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Post subject: Upgrading my Squier Deluxe - Help
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:39 pm
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I bought a brand new Squier Deluxe, one of these;
http://www.squierguitars.com/products/s ... 0300500504

I bought it with the intention to strip it down, refinish it, and rebuild it with new parts as my first attempt at rebuilding a guitar and upgrading parts. I'm running into a little bit of trouble.

-Will a new American Strat bridge/tremolo fit? I'm willing to drill a few holes if I need to fit a 6 screw vintage style if it matters. The current bridge appears to be patterned after the current two hole style, but something tells me they're not interchangeable, something to do with string spacing. I'm also concerned that the solid tremolo block below the bridge assembly is a different shape/dimension on the Squier, and so even if I drill new bridge holes I'd need to re-rout the tremolo cavity. I'm willing to drill new bridge holes, but not do any routing.

-Will a new pickguard fit with respect to the string spacing/bridge/pickup arrangements? My wiring skills are not bad, but I'm interested in getting one of those pre-built custom pickguards from GFS. This is partly because I want a black pickguard and short of spray painting the stock white one I'm going to have to look at one for an American strat body.

-10mm tuners right? Are these American Strat standard or am I out of luck for replacing these too?

It's not that my stock Squier was bad, just that I want to replace the hardware as a learning experience/upgrade some parts to a higher quality but I'm running into problems with parts not being able to interchange.

Thanks guys


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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:39 pm
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Hey, welcome to the forums...and I for one am glad you checked out a Squier!!

Well, first thing's first....that bridge. I don't know if an American Standard will fit. (Chances are it won't....and the only way to make absolutely sure is to take some measurements of your Squier and then eyeball a US Model.)

I found this thread to be helpful though. stewmac.com offers all kinds of replacement bridges that will fit into that Squier...including a Floyd Rose or multiple variants.

(Here's the thread)

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... bbbe7cef4a

(It also depends on whether or not you use a lot of trem bar in your playing. If you don't, the stock bridge will probably work out OK.)

Also, on the tuning keys.....10 mm sounds right...but heck, if you're going to go that route....why not some locking tuners?

(but, even if the tuners are a little bit too big or small that can be fixed easily enough.)

On the pickguard....you might have a hole or two that doesn't line up....but it's no biggie. Wood screws are like that, and the holes are covered. If it is of concern, you can always fill the gap up with some wood putty and sand lightly. (I also just bought an aftermarket, black pickguard from pickguards.com....for 22 bucks. They're out there.....and, if you like black you should check out the black abalone they've got....killer look!) Another trick I've done is that the holes from the pickguard screws....I actually put little pieces of paper in each hole so that the cover is nice and solid when it's put back on.

On the electronics side of it....hahah....that's actually the stuff I enjoy doing the most. If you decide to upgrade your pickups, the pots should be fine, as well as the capacitors. I just rewired a guitar over the weekend from ground zero, but not out of choice...I have a tone selector switch die, (it was a GAE) and some of the leads were a little too tight to get around and to that switch.

So, I ended up rewiring everything with either 18 gauge shielded speaker wire, and from the selector to the double-tapped position on the selector back to the volume knob I used excess cloth-covered wire that came with some '69 pickups I ordered from Fender. (Hindsight 20/20 I should have also wired from the tone pots back to the selector...but eh, what's done is done.)


Good Luck! And have fun!

:)
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:47 pm
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Thanks for the reply.

I don't use the trem bar when playing, actually, I have no intentions to use the trem bar ever. If I could mount a hard tail bridge on there I would, but the trem cavity is already routed so might as well throw one in there. Never know, I might take a shine to the trem bar one day.

I see that Guitarfetish sells bridges with 2 1/16" string spacing, identical to my Squier (as well as the MIM strats) with vintage style 6 mount holes. I'm still new to guitars so I'm not exactly sure how string spacing comes into play. Does it have something to do with the neck size/width, pickguard arrangement, or is the the trem block cavity? I'd replace the bridge with an American replacement, just drill some new holes, but if the solid trem block won't line up or won't fit in that cavity then I'm in trouble.

