Another Guy Who Wants to Build His Own Hentor Sportscaster

[MarkScudder]

Hello. I have had an account here for years but in general I don't use forums very much. But I think I'm going to have to start; I have a nagging desire to build a Hentor Sportscaster, and I'm probably going to have to lean on y'all to get started.

 

I have read most of the threads here on DIY HS's and understand generally what I need. Right now I know three things:

 

1. I'm a musician, and live in the US, so money is tight right now.

 

2. I can't, and probably wouldn't anyway, just buy an "official" replica (See #1). (The point of the journey, after all, is not to arrive.)

 

3. It seems that besides the official guy, _pete_ is the go-to guy for DIY Hentors, and I sent him a PM, but noticed that he hasn't logged on since March.

 

My first thought as a starting point was, GuitarFetish has an unfinished Strat body with the Floyd Rose recess already routed out, but it's not alder. But it's fifty bucks. Posts on this forum seem to indicate that alder is a crucial component of the sound.

 

The second thing is the neck. I don't remember ever hearing why Alex went with Shark, did they have a superior product or was it convenient after something happened to the original neck?

 

I feel comfortable doing assembly, wiring, tuners, etc. I guess what I'm asking - in addition to all that above - is, what's the most up-to-date list of places I should be looking for parts to start this build? I probably can't afford Warmoth stuff, but if there's a better way to go about it than to simply watch eBay every day (which I will do anyway), I'd love to know. Of course if I can start getting parts I'd be glad to document the whole build here with lots of pictures.

 

Thanks in advance!

-mark

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

To me the Bill Lawrence is more key than the wood. A Strat is a Strat. But the older Bill Lawrence is the difference maker.

[CE24]

I built one with a MIM Strat as the base. I have around $450 into the guitar, including the guitar itself. It looks great, and plays fantastic.

 

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn108/hetfieldinn/IMG_1761.jpg

 

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn108/hetfieldinn/IMG_1756.jpg

 

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn108/hetfieldinn/IMG_1759.jpg

 

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn108/hetfieldinn/IMG_1760.jpg

[MarkScudder]

Looks great. Did you start with a Floyd Rose Strat or did you convert it? Also interested in how you did the lettering on the headstock (is it actually Letraset?) and if you did the pickguard drilling by hand or there's a guide floating around somewhere.

[CE24]

It was a Standard Strat with a 'vintage' style tremelo. A little routing needed done. I did the headstock decal using ink-jet paper. The pick guard was bought from Warmouth, I believe.

 

The guitar has a Bill Lawrence 500L. 250k pots, a Gibson switch, and a Floyd Rose Special tremelo.

 

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn108/hetfieldinn/photo4.jpg

[MarkScudder]

So looking at Freddy's pics, Alex's Sportscaster now has a Floyd with fine tuners and a locking nut like yours, but the replicas have the old Floyd with no fine tuners and presumably locking machine heads. I'm confused. Which is right?

 

I looked at some used Strats today. There was one Fender Stratocaster Squier Series (not a Squier Strat) from like '92, Mexican, cream with white pick guard, played nice but I couldn't drop the $250 they wanted for it today.

[CE24]

I believe Alex's started with a no fine tuner Floyd or Kahler, then a fine tuner Floyd was added later. I think I remember Freddy offering the replicas either way. The Bill Lawrence pickups sound incredible. Make sure you get the Bill Lawrence 'Wilde' pickup, not the USA.

 

http://wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_Twin_Blades.html

 

I bought my MIM Standard Stratocaster off of Craig's List for $200. They're actually really nice guitars. I've had a few of them, and none of them disappointed, especially for the money.

 

I also meant to say that I used ink jet waterslide paper in my above post. You got to give the finished decal a quick coat of a clear finish (rattle can), before you dip it in water.

 

I'd still like to do a red Hentor.

[MarkScudder]

Okay. I wanted to try and get it authentic, but it not be a buzzkill to play - I personally hate locking nuts and much prefer locking tuners. My one guitar with a trem has a Wilkinson with locking tuners and I love it. I'll watch for MIM Strats on eBay and Craigslist, and I fully intend to go with the authentic Lawrence pickup.