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Post subject: Help me mod my Squire
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 6:01 pm
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Hey there

I recently started classes on how to repair and build electric guitars.
so i decided to take apart an old squire guitar that i've had forever and put some decent hardware in it. however i dont have much money. is there a good place to find cheap or free quality parts? maybe even some of you would be willing to give away some stuff lying around.

i'm pretty much looking for anything thats Mexican or American hardware that people dont want anymore

also, some suggestions on what i should install into this squire body would be helpful.

i'm even going as far as replacing the neck.


anyway get back to me on here or at mball017@yahoo.com

thanks

and sorry if i posted this in the wrong subject.


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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:24 pm
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I noticed you posted this in about 6 different places -- please pick just one place and post any given topic, thanks! I've deleted the others but am letting this one remain.

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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:40 pm
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sorry i'm kinda new to this stuff, and i was just trying to get the word out.

could you point me in the direction of a place that has used, cheap, or free fender strat parts?


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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:09 am
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There are a lot of people that get their stuff at www.guitarfetish.com Their prices are pretty reasonable. I personally have never bought from them though.

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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:23 am
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EGrier65 wrote:
There are a lot of people that get their stuff at www.guitarfetish.com Their prices are pretty reasonable. I personally have never bought from them though.


I've bought parts and a guitar from GuitarFetish. Great bang for your buck there, check them out!

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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 6:11 pm
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Hello mball, I too have a Squier Strat. Mine is the Bullet model. Actually I am quite happy with the guitar as is. Let me first begin with saying that I believe good tone or bad tone is in the ears of the beholder. It's a matter of what you like. And good sound is also achieved most of all by the person playing the instument, nomatter what kind of instument you have, or how much it cost, or how well built it is, it can only sound as good as the person can play it. So in my opinion the best modification you can make is to learn to play well, and lots of practice.
Now , with that said the best place to start is a proper set-up job. The finest instrument, being played by a very talented person can not do it's job and sound good if it isn't set-up correctly. The first two things I did to mine within the first week of haveing was a set-up per Fender's specifications and then a little tweak here and there to string height to elimnate a slight fret buzz on the low E and A strings. The second thing was to change strings. The factory strings would not stay in tune for more than a day at best. I strung it with a new set of Earnie Ball regular slinkies, (my personal favorites) they stay in tune very well on my guitar, after the set-up. Also you'll want to lubricate every string contact point with a dry graphite powder, the nut, string trees, saddles, the string holes on the tuner post where the strings go through the tuner posts. If you want to take the gear covers off on the back of the tuners carefully check the screws makeing sure you don't overtighten them. They are ussually lubricated pretty well from the factory, or at least mine were, but it is a good idea to periodcly do this and clean them and relubricate them. This is the one place that I would suggest lubricating with a small dab of Vaseline.
After that I plan to replace the tuners mine from the factory have quite a bit of slack in them that I've tried every way I know of to improve to no avail. Let me also say that it is my opinion that authentic Fender parts are the best, but if you are on a tight budget as I am www.guitarfetish.com is the best place to look for stuff like that as has already been suggested. They seem to be by far the best bang for your buck IMO. One of their steel tremolo blocks are in the future of my guitar. The cast pot metal stock trem blocks is pretty dead sounding. Steel has a much brighter tone IMO. I also intend to change out the electronics. The stock Squier pots are 500k ohms with a .047uF tone capacitor. Most Fender Strats have 250k pots with an .022uF tone cap, which to my ear sounds brighter. Some folks like the 500k pots with the .047 cap combination. Here again it's a matter of personal taste, the old '50's Strats had 250 k pots with .01 cap. Finally I intend to replace the the ceramic bar magnets in the pick-ups with AlNiCo 5 rod magnets also a matter of personal tone taste, but here again if you check out the specs for the Vintage Strats they almost all came with these type magnets, but even some of the better Fender Custom shop pups have the ceramic bar type magnets. So once more a matter of taste and what you want your instrument to sound like. Here is a link to a video that shows just how to do this project:
http://www.mojotone.com/iMojo-Videos/Up ... o-Tutorial
In this video he is replacing AlNiCo 5's with AlNiCo 2's, but I like the warmer sound of the 5's. I don't know the resistance numbers for other Squier pick-ups but I checked mine with a digital multimeter and they are 5.7ohms neck, and middle, and 5.8ohms bridge. Of course resistance is only one of the factors that determine the sound of the pick-ups but, it is one of the big factors used to get an idea of what the pup will sound like when compareing different pup's. Other measureable factors that determine the sound of different pups are inductance (the strength of the magnets), the gauge of the wire the coil is wound with, method of winding the coil, wether the wire is coated with enamel, or varnish, and the list goes on. Needless to say there are many factors that determine what a coil will sound like when compared with others. I intend to change the magnets in mine, because #1 it's the least expensive route to go and, the change from ceramic magnets to AlNiCo will make the most difference in the tone of the guitar, in a good way. If you don't feel comfortable changeing the magnets yourself, Guitar fetish has some inexpensive pick-up sets that I've heard sound really good for the money. Of course they are probably not going to sound quite as good as a set of authentic Fender custom shop pups but they also don't cost $145-$250.
Dude this is the best info I've found and some things I plan to do my Squire. I am also considering cost as a giant factor in my mind, as I said I am dealing with a really tight budget. All of what I have suggested here would cost around $65-$85 not counting any labor costs because I can do the work myself and look forward to it. But you mentioned even changing the neck of your guitar. If there is nothing wrong with yours, I wouldn't do that. All the Squiers I've looked at before buying had good necks. They are made of pretty decent quality maple and in mine rosewood. If it's not broke why fix it? In my opinion it kinda defeats the purpose if you put so much money into the guitar that you could have just went out bought a Fender Strat. Well I hope you get some good ideas from what all I've shared with you here, like I said it's my 2 pennies worth. Sorry it's such a long post but, you asked. I hope I've helped.


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:18 am
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If you are seeking parts, check the local guitar stores and check with their luthier (the guy or gal who repairs guitars). Often they have used parts that need a new home. Also check the Craigs list and the bay, sometimes you can get a good deal on parts.

As for a neck replacement, depends on how much you want to drop. Mighty Mite has some good quality Licensed Fender necks for about $90-$150, and Warmouth has exotic woods necks over $300.

If you can do the work yourself, I would suggest refretting and shaping the neck you already have. It's easier than you would think and will save you a lot of $$$. Tools and frets can be found at stewmac.com. In fact, you can substitute some of the fretting tools with regular hardware tools.

If you want to upgrade your project, I would recommend avoiding cheep low quality, switches, pots, jacks, pickups, and bridges. because these are the things that will break down/ wear out first. Stick with high quality electronics and bridges.

If you allready have the foundation, i.e., neck and body. Take your time and add the stuff as you can afford it. In the end you may have a high quality great playing, good sounding, good looking guitar.

Next thing you know, you'll be building effects pedals and amps.

Take tone into your own hands.


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 12:56 pm
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Check ebay, I've replaced some of the hardware on my Squier with gold Fender parts I was able to find on eBay.

Going to be cheaper than almost any other place you find.


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