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So I've built a Tele, a Gibson ES ish clone, and a Jazz Bass. I figured I would try to build myself a Strat. Using Wudtone Azure Lagoon finish on alder wood and a custom made Canadian hard Maple and rosewood neck. Going to put in some handmade pickups and a Fender two point tremolo.

Here's my work thus far. Two coats of finish.



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Lookin' primo so far!

Are you going for a John Mayer Silver Sky vibe with those PRS bird inlays?

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“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

I've always liked the PRS bird inlays. But honestly didn't think about the John Mayer edition. At least this one has the proper headstock. LOL

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I like the neck, did you do that? The story of why the birds are on the PRS necks is nice.


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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

No I bought it from a guy that makes them in Canada. I loved the look of the finish so I figured I would see how well it worked. The frets have been nicely polished.

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I remember being a teenager and going to a music store in Charlotte, NC and playing a PRS for the first time. I feel in love with the inlays, and thought they were the coolest thing ever.

I remember Alex Lifeson was playing a PRS in those days, which made me want one even more.

I guess looking back in a way this kind of satisfies that dream of having bird inlays since I was a kid.

PRS guitars are still too expensive for my blood LOL.

Have three coats of Wudtone and a deep color coat. Placing the hardware. Going to have to get a new neck, the one is off .25 of an inch at the heel.



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Very nice. Did you get a silver or gold highlight?


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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

I got the silver highlight jimilee

You can really see it at different angles, and of course the plastic is still on the pickguard.

I got the bird inlay neck off Reverb, and it is a beautiful neck. However, I found that the heel to neck length was about a 1/4 of an inch too long and the thickness at the heel was about an 1/8 of an inch too long. I took it to a local luthier and he said he could fix it but it would cost me about $400. So I bought another neck but it isn't as extravagant.

I just can't see putting $400 into making that neck fit the body. The body itself is to Fender specs, but the guy on Reverb wouldn't give me a refund because I put holes into it. So I am not sure what to do with it now.

Basically the bird inlay neck I got was 25 and 1/2 from the nut to the bushings of the bridge, where I would need that to be about 25 1/4 so that the bridge saddles would make the 25 1/2. The seller suggested that the bridge saddles would compensate for the difference but I disagree. And that is enough with my venting.

Sounds like a second body is in order too.


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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

Someday, I’m gonna build a mahogany body strat to create the jazzy clean tones mixed with that strat flavor. I heard a sample of a mahogany strat somewhere on YouTube and it sounded great.

Looks great. Dig the black pickguard too.

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Everyone likes sausage. Nobody wants to see how it's made.

Here’s my Azure Lagoon with silver highlights. I thought it was gonna be more blue.




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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

I thought it was going to be more blue as well. Even the photos of it from Wudtone show it as more blue. I wonder if the type of wood causes it to be that way? They seem to mention swamp ash quite a bit.

Mine is mahogany, I was thinking that’s what caused it.


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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

Mine is alder and has the same tint.

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I wonder if ash is more neutral so that the blue comes out better?


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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

It must be, the pre-finished swamp ash bodies on BYOGuitar definitely have a much more blue tint.

I have used it on mahogany as well and it was an aqua green.

Latest progress.



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Finished product.



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Nice! How does it sound & play??

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

I like it alot it sounds really good honestly. I feel it is on par with my American Strat plus. The big difference is the pickups. My plus has Lace sensors and this has handwound vintage. I played it for a few hours tonight. You can really get that Gilmour sound out of it.

It was kind of a pain to setup correctly. But it really sounds good. And the sustain is pretty killer for a tremolo bridge. Probably one of my favorites now.

I might try to change the pickup covers to black at some point but the white is wearing on me

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That is fantastic, and I love the Gilmore sound. I think you should add white knobs and switch tip. Really makes it standout. Who wound the pickups?


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Pedal building is like the opposite of sex. All the fun stuff happens before you get in the box.

I got them off Reverb from a guy in Texas. He handwound them himself.