A 70's style Strat back in the shop to complete it's Lowell George-esque setup with a Tele bridge pickup and Alembic Blastor preamp. Above the body is being routed out for a Seymour Duncan Tele bridge pickup. I forgot to photo the method used to enlarge the bridge in the pickguard (yes, a Tele bridge pickup is bigger than a Strat pickup). What I did was to take a Tele bridge, double-stick taped it to the pickguard and used a violin knife to pare away the excess. It worked fairly well.

The owner found a NOS original Blastor from the 1970's (not the newer Blaster / Strat-o-Blaster). Pictured above is the back of the body is being routed out to accept a 9V battery box to power the Alembic preamp. A battery box is not required, but it's nice to have easy access. You can install the battery under the pickguard but it can be a pain having to take off the pickguard for each battery change. I would not install a battery box on a vintage instrument. Also note that we ended up lowering the action at the nut considerably from last time it was in.

on the bench

Lowell George setup :: 2001 Fender Stratocaster [7.5 lbs]

Getting lucky with a dead pickup :: Yamaha FGX-412SC [5.2 lbs]

Made in Mass, not mass made.

LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS