Upgrades for Bullet Strat

[KC]

Well, I got the Barbie Ferrari in the mail yesterday -- a pink Bullet strat -- and by last night I had decided to send it back: sharp fret ends, and the string height adjustment screws don't fit the Allen key that came with the guitar. Well some of them do -- but the crucial ones don't.

But it rained last night & spoiled the box so I guess I'm stuck with it. What-all do I need to do to the thing? My plan was to put .11s on the thing with medium action & play slide on it (I've already got a pink tele with .10s for fingerstyle playing). Will the tuners hold up? And what can I do about the undersize Allen holes on those screws? Is there a cheap drop-in hardtail fix or something? I'll never ever use the trem on this thing. Pickups I'm undecided about -- the stockers seem hot but a little muddy, I'll be interested to see what they sound like with a little gain & heavy strings, might be OK. Any other thoughts?

A surprisingly good-looking guitar, anyway, and a good-feeling neck, apart from those fret ends. A little higher POS factor than I was expecting -- I'll be interested to see where I end up with it. (Hipshot and a P90? P13 in the neck? Lollar chicago steel? We'll see.) Thanks.

[sacizob]

Will the sharp fret ends bother you if your playing only slide? I'm not a slide player. You can buy any size allen keys at the local hardware store.

[KC]

yeah, the problem seems to be that the hole size isn't consistent -- the key fits some of the adjuster screws but not some others -- it's like they're overplated or something.

[stratphobic]

if you're going to upgrade, the first thing's i'd upgrade are the tuners and tremolo

[GigsbyBoyUK]

I guess trying a variety of allen keys might work. Or you can even adjust them with long nose pliers, although you need to slacken the string off first usually. Alternatively, a set of replacement saddles needn't cost too much.

Sharp fret ends should be easy to fix with some careful filing and finishing off with fine wet and dry paper.

If you are going to hardtail it, just screw the tremolo springs in tight so that the trem fits tight against the body. No need to change the whole unit.

Replacement tuners would probably be the best upgrade, but get the other stuff sorted first and play her for a while - if it stays in tune OK you won't need new tuners.

For the pickup, I might be tempted to get a single high-quality humbucker and fit it in the middle position, which is good because you just need to make the pickup hole in the pickguard bigger (careful filing does it) and then can use the existing holes for the height adjustment screws. It looks neat and avoids the need to buy a new pickguard, ie you still keep the neck and bridge pickups in but adapt it just for the humbucker in the middle.

You may find - as I did - that you use the humbucker on its own a lot, for slide especially (a nice Ry Cooder sound) but with the option of adding bridge of neck pickup for some variety. It also means you just have one pickup to buy, so you can get one good one for the same price as three OK ones. I did exactly this mod a few years ago and was really happy with the result.

[KC]

hey, thanks for the tips -- I did manage to wrestle the height adjusters into place -- if I backed off the string tension I could just barely grab the lip of the screw which was enough. Dropped an .11 set (tuned up to open E) and the tuners seem to be holding up pretty well with the extra tension. Current problem is that the neck seems too convex (?! with the extra tension but no relief at all when I grab first and last frets) and I can't seem to grab the truss rod adjuster screw. Might have to take that one string tree off to get a straight shot.

I like the humbucker idea -- is there a swimming pool rout down there? Haven't had the pickguard off yet. I also have a Lollar p-90 lying around from an abandoned project, might try to hack that in there.

a fun project so far. I have some vintage Hawaiian pinup decals on the way to take a little of the sting off the pink. This thing is really pink!

[tfsails]

Try using a ball allen wrench on the truss rod. It has a spherical end that allows you to get to the aduster from an angle. They come in really handy sometimes. This is a good excuse to buy yourself a set and then you'll have them for the rest of your life. They're not expensive.

My '04 Indonesian Bullet Strat has a swimming pool rout in the body. Maybe yours does too. The neck on this guitar feels really nice. You may try filing the edges of the fret ends. It also may be dehydrated and dried out. Good luck with it.

[KC]

update: played the Barbie Ferrari at practice last night. much good news: (a) the fret-end problem seems to be decreasing, might just have been dried out, should be east to take care of (b) the tuners seem to hold pretty well with the extra tension (.11 set tuned to open E) (c) the pickups are raw and hot, which is really good for slide. they have a lot more output than the Lollars in my tele, which is perfect -- I can just switch guitars and the hot pickups drive the amp that much harder, perfect for slide. I still can't seem to get a grip on the truss rod adjuster, though.

all in all the best $120 I've spent lately. the only thing on the menu for right now is a possible tuner swap and even that doesn't seem super-necessary at this point. How are those GFS Gotoh-style tuners?

[Slur_Sleven]

Slide is one of great use for that guitar - good thinking.

My daughter had me buy a sunburst for her from Elderly's @ the shop. They set up every new guitar in the shop as a policy, even their bullet strats; so they played suprisingly well.

I agree about the tuners and trem - not so good. It's my daughter's guitar, or gotohs would be on it now (I sometimes borrow it as a backup when I play out). If a tuner breaks, that is what will replace them.

Maybe the easiest way to hardtail it is tighten the trem springs til the trem lays flat on the body. With .11's you might need an extra spring, but you can try it as is and see if it lays down.

[voided3]

Originally Posted by GigsbyBoyUK

I guess trying a variety of allen keys might work. Or you can even adjust them with long nose pliers, although you need to slacken the string off first usually. Alternatively, a set of replacement saddles needn't cost too much.

Sharp fret ends should be easy to fix with some careful filing and finishing off with fine wet and dry paper.

If you are going to hardtail it, just screw the tremolo springs in tight so that the trem fits tight against the body. No need to change the whole unit.

Replacement tuners would probably be the best upgrade, but get the other stuff sorted first and play her for a while - if it stays in tune OK you won't need new tuners.

For the pickup, I might be tempted to get a single high-quality humbucker and fit it in the middle position, which is good because you just need to make the pickup hole in the pickguard bigger (careful filing does it) and then can use the existing holes for the height adjustment screws. It looks neat and avoids the need to buy a new pickguard, ie you still keep the neck and bridge pickups in but adapt it just for the humbucker in the middle.

You may find - as I did - that you use the humbucker on its own a lot, for slide especially (a nice Ry Cooder sound) but with the option of adding bridge of neck pickup for some variety. It also means you just have one pickup to buy, so you can get one good one for the same price as three OK ones. I did exactly this mod a few years ago and was really happy with the result.

+1 to everything.

I have two Strats with only a middle humbucker setup for slide and it's a great tone. With .011s, five springs in the tremolo will easily hold it down. I usually have to block the tremolo or use a different style of bridge as I use very heavy strings for open tuning slide, but you'll be fine with .011's. As for the saddles, the GFS stainless ones will drop in and work well (and are inexpensive); I have them on one of my guitars.

[mrtoulouse]

I have one just cause I wanted a fiesta-red strat :) they are AMAZING value for money, and sound great, though my bridge was decked from the facoty so was a bit stiff on the attack :) But thats just a matter of taste...

The fretwork on mine was near perfect, and certainly better than on many mexicans I have played/owned... The neck is a bit on the thin side, but thats nice for some funky rhythm parts imo... Not so great for bluesy stuff imo..

Overall great guitar, and sounds lovely with stock p/u's and surprisingly not noisy...

SUPER resonant body that means a lively guitar when plugged in, and light as a feather..

One thing that bothers me though is the wrong headstock-shape and the tuner-holes too close to the body-side of the guitar..... Minor issue, but does look wrong..

I personally have and would change the pickguard to a 3-ply, which imo is the only way to go with rosewood board....

Wish they made these with maple boards too.

The bridge is great, the p/u's are great, so yeah-.. pickguard and possibly tuners would be what I would do.

[JDRNoPro]

I recently picked up a lightly used 08 surf green Bullet (was called daphne but actually surf unlike latest ones).

Only changes are GFS SS saddles, new vintage style tuners (required enlarging peghead holes slightly), a 3 ply pickguard, and refinished neck with tru-oil.

Really nice player with the stock pickups and looks good too!