You make playing look effortless! Enjoying the channel! Cheers.

It seems like a lot of effort to get a guitar to where you want it to be, especially one of this value! I’d prefer spending the time in more stores finding something that’s right in standard form. This is the problem with current guitar buying trends, so many parts options and quick turnaround on orders from online sellers.

The wood grain is stunning!

I'm intrigued to try Rabeas new Bare Knuckles Triptych range, might be an idea to give them a road test.

Look forward to hearing the difference once the mods have been complete

I changed a 7.25" neck (Fender manufactured Vintage American) to 10" and my only unforeseen issue was the nut! The nut bottom was also cut at 7.25 so getting a new nut that fits properly with the 7.25 inch bottom radius and the 10 inch top radius is a pain in the ass! Next time I need a nut replaced I will likely flatten the nut slot to make this easier for the future. No regrets otherwise it's my favorite strat neck! Good luck!

Just ordered myself a set of Radioshop Case Study 63s, I don’t have them yet but had an MB Guitars strat with radioshop pickups (Mike bowes own spec) and they were glorious!

Going to be an interesting journey!

Lindy Fralin vintage Strat pickups with a blender pot would be a great choice. They can pre-wire everything for you on the pick guard of your choice and send it to you, so all you have to do is connect the input jack and screw it in.

I love this channel! It is all about tone, and that is priceless. There are hundreds of pickups these days. The materials science advances and engineering improvements come along with "current" pickups. I do not believe there is anything magical about "retro" anything, as long as the goal of "tone" is there. To that end, there are retro hand-wound Josefina Campos fat 50's pickups available from Fender, and some used on the open market. Those sound great, but like I pointed out - materials science has vastly improved and there is a wide variety of current pickup designs that "should" contain all the tone anyone could ever want for a reasonably inexpensive price. I am guessing Pete Thorn single coils are probably a decent design. Can't wait to see how all your mods turn out.

@toledo2983

Ай бұрын

do not forget, if you want to copy a retro (vintage) guitar, you may have improved materials science. but you dont have access to 90 Percent of guitar parts in same quality as 78 years ago. So no way to copy this old stuff 100 Percent. I am talking soundwise. Your variety of current pickup designs will cost not only 5000 Euros to get all these pickups. but also will cost you years and years of your life to test out.

Before changing the pickups out, I'd take a look what the electronics set up inside the guitar is (and compare to your Custom Shop you clearly like a lot!). Maybach says that their stock values on s54 volume knob is 250k pot and 0.047µF capacitor, so changing these to 500k and 0.022µF respectively would be a quick way to change their character (making them brighter); although it could be they are just a vintage spec with naturally low output given the necessity of a boost to improve them, in which case something like Bare Knuckle's 'Irish Tour' single coils that are aimed at the hotter side of 'vintage' Strats and a Rory Gallagher style sound, might work for your tastes.

I highly recommend a Vega-Trem VT-1 bridge... assuming the body is American Standard thickness. It does not require any mods to install or uninstall and is very simple to do.

@GuitarJawn

Жыл бұрын

The gap between the original bridge route and the vega bridge looks terrible

@Sodacake

Жыл бұрын

@@GuitarJawn it looks no worse than the one on a floating floyd rose.

@jeffcookdotau

Жыл бұрын

@@GuitarJawn The bridge plate is so small that, by design, you can actually pull the arm back so far that the bridge goes into the cavity. A standard trem will go back until the bridge makes contact with the body. With the plate size and the "unattractive" gap, the Vega-Trem won't hit an obstruction until much later.

You absolutely should get Harley Benton Fusion III with roasted maple neck and stainless steel frets for 270 to 350 pounds depending on colour etc and see what you can make out of superstrat or do you need to do anything.

@aristocaster

Жыл бұрын

Except of course, take out the D and G strings string tree, and you will get great free roller string tree for another guitar, absolutely no point to have that on headstock, thanks for the staggered locking tuners.

