Michael Karoli Inspired Fender Stratocaster Relic. Final Specification – (@1965, “Pre-CBS” form)

SPECIFICATION

Body

• Body: Alder – 2 piece, 1.90kg
• Body Shape: Vintage 50’s Stratocaster, by guitarbuild.co.uk
• Body modifications: Additional DIY “Clapton” rout, under scratchplate – for onboard FX circuit
• Body Finish: True, “one-off” reliced finish. “Aged” black nitrocellulose lacquer, over lacquered 24ct gold leaf, and red oxide base coat.

Neck

• Neck: 2020 Fender “Road Worn” 60’s Stratocaster neck
• Number of Frets: 21
• Fret Size: Fender “Vintage tall”
• Position Inlays: White dot
• Neck profile: “Mid 60’s C”
• Fretboard Radius: 7.25″
• Fretboard: Pau Ferro – toned with Crimson Guitars brown spirit stain, and Montypresso relic wax. Custom “rolled” fretboard edges
• Neck Material: 1 piece maple
• Neck Finish: Fender “Road Worn”. Rubbed-back and toned with Montypresso relic wax
• String Nut: Polished bone (aged)
• Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm)
• Scale Length: 25.5″ (64.8 cm)
• Neck Relief: <0.012″
• Strings: D’Addario, Nickel Wound – EXL110 – .010 .013 .017 .026 .036 .046
• String Action at 17th Fret: Treble Side – 4/64″ (1.6mm), Bass side – 5/64″ (1.8mm)
• Neck Plate: Reliced, genuine Fender “F” – 4 Bolt, chrome neckplate

Electronics

• Pickup Configuration: S/S/S
• Body Shielding: Heavy grade, copper sheet, with conductive adhesive backing
• Bridge Pickup: Fender “Pure Vintage” ’65 with “Vintage” staggered poles, 5.9K
• Middle Pickup: Fender “Pure Vintage” ’65 with “Vintage” staggered poles, 5.9K
• Neck Pickup: Fender “Pure Vintage” ’65 with “Vintage” staggered poles, 5.9K
• Pickup Switching: Standard Stratocaster, 5-Position Blade – Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle pickup, Position 3. Middle pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck pickup, Position 5. Neck pickup.
• Controls: Volume – (with “Master Tone Modification”), Tone 1 – Tone adjustment – all pickups, “Tone 2” – Operates built in fuzz circuit, (one-knob operation – pull=”on”)
• Onboard FX: “C’Sound, 1 Knob Fuzz” kit, by Jed’s Peds. (Coloursound Fuzz clone).
• Onboard FX Power: Custom 9V battery supply, (clip type), built into tremolo spring cavity
• Jack Socket: Switchcraft “Mono”Stereo” socket
• Pots: 2 x CTS TVT (“True Vintage Taper”) 250k, 1 x CTS 500k push/pull (audio taper)
• Tone Capacitor: 0.047 µF “Orange Drop” (Cornell Dubillier)
• Treble Bleed System: 0.001 µF “Orange Drop” (Cornell Dubillier), with 150K resistor
• Wiring: Cloth covered, 22 gauge

Hardware

• Hardware: Reliced Nickel/Chrome
• Tuners: Fender “Road Worn” vintage style tuners. Reliced nickel
• Bridge: Aged, Fender “Vintage Style” Tremolo bridge, (from 2003 Fender “Classic 50’s” Stratocaster), with aged Fender “Pure Vintage” Saddles, and heavy tremolo block upgrade
• Jack Plate: Gotoh aged Stratocaster Jack Plate – Reliced chrome
• Switch Tip: Aged White, Fender “Pure Vintage”
• Tremolo Arm/Handle: Not fitted. (Tremolo fully blocked)
• Scratchplate: Used, reliced, retro scratchplate – Aged White, 3-ply (WBW), wide bevel
• Underplate Shielding: Fender Aluminium Pickguard Shield
• Pickup Covers: Reliced, Aged White
• Knob Set: Reliced, Aged White
• Rear Cover: Single-ply, Parchment, (from 2003 Fender “Classic 50’s” Stratocaster)
• Strap Buttons: Gotoh aged “Vintage style” – reliced Nickel, with black felt washers and red “Grolsch” strap locks

