spend 2 days sanding and polishing it mind!

elstoof

I did my Guitarbuild body with machesterguitartech spray cans and I can recommend, lacquer checked easily and was a fun project

nero1701

GoldenEraGuitars said:

You know.. you can do PayPal credit or klarna with my bodies. 

Then you get the Golden Era treatment

Oh...have you thought about doing the Cash Converter type thing?  Pay a Fiver deposit and then £1.35 a week until you're 63?

GoldenEraGuitars

nero1701 said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

You know.. you can do PayPal credit or klarna with my bodies. 

Then you get the Golden Era treatment

Oh...have you thought about doing the Cash Converter type thing?  Pay a Fiver deposit and then £1.35 a week until you're 63?

54 years to pay off one of my Strat bodies seems like an… interesting idea. 

nero1701

GoldenEraGuitar54s said:

nero1701 said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

You know.. you can do PayPal credit or klarna with my bodies. 

Then you get the Golden Era treatment

Oh...have you thought about doing the Cash Converter type thing?  Pay a Fiver deposit and then £1.35 a week until you're 63?

54 years to pay off one of my Strat bodies seems like an… interesting idea. 

54 years x 52 weeks x1.35 is about £3700

What I mean is, if your offering klarna, PayPal credit.. might as well offer the full suite. 

GoldenEraGuitars

Wow.. typo much. 54 does seem pretty excessive, for that sorta money you’d maybe be able to get a pack of strings thrown in for free. 7 years sounds more appropriate for a Golden Era body at £1.35 a week though

sweepy

Or, just buy a s/h Fender  Roadworn model, they are Nitro and can be had for sensible money 

nero1701

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Wow.. typo much. 54 does seem pretty excessive, for that sorta money you’d maybe be able to get a pack of strings thrown in for free. 7 years sounds more appropriate for a Golden Era body at £1.35 a week though

They are some of the best looking bodies by far though!

Penn

I used a hosco body which was 1.7kg. 

This is mine. It was good fun doing it. 

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/247418/sherwood-green-making-a-guitar-and-many-balls-ups/p1

GoldenEraGuitars

nero1701 said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Wow.. typo much. 54 does seem pretty excessive, for that sorta money you’d maybe be able to get a pack of strings thrown in for free. 7 years sounds more appropriate for a Golden Era body at £1.35 a week though

They are some of the best looking bodies by far though!

Muchly appreciated, thank you

JonB

Thanks Penn, I'd actually read that thread a few days back.

Sweepy's road warn option was the catalyst a few months back. The 70's olympic white just looked cool with a big headstock. The fender uniformed method does kinda bug me though (10 dinks by the jack), I get why it's done that way and appreciate it's a starting point on the guitars journey.

Having got engrossed into YouTube, manc guitar and costing things up (Inc time) it certainly shows that Golden Era guitars seem good value for money.

So I'm leaning to going full hog and getting an unfinished body. Need a bit of help.

Body type: reissue HSS seems to cover all bases for future parting about. Deeper router depth and I can start with a 3 single pickguard?

How many parts should the body be in? 2 or 3? Is this largely down to whether I'm going full paint or translucent?

The guitar build site seems a bit weird, what's the difference choosing from 'in stock' Vs the build standard and selecting from 3 photos?

Teyeplayer

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Wow.. typo much. 54 does seem pretty excessive, for that sorta money you’d maybe be able to get a pack of strings thrown in for free. 7 years sounds more appropriate for a Golden Era body at £1.35 a week though

But most of these never never deals have such high interest rates that 50-odd years would seem about right. Scott, you are looking a gift horse in the mouth here mate, that’s a pension scheme right there.

GoldenEraGuitars

Teyeplayer said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Wow.. typo much. 54 does seem pretty excessive, for that sorta money you’d maybe be able to get a pack of strings thrown in for free. 7 years sounds more appropriate for a Golden Era body at £1.35 a week though

But most of these never never deals have such high interest rates that 50-odd years would seem about right. Scott, you are looking a gift horse in the mouth here mate, that’s a pension scheme right there.

Man, it’s about time I started earning a decent wage at this game

matt_sefton

JonB said:

How many parts should the body be in? 2 or 3? Is this largely down to whether I'm going full paint or translucent?

The guitar build site seems a bit weird, what's the difference choosing from 'in stock' Vs the build standard and selecting from 3 photos?

Generally the less pieces the body is made from, the more expensive it will be but there’s nothing wrong with a 3 piece body. Fender bodies are usually 2 or 3 pieces. As you say it’s largely irrelevant if you’re spraying a solid colour. Wood type makes a difference as with alder or basswood you won’t need to use grain filler before spraying whereas ash will need grain filling first.

Guitarbuild have lots of bodies in stock and ready to ship or you can spec your own and they’ll make it for you which obviously takes longer. I’ve always bought in stock bodies from them.

It’s well worth watching the videos on spraying a body with nitro from Lone Star Guitars on YouTube - the very best tutorials I’ve seen, very detailed in 4 parts.
https://youtu.be/W7g1zw8qcdc?si=KPiBmvh30qi08Tnt

roberty

Nothing to add except I def recommend the partscaster route if you're handy with a screwdriver. I love mine

JonB

Thanks guys, ok I've watched what feels like all of youtube on the matter and I'm going in. Just bought from Guitarbuilder, 2pc Alder at 1.8kg. Hopefully not made a mess by going for the one with grain that looks like contours on a map (I like maps).

Two questions:

1. Rustins filler or straight to ManchesterTech Sanding Sealer? Suggests Alder doesn't need it but should it be done for a proper job?
2. 6 screw Tremolo - What size trem do these guitars need? Ideally I'd like to go with a Gotoh Relic which is 56mm/2.2" screw spacing.

GoldenEraGuitars

Alder doesn’t need grain filler.

elstoof

The gotoh 6 screw should be absolutely fine