Check out FRTLZR Tools! They're awesome! www.frtlzr.com/shop *SHOW YOUR SUPPORT* 1: Become a Member on Locals: theguitologist.locals.com/ 2: Donate via Paypal: paypal.me/guitologist?locale.... 3: Buy Merch: bit.ly/GuitologistMerch 4: Send in Viewer Mail. (Contact Me for details at bradlinzy@gmail.com ) 5: Purchase an ad! (Rate sheets available upon request at email above.) 6: Buy something from a sponsor and tell them I sent you. 7: Stand in the middle of the street naked screaming "LONG LIVE THE GUITOLOGIST!" Then when the cops arrive, tell them about my channel. SUBSCRIBE TO THE FIXOLOGIST CHANNEL: www.youtube.com/@Fixologist1

Its not garbage, its just a casualty of modern efficiency and productivity. I once knew a lady who started working there in the early 60s, when Leo was still in charge, and Forrest White was the plant manager. She said that quality was the priority in those days, and everybody loved both of those guys. She said that when CBS came in, they had these guys they called "efficiency experts" out on the floor who walked up and down the line with clipboards and stopwatches, monitoring how many seconds it took for each operation. Anybody who couldn't complete a task in the alotted time was out the door. They didnt allow anybody to make sure things were right or correct small problems. This lady also said that morale was very low in those years, and it was also the time when people were sneaking off to get stoned and drink during lunch and breaks. It was your typical corporate top down style of management and quality suffered tremendously. She said most of the stuff that came out of there in those days that didnt have quality problems was put together by the really experienced old timers who knew what they were doing and didn't drink or smoke weed during working hours. That was the cause of the inconsistent quality. That, and a general attitude of "don't give a shit". ........and everybody wonders why the Japanese kicked our butts so hard in the 80s.

I gave a stratocaster just like that one to my daughters boyfriend several years ago. Of course they are no longer together but he went on to be a really good guitar player. He plays at his church. I’ve given alot of guitars to alot of people and alot of them went on to be good players. This kid went on to be one of the best players i know. I love to see that ya know. The more people that play the better in my opinion.

I like the look of the 70s Strats, especially with the natural wood bodies and black plastics.

No your not wasting your time Brad! Keep at it! Best channel on KZfaq!

🎸 Epic Work, Brad! 🎸 Caught your latest guitar restoration and we're absolutely floored! It was incredible seeing our FRTLZR Fretshaper, Polishing Kit, and Fretbanger in action. Your skill and our tools are a great match! Big thanks again. Your knack for bringing guitars back to life is inspiring. Can't wait to see what you tackle next!

If I did a fret job on my guitar and it turned out like that, I would be giddy with joy! Freakin beautiful !!

Bicentennial guitars hold a special place in my heart. Can't believe they're almost 50 years old!

Great stuff Brad! Long form indulgent content forever please!

Thought Fender was still Sliding Frets in until the 80’s ? Last 70s I worked on, had to Tap them out Sideways after heating. Re fined the fretboard as well.

At 45:00, it's not a bad idea to sand the higher frets a bit more and create some fall away above the 15th fret. Less chance of string buzz with low action.

definately worth it! loved your step by step of fixes...but the best part was hearing you play her!

I dig that fret rocker. Gonna grab me one of those. As always, good stuff, Brad. Thanks for these. I’ve Learned a lot from watching you.

Three bolt neck joints work fine if the neck pocket is tight. The problem with 70’s Strats is there usually is quite a gap between the neck and body.

The 3-bolt and neck-tilt feature in '72 was mainly so you could easily pitch the neck for a floating trem or flush/flat. The big third bolt added a lot of sustain but also made the joint less stable if the pocket wasn't cut perfectly, and a lot of them were not.

Several decades ago, my 3M rep suggested soaking wet/dry sandpaper at least 15 minutes, up to overnight in a small bucket of water with several drops of dish soap. It keeps the paper from clogging and sharp edges from digging in. Granted, this was for much bigger jobs, but hey, whatever works!