Accessories

• Guitar Strap – Souldier, Custom Made – “Stripe” Black/red – Recycled seatbelt with Vintage fabric – Black leather ends – Silver hardware
• Vintage G&G Fender Deluxe Hardshell case – Black, with black plush interior

This relic project build has a convoluted and meandering history – (it’s all covered here) – but suffice to say, it wasn’t always intended to be a relic project. That came sometime later – after I’d abandoned some original experiments in gold-leafing a Stratocaster body. The thing that really began to drive the build in a new direction, was me re-reading Julian Cope’s “Krautrocksampler” during lockdown, (I wanted to try and listen to every one of his top 50 recommended LP’s). Fixating on that line about Miki Karoli being, “a wizard and a true star” – I had this idea of him literally turning his instrument to gold as he played it. A kind of shamanic, alchemical transformation… Instead of his actions just wearing away the finish – the magic of his performances would reveal pure gold under the paint…

I’ did also want to’ve also been trying to find suitable projects, with which to experiment in process for relicing a guitar. In some ways – it’s always a useful thing to fall back on, if you’re not entirely sure how well a particular finish might work out. Whilst it’s always rewarding to produce a “pristine” and perfect piece of work – accidents will, (and do), happen. And often, when you leave things to chance – things can often go a completely different way to that you were originally expecting. Serendipity is an often an under-acknowledged, yet crucial part of the design process.

The original plan for the body also started with an intention to incorporate a Fender MBX/TBX active circuit – but all that had fallen away over time. I found that I really didn’t have that much interest in doing an “Eric Clapton” type build, and the thought of actually posessing a gold guitar didn’t really interest me – other than on a strictly process level. But once I’d decided to reinvent it with the Can maestro in mind – it occurred to me that the under-scratchplate recess I’d carefully routed, would make the perfect place to conceal a small onboard fuzz unit instead. I was not only now going to be experimenting with relicing techniques – I’d also have to learn how to solder up an FX board. Even with my eye problems stabilised for a while, at least – it made sense to buy a well sourced DIY kit, and to try and get something with a simple one-knob operation. That way – I’d be able to sacrifice one of the three usual control knobs, and still have reasonably flexible control with the remainder.

When it came down to creating a reliced finish over the lacquered gold leaf – I initially started with a gloss colour coat, (black, of course), with a full gloss clear coat over the top. Being aware that simply sanding back through all of the layers can sometimes prove unpredictable, (you can’t always control how fast you abrade through the various layers) – I actually ended up contriving some of the shading over the arm cutaway, by controlling the colour coat application and spraying a gradual gradient, instead of trying to reveal one by sanding alone. The clear coat over the top then acted like a buffer layer. After that – if I did happen to overdo some of the apparent “wear and tear”, (and at first, I certainly did…) – I could simply re-spray locally with colour coat, and cover over. This additive/reductive process eventually led to a few areas of “apparent historical repair“. Individual “character” marks that hint at some kind of chronological narrative.

As I continued work, I gradually began to realise that, what might be called “heavy relic” damage, tended to look much less natural than just a few, well placed, dings and scratches. Where relic marks penetrated the gold leaf – they sometimes left dramatic, wound-like red wealds as the oxide base coat was revealed. In a few other places – the gold leaf is revealed… or the alder wood of the body blank, itself… Too much of this began to look ridiculous, and unconvincing. In many places – wet-sanding the surface back, to provide a weathered look – actually just prepared the surface for more colour and clear coats. Weathering and yet repairing the surface, at the same time.