Suhr V60 pickups should work nicely on that guitar. In regards of radius I would probably try installing bigger frets but leave the radius as it is, to keep it a little more vintage spec

Putting big frets on a 7.25 sort of gets you the best of both worlds. I have two strats with 7.25 radius and 6105 frets, and both are set up with quite low action, no fretting out on bends; you just have to keep your eye on the truss rod tension and make sure the neck is more or less straight.

@stephenfeldman8104

Жыл бұрын

Call me a skeptic, but the size (height) of the frets doesn't change the physics of the radius; that is, its tendency to fret out. Physics is physics. You're going to tell me the opposite is the case based on personal experience, and who am I to argue? 🙂, but it still doesn't make sense.

@giovannitommasi4140

Жыл бұрын

@@stephenfeldman8104it makes perfect sense: You can have lower action because taller frets keep the string away from the fretboard. I have a Strat with 7.25 radius and put jumbo on it. Low action, no fret out, and to my perception even better tone, probably because frets surface is larger and because they make a wider angle when you press the the string, increasing sustain

The Shijie STE (Strat) had a nice chunky neck! I think it even has a 12'' radius, so it's pretty modern that way. It's also rather heavy for a Strat, but it feels great. At least I really like mine. I recommend you pick one up if you happen to find one used.

I put a set of Q pickups in a strat of mine and I really like them , they are hand wound , but not expensive , he’s on Reverb .

This will be fun to follow, and even the things that end up not working will be informative for those who like to mod guitars.

I've got the Wilkinson locking saddles on my Eric Johnson Strat. I bought them when they first came out for tuning stability rather than sound and for that they are amazing. No complaints about sound either. Only thing is the EJ is vintage width and the saddles are modern so there is a gap between each of the saddles. I have them mounted on a Callaham bridge cause i already had it and the trem arm sits in a ptfe collar which is better than the standard just being supported by the screw threads

What a fantastic video have a wonderful weekend

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

You too Ahmed

Seymour Duncan or lace sensor are nice for strats. I like the saddles from American standard 80s to early 00s

I had the same problem on a nice playing Strat but sounded bit lifeless- highly recommend a set of Eric Johnson pups which balance clarity with some extra grunt, de-gloss the sticky neck with fine grade wire wool- easy mod (if you’re careful!) Recommend changing the trem block to a Callaham cold rolled steel too… really improves tone & sustain, also re-wire bridge pup to a tone pot to tame any ice pick frequencies and viola! 👍

@nedim_guitar

Жыл бұрын

That's a good to-do list.

Something that could help with the tone and character of the guitar is putting a brass trem block. Pickup wise, a set of Lollar Special S or Bareknuckle Slow Hand would be a perfect fit.

If I were somebody and was in the position to hire someone of his abilities he’d be my man. Every time I return I recall how much I love his playing!

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

That’s really kind thanks.

Excellent tips by Paul! These days, I no longer mod guitars. Instead, I save for the ones I want "as is." It takes the guessing out of the equation.

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Best way!

If you haven't yet you should try a Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS or SSS. For the money I think it's excellent. The only thing I did to mine was I added Wilkinson WLS130/S saddles.

For the pickups, maybe Monty's Guitars Full Monty set? Made in England and so on.

What pickups do you currently have in your custom shop Strat please Paul?

Lots of good pickups on the market, but maybe the new Bare Knuckle Triptych (Rabea's signature set) would be a good upgrade. The bridge has a hotter rounder alnico III, middle and neck are AV magnets. All is still vintage sounding, but with more balls and less topend on the bridge.

The pickups of the maybach are made by amber, a german company. They are famous for their PAF PU‘s, among the very best you can buy. I tried several amber single coils and I don‘t think they are at the same level as the PAF‘s.

It’s a gorgeous guitar.

Love thoose pick ups, would sound good in my 1987 jao strat. Are you selling ? How much? Rick

Have you tried an Eric Johnson Strat? Amazing! I picked one up for £920 a few years ago. 1st run.

