Youth Sentiment - Fender Antigua Strat

MisterE

MisterE

Fractal Fanatic
When I was 16 I went to London to buy my first Fender Stratocaster. I had set my mind on a Natural Ash, but when I arrived at the Fender Soundhouse they had just received the new Antigua Strat.... I doubted strongly then but I stuck with my first thought. But the thought of an Antigua Strat has always stuck....
until now. I found one on Reverb.
I was taking @Andy Eagle 's advice that the Mexican 70's strats are a good starting point.
The frets needed a bit of love and care.
Not to fod of the pickups though.
I'm wondering what upgrades I should consider - tuners, bridge, pickups,...

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It will be better than the originals.
Suhr 70s would be good depends what you'r aiming for. I would replace the bridge but again it depends if you want vintage looks but better or just a direct replacement. Tell us what you would like and I can make some suggestions.
 
I changed the bridge on my S9 Strat with a Gotoh GTC-101TS and I'm very pleased with that.
Maybe locking tuners but not sure which would fit:
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As far as pickups are concerned....
I've been using Kinmans quite a lot and I like them. (Woodstock, The Scoop,...)
Mainly Noiseless.
But I do like the originals in my 70's Strat (S9) and even the MFD's in my G&L Legacy.
They all get me in Blackmore teritory :)
 
These are the only direct fit locking tuners.
kluson-6-in-line-locking-revolution-series-f-mount-tuners
I would keep the originals because I have never had an issue keeping split shaft vintage tuners in tune if everything else is right.
Dimarzio Areas are my personal favourite noiseless but I generally prefer the best single coils I can find. Lollar are reliable and not particularly expensive. They also have flush poles as an option.
 
I have a set of BN Cobras lying around.
I had them for a short while in my G&L Legacy and remember they were quite different from the G&L Blades and even the Seymour Duncans.
Would be a totally different thing though.
 


This is a very good representation of the Ron Ellis pickups by a good player with quality clips for you to hear. This is how much difference you get at the top end of the market.
 
I'm always very wary about overpriced stuff.
If you look at the price of the materials and production costs and then see the final price....
I'm under the impression that some people found the way to turn copper into gold :)
And some people think that the price is in direct relation to the quality and that's what these manufacturers are taking advantage of.
 
MisterE said:
I'm always very wary about overpriced stuff.
If you look at the price of the materials and production costs and then see the final price....
I'm under the impression that some people found the way to turn copper into gold :)
And some people think that the price is in direct relation to the quality and that's what these manufacturers are taking advantage of.
Click to expand...
It's not always that simple . If you are trying to replicate vintage parts down to the composition of the steel ( Like Throbak ) it's going to cost way more and you won't have economies of scale on your side either. Vintage accurate can easily cost many multiples of the cost of available generic components and make possibly only a marginal difference in the final sound . When that is the thing that you'r looking for (that last 5% and the exact tooling marks that the originals had ) it is still worth it to many . A standard far price for a quality pickup would be Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan then you pay more for hand winding by someone who understands exactly what they are doing. Then you start to get in to the materials and then finally the vintage accurate materials and perfectly replicating the appearance . There is a lot of scope to cost a lot and not be remotely overpriced. Look at the Video of the PRS DGT SE and how G&B made the pickup. They had to use the things they had at the price and try to get it as close to the sound of the USA version using poly wire and the bobbins and magnets from the local suppliers. The $10 price was not flexible, everything else was. When you buy a hand made high end pickup you need to make sure that it isn't just marketing and the same parts G&B use because they exist too. Take the cost of a SD 59 and a SSL1 as a fair base and ask what else it is your are paying for if the price is significantly higher.
 
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Luckily for me, I'm not into vintage :)
I don't care to reproduce the sound of the 50's.
I for one don't believe that they somehow found the holy grail back then and later on, nobody was able to top that.
For me, it's just different and I'm even convinced that with today's production methods, they can make things better, much more precise and surely more consistent than in the old days.
It would be like saying that the cars in the 50's were better than they are now.
Guitars have evolved too.
You yourself pointed out that for example a 16" radius is much better than a 7,25" radius or even a 9,5" for that matter.
I don't like the vintage truss rods, especially when you have to take off the neck to adjust is, and so on....
So why would modern pickups be worse than vintage ones?
And I know, some are going to say they have something magical, 3D (whatever that may be) and so on but there's no way anyone will be able to convince me.
It's like some people are convinced that an expensive champagne is better than a cava where I know a wine expert has repeatedly proven in blind tests that it isn't necessary so.
But I respect your opinion and insight and definitely all the info you're providing and I'm very grateful.
It's just not for me.
There's a price point where I won't go over.
So I'll stick with the SD's and DM's and sorts although I'm convinced they've also become a bit overpriced lately.
Seems like everyone has taken advantage of the latest crisis to raise their prices....
 
I totally agree.
I've been trying all kinds and got interested in the low gain pickups and the SD '59 worked best for me.
It even works well in a HSS setup.
I had a custom '78 and a new '78 but still preferred the '59.
 
@Andy Eagle
Andy, I was looking to get a set Kinman E69 (the ones Burgs also liked) since I'm familiar with them and I like them.
But...the Kinman site is down....again
So I've been reading up on the DiMarzio's you recommended.
Seems like they use a similar system to Kinman to eliminate or al least reduce hum.
Apparently a lot of people recommend the 61/57/67 setup for bridge-middle-neck.
Would you agree with this?
 
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