When it came to the actual patina of the piece – a gloss top coat would obviously look too “new”, (although the protective benefits of a sealing coat were clear). A lacquer top coat has a protective function, as well as a decorative one. In the end – I used 0000 grade wire wool to gently abrade a fully polished clearcoat over the whole guitar body. The result helped bring all the other processes together, and the finish, under the clearcoat looks like part of the body – rather than looking like a painting of a finish, on a body, (if you see what I mean). Wherever the wear has broken through to the wood underneath – the clearcoat was rubbed right back. Otherwise – the gloss coat is dulled to an overall soft, satin sheen which – when buffed with carnauba wax polish – is subtly irregular, and looks like it’s been dulled by handling over many years. Sure – it’s contrived and artificial – but the guitar looks like it’s been around the block a bit, and yet still cared for…

Another separate aspect of the relic process – is how you deal with the metal parts. On an old instrument – these would normally “de-shine” naturally. They might even rust. However – rusting parts are usually the sign of a badly looked-after instrument and, again – most “heavy relic” parts can easily look out of context. The problem with manually ageing metal, (especially if it’s a plated piece), is that you can quickly abrade through the layers, and it’s not always apparent, exactly what lies underneath. Sometimes it’s brass… sometimes nickel – and occasionally, (and especially with chromed pieces) – a layer of copper lies between the chrome and the base metal. Let’s face it – mistakes can often be expensive. What you actually need to do, to make it look as if something is worn with use – is to just subtly shade the metal, without physically damaging the plating too much.

I tend to use two methods, (or go through a combined process, which involves both). One way of simulating damage over time – is simply to devise a way to reproduce some of the individual rubs, scratches and dints, which are normally accumulated over time – but obviously, in an accelerated manner. For that – I often simply put the components in a strong canvas bag, along with all manner of screws and bolts. Then – shake, (or tumble), the parts for as long as you like – (constantly checking, as you go, to gauge the level of “wear”). It can take a while, but eventually, the parts become covered with tiny random scratches. That seems to be the way that a lot of the commercially pre-reliced parts appear to have been created. (I used a lightly pre-reliced jack socket by Gotoh on the build, and used it as a guide, to try and find ways to create similar levels of wear on some of the other components). Wherever tumbling the parts isn’t practical – the surface can be initially roughed up using very fine wire wool, with a little oil as lubricant, and applied in a random motion, to lightly scour the surface. This allows you to carefully target areas of wear, and was particularly useful for things like the tremolo plate, where some areas would have naturally been more exposed to wear than others, and where the effects of tumbling might end up looking a little bit too “general“.

A second ageing technique for metal, is to use a chemical etch, (in this case – Ferric Chloride, or “PCB etch“). The etch will eat away at different metals at different speeds – and it will, eventually, eat away at even the hardest, outermost, protective layer. On chrome – that can sometimes take a while – wheras with nickel, it’s usually much quicker. It’s sometimes useful, therefore, to “rough up” a new chrome surface, before exposing the metal to the etch. However – wherever surfaces have been damaged by tumbling – the etch will penetrate that little bit faster – and effects can become unpredictable. Consequently – you have to be really careful and precise about how long you leave any parts in the etch. It’s usually a good idea to err on the side of caution, and to build up treatments in stages if necessary. I generally find that somewhere between twenty and thirty seconds is usually more than enough to take the shine off chrome and polished nickel – but it will ultimately depend on the thickness of the plating.

Using the etch dulls the shine considerably, and wherever the metal has been previously tumbled – the etch can seemingly soften the “blizzard” effect – resulting in a more natural-looking, shaded patina. To stop the corrosive effect – it’s always important to wash the etch off the metal properly with water, to stop the action – or it will continue down through the layers of plating, right down to the base metal. (If you want a “heavy relic” rusted look – leave the parts wet after washing. Let them dry naturally for a day or so, and the metal will usually begin to lightly colour with rust). Once you’re done – a little black bison or brown relic wax to finish – and shiny new metal can begin to look artfully mellowed.

For small components like screws and springs – I usually buy pre-reliced items. If I have to take new screws, (say from a pickup set) and age them – I usually screw them all into a piece of foamboard – so I can stand them all together, with just the heads immersed in etch.

