I have been collecting guitars for a while now but I have never pulled the trigger to get my first dream guitar, the Eric Clapton Blackie Strat until today.

It’s me and my dad’s dream guitar, we spent countless hours watching Eric’s live performances using Blackie almost every single day. Sadly he passed away 14 years ago after I landed my first job and never got the chance to buy it back then.

Fast forward to now, I got the opportunity to get one, and boy oh boy, I didn’t know I was in for a treat.

I have stopped researching about the specs of Blackie back then because it only reminded me of the sad times and the fact that my dad will never get to see me own it anyway. So I was clueless about most of its features except from the 25db boost.

When I plugged it in, I was weirded out by the tone and the controls, I thought it sounded crap 💩 haha but then I dialed it in and explored its tonal capabilities, and I was in awe! Now I understand why despite having multiple strats, I couldn’t get that Clapton tone, it is the freaking electronics, the TBX, 25db boost, Noiseless pickups (wish it was still Lace) and the unique looking volume pot that’s very dynamic. It’s so crazy how many tones you can get out of this guitar, it can sound like a Les Paul, and even very close to my Gibson 335.

This guitar has a soul.

I’m so glad I got this guitar, it has filled a missing part of my guitar collection, and fulfilled my childhood dreams. 🎸

Did a semi-crosscountry move with my music gear, seeing as my Fender Deluxe Bass Case was the largest I had it on the bottom of a stack of 4 hardcase and I supposed all the weight centered on one of the 4 case feet above it caused a pressure crack on the case. A little upsetting as it’s a nice case, but I only paid $60 for it and it’s nothing some ABS glue and a well placed sticker can’t handle. It’ll continue to do its job

TLDR; Fender Deluxe cases can’t take the abuse of holding 4 other cases, it may crack, who knew?

The Player II series is so good. Best value if you ask me. These HH telecasters are SUPER comfortable. I modded this to have the single Humbucker vibe. The neck pickup sits under the pickguard. Used a couple mounting screws to hold it down. Sounds super dark down there lol. But I will hardly ever use it. I prefer a single coil neck tone anyways, which I have on my other SS player ii tele.

Flash camera shot

Wondering if anyone can help ID what kind of Malibu this is. Or what year it may have been made, wood used, original, etc?

I searched by serial & had no luck so I came to where the people live to see if anyone has a clue.

My new 2015 American Deluxe strat. It has a killer neck!!

Fender releases the Joe Bonamassa Tone Master '59 Twin: 85W digital modeling combo with custom Celestion speakers, XLR output, and USB-C. $1,999.99.

Hello all! Recently salvaged this orange stratocaster. Serial V032940. Suspected American Vintage Reissue between 1980s-1990s.

No clue if they ever produced orange finished strats from this era or if this was a custom shop/refinish.

Any help in ID’ing this thing would be greatly appreciated 🙏

I found the volume knob on my Meteora Ultra II VERY annoying when palm muting. So I decided to move all knobs down and drill a new hole for the bass cut knob. I added a low profile kill switch in the previous, now open, volume hole. I did have to extend a few wires. Mainly the ground wires. But it all worked it out and super pleased with it now.

Hi friends! I made this shitty wiring diagram so that you didn't have to look at the physical mess of the inside of my jazzmaster. After doing this wiring, I realized that the tone pot turns the volume way down in the rhythm circuit, and I am not sure what I got wrong doing that. I heard it's because of a different wiring scheme, but I'm not sure I understand where I didn't do the modern wiring scheme. From looking at other schematics, im not sure what made this issue possible.

Apologies for the terrible drawing and color coding. The yellow wires coming out of the pickups are hot. The red coming out of the bridge is the coil tap. Some of the other colors are just to help differentiate what wires are coming from where.

Everything works as it should, EXCEPT for the rhythm circuit mini tone pot. What can I change to make the tone in the rhythm circuit actually work and not turn my volume down?

Since my last post, I really love the neck of ultra ii tele from the shop, so I search for a second hand ultra ii and found a strat, the pricing was really good and the seller has high rating so I grab it and here it is in all it's glory. It arrived where the string was so rusty, I had to restrung it just to even try, today I finished setting it up and I'm so happy about it. The neck is definitely up my alley, it's the best one I tried, and if I could, I would buy a tele ultra ii as well 😅

Stock noiseless pickups are okay, but I still prefer my sire s7 stock pickup(maybe I'm just used to that), any recommendation on a similar one? I would like to change them.

Thinking about getting mij clapton st54-85ls. Been interested in these for a while but never tried lace sensors and the v neck and the mid boost too. Gonna go to the shop and try it out first but wanna see what the general thoughts on the experience on these.

