New Guitar

[Doraemon]

For father's day I got a new guitar. I've been playing the guitar for some time now, and try to play for at least an hour each day. I find it a great way to relax after a long day. And, having been a music fan all of my life, I find playing music to be even more fun.

The guitar arrived yesterday, it is a Fender Stratocaster custom made by Todd Krause. Todd Krause is one of Fender's "Master Builders," and is the guy who makes guitars for David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Jeff Beck, and others. I am not in the same league as these guys (and never will be), but it is nice to at least have a guitar which is in their league.

 

[BSAGuy]

That's a very nice guitar. What a thoughtful gift. Enjoy!

 

[Lightcs1776]

Sweet. Enjoy your time playing.

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[sandstone]

AWESOME!!

 

[seattleshaver]

Very nice. Is that a hardtail?

 

[Seraphim]

You still need a few more....

 

[oc_in_fw]

You can't just leave it at that- what did you have done to it?

 

[TobyC]

Nice!

What kind of weird outlet is that, it has three things plugged into it???

.

 

[-EdG]

Beaute Strat! Congrats. Nice figuring on that maple. I see vintage tuners and bridge. We're you going for a 50s/60s style build, or did you have it built to your own specs?

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

Awesome! That's one heck of a Father's Day gift! Congrats!

Is that a Super Sonic sitting next to that Strat?

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

Beaute Strat! Congrats. Nice figuring on that maple. I see vintage tuners and bridge. We're you going for a 50s/60s style build, or did you have it built to your own specs?

That neck has 22 frets, which is a modern feature. I'll obviously let the OP speak for himself, but it appears to be a bit of a bit of a mash up of modern and vintage features.

 

[Porgy Tirebiter]

I see some smudges on that Strat..c'mon, man!
Very nice Fender and the Gibson ain't chopped liver, either. Let us know when your album is released. Happy playing.

 

[Lightcs1776]

By the way, my wife has started taking guitar lessons. Enjoy the music.

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[Doraemon]

You can't just leave it at that- what did you have done to it?

I wanted Torino Red lacquer, and a shallow V neck with figured maple. The rest of the guitar has the Clapton model specs, with the vintage noiseless pickups (which are awesome), mid-boost, and 5-way switch. The neck is the best I have ever seen or played on.

Nice!

What kind of weird outlet is that, it has three things plugged into it???

I live in Japan, and Japanese homes can have two or three sockets on each outlet. Your typical Japanese home has half as many outlets as an American home, but to make up for it, they put more sockets at each outlet.

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Beaute Strat! Congrats. Nice figuring on that maple. I see vintage tuners and bridge. We're you going for a 50s/60s style build, or did you have it built to your own specs?

I wanted a Clatpton-style Strat, which is set up the way I like it. I have two other Strats, a "Blackie" which I have modified myself, and a '54 Strat which came from Fender Japan's Custom Shop. The '54 is an amazing guitar, a bit like this one, but is not on the same level.

 

[TobyC]

It doesn't have a separate fingerboard?!!!

 

[Doraemon]

It doesn't have a separate fingerboard?!!!

Nope, but that's fairly common. What is unique about this neck is the way it was cut. Normally necks are simply made from a piece (sometimes 2 or more pieces) of maple or mahogany. Some will have a fingerboard of rosewood or ebony, others, like this one, are one-piece necks.

If you look closely, you can see a dark line in the grain of the wood toward the back of the neck. The neck was cut and finished using this line in the grain as a guide, it runs down evenly on both sides. The wood was carefully quarter-sawn to keep the grain oriented in a particular direction, the center of the wood where the radius is shorter toward the back of the neck, the outside, where the radius is larger, toward the fretboard. This allows the neck to show a lot of figure in the wood, to have the smoother surface on the fretboard side, and to make sure the neck stays straight over time. I have dozens of guitars, a couple more valuable than this one, but none were made with such attention to the nature of the wood.

The wood in the body of this guitar is dense, fine-grained, heavy. This Strat weighs as much as a Les Paul, but has endless sustain. When I hit a note, it plays on and on. On the other hand, when I play it unplugged, I can barely hear it.

 

[TobyC]

Cool!

Does it have a truss rod, or do you trust it to stay straight from the grain orientation?

 

[Try em all]

First I've seen without a separate fingerboard. Is the mid boost passive or does it have internal electronics?

 

[dws]

So..... You gonna PIF that 175 or what?

 

[John Rose]

First I've seen without a separate fingerboard.

I have a stock MIM Standard Strat (sort of an entry level model, I guess) with a maple neck and it doesn't have a separate fingerboard.
It does have a skunk stripe though.

Very nice. Is that a hardtail?

I see a hole in the bridge for a whammy bar. Maybe he's got it blocked?