Help! Partscaster

gtrjunior

gtrjunior

Wannabe
Hey! There is a guy selling a partscaster near me. He had it assembled by a local shop that I myself use for all things guitar maintenance. He said he had collected all the parts and had them assemble it. The thing that attracted me to it is that it has p90's.
His listing didn't include a price but when I asked him a ballpark figure he told me $400.
On eBay there is a mim strat going for $350(opening bid but nobody has bid yet).
Any opinions on partscasters?
I have never been a strat guy so I'm just not sure what to look for.
 
Well, I think that the first thing to ask is exactly where all the parts are from... If it's Warmoth stuff (and decent hardware), then it's a steal. If it's GFS stuff, then maybe not so much.

Partscasters can certainly be great, though I've played some that were...unfortunate. Good luck!
 
I'm with Guitar Heel on this one. The value really depends on where the parts originated and how well it plays.
 
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Here are the pics he sent me...maybe you can tell what they are...?
 
I currently have 3 guitars and 2 are parts casters I assembled. One is a Musicmaster body I picked up and I out a Warmoth neck on it with a TV Jones pickup, Wilkinson bridge and Sperzel locking tuners. The other is a Warmoth Tele body and Warmoth neck, Mastery bridge, custom tele pickups, adn Hipshot locking tuners. I think they are both amazing guitars and well worth what I paid for them. The Musicmaster body I got for super cheap and the tele body was a Warmoth Screamin Deal. It was painted and cheaper than a non painted body.

So like others said, if the parts are good and it has what you are looking for, it can be awesome, but if it was put together with cheap parts, maybe not. I think assembling a parts guitar is something everyone should try at some point. I always take mine in to a guy to get the final setup done, but I get it pretty close.
 
This is only a guess, but...

I see a 22 fret Fender neck on an alder body that at one time had a tremolo spring cover installed and appears to have a decent factory finish...

The bridge appears to have Fender string saddles installed and doesn't look pitted or corroded...

I cannot speak to the quality of the tuners or the pickups and wiring...

To buy the MiM Strat and convert it to P90s would require a higher investment...

It would appear to me to be made of decent quality components and at that price should be a safe buy...I'd be more comfortable at 300.00...
 
I was thinking $300 as well....I really appreciate everyone's input. As I stated, I've never been a fender guy so in really unsure of what in looking at.
 
Well, I called but unfortunately didn't find out much more that we didn't know already.
The shop definitely assembled the guitar but the pups and gears were supplied by the customer and the particular brands weren't added to the file. It is what it is I suppose. Regardless, I'm going to check it out this weekend and if it looks/feels/sounds good, I may make him an offer.
 
gtrjunior said:
Apart from the tune-o-magic bridge they are very similar, aren't they?
The guitar I'm looking at has a 22 fret neck too...
Click to expand...

The first pic has a white guard with creme pickups and knobs. It was the switch and location of the switch that made me think of the SX. It could just be the guard and electronics or it could be the the body electronic with an upgraded bridge. The neck is a fender, which is probably the most important part of it.
 
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