Body PARTS?? Allparts, Musikraft, Guitar Mill, stratosphereparts

[johnstratiwant]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to buy a strat style body for a build. Interested in 2 piece alder & lightweight (around 4Ibs).
I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/ experience of these suppliers -Allparts, Guitar Mill, stratosphereparts or any other


-Allparts: these tend to be the cheapest of all and seem to have nice reviews. Can get them on reverb.com

-Guitar Mill: saw on some forums that they provide good bodies but bit more pricer than Allparts. Releaised that they are the company that produces Mario Martin guitars. But does that mean guitar body resonates more and "better" than allparts body? I'm curious about this

-stratosphereparts: my other option is buying a fender body, I was thinking of eric johnson body in black (when they are available) but these are double the price (most expensive of all).



I was considering buying a body and then spraying with black nitrocellulose or acrylic laquer myself (to make it cheaper). The other option is buying an EJ black body but that is more expensive (but have better resale value if I do not wish to keep it). I'm wondering what you guys think, if anyone here had experience on building their own strat.

Thank you!

[Molly]

Have a look at MJT too. Oh, and Warmoth.

[Kev77]

All my instruments bar one are 100% Allparts .
I’ve always been happy with their wares

[Molly]

Airdad here on the forum has a lot of experience with partscasters too. He'll probably chime-in.

[johnstratiwant]

MJT sounded good but was wondering if i could save bit more $$ by painting my own.

I excluded MJT cause I realised that if you total the whole body (nitro paint + body + shipping)- its going to be around $700. But, these do not come with a tremolo (so will be a another $200 for fender parts)--> total of $900.

Whereas for extra $150 ~$200 more, i could get an EJ body with tremolo added from stratosphereparts

Have a look at MJT too. Oh, and Warmoth.

[jeremyb]

I bought a complete roadworn 60s strat in two orders from stratosphere (loaded body, then neck with tuners), saved $8-900 on retail here, they don't charge GST so if you keep the shipments under $1000 you're safe as houses at the border

[olegmcnoleg]

I think Warmoth are the best, in terms of wood quality, but yeah, the best value is probably Stratosphere if you are going top drawer.

[olegmcnoleg]

Assume you are after a vintage-style trem? If not, get in touch as I have a US Fender body from the 90s that has been refinished in black nitro—with 2-point trem

[Slowy]

Seems to me there are two factors to consider, accuracy of machining and quality/resonance of the wood.
The first one is easy; there's many reputable suppliers who have accurate products. The second is the tricky bit. Any supplier can receive a superb or a dud piece of timber. The cheaper the product, the more likely it is to be pot luck in what you get. I don't know for certain, but I'd hope one of the things I paid a premium for was a selection process that removed dull sounding wood.

Musikraft will get MJT to send them your body so they can match a neck to it. This is both expensive and encouraging; assuming you want an instrument to play as well as it looks.

On the cheaper end, I've got no complaints about Allparts. You don't get the choices available on more spendy options but their stuff is solid.

If you're after a quick and reliable result, an Allparts neck on Oleg's Strat body would be a great option.

[NippleWrestler]

Allparts stuff is good. Adrian's Radian necks are allparts built (then fine tuned here) and they're fantastic. Allparts used to supply fender japan as well. They know what they're doing.

[johnstratiwant]

I may be interested, is the body 2 piece alder and lightweight?

Assume you are after a vintage-style trem? If not, get in touch as I have a US Fender body from the 90s that has been refinished in black nitro—with 2-point trem

[johnstratiwant]

That's very true, any supplies can have both good and dud

I think I might pass on stratosphereparts body or any other fender bodies on reverb, unless real good deal. I feel like having a guitar that I made (painted and sanded if I be precise) would be more special for me.

saying that, I am in a situation where I should get an allparts body for around $300 or guitar mill/ warmoth body for around $500. It's an extra $200 but at same time I do not bind stretching the budget bit more.

Seems to me there are two factors to consider, accuracy of machining and quality/resonance of the wood.
The first one is easy; there's many reputable suppliers who have accurate products. The second is the tricky bit. Any supplier can receive a superb or a dud piece of timber. The cheaper the product, the more likely it is to be pot luck in what you get. I don't know for certain, but I'd hope one of the things I paid a premium for was a selection process that removed dull sounding wood.

Musikraft will get MJT to send them your body so they can match a neck to it. This is both expensive and encouraging; assuming you want an instrument to play as well as it looks.

On the cheaper end, I've got no complaints about Allparts. You don't get the choices available on more spendy options but their stuff is solid.

If you're after a quick and reliable result, an Allparts neck on Oleg's Strat body would be a great option.

[werdna]

I think Warmoth are the best, in terms of wood quality, but yeah, the best value is probably Stratosphere if you are going top drawer.

Plus one. Warmoth is as good as Fender.

[johnstratiwant]

So I can go a conclusion that I will choose either guitar mill or warmoth. I realised that shipping will be cheaper by $75NZD by using Youshop based on their estimate calculation, but I am not sure how accurate their estimate is

I'm seeing online that Warmoth is very popular, should i go with Warmoth instead of Guitar Mill?

[jeremyb]

Youshop will charge you gst, even if you pay gst to the online retailer!