Obie is a 1993 American Standard Stratocaster I picked up of off eBay, as I recall in '02 or '03. It was produced before the AmStd models switched over to the Delta-Tone system, so the stock pups are all about 5.8k, and it has a TBX tone control in the lower tone spot. Nicely broken-in or fairly beat-up, depending on your point of view (as landed, left). I wasn't too concerned with its looks, this was just gonna be another test mule for the rotary mods.
Shortly after it landed, I replaced the stock pups with the Vintage Vibe Standard-S set.
They're a little hotter than the stock Fender pups (used for that year), and they definitely improved the tone, to my ear.
Job #1: test mule for the FAT-O-Caster V.2. I also replaced the TBX pot with a standard 500K pot, wired as a master tone. Works great!
3/2005: Job #2: test mule for some custom Vintage Vibe mini-humbucker-sized single-coil pickups - the "Deaf and Eddie" set (shown, right). After only a short stay on Obie, this pickguard assembly moved over to another Strat (the "Black Magic" Strat) for a while.
5/2005: Job #3: test mule for Lace-style pups and my rotary mods. I loaded a set of Fender Lace Sensors (thanks, Stratman Dwight) on a one-ply white pickguard with a FAT-O V.3 and reinstalled the TBX as a master tone. It looks a lot like an EC model (below and left), don't it? But, without the preamp - it's all just passive, and the tone is not so over-the-top as the E.C. model with Fender's mid-booster preamp installed. It retains more "Strat-i-ness" IMHO. Still, the V.3's series combos give it a little extra "oomph," so it does kick a bit harder than an unmodded straight Lace setup - so, I called this the "EB" model, instead of the EC model. Look ma, no batteries!
While job #3 started out as just a mule for testing a FAT-O with Lace pickups, I have found that there's simply something about this axe... I liked the feel and action (along with Lace/V.3 setup) so well that I "excused" it from test-mule duty, and kept it configured that way for several years. I found that I was actually playing this ol' beater more than BoB, my newer, spiffier AmStd - go figure!
So how long did that incarnation last? Surprisingly, several years - but in February of '07, I finally swapped the original/stock Fender pups back in it, and, for the year that I was gigging again, it was always along as the backup axe (My ES-333 was my main axe for that band) - or, for when I got a wild Strat hare.
Speaking of wild hares... When I swapped the stock pups back in, taking a cue from the fact that the finish on this axe was rather "distressed" when I got it, I actually got out the 3M abrasive pads, a wood rasp, keys, and some other odds and ends and slightly "advanced" the already-reliced look of the finish on the body - I never touched the fingerboard. Boy, now this axe is just like home to me...
I've continued my experiments in "artificially aging" - yes, I may as well say it, it's become the dreaded "relic job." I'm taking it slow, just adding ding here and there, thinning the finish at a few common wear spots, got the cigarette burn thang on the headstock (still haven't done anything to the fingerboard)... I think it's really turned the corner now, its overall look going from that of an abused cast-off to something more like a treasured classic.
3/2009: I loaded it with my next experiment, the rotary-selectable/variable-capacitor-value tone control - I'll have to come up with a shorter name for it! Roto-Tone? Hmmmm... I took one of my 6-way rotaries and hooked up five caps of increasing value (one throw has no cap), and installed that in place of the master tone - NO POT. It's not an original idea, I pretty much copped this from the ToneStyler tone control, and simplified it greatly - but, I am digging it. I like it so much I may do it to all my Strats. Next up: try it in a Tele...
5/2009: My e-pal Dave Patterson sent me a set of Lindy Fralin Blues Specials to try out, and so Obie has them loaded now. This is my first set of Lindy's pickups, and the bridge pup has the metal baseplate, which I haven't tried before, so this should be fun. With the baseplate mod done, the V.3 is working just fine with these pickups AND the baseplate on the bridge.
Zingo! This axe just keeps getting better...
