# NGD: Jim Root Stratocaster – The Black One!



## raytsh (Oct 9, 2017)

Since my last NGD wasn’t as pleasant as I wished (http://sevenstring.org/threads/sker...uild-experience-and-first-impressions.325185/), I gave myself to the dark side (literally), submitted to my GAS, and got a new guitar to fill the void.

*Note: The finish is great, but also always looks dusty and is a magnet for fingerprints. Sorry for the mediocre photos, I tried to get it as clean as possible but it is dusty within seconds again, especially on my sofa.*

I wanted to have a really simple, straight forward guitar without any frills, fancy cosmetics, or features that I barely use. Thus, I got me a Jim Root Strat.









Specs:

mahogany body
maple neck, skunk stripe
modern c-shape profile
22 Jumbo frets, nickel silver
compound radius (12" - 16") 

ebony fretboard
Fender bridge & locking tuners
Fender strap locks
EMG 60/81 pickups (stock)
matt black nitro cellulose finish (body), matt transparent urethane finish (neck)
3.7kg (8.15 lbs)
1.3k EUR (1.5k USD)

One of the main points that attracted me to this guitar was Root's attitude regarding finishes. I read some reviews and some people critiqued the thin and fragile finish. For me, this is actually a feature that I really like! The finish is quite sensitive, not only because it's nitro, and nitro is a pain in the ass to care for in my opinion, but because it's really thin and matt. It shows wear really quick, get shiny in areas often touched and scratches and chips easily. As a result, the guitar weathers easily and looks used after a short amount of time compared with thick acrylic or urethane finishes. The guitar develops its own character quickly.





Though, the finish is not perfect. It has many tiny imperfections, like encapsulated grains of sand (or rather sanding dust), small needle tip size spots that are visible and detectable by touch. There are roughly 10-15 of those on the black body.





I like the straight forward electronics and basic bridge as well that the guitar does not have inlays. I would prefer a Hipshot bridge though. The coating of the saddles is not what I expect from Fender. It’s uneven and all the saddles look slightly different. String through body is welcome; It just feels secure for me. I mean, I’ve never seen a bridge being ripped of the top of a guitar. But, well, you know...





Compared to a normal Fender Stratocaster the body is much chunkier. Not only because it's mahogany but also because of the body contour featuring more sharp edges; Kind of like an Ibanez RG. Overall, the guitar weighs about as much as a middle of the road Les Paul: 3.7kg (8.15 lbs).
I also like the fact that the body is not chambered / has no weight relief. This has of course no influence on the sound through the amp, but it changes how the body vibrates and "feels" when resting against the body. Some heavily chambered guitars feel like toys to me when playing and when touching them. Especially if the finish is matt, if you run your fingers across the finish it feels hollow and like a thin box of plastic or something.

A nice detail on the back is the cavity for the battery. It has brass inserts for the screws!





Since the body is that heavy it also hangs really nice on a strap. No neck dive whatsoever. Just feels really solid and reliable; A real workhorse of a guitar!

Initially I was not sure about the top hat knob. I always preferred the speed knobs made of metal that can be found on many RGs for instance. But here, it somewhat fits since it’s a Fender Strat.





For me, the guitar has mainly two minor downsides: it has two pickups (I basically only use the bridge pickup) and it has active pickups what I’m not the biggest fan of in general. Since the guitar features I pick guard, I see me installing a single pickup guard eventually.

I'm not super fond of EMGs but, I've found a set that sounds nice to my ears in the JH set. I already the set in another guitar that I was going to sell soon. So, the first thing I've done when I got the guitar was to swap the pickups. Thanks to EMG's "quick connect" this was a simple task. Additionally, I love the look of the pickups. As well as the JR Strat itself, they are a modern twist of a classic design.





I also oiled the fretboard since it was quite dry. Speaking of the fretboard, the ebony is not pitch black, I can see some lighter areas and the overall grain is more visible; I really like this. Some completely pitch black ebony pieces just look artificial to me, like a synthetic material.





The fretboard has also some blemishes. On two frets, I can see some glue residue and there is a small chip on the edge on the 12th fret as well. One odd thing that I noticed is, that the fretboard is thinner in the middle and gets thicker to the lowest and highest frets respectively. Not sure if this is a normal thing for Stratocasters.





I really like the compound radius and thick jumbo frets. It would be nice if they were made of stainless steel though. I will have to polish and de-corrode them regularly. Only having 22 frets is also a thing I have to get used to; Most of my other guitars have 24. The fret job is great, no complains at all!

The guitar features a slightly rounded heel that might help with high fret access. But, it is still somewhat cumbersome to get up there.





The guitar was set up very well: action 1.6mm (4/64’’) on the 17th fret and 0.3mm (.010’’) relief measured at the 8th fret while holding down 1st and 17th. I have a lot of fret buzz especially on the lower three strings but nothing is audible through my high gain amp. Though, the buzz can be heard through a clean amp.