Full admiration for the practical no nonsense method and work ethic involved in this episode brad, loved every second! my 79 strat has a pathetic rosewood veneer on maple neck, you can imagine ! i would just get a spare neck rather than attempt ANY improvement ,and just keep it for originality, great work brad 😊👍👍👍

Hey I dig your videos... The comment at not quite 16 minutes in about using chisels safely brought back memories... I am a physical therapist and "slipped" with a chisel 6 years ago doing light carpentry, giving myself a low budget carpal tunnel release - woulda been free except I had to get stitches and do my own therapy. I missed my median nerve by less than a mm, and thankfully did only very minor damage to my ulnar nerve, so rather than risking bleeding out, I nearly ended my career as a PT because I specialize in manual therapy. I did, however, take up guitar to help restrengthen my hand, so now not only is my career on the line, but also my main hobby of playing guitar... Suffice it to say I don't look at sharp tools the same way now, and I think your advice is well stated. Take care and keep up the cool equipment nerd videos!

To raise the diverts on the fretboard use a damp rag and then run over it with a hot iron end, it will raise the divert.

I love the looks of the jumbo headstocks . Great job B-RAD . I passed up a late 70's hardtail about 10 years ago and regret still . I was a tri- burst with a rosewood neck .

I had a 76 strat and I loved it , people say that 70s strats are trash , but that wasnt my experience with it

mr guitologist, when it comes to amp work and other electronics you are a master and a great musician and would be interested in any future originals you may hopefully write and record. i've learned a lot of things from this channel over the years and look forward to each video that gets posted and will continue to watch and enjoy your videos for hopefully years to come. but when ever i see you do guitar work it scares me to death😵

Thank you, Brad. This is exactly the kind of video I've been needing. I've got a few Strats and one is a pawn shop Squire SE that I call my test mule. I learn to tweak and mode on it so I don't risk screwing up my others, and I've been wanting try a refret. This will help a bunch!

Really enjoyed the detailed restore and explanations - especially the safety warnings for working on things that require a balance of force and patience!

I bought one of those same German Schallar five ways switches years ago for an HSH guitar and I ran into the same problem you did, here it is 15 years later and I still have the switch in my parts box lol

I LOVE these restoration videos! Thanks Brad!

Hey buddy. You have a great chance to completely flatten and re-radius that neck, but that means a new finish. I did a Warmoth strat neck with gloss lacquer all over and it came out so nice. It's a lot of work, but it's beautiful.

if you have never seen it check out fenders old fretting machine, it pushes the frets in from the side which is why they chip out so bad. thats just normal on old fenders of that era.

I've been looking for a fender from the year I was born....I have not been able to find a 1976.....thanks for uploading this and bringing a 48 year old guitar back to life.

The Spirit of 76' lives on! Nice job Brad!

whenever I have a few high frets like that I take em down with a crown file that way I only have to hit the frets with a plane sander bare minimal

Water and a soldering iron might have made pulling frets a bit easier... Love the hoodie! 👍👏

Wow, that workbench threw up on itself! 🤢🤮🤣 (I’ve totally been there, only my “workbench” is the dining table where I “eat,” lol!) Thanks to the sponsors! Keep supporting these great channels.

Wasting your time? Bro. Let me show you two big wastes of time. Some years ago I flew r/c airplanes a lot. I had just picked up a new P-51 mustang, and was out hotdogging around the skies. I was really impressed with it’s top speed, dang this thing could move! So I flew it up to about 800ft, and then pointed the nose straight down and cracked the throttle wide open... “Wwhhaaaaahhhhoooohhhhhmmmm”. Wow what a noise! Like a Tie-fighter from Star Wars... just like it! So I had to do that again. And again. And again. You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that something eventually broke loose on one of the high speed dives, and it went down like a bomb. Fortunately I realized that the elevator was the part that broke, and I was able to pitch the plane on it’s side and used the rudder to slow down the impact. A little anyways. It really hit the ground like a bomb. Sounded like a small explosion, dug a hole in the ground, and exploded the plane into hundreds of fragments of balsa and mechanical parts. Everything was broken. Literally. But I payed about $280 for it, and in those days that was A LOT of money for me. I was a little upset. So I got out a garbage bag and picked up every single piece or scrap I could find, and brought it home. I laid out the pieces like a forensic investigator, and traced the failure to the link-rod attachment at the elevator. I should have expected that the pressures on this part at full speed in a dive would just pull it out of the balsa. Oops. Well, the next thing to do was rebuild it. So I put it back together like a jigsaw puzzle, and used about 50ml of cyanoacrilate to do it. I replaced anything that was too damaged to just be glued back together, and added a little extra bracing for the larger engine that I picked for it. Went from a Thunder Tiger 80 (really great engine!) to an OS 140 4 stroke. Massive power. Could take off straight up with no runway and go vertical until you couldn’t see it anymore after that. Woooyah! Alright! So that was a big waste of time for both of us. It’s like two birds and one stone or something... which is actually more efficient, therefore not a waste of time at all! Wow. That was weird. Ok so no, it’s not a waste of time because hobby is life. “Never let a silly thing like work get in the way of your hobbies” - Arthur “Lobby” Lobsinger. He was right.

I like to put marker on the frets before I crown them. That way you know when there is a thin stripe left your good

The 3 bolt neck was actually championed by Leo himself. Post cbs he was still a consultant. Hence the reason the first run of G&L used it as well. I’ve got a ‘72 reissue with the three bolt, I see no issues with it.

So good you can literally feel these frets through the video!

What a cool strat, and you turned it from a closet queen, to a guitar that's probably better in every way than how it left the factory 😊... I'm ordering one of those fret tools too, man those look great! Nice job brother!

Nice to see you work on a guitar Brad. You don’t use elaborate tools making the process easier for most to tackle the project with some confidence. Thank you!

I used t think they went to 3 neck screws to save a nickel too. I recently heard on another channel that the tilt adjust supposedly worked better with 3 screws. Thats why they changed it

Good to see the sponsors come in.

my birthday, the year I graduated from High school... Love that ! I got a seventy-six new that year. Wish I had kept it!

Inspired naming for that fretlevel - Fretbanger! This video makes me understand why a fret replacement job is expensive. This is very labour intensive.

I enjoyed that deep dive on switches, interesting to see how things change for the better (or worse) over the years

Love 70's fender's! A lot of tele's have 3 bolt necks too, but alot of both are Really Heavy,that don't bother me none! Thanks

That's hallarious. I just made a comment asking if you had used those brass saddles yet, as I've had tremendous results with them, no sooner did I continue the video and they were laying there in a bag. Right on! Nice work!

The Centralab switches were the best.

70s natural ash body strat?? You now have the guitar of my dreams! Freaking awesome, man!

I can't wait to watch this one when I get home from work. My dad gave me his 1976 strat in 1995 when I was 11, and I played that thing all day for years. I haven't played it (or anything) much since 2006 because it's got intonation problems on account of the ultra-worn frets. I would love to refret it, but it has a maple fretboard with the poly finish.

I know the CBS guitars have such a bad reputation and many ways deservedly so, but I kind of have a sweet spot for them and their oversized headstocks. Too bad you cant get them for cheap anymore.

My father is the original owner of the same 1976 natural finish strat with a black pick guard. The only difference is that his has a rosewood fingerboard. This was the guitar that I learned on, and grew up playing. He still ownes this guitar, and it needs work as well, so this video should be useful, as it gives me a nice glimpse of what I'm in for when it comes to repairs. Your content is appreciated sir. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

That was an enjoyable hour and a half, that guitar sounds lovely, and that was some nice playing, well done mate.

Your videos are entertaining and educational for repairs and ur guitar playing are both excellent. Keep it up if u run out of amps to repair Ive got a couple.

Imagine mounting that fret tool onto a sawzall. Hahahahaha

Great work 😎 had a luthier refret a 70s Tele deluxe for me (3 bolt) replacing similar worn out frets. Really brought the guitar back to life, although it needed quite a bit more re-fin lacquer on the board than yours - super glue did the trick for you there! Cheers😎

Fantastic video Brad, thanks a million.

