Hello,
I was hoping someone might be able to give hopefully accurate wood and construction of of some strat bodies. I am on a upgrading (can't afford a 2012 Jade Pearl) plan. I have a 20th anniversary Squier Affinity Strat and wonder what the wood is likely. Also the likely wood for a MIM, which I might consider for purchase and upgrade. Thanks for any help!
Glenn

Some use agathis, some plywood(Squier Affinity). Examine the pickup/neck cavities.
MiM have alder bodies (some have ash). Old ones had poplar.

Cheers,
Robin

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Hello Robin,
Thanks for the reply and the information. I looked and it doesn't appear to be plywood. I like the neck except for the large headstock, and I want to tinker. I was planning on cleaning the neck with naptha and leaving it, nice satin smooth finish. Maybe polish the frets. The body I was going to do a naptha clean, light sanding to get the finish to adhere to the original color and spray can it. Put a good pickguard with CTS pots and spraque caps, new 5 position switch, tuners and and what ever pickups I finally decide on. Don't want to spend $100s of dollars for the pickups. Is it in anyone's opinion worth it. If I bought a MIM then the body would be good, I would probably want to change the pots, caps, tuners and pickups on it. Just wondering what would be a better and more fun way to go. New MIM standards are a fair degree of money, but the body and construction are more standard. I don't know......
Appreciate your time!
Glenn

Again... .....Squier's are not made with plywood bodies...
Some with a clear top coat have a figured wood veneer.
the painted colored ones can be 3 to 5 baulks glued up, that is not plywood, plywood is made up of wood sheets laminated ( or glued ) with each sheet's grain pattern running perpendicular to the sheet above or below..
This ensures that when and if you were to build a body out of plywood ( if you could get it at 1"3/4 thickness the edges would be next to impossible to smooth out completely......The labor costs needed would erase any potential savings in using plywood which is actually more expensive than plain stock because of the laminating process..
So it would be pointless for Fender and it's subsidiaries to build out of a more expensive yet inferior ( for the application of guitar bodies ) material.

For bodies they can be Basswood, Agathis, ( which is actually of the Pinus species referred to as Kauri Pine and comes from New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Phillipines, Fiji, Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia....its uses are cabinetry, boat building, flooring, boxes and also vats and tanks....) Poplar also a great hardwood which is easy to work and excellent at paint application....I have built Built-ins and Bathroom Vanities with Poplar.....

As far as electronics, do some research you will find that the stock pickups used in Fenders and Squiers often just need a change in Capacitors and/or pots to reveal a very capable pup.
However if your amp is not at least a good tube ( Champ 600) amp, then you can put in high end Lindy Fralin's, but it will still sound bad.. The amp is the other half of the electric guitar equation...

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Hello 53magnatone,
Thanks for the great information on the wood and construction of the Squiers. Mine is a Cort made, in Indonesia. I am running it on a Fender Blues Junior with a Cannabis Rex speaker. So I assume that better pickups will help along with the standard electronics upgrades. Strange, I decided to trade an ES-135 for a new 2012 American Strat, jade pearl with rosewood. Absolutely beautiful. I played it along side a Gibson SG Standard. I made a strange discovery, I like the feel and playing of the SG better. So it looks as if I will keep and upgrade this Squier. I would like to get it professionally painted, but that I believe is too much to spend on this guitar. Can't afford the SG and I did upgrades on a LP and it made a world of difference.
Appreciate your incite.
Glenn

If i may toot my own horn so to speak...I have a couple build threads on this Forum these links will clickety click you to them.
In addition there is TheNutters Build thread compilation which is a multiple build thread by other Forum Members...Very informative and you should find answers and DIY's to painting your Squier

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=51950

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=65048

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=43152&hilit=build+thread

Those should keep you busy reading for a while , especially the last link.
I would prepare some Popcorn......

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Howdy again, and thanks again for this information. It is sure to help. This is my first full job and I can use all the help I can get! Much obliged!
Regards,
Glenn