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The Black Strat "Jewel" Build



Hello, my name is David Sarmiento and welcome to The Black Strat Build! This is a blog dedicated to those who are interested in this special build of David Gilmour's "Black Strat." It's likely that you are interested in his guitar and stumbled upon this blog, but for those who don't know, here's a little background on the Black Strat on the link below. There is also a video about the Black Strat made by Fender Custom Shop below as well!



Now as to how I decided to do my own Black Strat, started from the moment I decided to start playing the guitar. Long story short, Gilmour fascinated me with his large tone and expression that sings right into the soul. I had to have that sound and the only way so is to get one of Fender's Custom Shop DG Black Strat. Being that i'm a R&D Technician, facing new challenges is what I love to do most. So over a year and a half ago, I picked up Phil Taylor's The Black Strat and deemed this my Bible until completion. It was soon after that I decided to take on the challenge of building an exact copy of the famous Black Strat, reborn in brand new fashion.By using parts of today, this will be the beginning of what will be a beautiful relationship. For a more personal touch, my Black Strat will be nicknamed "Jewel". It has been over a year and a half since I decided to take on the project and it has been an interesting one at that! At the moment I am in process of assembling all components before the full assembly, but time will be needed to do a full setup. I'll start off with all components used in the build, including details and pictures, with a post dedicated to each item. Thereafter,  I'll go in detail of assembling parts and customizing each component to the Black Strat specs, alongside tips and step-by-steps on assembling the guitar. I'm pretty excited as to how this will all turn out and to hear from those interested in building one as well!  On the left hand side, titled "Black Strat Build List" is each of the items and process of how I went through on this build. When an event occurs, this post will be replaced momentarily with the post at hand. So stick around and follow me on this special build of my David Gilmour's Black Strat, nicknamed "Jewel".


04/15/2012 - Weather and unforeseen circumstances has held up the build for some time, but all is not gone! The touch-ups themselves are quite difficult to disguise and a few attempts were made in order to match the clear coat with the rest of the body. With a recent update, it looks like a match has been made, but requires a few additional coats which require drying time! Thereafter it's a matter of putting everything altogether. Here's a few shots of the touch-ups made on the body! More news to come in the following two weeks! It's really coming to together now!
David Sarmiento





Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the build!
David A. Sarmiento

#1. What a body!... Fender Custom Shop '69 Reissue Black Nitro Strat Body


First off, I'd like to make a note that all the parts I use are NEW or a RE-PRO of an existing part. There are one or two pieces I used that are actual vintage parts! To those who are seeking alternatives to the items that I will demonstrate, there are a dozen sites that can offer similar parts. I will provide photos and websites that I used in determining the items I chose to use in my build as well as the items I have. Feel free to ask questions about my build and also feedback would help me too! I'd like to hear what all of you have to say, so please comment!


I had an opportunity to play the Fender Custom Shop Relic David Gilmour Black Strat at my local Guitar Center here in San Diego, California. My first impressions were everlasting, echoing for some time in my mind until I decided to build one for my own. I have the Black Strat book written by Phil Taylor that depicts all corners of Gilmour's guitar. This will be all I have for a reference, and thus begin my extended purchases for the build of Jewel.

For more information on the Black Strat, Visit www.fender.com/gilmour

First things first is a body. Now I've played different years on the Strat, and over the decades Fender has released several different body shapes and contours, ranging from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's onward. So which one does the Black Strat have?

Top: Fender Custom Shop '69 Body Black Strat Prototype ; Bottom: David Gilmour's original Black Strat

David's Black Strat was difficult to date, as there was no dating on the body itself. It was dated to been made in 1969, and was sold to him on May 1970 at Manny's in New York. When I had found a photo of a prototype Black Strat compared to the REAL Black Strat, I noticed the different shape in the contour. This was the case to the majority of older, vintage bodies since they were all hand made. So to make sure it was a '69 body, I scavenged the internet looking for that exact shape and found out a '68 body sharing the same contour as its successor. Fender Custom Shop used a general late 60's wide body contour which covers a bigger part of the body than the original. In order to get that same body, you'd have to by an ORIGINAL '69 body, which is WAY out of anyone's budget! There are differences between a '68 and '69 body, with how rounded the pickup cavities are, the contours and the paint used. Even Gilmour's strat isn't completely black! It originally had a 3-tone sunburst nitro spray before it got shot with a black UAC paint as a custom color from Fender. So what's my alternative? Let's go for a Black '69 Fender CS Strat body!

