advice on necks & pickups for project gtr

[dragan]

I have a 93 anniversary strat that I bought from a co-worker ,finish & frets are almost mint , no wear ( never played ). however the middle pickup stopped working & I discovered that the truss rod nut hex has been rounded out ( guess this is fairly common on 90s strats ? ). I like my action a little high so I never tried to adjust it till now . I'm considering making it a project guitar, so I have a few questions . first: what kind of single coil pu's would you use ? ( stock pus are very surfy sounding ,I like the texas specials on my other strat ) second :I'd like to try a ebony fret board and am considering mahogany, korina , or walnut as neck wood. anyone have exp with any of these combinations ? third : repairing the truss rod nut ( I'd like to keep the stock parts & repair the neck ), I've seen & read about removing the walnut? plug on the internet but not sure if I want to attempt this ,anyone have any tips ?

[velorush]

Dr. Murkat to the courtesy phone!

The truss rod nut can be replaced. The trick is getting that piece of walnut out of your way (and then, replacing it). Jay can tell you if fixing or replacing is most feasible, and of course, he can do it.

Been going through pickups on my Strat. TS' were my favorites until I traded that guitar off. I'm redoing my Strat right now with a set of Suhr (ML/ML/V60LP). I've got the body shielded and back together, but the neck is next and I'm hesitating on leveling one high fret somewhere around the 20th - it's high only on the high E.

[dragan]

thanks ,yeah , I'm still debating ,is this something i want to try myself . as far as pu"s go there are so many out there these days I just have no idea what the differences are . suhr is not one I was aware of or have heard much about ( of course Ive seen their gtrs). but the typical list ( lindy fralin , kinman , bare knuckles , rio grande , etc .) I have no exp with & dont want to blow a bunch of money experimenting . also wondering how much moving away from standard maple / rosewood neck combo would affect tone? I'm attracted to the Idea of unfinished walnut w/ ebony? anyone tried it ?

[jaberwock]

Goncalo Alves, and Pau Ferro, works really well together, slightly warmer than a maple rosewood neck, doesn't require a finish, and feels very resonant in the hand; never tried a walnut neck, but you could try here for an opinion : http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=6ml56sst1p6ismt5oua5614rc5&board=7.0

Regarding pickups, there are so many reviews, and sound clips on the net, just find a set that meets your budget,and tonal preference; you could find the smaller operations pay more attention to the customers requirements, ie. the boss winds them himself.

Jaberwock

[dragan]

thanks ,I do like the look of goncalo alves & it doesnt require a finish . any & all opinions are welcome

[cmatthes]

I'd see if member Pesocaster would want to weigh in on this topic...

[dragan]

pesocaster ? looking for opinions from anyone with exp in this area. regarding pickups & neck wood tones. also another idea I had was to leave the pu covers off & the coils exposed (just like the look )anyone see any problems ?

[cmatthes]

Peso (Rob) works at Warmoth and knows his shit.

[dragan]

thanks cmatthes ,I was going to call warmouth anyway , I'll ask if hes available when I call. I'll take some before & after pics & post em if it turns out the way I hope

[cmatthes]

Rob Rounds is yer man.

[jaberwock]

One piece rosewood necks run at around 280 $ from Warmoth, and get some rave tone reviews; but aesthetically I've never really like the headstock being the same colour as the fretboard.

Jaberwock

[velorush]

There is a small-shop winder that is extremely highly regarded on the Strat-Talk board: D. Allen.

His sets are extremely reasonably priced and I've yet to hear a bad thing from anyone about any of his models.

He is very responsive to emails, too. From what I gather, you tell him what you're looking for and if he doesn't have a specific model to fit your bill, he'll wind something just for you.

[dragan]

Thanks Velorush this is exactly the kind of stuff I was lookin for. my shopping cart at warmouth is over 1000 but I've yet to pull the trigger. might have to explore some other vendors for some of the parts ( or drop the gold hardware ). thanks all !