@tonystartup3817

Жыл бұрын

Yep. I got a 2005 for about £830 7 years ago. I've slightly modded it but it's the guitar mostly go for

Why not just buy a guitar you like????????????? Crazy

@chrismurphy128

Жыл бұрын

It seems to be his genuine idea to do mods. I wouldn't.

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Because not everyone can do that, this is showing if it’s possible to turn a guitar you don’t like into something you do.

@Mitch-6-Strings

Жыл бұрын

I’m with you all the way, I want to get something like this and put x 3 P90s on her. That’s my plan.

Dimarzio Cruisers. I swapped out the original pups in my SE Silver Sky with the Dimarzios and I love the tones.

@jeffcookdotau

Жыл бұрын

Are they the same pickups that Andy Timmons uses?

@ericdietrich9848

Жыл бұрын

@@jeffcookdotau yes they are and they’ve made my guitar perfect.

a suggestion for pickups - kloppman. i put them in my CS 64 strat and the guitar sounded much better

@liys540

Жыл бұрын

what about thomas blug signature pickup from kloppman with dummy coil

If I sounded half as good as you do 'struggling' to play your guitar, I'd be a happy man indeed! Regarding the mods, that's quite a lot of work specifically on the neck. If you can do the job yourself, then you may well get a real sense of achievement from the changes you make. If not, then picking a new neck and focusing on the pickups and hardware may make more sense. Modding is undoubtedly fun, but re-fretting is a job that requires a lot of skill. Still, it's going to be fun watching this project develop, so good on you. Welcome to the New Forest btw. :-)

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Rich you should see the outtakes.😬

@richman6100

Жыл бұрын

@@TheStudioRats Haha! Very honest of you. :-) My playing seems to occupy a world of perpetual outtakes and have not once played to the level you do. One day maybe. Keep up the great work, it's inspirational.

Did you try adjusting the pick-ups, I thought it sounded good.

This'll be a good one.

I have some Monty’s ‘54 Strat pickups I’m going to be putting into a MIJ ‘80s ‘50s reissue Strat, and some Monty’s ‘62 Strat pickups for a ‘70s lawsuit era Japanese Strat. I’m interested to hear the difference!

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Nice one Funky!

If you are considering this mod for content then I thank you. Otherwise I would move it on. If you are gonna go through with it I would rout for Hss and buy a complete wired pickguard , new tuners so I could loose the string tree and get a new nut cut for 10s the start with 8s and work my way up to the 10s if you dont get the tone you like with 8, or 9s. I would sand the neck down ever so slightly until it felt right. Anyway...thanks for all the great content!

cobra pickup , impulse , Triptych from bare knuckle ?

To be fair to Maybach, the low output pickups and 7 1/4" radius glossy neck are period correct for an early strat.

I wish I could struggle and play that good!😂

I would Check out Kloppmann Pick ups. I have the 61 Stradovari and love that fat thing❤

;can confirm, that stock middle pickup on the super clean setting had a real charm, sparkle and harmonic richness,...+I assumed that they were super low output anyways from the first strum:). I appreciate the trend away from hotter pickups in general but single coils have always been relatively low output, and a really low wind version with Alnico 2's and 4's for example can be way too "squishy" and mid scooped for what i consider to be a good all-rounder go to strat pick-up option. Some of the super high end low output singles are so transparent that there is very little "front of the note" attack, which can leave the "in between" positions even more squishy. Its all preference, but the reliability if a good ol' A5 medium output allows me that front if the note attack a really enjoy, and stays tight and fundamental under stupid amounts of gain too. *forgive my generalisation actual experts,:), im just a mere player:). Cool Vid Man👍

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Cheers for the tips

The changes to the neck seem pretty extensive. Wouldn't it be better to sell it off and build a parts caster?

