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| Standard Strat Gold Lettered Knobs in comparison to the Black Strat knobs |
This is one part that I see a lot of people trying to get in the correct manner, but always tend to buy the only available part that looks almost close, but not quite there. You know me right? I wouldn't want to skip the details. So once again, using the informative Internet to search high and low to find the right knobs that can go on this accurate Black Strat.
Well what do you know! I keep finding these great companies that really put their time in replicating vintage parts so someone like me can get something like the Black Strat put together in true craftsmanship!! This is Montreux '62 Nylon Gold-Lettering Strat Knob Set, made to satisfy those who are all about detail!
Based in Japan, Montreux (www.montreuxguitars.com) has gone as far as taking an original '62 Strat knob and creating an exact mold, as well as using the exact material found on the originals! Did I mentioned that they even used powdered bronze in oil to paint the letters and numbers? I was blown away to find these knobs here in the US! (Well, the guy I bought this from is American, but lives in Canada). The dealer for these parts is Gordon Miller of Gord Miller Vintage Restorations (www.gmvintagerestorations.com)
If you look closely, you can see that on the Black Strat, the font on the numbering is very similar to that on the Montreux knobs (look at the 1's and 3's specifically!). The font on knobs past the mid '70's soon changed and has been that way ever since. These knobs also feature the standard 3 spoke design internally and not the 4 spoke found on later models.
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| L: Standard Gold Knob C: Overdrive Green Knob R: Montreux Gold Knob |
Here is a comparison of three different knobs. The left is a Genuine Fender Standard Gold Lettering knob. The center is a Genuine Fender knob that has been custom colored by Craig of Overdrive. The right is the Montreux Gold Lettering knob. Why the green lettering in the center? Any why does Overdrive offer it?
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| Montreux Green Lettering '62 Knobs |
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| Montreux Green Lettering Relic '62 Knobs |
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| Original '70 Strat Knobs |
Here's a quick chemistry lesson. Bronze is a mix of copper and tin, the majority being copper. There are natural salts and acids released from your body in the form of sweat. Let's say that some of that salt is like the table salt we use (sodium chloride). Now, copper reacts to sodium chloride, as well as the oxygen and water in the air. Mix all that and soon you will see a reaction, creating copper chloride. But copper chloride is blue, not green. True, what really changes its color is the combination of acids released from sweat, further turning it to a dark green. There you have it, a simple reaction with a few basic elements and you turn bronze to a dark greenish color. To us, this seems like an actual color to the lettering and numbers, and therefore, is being replicated to give you that "used look". So far i've seen one company in Germany that has devised a way of authentically aging the bronze chemically, so it will give you true green from bronze. Only problem is, it's a standard knob, not the late '60 style! If you decided to go with the green coloring and NOT breaking your wallet on cost, Overdrive Custom Guitar Works is the first stop I would make!
So why the gold lettering knobs on this Black Strat? Like I mentioned in the beginning of this build, this will be a NOS guitar, so the actual chemical reaction will have to be done naturally, meaning I'll have to play it ALL THE TIME! Not a bad trade-off to get that true look, right? Or would you prefer pre-ripped jeans?
I'm starting to feel like it's the end of the road for me on this, but oh there is more to come! What can we talk about next? What was that about the other plastic parts? You mean the pickup covers? I haven't talked about that yet! Man is this one heck of a build. Let's see if Montreux has something up their sleeve for me!
David Sarmiento