Fender '69 Custom Shop Select Alder Black Thin-Nitro Stratocaster Body
Bingo! What I have here is a Fender Custom Shop '69 Black NOS Right-Handed Select Two-Piece Alder Stratocaster Body! At this moment, I haven't weighted it, so I'm not sure how heavy it is, but it's very light in my hands, with an average weight for Alder bodies between 3.5 - 4.5 lbs. It's  very comfortable to hold, since this has the thin nitrocellulose paint & clear coat lacquer (more on that below). Now, we all know that there are Stratocaster replica bodies available, so I'll show you in the following photos what you should look at in finding differences between a copy and a Genuine Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster Body.

The birth certificate
This particular body came with a Genuine Certificate of Authenticity from Fender's Custom Shop. Note that this certificate has gold and red on the logo, and it shines. Also, the large Fender name and Custom Shop logo are raised. Unfortunately, I cannot determine if the signature is real or not, but I'm guessing that its printed beforehand, since it's difficult to sign each one by one. Limited Edition Custom Shop Strat's that are limited in numbers are signed, as to their rarity and to the masterbuilder. The product and creation date and serial number is printed afterwards. This sheet is also heavy stock, and is tinted with a slight cobalt blue tone to it.


Here you have the original neckplate that came with this specific guitar. On earlier models such as the early 50's into the mid 60's, it was simply a blank neckplate with a serial number stamped on top end of it. For later 60's to mid 70's Strat's, a large F is on the front following with the serial number stamped above. Having this is key, since it verifies the authenticity of this Fender Custom Shop '69 RI Strat Body.

The Fender Custom Shop Bodies carries marks to verify that it is an authentic product of FMIC. I believe during production of the body, specific points are heat-stamped with preparation destinations and styles. For this particular body, they have heat-stamped "RELIC" on specific parts on the body.  I've seen other Custom Shop Bodies with other words such as "NOS" and year specifics. The Fender Custom Shop NOS Gilmour Black Strat is stamped "GIL NOS" at the neck pickup cavity. For mine, the neck pickup is stamped with the words "LACQ" indicating that this is a Thin-Nitrocellulose Lacquer Painted body. More on this particular paint later in this build. Second, the middle pickup cavity is stamped with a 9 digit number. This is not the COA serial number. This number was probably used to indicate what body style this is during production and to designate it to the proper build department.




The first heat-stamped "RELIC" will be located on the front right fascia of the body. This one is unique as this one has the original, old-style Fender Custom Shop logo on top of the word (A photo is provided to show you what you'll be looking for). Now make note that this stamp has been made BEFORE the body was painted. If the stamp is done on top of the paint, chances are that this body is a Fake. Notice as well that there is a specific font that is used all around the body. Any other style for will make this a candidate for fraudulence. It is important to ask for photos of these specific areas prior to purchase to make sure you're not getting ripped off!









Today's Version #2 Custom Shop Logo
Original Version #1 Custom Shop Logo
Body ID number and "LACQ" word stamp inside pickup cavities

The second heat-stamped "RELIC" is located at the top of the Tremolo cavity. Make note that if this isn't visible, it might be a Fake. The Tremolo cavity also isn't milled out smooth like the Mexican and both American series and vintage Strat's. This one is smoother than the inside of my MIJ Squier but not as smooth as the others. This is one piece of detail to look for in determining it's authenticity. Remember that all stamps beside the one in the neck pocket are added on before painting, and if it's done after, it's most likely a copy.






 

The third heat-stamped "RELIC" will be located on the back neck butt of the body. Note the direction of the word on the body. If this is positioned in any other way or not visible at all, be advised to a copy!

The fourth and last stamped "RELIC" is located in the neck pocket. Just as the stamp on the backside, this one is stamped vertically. Any other way, makes it questionable, and if not visible, most likely a fake. The writing was possibly made by one the builders to indicate either paint time or simply the finish date of the body. The top five numbers looks to me like a date (10 is the year, 12 is the date and 9 is the month) which is close to its birth date, and the body ID number that is located at the middle pickup cavity. I've seen some CS bodies come with or without this writing.

These Custom Shop bodies have drilled out the Tremolo Cavity in a somewhat crude fashion. You'll notice that the left side of this cavity is not fully rounded, as if the took out a little more than they should. This is a dead giveaway to a CS body. This does not affect the use of the Tremolo and it won't rub on the Tremolo Block. If you see a unified route on a CS, chances are it's not real.


On Post '50's Strat bodies, there will be an added portion of wood for an additional screw to go into for the pickguard. Also notice the ditch going from the tunnel in between the middle and bridge pickup cavity to the electronics cavity. This is to guide the wires from the pickups to the electronics. If this isn't on the body, or routed in a different way besides this one, you most likely have a copy. Also, these cavities are painted as well, except for the body ID, which has been taped off to preserve the numbers.
'69 Deep Tummy Cut Contour
Now as for the tummy cut, this body has one that isn't as deep as a '50's style body or the shallow Post-'70's bodies. For my size, this body contours around my ribcage just fine, making it amazingly comfortable to rest on. Based on your preferences, you might like your deeper if you are slightly heavier or shallow if you're skinny.