Ah, '76... The year I graduated, Nice job. Thank you. (Nice playing!)

I have the same Ibeneze blonde Strat with heavy gouged frets. I might try to do what you did, and feep it for another 45 years .

Good job, sounds great! Incidentally, I ended up using the same brass saddles on my hardtail Strat when I needed to raise the action for playing slide… I don’t have anything like your skills, though!

Long video, gives lots of time to read the comments. Thanks 👍🏻

I have the same exact problem’s with my 79 - natural… worn frets, a dirty Jack and pots. I haven’t played it over the years to prolong what’s left of its playable life. Really frightened with the thought of needing a fret job… lol. I love your amp work and your closeted guitar collection is similar to mine. I love it when I go through and find a guitar that I’v forgotten about… 😂 Also like your thrift store finds and I listen to what you have to say about guitars and amps. I just stay out of the politics and in the past have thought you were a little hard on people over certain products but can’t think of any particular beef you had with anyone. I really do Appreciate the free knowledge service you’re providing and do try to absorb all that I can. I unfortunately am not in a position to offer your channel with any monetary support but I know it would be worth every Penny without a doubt. Thank’s again… God bless and take care!!! 👍 Sincerely, Shawn Owen. Fremont, California USA

Beautiful work Brad ! Sweet Strat 🎸

It depends on what you mean by "waste"... For instance, I just spent an hour sticking my earbuds in my nose and seeing if I could get any sound out of my mouth. So... I've got no idea. Peace.

Awesome looking and sounding.You did a great job.

Great video Brad. That guitar sounds fantastic!

The chipout around the fret ends is most certainly due to fret sprout when at some point the neck shrunk due to humidity changes, I have a maple neck P-base with the exact same spots with missing finish.

I enjoyed the video and learned a few things Thank You

You got those frets nice and polished I bet they bend good.

Superb job there Mr Brad!!!!!

I had a 1972 Bullet Stratocaster with the same ash body, cracking finish, that I bought at pawn shop in Columbus, Ohio in the early 80's for 350 bucks or so. I also swapped out the three way switch for a five way, (and kept the three-way; still have it) and sold it when I lived in Philly in the early 90's for $500. I have told everybody who cares to listen that modern Stratocasters and many other brands are much better built than any of the old bullet crap. The only old Strat I own now is the Am Std 1995 LTD Edition w/Matching headstock, all original including the pups in Candy Apple Red with Rosewood Fingerboard and needs a fret replacement but otherwise sounds and plays fantastic!

I have a '73 with those same fret problems. I Razor bladed the finish off of my fingerboard. I almost said, "When you get the frets done, order some Raw Vintage springs ... you will really like 'em." Hah! Then I remember it's a hard tail! My first 9.5 " radius was experienced on one of the very early Claptons ... WHAT an improvement for me! Much agreed on that fret out thing with 7.25. Fender CANNOT get that right these days.

Hey Brad, excellent work I have a 73 with a white guard hard tail all original in dire need of for Fret job also 79 anniversary could use it too. Maybe I’ll send them to you that fantastic job you just did.

love watching your videos. You're a real pro when it comes to repairing amps, and your guitar playing is first class, no offence intended but leave the refrets to the guitar repair guys.

Sounds amazing !

I just recrowned a reverse 70's maple strat board, and the poly was so thick on the fret sides that it was almost impossible to get off.I used a ton of new blades, an etching tool, and a few other miscellaneous things, but- ridiculous,- which I'm sure is why the shop auctioned it and I got it at a reasonable price.I ended up blading the whole fingerboard, and soon enough will have to refret it altogether, but that's fine, - I need the practice.Just not sure if I want to go vintage or jumbo, as I like both for different reasons.Most seem to jump for the fat jumbo, but I think the only thing they offer is longer wear.I usually do the leveling drop off below the 12th fret to provide a little more breathing room, especially on Jazzmasters and Jaguars. I appreciate Brad's typical no BS approach, given some of the other instructionals out there.

