ION Strat Copy, Anybody?

aha I used to own one of those guitars. Unfortunately I did not give it much attention though. I picked it up for $25 and traded it for a Marshall G80R.

 

redpaul1....wow,man...I do not mean to hurt your feelings, but have you watched your video?..I think you had the Roland Cube up too loud, overloaded the camera mike, turned audio into.....DooDoo...'

And, I see a tuner on the Ion......I am sorry to tell you, all respect, but, yer out of tune......You are showing 9 posts..now...I want you to keep going, Brother, but.........I Am FarFromPerfect.......willhowl

 

One of the best "strats" I've ever played and own is the one I got for my wife about 15 years ago for $65, it was a brand new old stock sell off Hohner brand in lovely surf green. Has an alder body, a really thick, lovely slab rosewood board, wonderfully finished frets and a very comfortable feeling neck.

The pickups were nice sounding alnicos, but they were pretty low output for some reason. I replaced them with a set of Fat 50's and to this day it's one of the first "strats" I go to if I need a strat tone.

A lot of these budget ones were built really well, but one either has to hit the luck of the draw if you don't know the history or research to find these low cost gems.

 

Actually, I did run into some issues with the holes not lining up, but I figured if the old holes are going to be hidden under the scratchplate, then, if I have to drill new holes, so be it.

What was unexpected was that the routing cavity for the pots was too narrow to accommodate the much wider bridge tone pot in the new scratchplate. I had to enlarge the 'tail' of the cavity by drilling a series of 1mm holes in a semicircle across the lower edge of the cavity, breaking off the lugs of wood that remained and sanding till smooth, until the bridge tone pot could drop in without catching on the sides. It took about an hour.

 

Yeah. I'd already come into enough grief from my dear partner in life's journey for turning her kitchen into a workshop, I had to really rush that video. As to the tuning, because I hadn't had time to let the strings settle after restringing... that's why the tuner was there

 

Hey, again, redpaul1....I totally understand.....Now, the deal is , I have an ION strat coming to me, so I am reading everything I can dredge up......I really like the idea of "fixing up, tuning up" low cost instruments, soo.........

I just like the way they look, too.....It's a learning tool........I'll Be Back..........willhowl

P.S....I'll start a new thread when I get hands on......watch for it.........

 

Local Pawnshop has one(White) for $75. Wanted it, but I also want some others that they had and didn't have any cash. They had a Maroon Epiphone LP Special(2 HB's) and a Epiphone LPJR(HB), couple of nice Squiers, Peavy T15 and a Jay Turser that all had me salivating.

 

A lot of people have intonation problems with them using light gauge strings, they seem to like the bigger strings. I would think some longer adjustment strings would be of help. Also seen complaints of the neck being thin, but since it's a bolt on and having the Fender bolt pattern, they could be easily changed out with a suitable aftermarket from what I've heard anyway. I would also rather have the 2 P90's Or get one with the 2 HB's and put P-rails in it.

 

i just picked up the same guitar today. $50 cdn off some tween kid. its looked well loved. but im using it as donor neck parts for a offset tele im building. the neck radius feels like a baseball bat. i may sand and shape. and stain it to match my build. and giving the bridge and other odds and ends to my dad for his partocaster.

 

I literally just picked one of these up for £20 to practice fret leveling/crowning on. Came with a decent gig bag, a beaten Squier amp, strap, and randomly 3 tuners

Obviously needs a setup (and an airing, stinks of cigarettes), but for £20 a bargain methinks

 

About $27 I think

I levelled, crowned and polished the frets today. I'm amazed at how well they came out, considering I've never attempted anything like that before... Really pleased with the results.
I had to shim the neck, but it's now playing nicely. It could do with a new nut and definitely needs either a new switch or the existing one sorting, as the neck position keeps cutting out.
I think I'll just keep this around as my project guitar, eventually I'll get some nut files and have a go at that... Then see if either of my sons show an interest in it. One has a Squier Strat but doesn't really play, the other is a bit young still, and a lefty, but if one things for sure it's that he likes making a noise so you never know

 

I love the stories about how a "trash" guitar becomes a treasure~