For plastic components – I usually buy pre-aged components, (they’re usually more cost effective), and the knobs and pickup covers here are an “aged white”, which ends up somewhere between “parchment” and “vintage white”. They colour matched my chosen scratchplate well, (and the scratchplate was the important cosmetic bit, I really wanted to get right). Again – you can buy “pre-reliced” scratchplates easy enough – but the process of ageing with most of those available, usually just involves abrasion and some judiciously applied dirt or wax. Depending on the artistry of the supplier – the effect can sometimes be convincing – other times wholly the opposite. You just can’t escape the fact, that natural-looking relic marks are usually deposited over time, by the actual act of playing. So – in choosing a suitable scratchplate for this project – I fell upon the opportunity of buying a used scratchplate, which had also, previously, been reliced. I ended up benefitting from both effects… a contrived, “pre-aged” look, (which even included a fake split, adjacent to the left hand neck pickup screw), and a few years natural wear and tear, by a real human being, on top of that. The end result has a certain authenticity, and it’s “condition”look” fits in well with the level of artificial ageing achieved on the body.

For the neck – I’d eventually chosen to go with a Fender “Road Worn” ’60s example – and this became a good way to check my ageing techniques against some of Fender’s own. The neck is a made in Mexico example, and although there’s some nice, (artificially induced), checking on the face of the headstock – it actually doesn’t show that well under normal light. (It photographs slightly better, with some sidelighting – as above). The neck plays nicely enough and – (presumably to prevent unnecessary damage to delicate playing surfaces) – any artificial “damage” marks are mostly limited to the edges of the headstock. However – they’re a little bit perfunctory – and look like they’re accomplished with just a couple of strokes to slightly bevel the, normally sharp, edges. It all looks just a little bit too planned… A little bit of additional detailing adds some much needed irregularity, and with matching Fender “Road Worn” tuners fitted – the final effect looks a little bit more natural, and convincing. Fitted to the body – the subtly modified neck pairs quite well.

All in all – the guitar plays as well as I could expect. Although Michael Karoli was probably more frequently pictured with a CBS style Stratocaster, (and later, sometimes even an all maple neck) – I’ve taken the liberty to model this particular Strat, more around a pre-CBS – 1965(ish) – form. For one thing – I personally prefer the 60’s neck spec, but if Miki had bought his first black Strat when he started studying guitar under, (his later band mate), Holger Czukay, and if he’d subsequently played that guitar – fitting different necks at different points of his career – then maybe, at some point in time – it might’ve looked something like this…

The onboard fuzz circuit certainly does it’s job – although maybe a different control pot might be more useful. As it is – and with the fuzz activated – the output is boosted to a level where it’s so loud, that you really only ever need to use the range between 1 and 4. (I might try a 1.0Meg pot, linear taper – to see if additional internal resistance, and a different taper profile helps). However – the fuzz combined with those Fender Pure Vintage ’65 pickups is certainly capable of producing the psychedelic edge I was looking for – and reducing the Strat to a, “one volume one tone” instrument doesn’t really make it any less practical, in the scheme of things. The same can be said for the blocked tremolo. I just don’t miss the option. It’s straightforward, fun to play – and I can fuzz it up without having to dig out, and hook up, my FX board.

So – the guitar – whilst not attempting to be a true “replica” of a Michael Karoli “signature” instrument – was an experiment in relicing, (for me), and is still “heavily inspired by” the man. Enough, perhaps?, to warrant the placing of a small gold “Ψ” (psi) decal on the upper curve of the scratchplate – to mark the guitar as unique. (The symbol was simply cut out from a gold coloured “Future Days” album cover decal, provided by someone on RedBubble). Miki’s inspiration also directly led to the choice of guitar strap. A custom made, red on black “Stripe” pattern by Souldier – is the closest I could find to match a strap Miki was pictured with, later in his career – with his offshoot project, Sofortkontakt .