Full Squier Customization, need help

[DoubleARon]

I own a Squier Strat and i'm ready to upgrade to new equipment. My idea is to upgrade the pickups, wiring, possibly get a new neck, and get a paint job. First, i need pickups. I play heavy metal, rock, blues, and jazz. I want to be able to play all of them on this same guitar, so i was thinking of using a Dimebucker or some BC Rich humbuckers as well as some Gibson or whatever pickups, so i can have the power and crunch of metal and then be able to switch pickups and play some blues. Please give me any suggestions, criticism, hints, or recomendations on the types of pickups, placing, and all that good stuff.

[curtisstetka]

Hi there. Welcome to TFF.

My first question is why you're sticking with the Squier at all - is it really cost-effective to do so?

That is, if you're changing the pickups, wiring, neck, and paint job it's not really the same guitar anymore, is it?

Why not sell the Squier intact and get yourself a guitar that's already closer to what you're looking for?

Anyway, here's some stuff I know....

For the paint job, www.reranch.com - they have all the stuff you need plus some instructional equipment.

For the new neck, I would go to ebay. There are a zillion guitar necks there. Chances are you'll find what you're looking for fairly cheaply. If, however, you're after something really special and customized exactly to your specs, I'd recommend www.warmoth.com. I've gotten stuff from them and been very pleased with the results.

Pickups - there are already many hundred threads at this site discussing pickups. Many members here swear by the GFS pickups sold at www.guitarfetish.com. Their prices certainly are cheap and they do get good reviews. Never tried them personally.

My Telecaster has Chris Kinman's boutique pickups in it. Expensive but they do deliver what I'm looking for. www.kinman.com I'd have to say that I don't know if they're suitable for the heavier end of the spectrum. I think Kinmans are basically "vintage" style for the most part.

Seymour Duncan makes great pickups. Several of their models are designed to do what you're after - HB in a SC space.

Good luck.

[DoubleARon]

This Squier is my baby, i've had it for a really long time and it just holds sentimental value. I'm going to do pickup upgrades first and then the rest come later so i'm not worried about cash. Thanks for the suggestions, i'll look into them.

[frank thomson]

dbl....imo, just keep the squire in tact....espicially if its sentimental

by the time you re-make it, you could just save that money and buy something closer to what u want...maybe a double fat strat...used....for $200-$250

then you can just KRYLON the body, and switch pups (if necessary)

$.02

[Offshore Angler]

I'm with frank. By the time you purchase all you need you could have bought a nicer guitar than you'll end up with - and you'll have two guitars. I have a Strat that was my baby for many, many years. And over the years I've changed the electronics to fit the taste of the music we were playing at the time. Now, it's pretty much retired (it's just plain played out to where it's falling apart and not worth gigging with) and I'd love to restore it to it's original condition, but the parts are long gone.

[curt1lp]

I've customised an Affinity squire.

I changed the 70s large headstock with rosewood board to a small headstock maple board from a Korean squire. I've swapped out two of the pickups bridge and neck for alnico pickups. Changed the cap for a Paper in oil 0.047. I've rewired with vintage style cloth covered wire. Sounds good and looks good now.

But... I want a decent tremolo block for it not those crap zinc ones they throw on. Bought a MIM bridge assembly off ebay, unfortunately same half assed thin block. Bought a Japan Fender strat bridge off ebay. bigger block but doesn't fit. Never mind, the MIM bridge saddles have Fender stamped on them that looks cool.

http://img142.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img20188zm.jpg

All in all its a worthwhile exercise, bugger the cost, what about the learning experience, how much is that worth?

[telecast]

All in all its a worthwhile exercise, bugger the cost, what about the learning experience, how much is that worth?

While there's a LOT of truth to that, it's still trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. There are less expensive ways to learn, or, start with a better platform and end up with something very cool when complete.

Still we each have our ways, and if this is the one that works for you, go for it.

[curt1lp]

Telecast,

I'm in full agreement that my Squire willl never be a silk purse, but its really not all that expensive IMHO. You can pickup up replacement pickups cheap on ebay, and the parts that are replaced can go on ebay too defraying the cost to an extent.

One problem with starting with a better platform though is, if you pay a lot for a guitar to start with are you really going to want to start taking it apart and replacing bits here and there. That seems just as expensive too in the long run because it seems likely to me that if you try to sell the upgraded expensive guitar then most buyers are not going to want to pay for the extras that have been added or maybe they will even see that as detrimental because the guitar is not factory stock.

Well I'm coming too from a position of owning a couple of cool guitars eg Gibson and Burny Les Paul so it doesn't worry me to muck around with and own the Squire. But an example of learning experience on lesser guitars is that I rewired my Epiphone (bolt on neck Les Paul) vintage style before I did the same to my 87 Gibson LP (and I was aware that mucking around with my Gibson might lower its resale value but I didn't care as I wanted it to sound better)

Yeah there are many things to consider I reckon.

[frank thomson]

hey Curt, do you have a total cost on your Squire project?

and please don't forget your shipping costs and paypal fees

i just love knowing useless facts, and it's really all the same to me.

."...pickups, wiring, possibly get a new neck, and get a paint job. First, i need pickups. ...using a Dimebucker... BC Rich humbuckers ... Gibson or whatever pickups, ...

even at blind prices, we got....
pups....min $75
neck...min $75...
[at this $$ point, you can get a new one!= $150 sub tot.]
wiring/pots/SS.....min $35
shipping and/or tax/PP fees....$30 MIN
paint?....KRYLON $5

so you're up to $220 minimum (and trust me, I'm tawkin MINIMUM!)


or you can just get a diff/new guitar and have 2!

just curious; are you sure 2 HB's will fit?....or are you gonna route the body too?!?


(ya know, it kinda doesn't even feel like a real question anymore)

but hey,

[NeoFauve]

You'd have to be pretty lucky to snag a neck for $75.
Especially if you have any specific tastes in that area.

One of the things you may learn is that some MIM/J/US upgrade parts might not fit the Squire.
If you have the time and patience, go for it. But it seems like there are a lot of easier routes you could take other than trying to use that particular guitar as a jumping off point.

[BradKM]

Why not let us know exactly what you're looking for as far as the neck, body (paint scheme) and pickup layout goes. We could do a better job of zeroing in on recommendations then.

[frank thomson]

i never modded a Squire strat, but I'd check what Neo said about all the parts not fitting...don't you even have to deepen the pup routes, too?

also what Brad said!

[curt1lp]

Well I guess most of the parts used on my project come from my parts bin anyway. How it happened was that I had the MIK Squire with a black body and maple neck. I really didn't like the plain body and I also have subsquently found out its probably ply anyway. I originally bought that for $270 AU a couple years ago.

I was at cashconverters store and saw a second hand Squire affinity in sunburst and 57 style scratchplate for a great price of AU150. It was in as new condition. The neck of the korean squire fitted perfectly any how the neck seems very good quality to me pretty close to a real strats neck IMHO.

The vintage wire is off ebay, I think $20 US for 20 feet (black and white). The neck alnico pickup was off another guitar of mine (a pointy two pickup, neck sc and bridge HB), but I had replaced the neck Hb with a hotrails pickup. I guess it would be worth about $15 as the maker is unknown to me, it looks good quality probably seymour duncan or dimarzio. The bridge pickup is an old hot Dimarzio alnico pickup (8k) off another proiject that is long gone. Probably worth about $20. The MIM bridge is really not an upgrade as such over the Squire bridge but it fits perfectly on the affinity body. It was $35 US shipped to Australia I think. The paper in oil cap is one of a lot of twenty vintage ones for US $20 so I guess it cost me a dollar burt in reality it would probably be about $15 to buy as a single off ebay.

Never had any problems with pickup routes on a squire body. But it depends on the pickups, Gibson HBS are quite tall and may not fit unless you dremel the sides of the pickup route a bit. Dimarzios are usually no problem at all.

The neck off the affinity squire fits perfectly on a MIM body that I have. (the korean squire neck fit too but was a little tall meaning raising the saddles too much, and that didn't look right).

So I think you can upgrade an affinity squire to a MIM strat but not to a USA strat due to different dimensions on the USA.

I have a Japan Silver Series Squire strat. It has different dimensions for the bridge, a MIM bridge doesn't fit but USA bridge does, I suspect that it will take a USA neck too. However I wouldn't change the neck on that one it looks great quality. I think this one can be upgraded to a USA strat with parts off ebay. But all that would be is buying the USA strat bit by bit eventually one would have the parts to put the Japanese squire back together again. Most probably cheaper to just go ahead and buy the USA strat if you have the cash upfront.

One important point. IMHO with skill and good pickups, caps and pots you can get a lesser guitar to sound better, yes better than a stock "standard" (not custom shop) guitar from Gibson or Fender. It may not be as comfortable to play though. The big boy's stuff seems to be often let down by the quality of the caps and wiring IMO and that plays a huge role in the quality of the sound.

[telecast]

Curt:

I was speaking more along the lines of an MIM Standard as a jumping-off point. I've bought them for as little as $175, and gotten some very nice ones for $225. From there, you can mod as much or as little as you want. The whole guitar is good quality, so you can keep the neck or change it, same with the tuners and whatever else. The electronics are already top-notch, same stuff they use in a US model. Since they use vintage style bridges, that's an easy swap too.

[curt1lp]

You have great prices in the States Telecast. Given those facts I'd be following your advice too and forgetting about Squires alltogether too. A MIM strat (maybe not even a standard) here costs around $800 AU second hand.

[frank thomson]

... A MIM strat (maybe not even a standard) here costs around $800 AU second hand.

ouch!

man, you should make some friends stateside

[telecast]

Holy crap!

Stick with Squiers....

[frank thomson]

so curt, is it a *duty* thing that those guitars are so high $$$$?

like if i shipped you a guitar, how mush would u hafta pay in tax/tarriff/duty fees?

or is it that dealers just charge that? [$800AU]

[curt1lp]

Dealers charge that, and probably there is duty to get guitars into the country.

More prices at the local music store:

If I recall correctly A Fender custom shop Strat was over $9000, Fender USA strat about $2500, Gibson Les Paul Standard faded $4500, my second hand 1987 Gibson Les paul Standard was $2500 at the same shop. Bear in mind that the Aussie dollar is worth 70-80% of the US one.

If you shipped me a guitar I don't think I would pay duty especially if it was marked gift, the killer would be shipping probably about $150 US.

[Fripperton]

It's about $85-$95 to ship a guitar to Australia by Airmail Parcel Post 4 to 10 day service. More if a case is involved. I do it several times a year. I don't know what the import tax is. You should also check because there are max size regulations. Some basses have to have the neck removed first. BTW you can ship a guitar to Australia by Economy Parcel Post for about $40- $50 but it could take up to 4 to 6 weeks.

[Keystring]

I own a Squier Strat and i'm ready to upgrade to new equipment. My idea is to upgrade the pickups, wiring, possibly get a new neck, and get a paint job. First, i need pickups. I play heavy metal, rock, blues, and jazz. I want to be able to play all of them on this same guitar, so i was thinking of using a Dimebucker or some BC Rich humbuckers as well as some Gibson or whatever pickups, so i can have the power and crunch of metal and then be able to switch pickups and play some blues. Please give me any suggestions, criticism, hints, or recomendations on the types of pickups, placing, and all that good stuff.

I have a '98 Squier Stratocaster made in Mexico (small headstock), and I can tell you the only thing I upgraded was the pickups.

I put a set of GFS vintage Alnicos in it with an American Standard Stratocaster pickguard, that, BTW drops right in and lines up with the holes, and it sounds great.

As far as the neck goes, it compares favorably with the MIM Strats and even the American made ones. I own two(2) American Standard Strats, an '87 and an '89, and the Squier Strat neck is just as good, albeit a slightly different radius. (it's flatter than the American ones).
But this neck is straight and fast with no issues at all.

Even the 'cheap' tuners don't slip and the guitar stays in tune.

Don't know what year or maker of Squier you have, but my buddy's is made in Taiwan and his plays and sounds great since we put in the Ceramic pickups out of my Squier. I put the GFS ones in because I had them and felt they were a little 'brighter' than the Ceramic ones.

Cost for the upgrade? $34.95!

[seagate]

Sorry to correct you curt1lp, the prices that I see on ebay Australia for MIM Standards is more like AU$400. $800 would get you a new one...

[curt1lp]

Seagate,
I'm meaning from a dealer Eg Cash Converters type place. I wasn't aware you could buy a new MIM for $800, surely that would be the basic model not the one with USA electronics (essentially the ones without the USA electronics and fittings, seem to be very close to a Squire in specs, so I wouldn't be upgrading to that personally).

Yeah I agree, Ebay prices tend to be fairly consistent world-wide.

[Plugger]

You have great prices in the States Telecast. Given those facts I'd be following your advice too and forgetting about Squires alltogether too. A MIM strat (maybe not even a standard) here costs around $800 AU second hand.

Fender guitars (and amps, for that matter) _are_ expensive in Oz, but not _that_ expensive. You can buy a _new_ MIM Strat just about anywhere for AU$700 (including 10% GST). Just know standard street pricing is 30% off RRP. It starts getting to be harder work to get them lower than than the "given" 30%, but it's no work at all to get there in the first place.

It helps to know this, though. A dealer's buy price in Oz is about 50% RRP for Fender guitars, generally speaking. So their expected margin is about 40% of their buy price. So you might get them to come down a bit from that and they'll still make enough money for the doors to be open the next time you drop by.

One further thought: I bet there are some deals going on for 2005 spec MIM Strats, with those wimpy vintage frets, pathetic skinny little trem block, and whatever else was upgraded in 2006 so you can beat them down on the price.

-Mark

[Aaron]

Here's a Squier upgrade for ya,
Original;

Upgraded;

Purchased original galactic purple Squier Affinity, replaced P/U's with standard MIM P/U's, replaced 5 way switch with 3way, replaced pots, chrome P/U covers - knobs and buttons are from WD Supply, purple motto pickguard is Fender replacement, and the the plastic nut was replaced with bone. Before I could get around to replacing the tuners, my drummer bought it from me for his son to play.

[Henke]

That's a seriously cool Squire Aaron

[telecast]

I have a '98 Squier Stratocaster made in Mexico....

What's the serial number? I'd be interested to know. As I recall, the Squiers that came out of Mexico were older than '98, unless it was a special run. It seems they were somewhere around '94. By '98 Fender was running full Squier production out of Korea and China, with some Indonesian models.

BTW, MIM Squiers were top quality throughout, basically MIM's with a different decal and pups. On top of that, the Mexico factory did not cut their own necks or bodies in the early years, they got them all from the US plant. MIM Squiers are a very well-kept secret. The only reason they ever made them in Mexico was due to contracts running out in Japan and securing new deals in other countries. They were only made for a brief period.

[Plugger]

That's a seriously cool Squire Aaron

Well, at least seriously purple!

-Mark

[telecast]

My mistake. I just looked it up. The Squier (Large Fender decal, small Squier) MIM's were made from '96 thru (at least) '98, which is the year the book was published. Maybe longer?

[BradKM]

BTW, MIM Squiers were top quality throughout, basically MIM's with a different decal and pups. On top of that, the Mexico factory did not cut their own necks or bodies in the early years, they got them all from the US plant. MIM Squiers are a very well-kept secret. The only reason they ever made them in Mexico was due to contracts running out in Japan and securing new deals in other countries. They were only made for a brief period.

We got several of those in at a shop I was working at around that time. One of the handful that we got was one of those guitars that just has something special going for it. While working in guitar stores in college, and in the many years since I've played hundreds of Strats, from $79 copies to late 50s originals...and that little Squier was truly one of the finest I've ever laid my hands on. Definitely in the top three of all I've ever played. I should have bought it, but I was a poor college kid at the time and couldn't come up with the cash. A regular customer bought it for his young daughter to take lessons with.

I'm in no way implying that all of these are of similar quality...the others from the same batch ranged from average to less than average. I just thought I'd share.

[Keystring]

What's the serial number? I'd be interested to know. As I recall, the Squiers that came out of Mexico were older than '98, unless it was a special run. It seems they were somewhere around '94. By '98 Fender was running full Squier production out of Korea and China, with some Indonesian models.

BTW, MIM Squiers were top quality throughout, basically MIM's with a different decal and pups. On top of that, the Mexico factory did not cut their own necks or bodies in the early years, they got them all from the US plant. MIM Squiers are a very well-kept secret. The only reason they ever made them in Mexico was due to contracts running out in Japan and securing new deals in other countries. They were only made for a brief period.

The serial number is MN8107034.

It's on the back of the head stock instead of the front under 'Fender' like the newer ones.

And you're right about 'top quality' because this guitar plays and sounds great. Especially with the new pickups.

Here's a pic. It's the one in the middle.