I almost bought a 74 that was identical to that, but heavier. Had the hardtail bridge, 3 bolt neck, and bullet truss rod too. I've always had a soft spot for those large headstocks, and like the way the pickups sound. Just a bit different from the vintage 50s to early 60s stuff or the modern stuff.

I have an Epi SG special 2020 that I’ve worn thru the frets of already. Great guitar for the price but soft frets. I’m building up the courage to refret it. Got everything I need except confidence.

More than twenty years ago I bought a muli-pack of bone guitar nuts at MAE. It came with flat and and some with pre-radius style nuts . At checkout the kid running the drawer said have fun playing with your nuts. Thank you Brad for the tips and sound advice as well.

Fabulous ..loved that video ....guitar looks and sounds great ..😅from Australia Ooh ..and out of interest what model fender amp .i can't see it that well ...i just bought a princeton 650 yesterday..

I have a 1979 natural Ash finish 3 bolt neck that looks like yours. It's held up well. The neck is kinda fat but the action is very low and fast playing.

Guitar turned out great, lovely playing

Great video Brad. I'd be worried the Temu frets had lead in them. They gotta be cheap for a reason.

Brad, please continue to do what you want to do. I've spent most of my adult life doing that everyone else wanted me to do. Follow your heart.

I have some tricks for stabilizing bolt-on neck joints, and pitching/rotating the tenon in the pocket to get killer action with a 7 1/4" radius with no choking. It's easier to do with 4-bolters than 3. When done right I could swing a bolt-on guitar around by the neck and it'll stay in tune.

Far man you can meow those strings - oh and nice job! Fret board blame'n lava flow.

I have allways loved these big headstock and 3bolt microtilt guitars long before i played a 1976, today i still have a 2011 reissue ,flat pickups sound great bullet trussrods necks are excellent they will only get more collectable .

The way I did Brad I just use the edge of the edge of the counter with the Sandpaper and just matched the bottom of the old curved nut and just made it into the new one till they matched and it works perfect.

I had two Strats and two Tele’s of mine re-radiused and re-fretted with big frets like that-Dunlop 6100’s. I like them a lot.

Realizing the bench literally said thank you once you cleaned it off was priceless lol. I would hang on to that one... for its originality if nothing else. I myself havent seen very many hardtail Strats.

I've always preferred the natural finish on a guitar. Cousin Frank has a 1962 Partscaster that after striping the body of multiple different layers of paint. The three piece body looked like one piece of ash. He left it natural and sprayed clear coat and it looks just amazing.

I remember when I was a kid I found one of my dads chisels and started playing with it. I learned that day just how sharp they are. It takes nothing to cut yourself.

Really nice result Brad. 🇦🇺

Hi Brad, thanks for sharing,, a quick question. With that neck pocket and the 3 bolt tilt , I see where you were explaining the bolt head wearing onto of the neck pocket, ,, Wouldn’t that create an issue for total tonal sonic transfer from neck to body string vibration?

Why not sand the fretboard down a little before putting in the new frets to get rid of that over-finished stickiness?

I never thought about radius ing frets like that, thanks man I’m trying to work up the courage to refret and bold Ibanez destroyer II i have. I believe I can do the job as I’m fairly mechanically inclined have hand built blueprinted diesel prototype engines and fairly handy performing my own home repairs and maintenance so I think as long as I have patience and work carefully I could probably do a successful refret

Very nice strat Brad, congrats.

I have one of those.. it is a beast the baseball bat style neck.. I still love the sound.. it's a natural finish to

My 1978 tele deluxe has the 3 bolt neck, the deluxes had the tele body with the strat neck, so it has the 9in fretboard radius not the 7 1/4 in... and the wide range humbuckers are great 👍 love your videos, cheers mate..

'70s Fenders have actually gone up quite a bit on the used market. With that being said, I've never played one that I've fallen in love with.

Sounds like you enjoyed the guitar in the end. That amp sounds great!