I asked about the pickups not because of wiring, I'm not afraid of soldering and the circuitry is not all that complicated, but because I don't want the pickups to be out of sync with the strings (too far off center). Still heavily considering a pre-wired pickguard from GFS for convenience.


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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:36 pm
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happydude wrote:
Thanks for the reply.

I don't use the trem bar when playing, actually, I have no intentions to use the trem bar ever. If I could mount a hard tail bridge on there I would, but the trem cavity is already routed so might as well throw one in there. Never know, I might take a shine to the trem bar one day.

I see that Guitarfetish sells bridges with 2 1/16" string spacing, identical to my Squier (as well as the MIM strats) with vintage style 6 mount holes. I'm still new to guitars so I'm not exactly sure how string spacing comes into play. Does it have something to do with the neck size/width, pickguard arrangement, or is the the trem block cavity? I'd replace the bridge with an American replacement, just drill some new holes, but if the solid trem block won't line up or won't fit in that cavity then I'm in trouble.

I asked about the pickups not because of wiring, I'm not afraid of soldering and the circuitry is not all that complicated, but because I don't want the pickups to be out of sync with the strings (too far off center). Still heavily considering a pre-wired pickguard from GFS for convenience.


Hmm....Well, if you don't use the bar...I wouldn't mess with the bridge. Although I'm uncertain about your specific model of Squier, it's been my experience that most bridges...don't match up.

And, between you and me....(this is my opinion after road testing the Squier Deluxe model I found in a left handed variant) the bridge is of a superior quality than the MiM variant. (AS for the bridge...I don't know if I'd recommend drilling holes like that. Some argue that it's no biggie...but chipping the finish and changing the tone of your guitar may be the consequences.)

One thing I have done in the past with my bridge is instead of getting a new bridge, I'd either purchase extra springs for the back, or in one instance (and I don't know why I haven't considered re-doing it...it really had a nice effect) I had the bridged blocked off ala Clapton...in other words, I cut a solid piece of wood and mounted it in that space between the botton of the bridge to where the wood meets in that back cavity...

One result was that the entire guitar seemed to vibrate more....more resonance....but on the downside? Do that and you will have to re-adjust your saddles to get the effective string height since your bridge will be right up against the body. (Atypical string height from the top of the 12th fret to the botton of the E strings on stratocasters is at approximately 5/64th of an inch standard.)

And, technically...you could put the American bridge on the Squier...but without knowing the neck dimensions, there will be a difference if you are adopting a bridge that was set for a guitar with a wider neck.

It's a tough call, but in terms of mods I typically leave the bridge alone. If you're looking for an improvement in tone, you may want to check out new saddles first. (I actually learned about this little trick after modding an Epiphone) That will improve the overall tone of your guitar without conducting a major operation.

As for the pups? I'd say go for the wiring. As far as the manufacturer spec for pickup height? Well....typically they set the pups evenly....and most players that I've seen tend to set the side residing on the high E string slightly higher. I've also seen pups where the bridge single coil was higher vs. the middle or neck position pups. In truth that should be something you're going to want to set for yourself since you may not like the manufacuter height. (In addition...yes! Change your pickups on the strat! If anything, re-wire them....it's a great and fun experience as far as modifications go...and you'll be miles ahead of your peers for having this knowledge once the operation is done! Messing with the pots and pickups is arguably my favorite thing to do on an electric....)

:twisted:

EDIT: heh...in case you haven't noticed.....yes, I'm really trying to talk you out of upgrading the bridge. It's arguably one of the most difficult operations on any guitar, and even the pros have had mixed results when conducting these kinds of experiments.

If you're not using a lot of trem, I'd replace the saddles first, and if you are really looking for something which does show some improvement, throw a block of wood in the back cavity ala Clapton or add a few springs back there...


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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:19 pm
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I'm also re-thinking drilling new bridge holes, seems too risky and not worth the extra hassle. The only trick with getting new saddles is that I need ones that conform to 2 1/16" string spacing. The tuners will still be replaced, and I'm thinking I'll re-wire myself. I already have a fender 5-way switch, new pots and new pickups (the stock ones are three wire?1?) and then I'm good to go. I'm even considering spray painting my pickguard to get a custom colour.

Thanks for all your help.


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