Hello

I am doing up a Stratocaster and changing various bits and bobs, mainly pickups, pots etc

However, this got me wondering…how many changes and upgrades does a guitar have to go through until it is classed as a partcaster?

Would like your opinion on this

The Stratocaster currently has a C shaped rosewood fretboard but I am debating changing it for a maple fretboard

Thanks

 

Tough question to answer so the best advice I've ever read on the topic is either,
1: Build a guitar you want and intend to keep or
2: Be prepared to lose up to 1/2 the value of the parts.
If you do sell it and it has some genuine Fender components you're better off selling it as parts. The people most likely to make offers will do so as they have someone in mind to sell it to. And they'll go so far as to value Mightymite parts lower than, Musikfraft or Warmoth.
If you're taking a regular strat and all changes you make are reversable then it'll lose no value at all - but you likely knew that already.
Have fun. Cheers!
*edit: typo's

 

Pickups have the biggest influence on the sound, so for as long as pickups are original, I consider it a Fender Stratocaster.

 

As long as the body and neck are original it's a Fender Guitar, and any other changes are reversible hardware upgrades.

 

Last edited: Oct 31, 2023

if you change anything other than the strings, its a partscaster. Its the law..
David Gilmour played a partscaster, its okay...

 

Tried buying cheap guitars and fixing them up but found it was better just to find what I wanted in the first place and buy it.
Both cost money but you lose a lot less resale value on a well made all original guitar.

 

Thing 1: Keep the switched out parts around and bring your Frankencaster back to spec before you decide to sell it as to not lose it's inherent value.

 

In my view, if the guitar still have the original body AND neck, is not a partscaster. In my strat, I changed pickups and tremolo springs, snapped a Callaham bridge, added a bone nut and swapped the pickguard, but the body and neck (both from year 2000) are original and of the same guitar. So, NOT a partscaster. But that's only my opinion.

 

Over the years on my 1974 LP Custom, I put in 2 original 59 LP PAF pickups, then for each pickup I added treble bleeds, a Gibson TP6 tailpiece, a set of Grover 103 series tuners with pearloid buttons, then later on added 2 Fender Tone-X circuits. All my electric guitars are custom modded by myself with different features, I don't intend on ever selling any them so I don't care if they are not 100% original.

 

I love the idea of the TP6 tailpiece and might pick up a TP40 for the Matsumoku Westone Thunder that I'm working on if it fits. I don't know what the Fender Tone-X circuits are though.

 

The tone-x I referred to is the Fender TBX Treble Bass Expander Tone Control Potentiometer Kit, it is quite inexpensive now between $10-$15 when I bought mine in the 80's they were $40 each. It makes such a difference in tone that I installed them on all my guitars to replace the stock tone controls, it has a center detent at 5 position on the knob which helps quick adjusting while playing and I find that a slight adjustment in either direction really makes a notable difference on my guitars. As for the Gibson TP-6 it is really great for quickly adjusting the tuning without having to reach for the tuning keys while you are playing.

 

Last edited: Nov 18, 2023

A generic TP-6 is now available on Amazon for around $30. seems like a great deal I paid over $200 for my gold gibson TP6 over 25 years ago.
https://www.amazon.com/Guyker-Guitar-Bridge-Tailpiece-Matic/dp/B07SNGC7QR?th=1