new hardwear

ok, i have a strat copy i like, cause it was my dads, and im planing on buying new pick ups, pick guard, getting a new finish so all the little marks go away and what not. any advise before i go out and buy a bunch of crap i will probobly not need, lol?

Yes.
All that stuff will probably make a bigger hole
in your wallet than a real used strat would.

Count the cost first, what brand guitar is this?, there are some good copies that make great guitars, and there are copies that aren't worth a new set of strings, price the items you want to replace/upgrade, figure in what the new finish is going to cost, add it all up, look at some used Fender Strat prices, how close are the two? If you have a good quality copy and just want a good player, then you might save some cash, resale is not good for copies, but thats a different story, on the bright side I guess, be aware that their are many Fender Strat owners, who have or are planning to do the same thing you are, and the name on the headstock is not much of a guarantee of quality these days........

lol, well its a univox, and at the very least, im going to get a finish cause its really old and has been knocked in to something about a million times, lol.

If you do buy a real strat, here's a piece of advice:

Whatever you do, dont buy a mexican strat.
A good mexican might cost something like 4-800
bucks. Thats outrageous.
There are'nt any significant differences between
japanese and american strats.
Well, not anymore.
Japanese strats have sucke troughout the history,
but for the last 10 years they have improved
dramatically. And today, they are just as good
as the american ones.
Just make sure, if you buy a japanese, it isnt
too old. 1995 to present will work fine.
Sorry I cant give you any advice on any other guitars,
strats are sort of my field.

If you keep the Univox, Im sure that
will work out fine too.
I based that on a user review from harmony-central.
He seemed to be pleased with it.
Read it:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Univox/Strat-Copy-01.html



[Edited by mc9mm on 07-18-2002 at 09:32 AM]

dude i have a mexican fat strat deluxe and belive me that sound you cant get from standart american strat..
you shall check every guitar because the standart mexicans sucks usualt but models like mine can be very good.
my guitar has the sound of SRV's guitar (tex mex pick-ups) and i belive that in a few years it will sound even better

i have a samick strat copy that works fine for me. i would recommend not doing all that stuff for your univox unless it has extreme sentimental value or something. its not worth the money.


(v)
i just wanted to try that weird m thing.

I got a Tex Mex fat strat second hand (I paid about $400 from a local store). It plays fine and holds its own next to my USA made strat. The Mexican strat I left in the UK also plays fine. The only difference I can see it the soldering under the scratch plate of the Tex mex strat is a bit messy (this doesn?t effect the sound). I like nice guitars (others include a PRS CE24) and Im very glad to have the Tex Mex fat strat with out paying through the nose for a US made one. My point is, keep an open mind and use your ears and hands to decide if a guitar is any good rather than relying on the reputation of a makes name, if the guitar was a dog Id never have brought it !

Indecently the USA strat I have has a Seymour Duncan cool rail bridge PU and stock middle and neck PUs. I really like this arrangement and as you were originally asking about refurbishing guitars thought Id mention it.

(V)

there! i think that is the m thing. cool.