Gilmour Signature Strat Build Thread

[The Dali]

By the way... here are a few "unlucky" pickguards I experimented with in order to learn how to route the stealth switch.

[JordanM82]

Dude, I can't wait to see this thing finished, this is an awesome thread... have thoroughly enjoyed following it so far... wonderful...

[The Dali]

Ok, here are pictures of the final product!!!



I have a good friend who is a big pedal modder (mibeaulieu on this forum, a new member), and as such he's very good with the soldering iron. Given the effort in the project, I figured I'd let him wire it up nice and neat. Here is a photo of the wiring.



Quite a bit of work here, especially with the edition of the mini-toggle.










Once it was wired I lkoaded her up and gave her a test run. One caution for anyone building a similar guitar... the Duncan pickups need to be wired in reverse (black = hot) to keep them in-phase with the Fender pickups. We wired the bridge (SSL-5) correctly, but I noticed that positions 2-3-4 all sounded the same. Well, remember I used a Duncan SSL-1 in the neck instead of a Fender Fat 50s? Yep, we wired the neck as normal and it was out-of-phase with the CS 69 in the middle position. I had to open her back up and switch the wires for the neck pickup. Once I did that we were in business!!










It sounds awesome! I feared the SSL-5 would be too hot and would result in a major loss of volume going to the CS 69 but it sounds very natural. The overall setup is very cool, and the mini-toggle turning on the neck at any position is a cool trick (of course, it doesn't affect positions 4 and 5). This is a very worthwhile setup for any single-coil stratocaster and I recommend people try it out.


Well, she is just about done, but I do still need to cut down the trem bar, which I'll do this week and post a few photos of that... I'll also try to post a quick YouTube video of the sounds using the different switch settings.

[The Dali]

By the way, the flash makes the body look a little scratched or nicked up... it is near mint and looks phenomenal. I'll try to take a better photo tomorrow.

[SabbathFan0220]

That looks great. I've been looking forward to the finished product of this one and it didn't disappoint.

[Diocletian]

Good stuff, glad you like it so much and it was worth the effort. One good thing, even if you do get tired of it, there seems to be a lot of interest in Gilmour strats (way more than Dave Murray ones) so you'd sell it easy.

Not that you should, it looks great!

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Really gorgeous, and you pulled it off in record time.

[DoronEsh]

I got to admit that I don't really like Strats (O, the blasphemy ...), but I really dig yours. Looks great, and I bet it sounds great. You really did a great job.

This is one thread I'm gonna miss when gone ...

Shine on ...

[PFDarkside]

Excellent job. I love the SSL-1, it's really an underrated pickup. Great solution on the mini switch too, very authentic to Gilmour's actual instrument!

[scottcrud]

What exactly does the mini switch do? I know on his emg loaded strats it was a mid boost... but what does it do with the passive singles?

[The Dali]

The switch engages the neck pickup regardless of the position of the 5-way. So, if you are in position 1 (bridge only) the switch would add the neck pup to the mix.

[FAC]

For a Gilmour tribute strat, the stealth switch is necessary to complete the look. But, if you want the same effect (being able to combine the bridge and neck pickups, or have all three pickups at once), you can replace one of the tone controls with a blender pot, as described here on Lindy Fralin's site:

http://www.fralinpickups.com/images/blendschem2.jpg

I've done this on my strat...I use the blender function all the time, especially with clean sounds.

Great job on the strat! I remember this thread from last year.

[The Dali]

Agreed, or you can use a push/pull for the volume knob.

[sbecker67]

... But, if you want the same effect (being able to combine the bridge and neck pickups, or have all three pickups at once), you can replace one of the tone controls with a blender pot........I've done this on my strat...I use the blender function all the time, especially with clean sounds......

I have one of my Strats loaded with the Gilmour set and did this as well. Highly recommended and couldn't agree more.

Great job Dali!

[Donald Duck]

@ The Dali,
do you sell a complete loaded Gilmour pickguard, too?