This body has a slightly deep arm contour, but not as thinned out as the '50's body or thick as the Post-'70's bodies. The arm contour was Fender's response to the many complaints customers had with the Broadcaster, No-Caster and Telecaster shaped bodies, which was just a cut-out body with no contours. This will be the closest I will get into having the same contour as the Black Strat.

Here is a full shot of how big these contours are on a Fender Custom Shop '69 Stratocaster Body.

 
Here are additional photos of the Fender Custom Shop '69 Stratocaster Alder Body.




So far so good! The body has a ding or two, and scratch or so, and possibly one or more screw holes offset for the pickguard. With that, there's a lot of fine swirl marks all around. This body is in fact in great condition, and all those issues mentioned earlier, will be taken care of when it goes to Top Gear Pro Guitar Shop for a proper setup! Well what's the second most important part of the guitar? The '57 reissue neck! On the next post, we'll look into the necks Gilmour had and currently is using on his Black Strat.

David Sarmiento

#2. A player's dream... Fender Custom Shop DG Black Strat '57 RI maple nitro neck




















Now that I have decided to stick with a Fender Custom Shop '69 Reissue Black Nitro Body, all I need to complete the outfit is no other than the Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Black Strat '57 vintage nitro neck! Let me tell you, this is one snazzy neck! It features the '83 Fullerton Reissue '57 neck that had a low shoulder C shape profile instead of the V profile originally found on a '57 Strat. The taper goes as follows  ,(.790" to .870" Taper). David Gilmour decided to take the neck off of his '57 Reissue Strat and put it on the Black Strat, which is still found on it to this day (alongside copies of the neck!) Fender Custom Shop has done a fabulous job on creating the dimensions of Gilmour's Black Strat neck. Here's a few points of interest to show you this isn't another Warmoth or Mighty Mite neck...

But first, some profile shots!































Although this might look exactly like the neck on the Black Strat, you might guess wrong. It should be noted that the FCS DG neck is a one piece maple neck, when in fact the original Black Strat has a TWO piece maple neck (the second being a maple cap on the fretboard). Although this may seem insignificant, it is important to know that it was done (most likely as a refret gone resurface job). The following image is from Phil Taylor's book on the Black Strat.


The Black Strat & Original '57 Reissue Neck

Aside from that, it seems as this neck was build with a synthetic nut, which quite surprised me! I don't know anymore than the fact that this might be the wrong nut for his guitar, but I won't find out the real answer until it get's to the shop for final adjustment.

*Update: It was verified by Fender Custom Shop in Corona, CA that the ORIGINAL Black Strat had a synthetic nut installed for proper tremolo action. For this matter, I am having the white String Saver TUSQ XL Nut installed rather than having the Standard Synthetic nut offered by FCS.

Fender Custom Shop Synthetic Nut
Fender Custom Shop decided to keep the 12th fret dot's with the narrow spacing, found on original vintage necks as well as the original Black Strat. Note on the following photo, a real Fender neck has the nitro lacquered OVER the frets, NOT prior to installing the frets! This neck, because it is a '57 reissue, uses the 6230 Fret wire (.078" x .043").

12th Fret narrow-spaced Dot Inlay & Nitro Covered 6230 Vintage Fret Wiring
One piece on the neck that I cannot ever get my eyes off of is the spaghetti-style Fender Stratocaster Logo. This one is based on the late 50's style logo (duhh, it's a '57 reissue neck!). This also includes the decal "Original Contour Body" located on it's right side on the peghead. Just like the original, these waterslide decals are placed AFTER the nitro. Newer style necks have them underneath the clear coat. Remember those Tuner bushings! (more on those on a later post.)

'57 Spaghetti font Fender Waterslide Decal
Let's not forget the Custom Shop Decal located behind the peghead of the neck! This is NOT placed over the lacquer, instead it is UNDER the nitro lacquer! (On a side note, i've noticed quite a few Fender CS DG necks have just the Custom Shop decal, whether it's the NOS or Relic, but not with "When You're Ready" words below. Can mine be a one-off neck, or is it just me?!?)

Fender Custom Shop Decal

Fender Custom Shop even lacquered over the Truss Nut! Remember, this is a reissue, so no hole in the center of the Truss Nut like the originals (the same is seen on the Black Strat.)

Reissue Truss Nut
The last important piece of detail that will give a fake neck away is the writing on the underside of the neck (where is rests in the body neck pocket!). As you can see, it is stamped D-Gilmour, alongside it's production date and all those who were either QC or preparation.

Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Black Strat stamps & signatures

There you have it! One of the finest necks currently out on production, but are difficult to find by itself (it's sacrilegious to take a Black Strat apart!). This one particular neck was found on eBay, so chances are you can find one as well. Reminder though! This is a nitro lacquered neck, so when shipping from different states, keep in mind the weather changes and the humidity the neck will be exposed to. With sudden changes of weather to your neck, you may run the risk of a coating effect called "checking". In my case, I decided to install a hygrometer in the case to check humidity and to avoid an effect on such a beautiful neck! So far, we have the two main components of a guitar, so next on my checklist would have to be the tremolo! On the next post, I'll go in depth on the Tremolo used on the Black Strat and other interesting parts I got to get the original look!

David Sarmiento

#3. That extraterrestrial feel... Fender CS Black Strat Tremolo & other parts


We know how David gets his ethereal sound other than his hands. This was one of Fender's innovative device, the vibrato bridge nicknamed "Tremolo" (we know this is the wrong nomenclature!). To him, this is a crucial part to his tone and performance, so it is key to get all the pieces right for the Tremolo on Jewel.



There you have it! The Fender Custom Shop Tremolo! Man, was there a lot to see here when I got it! I'll go through each part quickly (most of these parts won't be use on the final build) and give you the layout of the Tremolo set I'll use on putting together this ultimate Black Strat Tremolo!


















Fender Custom Shop DG Black Strat Tremolo Block Beveled Edges

This is one of a few important details in parts needed for the Tremolo, the Tremolo Block. The Black Strat has a late 60's Tremolo installed, and during that era, Fender decided to use a block that has beveled edges rather than rounded like the earlier models and soon vintage reissues. This block has a similar mass much like its predecessor. This block will had a bit of a polish done before its final assembly to the Bridge Plate. It is only available through the Fender Custom Shop NOS or RELIC.











Second up is the Tremolo Bridge Plate. It is you basic chrome Tremolo Bridge Plate found on vintage Stratocasters. Note the gouges on the top of the plate (more on this upon guitar assembly.) This will be replaced with a Genuine Fender Vintage Chrome Bridge Plate (001-9470-000).












The second most important part in detail are the Bridge Saddles and hardware (more on this on another post.) Here is a breakdown and name to the components that make up the the Bridge Saddles. With this, you'll get a better understanding of why this will need to be modified later on the build!

#3 String Bridge Saddle Set

#3 String Bridge Saddle Set Breakdown

#3 String Custom Saddle Height Adjustment Screws (Par t# N/A)
*Black Strat NOS or Relic ONLY
#6 & #3 String Custom Saddle Height Adjustment Screws (Part # N/A)
*Black Strat NOS or Relic ONLY











Intonation Screw (001-5693-000)
Custom Intonation Springs (Part # N/A)
*Black Strat NOS or Relic ONLY










"Fender/Fender" Bridge Saddle (Top)
"Fender/Fender" Bridge Saddle (Bottom)










Below are all photographs and captions of other parts designated for the Tremolo set.


Bridge Plate to Block Mounting Screws (001-9659-049)

Bridge Plate to Body Mounting Screws (001-6170-049)











Tremolo Springs (003-1643-000)
Tremolo Claw Adjusting Screws
(Angela Instruments Nickel Neck Plate Screws)











Tremolo Claw (Top)
*Black Strat NOS or Relic ONLY
Tremolo Claw (Bottom)
*Black Strat NOS or Relic ONLY












Lastly, the one part that every knows when it comes to the Tremolo, the Shortened Tremolo Arm. This will be used as a reference to one that works for me (that'll have to wait for shop day!).

Shortened Tremolo Arm
*Black Strat NOS or Relic ONLY




Shortened Tremolo Arm & Tip
Tremolo Arm Tip
(Will not be used on this build!)












As for all the other components pictured, most will be used on this build. This will be the Strap Buttons,  Strap Button Screws, and Extra Tremolo Spring Pouch with Tremolo Springs (all with working part numbers too!). Everything else is just for you to see the components on a NOS Black Strat. Parts that do not have a part number are probably only available through the Black Strat (it will be noted on the picture of the item). Like I mentioned before, EVERYTHING is available to buy online or at any music store.

Strap Buttons (099-4915-000)
Strap Button Screws (099-4915-000)










Jack Ferrule (Outside)
Replaced with (099-1940-100)
Jack Ferrule (Inside)
Replaced with (099-1940-100)
 












Tremolo Back Plate Cover (Outside)
Possibly replace with FCS Black Plate
Tremolo Back Plate Cover (Inside)
Possibly replace with FCS Black Plate












Tremolo Springs Pouch


Here's a picture of the Tremolo fully assembled.


There you have it! This is what is offered with the Fender CS NOS Black Strat. Looks like there's going to be a few things that I'll need to upgrade or simply replace. Looks like that will be for another post! Now that I got the third most important parts, looks like I'll to find the famous black acrylic pickguard!

David Sarmiento