The neck profile is right up my alley! It is not too thin like an Ibanez Wizard neck for instance but not as thick as some Les Paul necks. It’s a bit thicker than my Jackson Warrior neck and is ever so slightly asymmetrical. But, the real feature here is the matt urethane finish! It is perfectly smooth and even. Very effortless to slide around!





Locking tuners are always welcome and a must have in my opinion. They also enabled me to remove the strings and reuse them several times while changing pickups and cleaning the fretboard and so on.





They are also quite stable regarding the tuning. I’ve used Big Bends Nut Sauce on the nut just to be sure though. The tuners are also staggered as it should be for a Strat.

The saddle is well made and has nice rounded edges.





Strap locks are also a must have feature for me. But, I will probably switch to Dunlop’s since I have them on all my other guitars. I prefer the way they are attached to the strap and they they have to option for flush mount.

One funny thing that I’ve noticed is, the headstock is too big for the case. I know that the headstock is bigger than on most Strats but, the case is “custom made” for this guitar and it does not really fit. The headstock rests ON the inner couching raise of the case (where it should just support the top of the head stock) and as a result the neck does NOT rest on the dedicated neck rest. The guitar does not rest “in” the case as much as “on” the inner support. Really odd…





Though, the case smells awesome, somewhat comparable to Gibson cases. I love that! I also like the vintage visual appeal of the case and how it works with the classic body shape and headstock. The red interior contrasts the black, matt body nicely.









Overall a very nice guitar with some minor cosmetic flaws here and there but worth the asking price of about 1.3k EUR (1.5k USD). I'm looking forward to when it looks really messed up and used!

So far...
-Frank


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## lewis (Oct 9, 2017)

these will always be my favourite looking Fenders.

They have nailed making it look seriously Metal, but also seriously modern/timeless and classy at the same time. 30 years from now it will still look/seem current or upto date stylistically I reckon.

Stunning guitar. It looks in amazing condition. Congrats Frank.

p.s Ive had "ebony" fretboards that have looked like that before and it made we wonder. Is that actually Ebony?. or is it dyed rosewood or something else? Didnt expect to see that kind of grain in ebony when I had it. Dont know if thats correct or not haha


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## raytsh (Oct 9, 2017)

Ebony comes in many flavours, only a small portion is pitch black. It is probably not dyed, otherwise some of the black dye would have come off when I oiled the fretboard.


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## lewis (Oct 9, 2017)

raytsh said:


> Ebony comes in many flavours, only a small portion is pitch black. It is probably not dyed, otherwise some of the black dye would have come off when I oiled the fretboard.


thats true unless there is some sort of matt clear coat that can be applied that you then dont notice but that keeps the stain from lifting.

I had "ebony" on a Michael Kelly one time and the grain was so tight it was like there was no grain. So i presume I wrongly assumed all ebony was like that going forward.
Like you say there is obviously loads of different types.

either way the guitar is lovely. I prefer this version over the maple fretboard ones or the white models he had


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## AkiraSpectrum (Oct 9, 2017)

looks wicked, congrats!


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## purpledc (Oct 9, 2017)

I'm interested in what people think about the fingerboard being thinner in the center than on its ends. I have noticed this on a couple guitars and while it looks odd I have never had it be an issue other than visually.


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## Shask (Oct 9, 2017)

Always thought those looked nice!


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## Steinmetzify (Oct 9, 2017)

Had all his sigs and still have the Jazz. Just classy guitars. 

Good score man!


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## Gravy Train (Oct 9, 2017)

So hot.


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## raytsh (Oct 10, 2017)

purpledc said:


> I'm interested in what people think about the fingerboard being thinner in the center than on its ends. I have noticed this on a couple guitars and while it looks odd I have never had it be an issue other than visually.



Yeah, that is weird. Since the fretboard has to be flat, it means the maple part of the neck is curved upwards, like it has a hump in the center of the neck, it's thicker there, right?


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## mietschie (Oct 10, 2017)

raytsh said:


> Since my last NGD wasn’t as pleasant as I wished (http://sevenstring.org/threads/sker...uild-experience-and-first-impressions.325185/), I gave myself to the dark side (literally), submitted to my GAS, and got a new guitar to fill the void.



In all possibilities you have of todays modern and fancy custom guitars and small exclusive guitar shops, in the end you never go wrong with the classic guitar designs. Beautiful Strat, which doesn't help my own GAS at all, grats


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## Carcaridon (Oct 10, 2017)

Very nice! I feel the same way about EMG's and the JH Set and they look amazing in that guitar. I've been eyeing one of his but have been holding out hope for the sandblasted Jazzmaster. Great score!


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## Dawn of the Shred (Oct 10, 2017)

Congrats man!


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## failsafe (Oct 13, 2017)

I just want to say thanks for the detailed pics and review! I need to pick one of these up someday.


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