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Yes, but it’s more about the content I can use it for

I love RadioShop pickups. Give them a try!

since alex beyrodt of primal fear , rock meets classic , voodoo circle brought his maybach white lester in bluguitar livestream when they are talking about ozzy , I wanna get a Maybach lester

Suggestion for the pickups. Shop British either Radioshop, Monty’s or Sunbear.

Paul, is the 54 CS strat gone? The 50th anniversary one. I haven’t seen it in months.

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

It has JRobb

Chris Kinman Magnum Opus '56 pickup set NOT the '59 MO set. You have already tried out an install with the '59 pickups with the harness, so you know the experience. But the '56 pickup set would have a little more bite in the level and midrange and chime and are not quite as thin as the '59 twang. Try it, you will like it. If you want an even more aggressive solo tone, order a special Magnum Opus Texas-J pickup in the bridge position for a level-up on the bridge.

I’d love to see you put fat 50’s in this guitar. Also Paul, would it not make more sense to replace the neck completely?

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Hi Gary, I love fat 50s and yes it would make more sense. That might be the way forward:

Check out Warman guitars pickups (in the U.K.). Good quality yet inexpensive. Highly recommend them.

Sorry if I'm missing the point but wouldn't it be easier just to either get a guitar that already sits well with you or get a custom made guitar to your own spec? I've never seen the point of buying a guitar and modding it, unless you're on a budget - then you'll buy a cheap guitar to start with and upgrade it as and when you can.

I’m thinking of selling my Fender Eric Johnson ‘Virginia’ strat that I bought from GAK 2 years ago for a similar reason, it’s sounds and plays fantastically but I’m just not a Strat guy (sorry 😂) - if you’re interested? I had the EJ ‘out of phase’ position removed (but can be easily restored) so it’s the same as a regular Strat.

A guitar that he wanted to -- what? To mote. To mott. To mount. To mutt. Oh -- MOD!

Klein make the best strat pickups ove tried. Have their Epic 63s, 59s, and 55s in three different strats. Cant recommend them enough.

Hi Paul, Lindy Fralin vintage pick ups and stainless steel frets a must. Transformed my custom shop strat…

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Good shout on the fret wire, I don’t think of steel!

Try Fluence strat pickups as you licked the Gristles :)

I'm a fan Paul; but it seems pointless to turn this guitar into one that plays and sounds like another guitar that you already own?

@chrismurphy128

Жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

It’s more for than the channel and content.

@GazMoz78

Жыл бұрын

@@TheStudioRats I kind of thought you might be doing that. Why not try building a guitar from high end Warmoth parts? I'm not a content creator, you'd know better than me what people like to watch. Anyway I still enjoy your vids and I'll keep watching 😊

Paul, I believe it's perfectly possible that you try in shop love it and then bring it home and struggle with or just hate it. no blames on you on that , but you are armed of experimentation spirit so... try just the pickups swapped first, see if it gets at least in the direction you have in mind , then neck & frets issues discussed with a friendly luthier. I hope I could help mate!

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Cheers David, I actually bought it blind from eBay.

Didn't sound like you were struggling to me. I would like to struggle like that! ; ^ )

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

You should hear the outtakes Vinni.😬

Hi Paul, I totally agree about the sound of those pickups they don’t sound good. To me they sound harsh and brittle and not at all like the great tone I associate with your playing. If you’re looking for a classic 50’s or 60’s Strat tone I would highly recommend the ‘Spirit Series’ Strat pickups handmade / wound by Alan Dingwall a boutique pickup builder based here in the UK. I have Spirit pickups in most of my Strats they are the most ‘vintage correct’ fantastic sounding Strat pickups I’ve tried, and I’ve tried loads😂

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Stevie, I’ll check them out!

I recommend Lollar Blondies or Lambertone Triple Shots they'll bring it to life..

I agree about the pick ups

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Yep they’re junk

id replace the neck with a jazzmaster neck, then swap out to fralin or collar jazzmaster pickups, then do a jazzmaster body swap then a mastery Bridge then the jazzmaster tremolo. then youll have a perfect Strat,,,, lol

Ron Ellis pickups would be my choice. They have 5 different choices for strats.

