Dig it! you were JEALUS when i was ULTRA but how do u feel now that i am ELITE??

smurfco

smurfco

Meatus McPrepuce
I found this used 2016 American Elite Strat at GC. It was nasty gunky all over and the output jack was cutting in and out but I could tell it was a good guitar. It was listed for $1099 and I was able to get them to take a whopping $50 off for the jack issue. It came with the original hardshell case too.

I got it home and fixed the jack (just a loose wire), took it completely apart, cleaned all of the gunk off of it, took the nasty ass rusted strings and replaced them with a new set, and gave the whole blessed mess a setup. it feels great and stays in tune, was pretty easy to get the setup dialed in. I don't know if I'm sold on these gen4 noiseless pickups yet. Clean they definitely do not sound as good as my non-noiseless Am Pro Strat, but fuzz and distortion sounds great and no noise...

I got this thing to clean up and see if I could flip for a couple hundred bucks profit, but I really like the way it feels. I'll have to see if those pickups grow on me. Maybe I need to mess with the height a little bit more…

Ash body. The color is called Tobacco Sunburst and the other interesting thing about this model is that the truss rod adjustment is a wheel at the heel, like a Music Man.

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Before cleaning:
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Ash!
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Cool Strat. Looks nice. HNGD!

Noiseless pickups never sound quite like real SC pickups to me. My Am Dlx Strat had the SCN pickups and S1 switching system when I bought it new in '05. Got a deal, $950. The pups and electronics were very popular at the time. I could get some great sounds but it certainly wasn't classic Strat to me. So, I sold the pups and electronics to a guy in Germany via eBay. I put a set of Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot in the neck and middle and an SP43 in the bridge + blender wiring. I love that Strat now, noise and all.
 
Well now that I can turn my amp up... these pickups actually sound pretty good. I did a little shootout with my AmPro Strat and... you don't realize how loud that single coil noise is until you are A/B'ing them. I think I might... keep this and sell the other one?? I still have my Rocky Strat in case I need that true vintage Strat sound... I wasn't expecting this... I think I will have to sleep on it...

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Well back it goes.... noise or no noise I just think i like the sound of the white one better. anyways it was fun getting it cleaned up!
 
OK... that thing is gorgeous! I love the color... more subtle than the usual tobacco sunburst that goes to black at the edge. Nice work!
 
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