91' Fender strat ultra

[larrylover]

I have an early 90s Deluxe Strat Plus (like yours, but the bridge pickup was a lace sensor red). I never liked the sound of the guitar, so about 2 years ago I replaced the pickguard with new electronics (Alessandro pots, cloth wiring, the cap I'll get to) and Rolph single coil pickups. The tech who put together and installed these new guts had a bunch of NOS and other caps and allowed me to audition a bunch and select the one I liked best.

The strat does not sound like a classic strat -- I suspect it is the nut. But it plays great and sounds one hell of a lot better (to my ears), particularly at volume. The bridge pickup sounds 1,000 times better. Moral of this story: If you are not happy with what you have, it can be adjusted without too much hassle or money.

[shoptangerine]

Larrylover, did yours have the wilkinson nut like mine? or the other one (I think it is called lsr roller nut)?
Thanks

[jaimo]

91 Strat Ultra Owner here also. Crimson burst. Bought for those difficult ground loop/neon beer sign gigs. Put some Lace Hot Golds in the neck and mid position. Much, much better. Sounds great when clean or cranked.

Now, if that bastard tech hadn't put a hairline crack in the neck two years ago, I would still be using it for those gigs. Still looking for a replacement neck.
I do ALL of my tech work now. ALL of it.

[gbdweller]

Originally Posted by shoptangerine

I just need to find vmp naphtha...
otherwise, thanks for the tips, shall try it.

Any harware, paint store, Home Depot etc will carry it. It is basically Zippo fluid only much cheaper by the ounce because of the Zippo name. Great for cleaning fingerboard grime (be sure to re-oil with fingerboard oil) and many other things. Takes black scuff marks off floors, removes sticker adhesive residue and is safe for most, if not all cured finishes.

[muddy]

here's mine wif da wagner sr's:




ml

[SteveStrat]

Great looking Strat!

I've got a '92 that I bought new and it's a great guitar. I'm not a huge fan of the Wilkinson (sp?) roller nut but the pups I are great and the neck is real nice. It plays second seat to my other strat.

Great guitar.....keept it...don't sell it you'll wish you had it back later.

Steve

[SteveStrat]

Originally Posted by Joe F

Dude, just replace the pickups. As far as the roller nut - I don't know if the slot spacing is the same, but I would upgrade it to the current LSR nut. That with locking tuners is really hard to beat.

The LSR nut is not an exact replacement. The LSR is more narrow and the screw holes don't line up. I replaced mine and it took some work to do it. I like the LSR a lot more though.

The locking tuners are great and the two post bridge and saddle are rock solid too. Well made guitars in my book.

Steve

[larrylover]

Originally Posted by shoptangerine

Larrylover, did yours have the wilkinson nut like mine? or the other one (I think it is called lsr roller nut)?
Thanks

I am not sure I know which is which. It is a metal nut bend diagonal cuts in it. My understanding is that in years after my strat plus was built, Fender changed the nut on these guitars to another one because of problems (sonic, I believe) with the type of nut like my guitar has. My understanding is that the new nut can replace the one on my guitar. Is that correct? Can anyone tell me what changes to expect with this change?

I considered replacing the nut on my guitar with a bone nut or something similar. Due to the large size of the nut on my guit, I recall that the fix would have been very involved (I don't recall why) and I opted to limit the changes to relatively straightforward things.

[p.snail]

I have a '91 Ultra as well. Mines been to hell and back because it's my only guitar. I did change out the pickups twice. First I put in EMG's and now I have 2 Dimarzio Area 58's and a Seymour Duncan JB. I hate the Lace Sensor Pickups that are in it, but I haven't played another Strat yet that is it's equal for me. Great guitar.

[justicetones]

I own a 1990 Ultra strat. The toggle starting all the way down just likt a traditional 3 way pickup switch is for choosing 1. bridge single outer -2. both in series -3.bridge single inner. Also it is still active for the bridge middle selection on the 5 way also.

That roller nut really sucked. I had the roller nut removed and a traditional nut installed and I swapped out all of the electronics and the pickguard for 3 single coils Lindy Fralin SP43 setup. Sounds awesome with distortion. It is a little darker than the typical strat for cleans. I like it....

[mwoeppel]

I have a strat plus and a strat plus ultra. For me, I haven't found a strat that sounds better. Love the Lace!

That Strat plus has been all over the world with me.

On the ultra, I had a weird Fender bridge that was very hard to get used to, so I put in a wilkinson. The nut gives me no problems.