Custom Strat - Reborn!
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:34 pm
Just got one of my favorite guitars back from my tech after a pretty big overhaul, and it genuinely feels like it's been completely reborn. A really flawless example of just how much a super skilled tech can improve an instrument.
I got this stunning Warmoth from GC Used a few years ago for a whopping $350 - has a chambered swamp ash body, beautiful denim finish flame maple top, and a pretty wild birdseye maple neck and fretboard. I'm sure many here have seen it, it tends to pop up whenever anyone's talking Warmoth
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It originally had Duncan YJM pickups but I wasn't a huge fan of them so I sold 'em and got a set of Bareknuckle Sinners. Really great set, but I eventually realized that I don't have a single strat that is actually "stratty" tonally because so many of them have super high output pickups...so when I came across a set of Bareknuckle Apache pickups for a really great price I scooped 'em up with the intention of making it more strat-like.
The guitar also had a brass nut that wasn't cut perfectly, so there was this metallic rattle you could sometimes hear when playing unplugged. Had my tech install a new nut, install a string tree, round the frets, do a full setup, and install the Apache pickups. Total $ invested into this guitar between the pickups and all the work done is just a hair over $600, and it is honestly better than any super pricey Fender I have ever had or played (including several CS models). The Apache pickups are exactly what I was looking for too, they can get beefy when needed but the clean tones are just sublime.
Took the opportunity to snap some new photos now that this thing is in it's "final form", and it's off to spend this terribly rainy Saturday jammin'. As always, click for proper quality:
I got this stunning Warmoth from GC Used a few years ago for a whopping $350 - has a chambered swamp ash body, beautiful denim finish flame maple top, and a pretty wild birdseye maple neck and fretboard. I'm sure many here have seen it, it tends to pop up whenever anyone's talking Warmoth

It originally had Duncan YJM pickups but I wasn't a huge fan of them so I sold 'em and got a set of Bareknuckle Sinners. Really great set, but I eventually realized that I don't have a single strat that is actually "stratty" tonally because so many of them have super high output pickups...so when I came across a set of Bareknuckle Apache pickups for a really great price I scooped 'em up with the intention of making it more strat-like.
The guitar also had a brass nut that wasn't cut perfectly, so there was this metallic rattle you could sometimes hear when playing unplugged. Had my tech install a new nut, install a string tree, round the frets, do a full setup, and install the Apache pickups. Total $ invested into this guitar between the pickups and all the work done is just a hair over $600, and it is honestly better than any super pricey Fender I have ever had or played (including several CS models). The Apache pickups are exactly what I was looking for too, they can get beefy when needed but the clean tones are just sublime.
Took the opportunity to snap some new photos now that this thing is in it's "final form", and it's off to spend this terribly rainy Saturday jammin'. As always, click for proper quality: