Katana Project

Just picked this up for a bit of  project





No pickup or bridge. I was thinking of adding a neck pickup, maybe Entwistle Dark Star. Plenty of room in the control cavity for some extra pots / switches. What do you people think?

Next come the bridge... There isn't one with the guitar at the moment

I don't really know what I want to do with this - replace for original fender type trem? Go for a Floyd? Maybe a Kahler of some sort. Or maybe just fill in all the routered out bits and go hard tail. Anyome got any ideas?

I've got a couple of trem guitars, but have never really felt the urge to learn to use them I'm afraid. Does any manufacturer do a trem that can be easily "locked" without blocking out inside (other than Kahler)?

It's also got the remnants of a locking nut. Anyone know what it is? The clamps and bolts are all missing.



I have some ideas on colours, but will wait until I have everything else sorted until I finally decide...

So this should keep me busy for a while....

Very nice.  Can't advise re your ponderings as I am a bass player.  

I have the bass version, which is totally fantastic.  Well made early (A series) MIJ at its best - sounds like a woody old precision but with a mad body shape and 32" scale length - weighs 7lbs, too.

Nice bass! Another man with obvious good taste.

Found out about the nut. It is a "fender fine-tuning nut". It should have a set of locking pieces underneath and a set of fine tuner knurled screws. Like on a floyd etc, but these put a bit more tension into the string from the headstock end. I guess this then works with the trad fender trem at the other end...

Cool project!! That stringlock looks a little.... odd, eh! If you wanted a Bendmaster bridge for it you can have one of my spares......

Try and source some parts as near to the original as possible, IMO. Katanas, both Squier and Fender, are quite rare and fetch reasonable prices.

Very true; they never grabbed the publics imagination as much as Fender would have liked and you certainly don't see many for sale, at least online!
I wonder if the OEM bridge is still available??

I have seen that the locking nuts do occasionally come up for sale. Here's what it should look like.


Thanks for offer of the Bendmaster Corsair. Before I route it all out though, I will have to have a good hard think about it still - as they are quite rare. I think they were only made for a year or so...

I'm still pretty keen on adding the second pickup though. Anyone got any thoughts?

That's the Squier, isn't it? I think the Fender ones were 2 pickup models and the single jobs Squier....?? Quite uncommon guitars so I'd be keeping it simple, Ade, and not routing anything!!.... and have a listen to some of the Bareknuckle pickups - they are just epic!!

I quite fancy one of these now.... off to peruse eBay and Craigslist.... 

Yes, it seems most of Squiers were single pick ups, so I guess that means some had two....
I think that I'll probably leave the trem as the 6 screw fender type, but still tempted to add the extra pick up.

Plenty of very good trad-style bridges out there, too; I've used the Wilkinson 5+1 before now with very pleasing results!

Coming along...

Filling and priming


Base coat going on


Mid coat metallic and lacquered with a couple of bits laid in to see how it looks




I'm hoping to get it finished over the next couple of weekends. It needs polishing, but, I have to say, it looks pretty damn good to me already.

Pick up is a Duncan Invader. I thought the colour and output rather suited it....

I don't think it's bright enough. Could you perhaps find a brighter shade of orange?

Not totally unattractive at all; black hardware would look the bomb! Have you found a stringlock?

Nobody would ever mistake that for a Gretsch. 

I like the idea of the black hardware. Only got a chrome bridge at the moment but will look for a black one.

No luck on the "Fender Fine Tuning Nut" yet. Coincidentally, a new looking one was sold on Fleabay for about £20 the week I bought the guitar. They are about, so I'll keep looking.