[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by Noodler

....I tried looking everywhere to find what sort of amp that red thing Brad Paisley uses. I thought it looked like a Matchless, but couldn't see in his clips. So it's a Dr. Z?

Kinda going off on a tangent here, but since BP is one of my favorite artists (and Z's are my favorite amps!)... yeah, he plays a bunch of different Dr. Z amps. He's even played a part in the development of a couple of them (The Prescription ES and Stangray). There was a great article about him in Guitar Player magazine recently, and he is a total gear freak. His "reference" amp is an old Vox AC30 (also red, like his Dr. Z's) that he's had for many years - no matter what other amps he has, they're compared to that old AC30 because it's "his" sound. He's owned (and recorded with) numerous different models of Dr. Z amps. His "Z-Wreck" was a collaboration between Dr. Z (Mike Zaite) and the late Ken Fischer, who built Trainwreck amps (very rare, very beautiful, VERY expensive). There are only three "Z-Wrecks" in existence - Brad has two of them and Mike Zaite has the other one. I'm sure he has about a zillion other amps, but his main amps right now are his old AC30, the Dr. Z "Z-Wreck" and Stangray, another (newer) AC30 modded by Tony Bruno, and a Bruno Underground 30 (which is another AC30 derivative amp). He also has an original Fischer Trainwreck, which he says he seldom takes out on tour because it's so valuable and so rare....there are only about 100 Trainwreck amps in existance, and each one is individually named!

Originally Posted by Noodler

....Thought of replacing my neck, but there is no such thing as a replacement Tele neck with Fender on it. That's important if I ever wanted to sell it, because people buy just because of that name...and I kind of like looking down and seeing the badge there too!

Good point if resale value is important to you. I didn't care when I built my Partscaster because I'll never sell it.

Originally Posted by Noodler

....Thanks for the comments about cork-sniffery. It makes me feel better about the one I chose, especially since I bought Rosewood but like twang. I was just playing along with some Muddy Waters, and it is kinda nice.

Just remember that those are only my opinions - some would agree, while there are others who would strongly disagree with me on those points. I'm far from an expert, just another hack with an opinion.

Originally Posted by Noodler

....Not sure what you mean about the knots with the Klusons. I haven't changed the strings yet, so I'll take a closer look at that!

Klusons usually have a hole in the middle of the tuning post (going straight downward, not sideways) and a slot instead of the usual sideways hole. You cut the string to length, stick it straight down into the hole, bend the string into the slot and wrap it around the tuning post, then tune it up to pitch. It eliminates those long, loose ends on your strings that turn into sharp, blood-sucking points if you don't cut them off perfectly flush!

Originally Posted by Noodler

....Your parts-caster sounds great.

Thanks. It was my first build and I have to admit that I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Here's a couple pics of it (the sunburst in the second pic is my Hwy1 Tele):