Looking for a SSS Strat to install a Gilmour "Black Strat" pickup set. Anyone Soloking?

Piing

Piing

Axe-Master
I have a set of Seymour Duncan SSL-5 and Fender Fat 50's inside a drawer. I've started looking for a inexpensive Strat to install them, but the more options I look, the more I get into trouble.

I started considering a Soloking MS-1 Classic SSS ($240). Soloking is a Indonesian brand. They seem to have a good quality control, and they use good materials. American Alder, Canadian Roasted Hard Maple, SS frets, Locking Tuners...
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Doubling the price I've discarded the Squire Classic and alike, as they seem to be exceeded in several ways by that cheaper Soloking

Raising the bar I started considering one of my favorites: the $670 Schecter Nick Johnston Diamond Series (I regret having sold my NJ Custom Shop USA).

But looking at the Soloking Catalogue I've just found their Custom Shop Series, and now I am captivated by their MS-1 Artisan ($579)

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And here is where my trouble begins. First, my pickups are white. And second, these pickups are probably great. My objective was to find a cheap guitar to give a home to my stray pickups, but now my mind is blurred with a mixture of GASes :eek:

Anyone has experience with Soloking?

 
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Andy Eagle said:
For a start no they don't have good QC the budget is simply not there for this. How about a Mexican Strat. The key advantage is everything will fit it. You can replace any part with confidence that isn't even true on the Squire.
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I've seen a Fender Highway 1 USA body for $270. Buying only the body can be an option because I have a unused American Deluxe Strat neck (or, alternatively, the Warmoth scalloped neck that I've installed on the American Deluxe)

What is your opinion about the Highway 1 body? Worth that price to fit with the Fender or the Warmoth neck? I don't know if it is a lot money for just a body


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Piing said:
I've seen a Fender Highway 1 USA body for $270. Buying only the body can be an option because I have a spare American Deluxe Strat neck (or, alternatively, the Warmoth scalloped neck that I've installed on the American Deluxe)

What is your opinion about the Highway 1 body? Worth that price to fit with the Fender or the Warmoth neck? I don't know if it is a lot money for just a body


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Jump on this. My Strat of 20 years is a 2002 Hwy. 1. A replacement trem bar shouldn't be hard to find.
 
Agree with others here. Staying Fender shouldn’t be too hard. I went with a Strat Plus from 97 for my Gilmour build, I paid $700 for that US made genuine Strat. I almost paid as much for what was in the pickguard! It turned out nicely, though, and would be well worth saving a little longer.

As Andy noted, the Mexican Strats are also a good option, as are the H1 series. Too many good OEM options to go away from the brand of the original!

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I'd go with that because it has a USA vintage trem on it and a thin nitro finish. Assuming those parts com with it ,bargain if they do .
 
Another Highway 1 under my radar. But $200 without hardware, $340 with bridge and loaded pickguard. I think it is a pass. What is your opinion?


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I found my Classic 50’s Strat for $300 on FB last year, from all of them I’ve played, they’re quite consistent, I’m just not a fan of the smaller frets and 7.25” radius. I think my stance on Strats is if it’s going to be a custom spec’d build, I’ll MJT/Musikraft it, if it’s just a guitar to throw extra parts into, I’d probably just go with an MIM Fender because there’s so damn many on the used market for cheap. No guessing games or surprises, you pretty much know what you’re going to get.
 
Interesting tour at the Soloking factory.

At 5:15 you can see a Ibanez neck. Somebody asks at the comments, and they reply that at their factory they also build necks for Ibanez.

 
I cannot stop playing this guitar. With the ODS-100 Clean and the new Hot Cake it is Strat Heaven. I feel sorry that I don't have more time to play my other guitars.

But I am having a problem with the first string 1) it sounds much lower than the others, even adding a compressor 2) It doesn't sound round and clear; it has a kind of phase artifact, which makes it even more weak

Action at the 12th fret is 1.5 mm and it doesn't have fret issues. The strings are fresh NYXL 09-42. Adjusting pickup height doesn't help

What could be the cause?

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Piing said:
I cannot stop playing this guitar. With the ODS-100 Clean and the new Hot Cake it is Strat Heaven. I feel sorry that I don't have more time to play my other guitars.

But I am having a problem with the first string 1) it sounds much lower than the others, even adding a compressor 2) It doesn't sound round and clear; it has a kind of phase artifact, which makes it even more weak

Action at the 12th fret is 1.5 mm and it doesn't have fret issues. The strings are fresh NYXL 09-42. Adjusting pickup height doesn't help

What could be the cause?

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Have you tried lowering the bass side of the pickup(s) so the skinny E side is a bit higher than the fat E side? Quite frequently that is what makes a Strat style single coil balance best. Probably only needs a turn (360 degrees) or at most two to make the difference. This also combats what is often called "Strat-itis" where you get slightly out-of-tune sounding harmonics in about the 10th fret and up area on the wound strings from the magnetic drag caused by the rod magnets being a little too close....
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
Have you tried lowering the bass side of the pickup(s) so the skinny E side is a bit higher than the fat E side? Quite frequently that is what makes a Strat style single coil balance best. Probably only needs a turn (360 degrees) or at most two to make the difference. This also combats what is often called "Strat-itis" where you get slightly out-of-tune sounding harmonics in about the 10th fret and up area on the wound strings from the magnetic drag caused by the rod magnets being a little too close....
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I have tried an extreme angle, but it didn't correct the issue. The first string is still too weak. Second string volume is normal, even with flat pickups
 
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