My next Strat...a pictorial 6-17-23 Update

Coda said:
Solo Guitars, out of Canada...not that there's anything wrong with that...
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What I don't like about the Harley's is that the mahogany SG's are all single vol/tone. That's just not an SG to me.
The more traditional ones with 4 knobs are all basswood bodies, which I am totally uninterested in.

Geez, this Solo SG looks like a pretty sweet project......quite reasonably priced too even if you throw away all the stock hardware.
 
MichaelW said:
What I don't like about the Harley's is that the mahogany SG's are all single vol/tone. That's just not an SG to me.
The more traditional ones with 4 knobs are all basswood bodies, which I am totally uninterested in.

Geez, this Solo SG looks like a pretty sweet project......quite reasonably priced too even if you throw away all the stock hardware.
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I’m gonna build it stock just for shits, and then start swapping stuff out. I’m thinking some GFS Mean 90’s, as some fun wiring…
 
I like the bootstraps in my tele, certainly more than the stock pickups. But they don't sound as good to me as the pickups in my buddy's 52 reissue tele
 
Harry Klippton said:
I like the bootstraps in my tele, certainly more than the stock pickups. But they don't sound as good to me as the pickups in my buddy's 52 reissue tele
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Hmmm does he have a Custom Shop? Or the standard re-issue? I had an RI quite a few years ago. As I recall it had a Broadcaster bridge and I can't remember what was in the neck. They sounded like a vintage Tele. I wasn't floored by them. But then that guitar was taken in as trade fodder and went back out the same, hahah. I was never really invested in it. It had the cool vintage style case though.
 
MichaelW said:
Hmmm does he have a Custom Shop? Or the standard re-issue? I had an RI quite a few years ago. As I recall it had a Broadcaster bridge and I can't remember what was in the neck. They sounded like a vintage Tele. I wasn't floored by them. But then that guitar was taken in as trade fodder and went back out the same, hahah. I was never really invested in it. It had the cool vintage style case though.
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It's a 90s (I think) reissue, not a custom shop. Aside from the poly finish, it's a great guitar. Sounds amazing
 
Whoa I thought all the Fender RI's were nitro. I know mine was. But yah, I've played crappy sounding nitro finished guitars and killer sounding poly hahaha. Kevin Ryan, boutique acoustic extraordinaire uses a catalyzed finish on his acoustics that start at around 12k......so.......I think Jim Olson (his guitars start at 25k) has moved to a catalyzed finish as well. And I DO think the finish type has a bigger impact on tone on acoustics than electrics.
 
In case you didn't already have way too many choices for excellent Strat pickups on the market, may I suggest checking out Mark Foley's (out of the UK)?
 
I've not heard anyone mention mighty mite in years. I just assumed they didn't make them anymore. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think after it arrives.
 
SillyOctpuss said:
I've not heard anyone mention mighty mite in years. I just assumed they didn't make them anymore. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think after it arrives.
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I'm pretty sure they're made in Indonesia now. They used to be made in Japan back in the day. The Allparts necks I like are still being made in Japan.

Apparently these Mighty Mites are "custom spec" for Stew Mac. The only difference I can see from the Stew Mac one and from the Mighty Mite direct is the 1 5/8" nut width, which is my preference for Strats and Tele's. As long as it's straight and not warped, everything else I can fix myself.
Hard to pass up for $127:)
 
MichaelW said:
I'm pretty sure they're made in Indonesia now. They used to be made in Japan back in the day. The Allparts necks I like are still being made in Japan.

Apparently these Mighty Mites are "custom spec" for Stew Mac. The only difference I can see from the Stew Mac one and from the Mighty Mite direct is the 1 5/8" nut width, which is my preference for Strats and Tele's. As long as it's straight and not warped, everything else I can fix myself.
Hard to pass up for $127:)
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Wow, I've just been on their website and they look good for that money. I genuinely thought they had closed up shop purely because I've not heard anyone mention them in years unless they were talking about 90s build where they had used a mighty mite part.
 
SillyOctpuss said:
Wow, I've just been on their website and they look good for that money. I genuinely thought they had closed up shop purely because I've not heard anyone mention them in years unless they were talking about 90s build where they had used a mighty mite part.
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I'll update here when I get it and get a closer look at the quality.
 
@SillyOctpuss I received my "cheap on sale from Stew Mac" Mighty Mite neck yesterday.

I am really impressed. Build quality is every bit as good as a neck from AllParts. of course a bit shy of what you get from Warmoth.

Couple things I don't like about it. I couldn't get a "raw" neck to apply my own finish. This thing came with a satin poly finish which I plan to strip off.

Neck profile. Spec's claim the following:

Screen Shot 2022-10-16 at 8.41.36 AM.png

Not true.....it's actually thinner, it's .837 under the first fret and .833 under the 6th and .890 under the 12th.

So it's a little odd in that it doesn't taper quite as I expected.
It actually feels very much like a modern Fender neck, like the one I have on my Strat and the one I have on my Jazzmaster.
(Both aftermarket Fender branded made in Mexico necks).

This is not a deal breaker for me as I like this neck profile quite a bit, but I like the Allparts "C" necks a bit more as that have slightly more meat to them. The fretwork specs are correct. .045 x .095 which is close to my favorite fret wire which is the Dunlop 6105 (.055 x .090)

Mighty Mite calls this "medium" but I think I would classify them as "vintage tall". I can't quite figure out what make the wire is though. It's not Dunlop and not Jescar.

The satin poly finish "feels" thin, but we'll see. I'll start trying to sand it off at the heel and see how bad it is. (There may be some cursing involved.....:)

It will need a fret level, quick peek with my straight edge shows that in order to get the playability I want, it's going to need the "fluff and buff" treatment from me. (Roll fingerboard, scrape and polish fretboard, fret level and crown and polish).

Oh and it came with a cheap plastic nut, which will have to go.

So all in all, it's a pretty decent neck and I plan to use it. It over $100 less than my favored Allparts SRO-C neck. Those savings will go into a fancy Wudtone trem plate hahaha.
 
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