It's so easy these days to build a partscaster with exactly all the specs you want. Why bother with changing up one that needs major revisions?

A nice set of dimarzio cruisers would go great in that guitar Paul. Andy Timons style.

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

NICE CHOICE

@geespar1

Жыл бұрын

Dimarzio are making some excellent fender style pickups nowadays, they do some fabulous tele ones as well

If you can get past your 'high value' snobbery (it's OK I do too to a degree) I've used Kent Armstrong Texas vintage pickups I two of my strats. They are full bodied, bright and airy and overdrive nicely when pushed. Under £300 for a set, not sure if that's too cheap for you. 😋

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Not at all, good tip

Would you consider relicing the guitar?

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Possibly

Genial

The comparatively "dull" sound is probably the Ash body combined with the weaker (AlNiCo 3?) pickups. Ash, and woods like it, generally absorb more midrange than Alder due to the uneven grain pattern. Alder has a tighter and more even grain. More aggressive sounding pickups might help, but it's like fighting the natural sound of the guitar, and might end up being a waste of time and money. Why not start with something that has the characteristics you want? Warmoth makes all kinds of different neck profiles, woods, etc. Get an Alder body if you want that more forward sound. Roasted-Alder is actually really nice. It looks great, and roasted-wood sounds like aged wood, but a Roasted-Maple neck can end up lacking midrange warmth due to increased resonance damping.

@GCKelloch

Жыл бұрын

Actually, the body is Alder according to the website. Maybe it's just the way that guitar sounds. I just don't see the point of altering so much on a very expensive guitar when you could get something you want for much less from a place like Warmoth. It's just a Strat type...and consider some noiseless pickups if you plan to spend a lot on pickups. The new Zexcoil Tru-Gauge series are, or a set of Wilde NF series might work for you.

Instead of flattening the radius and putting bigger frets in, why don't you try having a luthier scalloping the fretboard? As for pickups, I LOVE the custom shop 69 set by Fender. Low output (around 5.6k if I remember correctly) and clear bell-like tones ala Curtis Mayfield, Richie Blackmore & Jimi Hendrix.

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

That’s a cool idea!

Forget swapping the bridge saddles and get a VegaTrem. Much better design and you'll love the tone.

why changing the radius ? 7,2 is harder to set up than 9,5 but when it is well set up u should play better. Look at the gilmour strat etc.

I'm curious, have this project been abandoned or are you actually going to mod it?

@TheStudioRats

10 ай бұрын

It’s been abandoned I’m afraid. I worked out it was never going to be what I needed it to be.

Quite honestly, If you're right, and it's all subjective, then this isn't a good guitar - at least for you. When you pay close to £1900 for it and still have to, or feel the need to replace parts. The most important things for me in considering if a guitar is good for me or not is the neck and how it feels to play, the pickup sound comes next cause you can always replace pickups. They can be cheaper pickups as long as the sound is right and finally does it stay in tune? Well for the last one a good home set up for free and decent tuners should do the trick but when you have to go to the lengths of making the neck a different shape, getting new frets, bridge and pickups then be as well choosing another guitar. The pickups in other maybachs are very expensive and I would expect these ones are too, so really if you have to replace very expensive pickups then it's a money sink on top of everything else. Sure have a project guitar to do up but not a 1900 quid project guitar.

Do you know that Maybach has a custom shop? They can build your Strat exactly how you want it. You can choose, wood, pickups, frets, radius …

@TheStudioRats

6 ай бұрын

That sounds really interesting.

is that the same Maybach that makes super-dooper cars?

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately not

@chrismurphy128

Жыл бұрын

hahaha no!

Buy a Shijie. No need to mod, get it to your specs, custom shop quality, at production prices.

Before you do all of the work on the neck, you may want to consider just buying a neck with larger frets and a radius that you prefer. Visit Stratosphere Parts!

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Your not the first to suggest that, it might be the way to go.

@stickman55100

Жыл бұрын

@@TheStudioRats Not surprised that others have suggested it. I’ve found it to have a lot of cool parts. Also, about 3 months ago, I ordered a Rubato carbon Neck for one of my Strats and can’t wait to get and install it.

Look here man, you can’t have beauty without destruction, you can’t have glory without pain. Sometimes a struggle with some pain is good. If you want comfort then go lay on a couch.

sounded like you can play it just fine 🤣

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

You should see the outtakes

I sold me CS 56 ... honestly, bad neck, kept shifting, V neck and all was just not for me in the end.

When is the give-a-way?

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Not a bad idea.

@fin.d7725

Жыл бұрын

@@TheStudioRats if you do, make sure you add a nice TSR decal to the back of the headstock or something. I think the fans of the channel would really like that.

what about bare knuckle single coil?

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Good suggestion

@MrBoze-TicoCR

Жыл бұрын

Are any Bare Knuckles SSS hum-canceling? I'm currently in the rabbit-hole in regards to single-coils..

@liys540

Жыл бұрын

@@MrBoze-TicoCR no , they don't make any hum cancelling pickup

@liys540

Жыл бұрын

@@MrBoze-TicoCR you can look for bill lawernce , seymour duncan and dimarzio

@liys540

Жыл бұрын

@@MrBoze-TicoCR or you can find noise reduction system from ulbrick which cancell out all hum from the single coil completely

To be fair at £850 its not bad.....and that's really a third of the price of a used Custom Shop Strat, not half.

prob easier to change the whole neck unless you want luthier work practice

First off I'm not a S style guitar fan,although I have had probably 6 or 7 of them. So i can't recommend any mods. Had a Fender Blacktop Strat changed everything on it except the input jack body and neck and still wasn't happy with it. Currently own a G&L Legacy it's the best S style guitar I've ever had and I still don't play it much. I like the sound of a Strat some of my favorite players use one. Just dont like the sound when I play one. Give me a T style any day.

German company, correct. But they're built in the Czech Republic.

Been there dozens of times. Probably not worth the effort. You can re-profile the fingerboard, re-fret it, new pickups, etc, etc but it’ll still probably be sub par (based upon what you’re used to). Also, you have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod??? Deal breaker!

@MrBoze-TicoCR

Жыл бұрын

while I would agree with that on the surface, I had a cut-out access done to my pickguard so i can get to the truss rod without have to deal with removing or lossing the neck....

you are one of the few who criticizes this brand! The radius 7.25, you can get along with it or not, that is personal taste and preference, it depends on the construction of your hands and your fingers. The neck becomes super fast (smooth) after a few weeks if you play the guitar regularly, so sanding it is absolute nonsense! I own a Suhr Reb Beach strat from 2012, a Suhr Antique classic from 2017, a Maybach Lester (Les Paul) and a Maybach Teleman T54 from 2022. The Maybach is not inferior to the Suhr at all!

@TheStudioRats

5 ай бұрын

I’m not criticising the brand, I’m criticising this guitar.

@midnightroses2879

5 ай бұрын

. it is the tone that makes the music@@TheStudioRats

try hepcat pickup

Hi Paul. I do a lot of guitar mods especially neck profiles and ergonomic designs . It seems that you are disappointed with that particular guitars attributes. My advice is to return it and get your money back. . You can buy a lovely USA made Strat from fender for much less. Remember the old saying from your Grandad ,that you can't make a silk purse out of a 🐷 pigs ear.. Good 👍 luck . Best Regards. John.

@TheStudioRats

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the advice John. I completely agree, Im doing this project for content so people can see if it’s possible to turn something you don’t like into a guitar you do. I do agree with you, I’ve had many guitars in the past that no matter what you do they are always dogs.

BKP Apache or Pat pend 63

put the same pickups of your stratocaster and we can compare

Stick in a set of Bare Knuckle Irish Tours

920D Custom supposedly have really good pickups.