Hey guys I got this squire bullet strat and i want to repaint it and make it like George Harrisons rocky strat. But my squire is a piece of crap and it doesnt really stay in tune, If i was to buy some parts of the fender site like some locking tuners and a new tremelo system and bridge would it fit my squire?

Oh and on George's strat were the pickups just normal fender strat pickups or did he replace them?

AFAIK "Rocky" was an otherwise-stock Stratocaster.

Here's some pics of a repro that you may find useful......

http://www.ronkirn.com/gallery2/index.php?album=rocky

Best of luck, HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Squier Bullets have thinner bodies than Fenders and Squier Standards so no, a new bridge will not fit your guitar. I have a Squier Affinity Strat and I've been dying to upgrade the hardware, and can't. They probably do that to make you buy a better guitar, but I really like my Squier and I want to stick with it anyway.

For improved tuning stability there are things you can do. You could have a set up done and ask the tech to add more springs in the back and/or tighten it up. You'd have a harder time using the whammy bar but your guitar would stay in tune better. You could also just block the tremolo, like on the Eric Clapton Custom Shop Strats. Then you couldn't use the tremolo at all, and it would essentially be a hardtail. Also, double check the way you install new strings. I had tuning problem galore until my tech showed me the proper way to restring my guitar. There's really no need for locking tuners after that.

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George and John bought 2 identical Sonic Blue 61 Strats in 65 and kept them original as far as hardware goes.BTW you can really get a good idea how they sounded by listening to the lead break of Nowhere Man where the Strats were used for the first time,plugged directly in to the board and played in unison.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Ahhh,I had a '65 Sonic blue,but I would never have painted it like Rocky,but then I ain't Beatle George.
I think he got the idea from Eric Clapton and his painted SG.

I have two bullets that I have upgraded and they sound a lot better and stay tuned as well as any Fender.

You must be prepared to do some minor surgery, that is swapping parts.

1. The first thing you need to do is discover the guitarfetish.com website.

There you will find for a mere $20.00 you can buy the single most important thing in improving you guitars sound, even more than pickups! (everyone runs to new pickups but that is not the answer, it can be part of the answer)

http://store.guitarfetish.com/tremelos.html

Buy a nice big fat steel or brass tremelo block. This will replace the thin dinky one that comes on the guitar that gives it that "thin" sound. I have a bullet with the steel and one with the brass. In my experience the brass gives the bullet a more full rich sound. YOU WILL WANT TO BUY THE "IMPORT 10.5MM" spacing

The tremelo block is in the back of the guitar. Your Bullet probably has three springs in the back from the trem block to the claw. When you go back together put 5 springs across the back, each one will go straight across.

You can also get a new tremelo and all steel bridge system with the big fat bar for about $45.00 on guitarfetish site. The stock bullet bridge has some alloy in it. The all steel one will improve the sound.

2. Install new tuners. This is a sticky job. It requires drilling out the headstock holes. The bullet tuners have holes drilled at about 8.5mm. You can go with your favorite tuner but you will have to enlarge the holes. One one of my bullets I put standard MIM type tuners, for those the holes need to be drilled out to 10mm. I also have a bullet with fender "vintage tuners." To install them you need to drill out to about 9.5mm if I recall correctly.

I am not aware of a quality tuner that will fit right in with enlarging the headstock holes. I looked around but could find none. Maybe someone can chime in if they know of some.

Any way to enlarge the holes you want to study up on this and be careful!If you are not confident DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT HELP. You want to take care not to crack the headstock, or wallow the holes out to big or eccentric. Get some help from someone you knw that has a drill press and wood working experience.

I prefer the vintage tuners, they were easier to install and stay in tune just great.

3. If you want some better sounding pickups to replace the ceramic magnet ones on the bullet you can also get a prewired pickguard from guitarfetish. Buy the prewired Alnico 5 pickguards. They run about $45.00.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/wipi.html

For about $100 you can turn your bullet into a nice sounding guitar. It will never sound like a MIA because the body is made of an inferior tone wood. But you will have a nice sounding guitar that you can tote around with you and not worry about the dings and scratches it earns. I take one of my bullets with me when I travel and keep one at work by my desk so I can play a little during the day as a stress reliever. My boss does not care, as long as my work is done, and done correctly.

I hope this helps you.

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I remember when we were free!

George used a sunburst Squier Strat during the Wembley Stadium show of 1987.



He also played slide guitar on a Torino Red EC model during his Japanese tour with Eric Clapton in 1991.

Here's the final result. Although not mine, this "Rocky" replica is truly a fantastic-sounding guitar, especially when plugged into a Vox AC30!

That's a great job,it really looks authentic although I don't think that Rock was quite as glossy.I'd like to see Fender make a Rocky Strat model, I think that it would outsell a lot of the other artist models especially if it had 60s era sounding pups and neck profile.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Hey thanks man this really helped me, oh and thanks to everyone else who replied!

I don't think American parts will fit, MIM might. Try Angela.com, they have the cheapest parts around and I believe they can help you in your quest. I've read recently that one of the biggest reason for tuning issues is improperly strung guitars.... My old Aria Pro with its cheap $@! tuners held in tune just fine. One was crappy because it was a little loose, but it stayed in tune...

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I agree with guitslinger, If Fender made a "Rocky" replica it would outsell most other artists replicas hands down, but its not only the guitar its the musician strummin away too. George was awesome!

This is my Rocky. Yes, it is a Squier. And, yes, it sounds incredible. In fact for some tunes it sounds better than my real Strat. Whenever I want to play the gorgeous Strat song "River Of Deceit" by Seattle supergroup Mad Season, I grab my Rocky. She nails that song's tone perfectly.

A few things:

1. Yes, she is more glossy than George's. A) I don't want all the paint work I did to her to scratch or chip off. B) George's originally was more glossy. It obviously has dulled over the past forty plus years.

2. The colors in that gallery link posted above are a bit off. My colors are closer. I admit my orange is a bit too day-glo bright, but the light magenta on the pickguard circles, the bridge pickup, and under the bridge is correct. Remember, Rocky was the second paint job George did on his Strat. His first was mostly that very light magenta as seen in MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR. You can see in this photo that there really isn't much red on the guitar as most replicas seem to be painted with. As I said, two circles on the pickguard, the area under the bridge, and the bridge pickup are closer to a light purple than to red:


3. I suggest you just buy another Squier if this one you have is too troublesome. The ones I pick up in the store today are really very good guitars. Buy a white or blue one and the paint has no problem covering.

4. I used acrylic model paints (Tamiya brand) and just started painting with a brush. Took about 25 hours total. Remember, George used everything from house paint to nail polish on his. You are not going for perfection here. It's rather a chaotic paint job. Makes it easy to duplicate. (I could never do a Clapton Fool guitar.)

5. Fender can't release a Rocky replica. As it stands now, George's estate forbids any George signature guitars. You don't see Rickenbacker, Epiphone, Gibson, or Gretsch making any George guitars for a reason.

Good luck and any questions I'll try to help.

I wouldn't worry about getting a new bridge. Mostlikely the problem is the nut. Get with a good luthier and have him install a bone nut.

Paris