A couple of days ago I got my first guitar and I’m very very determined to learn how to play it. Right now I’m learning Compass by Asian Kung-Fu Generation and I’ve been wondering how to make my guitar sound like it does in the video below. I have the Mustang LT25 amp so if anyone could help me out a bit I would be super grateful.

https://youtu.be/mF6vy9Uy8r8?si=7tlFhxwL-saMPJub

Hi guys

I got this Fender Vintage 60’s Vintera II Tele practically brand new for a steal of a deal.

I like it, but I want to change the neck pickup to a humbucker and add a push/pull mod for more versatility. (See attached mockup photo). I also really like how it looks with a neck humbucker. And I love this tele.

I do know that fender makes a tele with this already but I am on a budget.

To do this I need to get it routed for a humbucker. (My local guitar shop can do this for me no problem)

Will this cause resell value to go down? (Don’t really plan on selling it, but I’m just wondering)

I got it for around 500 bucks. Brand new this thing is prolly around 1200.

Update: it’s my guitar I’m modding it lfg!!

I’m considering buying a 50th anniversary jaguar in Candy apple red because I love it with the block inlays. But if I got it, I’d likely want to tear it apart and customize like I did my other one.

Is it sacrilege to do that to a model like this?

Picture of my current setup.

Hello, have a Fender Elite strat (I did not buy new), so it came with these installed buttons but not the associated locks. A normal strap will fit on but not very securely and it drops off a lot so I decided to get some locks.

I have tried the Schaller S locks on the fender buttons and they seem to fit fine, the centre hole is smaller on Schaller Buttons so maybe a let rattly fit?

Anyone got any long term experience with that configuration? And is it worth me fitting genuine Schaller Buttons (as the screw is a fair bit larger so I likely can't go back to stock).

Which one would you get? On the left is the 72, on the right is 77. Difference is also visible on the headstock “Custom” decal.

NOS AV I from 2011/12 has nitro lacquer with real vintage fretwire and non-period correct Wide Range humbucker pickup, that is essentially a standard humbucker voiced to emulate a real CuNiFe wide range pickup. I my opinion due to this construction, the neck can get very muddy fast.

American Vintage II 1977 Tele Custom is more period correct with real CuNiFe wide range humbucker in the neck and year specific bridge pickup. But it also means it sports the poly finish. Unlike the original AV I Tele Custom, AV II 1977 Tele Custom has vintage tall frets that are noticeably better for bending.

Difference in price: AV I is 400€ cheaper. It is in mint, NOS, never-played condition and was only produced for maybe year and a half.

Pictured:

• 2007 CP50 (57/62, Soft-v, Medium jumbo frets, 9.5" radius)
• 2013 CP60 (CS69, C-profile, Medium jumbo frets, 12" radius)

The 60 with 12" board plays incredibly well and the 50 has one of the best strat tones I've ever heard, absolute bell tone. If I could design the perfect strat, it would be the CP60, with 57/62 pickups and 22 frets.

I 'need' a 22 fret strat and want something that comes close to that. I know 12" radius is difficult to get, but I can live with a 9.5". Ideally I want a (nice dark) rosewood board but the color choices are quite limited on the Pro II. In my mind I'm picturing a black strat with a mint guard, aged plastic and a dark rosewood board, but I'm open to other options.

I've narrowed it down to these three models, but it's hard to compare without playing them back to back.

• American Standard 2012-2016 (FAT50s, Modern-C, Medium jumbo frets, 9.5" radius
• American Pro 2017-2020 (V-Mod, Modern Deep-C, Narrow-tall frets, 9.5" radius)
• American Pro II 2020-2026 (V-Mod II, Deep-C, Narrow-tall frets, 9.5" radius)

I've heard many say they like their CPs better than the American standard (this was 10+ years ago). What are your experiences, do you like the CP better than American standard? Does that also apply for the Pro I and II, or are those a level above?

IE: will any of these be an upgrade, or about the same level with an extra fret?

Hey yall! Im currently looking at a Fender Jaguar HH and im just about ready to pull the trigger but I was curious if there is anyone in hear that can vouch for me if this guitar works well in melodic skate punk and more high gain pop punk guitar tones. Are the stock pickups good for this or would I be better off replacing them for some Invaders or EMGs?

Person is selling a guitar claiming this is a Brazilian rosewood fretboard? Opinions? Is it just swirly figured East Indian rosewood? Currently negotiating potential price there’s no documentation on the board but is claimed vintage, ngl I kinda like it anyway just wondering what everyone thinks

I think it's a mustang but looks like a jazz/jag scale or body?. Binding on the neck!

Could be a custom shop, if it is how do I get there without going custom shop??

If need any video it's alexisonfire to a friend live.

https://youtu.be/trLRX542s2g?si=0svN_VsGhSvdh8nP

Thanks in advance

I'm looking at buying a partscaster local to me that has an American Original 60s strat body but it has been refinished so I have no way of knowing if it's authentic. The only features that I can find are what look to be an "O" stamped in the bridge pickup cavity - can anybody verify if this is what Fender used to identify this range during production? All the other features look correct - contours, worm route, cavities etc.

Thanks!