Hey, dad! (Part 52)

Hey, dad! Look- I am now taller than your standard-sized guitar. He, he...

Fender ST-72: Duncanized

I finally got this done- had Duncan's Classic Stack + in all positions of my Fender ST-72. I have a simple reason for liking the CS+; they perform equally well in both clean & driven settings.

Selling: Single coils (Strat pickups content)

I'm doing away with my default Fender ST-72 pickups (Model: ST-Single)- nothing wrong with them, just that I wanna hear something else, something more familiar & to my preference. If you are interested in them, $55 for all three pickups.

Replacement needed

I was up early today because my blocked nose needed some attention. I couldn't sleep thereafter so I decided to re-string my Fender ST-72 but there was something amiss with the 5-way pickup selector switch because it didn't notch into place when in use. True enough, as seen above, corrosion had virtually consumed it. *Ewwww....*

By virtue of this occurrence, do we deem Fender's ST-72 a lousy piece of work because the parts deteriorated over time? Simple answer: NO...

Mechanical parts do give way over time as they are exposed to the elements but how could an internal component be subjected to such decay? When we play our instruments (more so when you are in active performance), sweating is inevitable so the traces of moisture made its way into the residence of these internal components (through slots & gaps + some of us actually spray our polish fluid directly onto our instruments- you are actually forcing moisture through those gaps/ slots). This deterioration is expedited by the fact that some of us don't even bother to wipe down our instruments after play. In addition to this, we bring our instruments to venues with varying temperatures (indoors vs outdoors/ warm vs air-conditioned) so elementary Science tells us that condensation would take place & this is something beyond our control. It is therefore a healthy practice to service our instruments when the time comes especially so when we come across tell-tale signs of deterioration.

Return of the Graphtech

My (Fender) ST-72 now gets a set of Graphtech saddles.


What's so good about them?
They are not 'so good', mind you. They just serve their purpose- to ensure smooth contact between the strings & the saddle.

How much?
$40 per set, available @ Davis GMC

Does it kill tone?
I don't hear any tone deterioration, my Strat still sound as snappy as ever. However if you love your default pickups but wish for a less protruding treble end, the graphite helps.

ST-72 button

A new pair of Planet Waves strap button's for my Fender ST-72. Take a closer look at the original screw- note the oxidation. Internal components do deteriorate & unlike their external counterparts, we can't see this happening.

Inside info

I'm in the midst of reviving my Fender ST-72 which is suffering from electronics deterioration. Yes, we do take meticulous care of our guitars, we practise exterior maintenance but the internal components are deteriorating. Because they are not as conveniently accessible as the extenal counterparts, they receive less cleaning & would eventually give way. The above 5-way switch was the default model in the ST-72; it's the VLX53. These are also equipped in the Japanese Ibanez selections so what's the catch here? Answer: They are from the same Fujigen factory. My VLX53 had to go because the contacts were ineffective despite countless spraying of contact cleaners on many occasions.

This is how the ST-72 looks like under the pickguard; unlike the American Standard, the Japanese cavities cater for an all single coils affair. The cavities are also much deeper compared to some American makes which is a good thing for those of us who purchased switches with extended measurements; fitting is not an issue. Do note the finished cavity surfaces as well; the workmanship here is impressive to say the least.

The grime beneath

If you are meticulous with the wiping down of your instrument after each play, in your spare time, do attend to the unseen gunk beneath the string saddles. The guitar above is my Fender ST-72. I've been fastidious in taking care of the guitar's exterior oblivious to the fact that whatever's wiped away would be driven into the cracks & crevices so the filthy accumulation would be inevitable.

This is the same bridge base plate after an enthusiastic cleaning & polishing episode. Do note that if the slime continues to inhibit the hardware, rusting & slime build up (that unsightly green coating, not seen here of course) would occur.

STroto

My Fender ST-72 was played excessively due to the recent acquisition of the (CMATmods) Butah pedal. It received a fresh set of strings yesterday while waiting for lunch to be ready- a set of .009 Rotosound set.

Butah Strat!

This is tonal bliss. I've never enjoyed single coils with very low drive levels till the Butah came along; it's either OTT distortion or squeaky clean. I kept switching between the neck & bridge pickups of my ST-72 to hear a drastic tonal difference. The Butah makes it really enjoyable to play at lower drive levels which was never my cup of tea. What I dislike about playing at such sparse drive output is the lack of saturation which makes playing fast rather tedious as I have to pick a little harder to ensure every note pulls through but the Butah takes care of that. Thumbs up from me.

Fender: ST-72

One of my most enjoyable line-up is plugging in my Fender ST-72 into my Marshall. To many of us, basswood is a pariah wood because it's used in many budget guitars & its inherent softness makes it dent-prone. Basswood for a Fender body is sacrilege to many Fender fanatics but this is a better part of snobbery than anything else. the ST-72 is one of the better sounding Fenders out there (in my books especially) tone-wise, quite evidently out-singing some of the top-end Strats coming from the USA.

But I appreciate the ST-72 as a good guitar per se, regardless of its Fender label.