View Full Version : Squier Project Done!
happydude
07-13-2008, 05:59 PM
So I bought my Squier Deluxe with the intention of tearing it down to re-finish the body and replace some of the parts. I re-finished the three piece basswood body with polyurethane stain and was all set to rebuild it with Grover tuners, black hardware, and Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups. I made several rookie mistakes putting it back together, got frustrated, and was all set to cut my losses and part it out. Andy from Hamm Guitars offered his services to re-build it and set it up. He did an absolutely fantastic job and I couldn't be more appreciative of his help. He's a real stand up guy and highly recommended.
Anyway, here's the finished result. I couldn't be any happier with how it feels and plays, especially for a cheap guitar. Cost for the guitar new was $268, tuners were another $50, pickups $150, black spray paint for pickugard.... $10, knobs and hardware $25. Not too bad at all. Had the body not been a good solid three piece, I probably would have cheaped out on the hardware but it's got a nice tone to it.
Stock 'before' photo,
http://www.woodbrass.com/images/woodbrass/FENDER+030-0500-523.JPG
And my 'after' photos. Yes, they're backwards, I really should buy a digital camera.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g123/happydude20/Photo9.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g123/happydude20/Photo1.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g123/happydude20/Photo7.jpg
Great job, I love a natural finish! Sure was nice of Andy.
my question is this. i know it's a project, so might not relate to what i'm gonna say. right now you invested over 500$ so far, and to be honnest, it's still a Squirer. for that price you'de have found a REALY nice MIM..or even a Made in Japan, wich both are like 500% better then any rebuilt squire.
Just my 2 cents
elindso
07-13-2008, 06:30 PM
It looks good and he likes the way it plays.
The price doesn't come into play.
It's his with his touch on it.
happydude
07-13-2008, 06:46 PM
my question is this. i know it's a project, so might not relate to what i'm gonna say. right now you invested over 500$ so far, and to be honnest, it's still a Squirer. for that price you'de have found a REALY nice MIM..or even a Made in Japan, wich both are like 500% better then any rebuilt squire.
Just my 2 cents
This project was more about learning how guitars go together and how to build one so that one day I can build the partscaster that I really want. Think of this as a test platform. Besides, who cares what it says on the headstock :wink: ?
Which reminds me, I stripped off all markings and decals to make room for custom markings, yet to be applied.
Maxer
07-13-2008, 07:26 PM
Man, it looks really nice. I like your mods to the guitar... you gave it more character.
About it being a Squire... who cares what it was originally? It's yours and if it gives you pleasure to play and to look at, then that's all that really counts.
wow...you guys like to jump the gun a bit fast here!..ok..it's a learning curve, sure, i respect that. Now as to who cares what it sais on the head stock!..huh, any serious musician does actualy, not the actuall writting..but a squire is basicaly a POS, and please, i know it's all a mather of choices and all, but a squier, even if you change every part possible will NEVER sound as good as a real strat. NEVER, it's a fact and it can't be changed.
BUT, i'm sure as time go by, you'll start building better guitars as you mentionned. :rockon:
fraser
07-13-2008, 07:45 PM
know it's all a mather of choices and all, but a squier, even if you change every part possible will NEVER sound as good as a real strat. NEVER, it's a fact and it can't be changed.
geez al3d, i like ya and all, but that statement of yours was perhaps the stupidest thing ive read in ages.
how can it fail to sound like a real strat? its got real strat pickups doesnt it? what else is there?
happydude- looks good, enjoy it!
geez al3d, i like ya and all, but that statement of yours was perhaps the stupidest thing ive read in ages.
how can it fail to sound like a real strat? its got real strat pickups doesnt it? what else is there?
happydude- looks good, enjoy it!
well..i guess yours is the second..if you think having single coil pups makes a guitar sounds like a strat, wow, you are in for a suprise..hehe. Sorry, don't wanna take over his tread here, he did a wonderfull job retrofitting the squire, but man, comeone, you realy think that just changing pups on a guitar will make it sound like a 1000$ instrument?..
happydude
07-13-2008, 07:57 PM
I'd like to take credit for it but most of that should go to Andy. I refinished the body and re-wired the pickguard the first time, but I screwed up the 5-way switch so Andy had to re-wire the sucker.. and put everything back together from scratch since I took everything off in preparation for sale... and set it up.
I suppose part of the reason of putting some money into it was the body and neck. There's a little fret buzz on a couple of the strings in a few areas but nothing major. I actually find the neck quite comfortable and even though there's a ding in it there's just something about it that I like. The body is three pieces of solid wood, basswood mind you, but solid nevertheless. The trem bloc is cast metal but it still has a decent level of sustain, pretty much on par with the pictured Godin SD.
It'll never be an American strat, but it's not supposed to be.
Ripper
07-13-2008, 08:29 PM
wow...you guys like to jump the gun a bit fast here!..ok..it's a learning curve, sure, i respect that. Now as to who cares what it sais on the head stock!..huh, any serious musician does actualy, not the actuall writting..but a squire is basicaly a POS, and please, i know it's all a mather of choices and all, but a squier, even if you change every part possible will NEVER sound as good as a real strat. NEVER, it's a fact and it can't be changed.
BUT, i'm sure as time go by, you'll start building better guitars as you mentionned. :rockon:
First off I've got a 83 and 85 squiers sitting here that I will put up against any MIA strat for fit, finish and tone, and I know I've owned enough MIA fenders over the last 35 years. I know alot and I mean alot of serious musicians (guys who make their living with their instruments) and most of them don't put any stock in a headstock name, it's about feel and playability.
I don't get how any guitar can never sound as good as a "real" strat? If real strats sound so good why do so many professional players rip out the pickups and change them out? Why do they go with after market bridges? Also, as squire is a Fender company, they are "real strats".
Back in the 70's lots of players hated the Fender strats because of the 3 bolt neck and in the early/mid 80's no one can argue that the quality of the "real" Fenders was sorrily lacking. In 84 I sold a real Gibson Les Paul and kept an Aria Pro lawsuit copy because it was better guitar in all regards than the 83 les paul I owned.
If you figure that high $ always means better then that is your opinion and you are welcome to it. Jimmy Page made a Danelectro sound pretty damn good and Johnny Ramone had some great sounds out of a Mosrite and we all know the fine quality tone woods and parts they were made with.
Happydude, that is cool looking guitar. Congrats on the build and many happy hours of playing to you.
greco
07-13-2008, 09:51 PM
FROM ANOTHER THREAD
Quote al3d
"i'de just like to mentionned that i basicaly just turned a new leaf toward MIJ and CIJ strats...when i had made those statments, i had tried a few and they were SHIT...but i bought one yesturday that is just BLOWING my mind...simply a cool cat man. it's a Flammed chery red strat, ebony board, HSS config with a "real" original Floyd rose...jsut a beauty"
Time to turn another new leaf?
fraser
07-13-2008, 10:52 PM
well..i guess yours is the second..if you think having single coil pups makes a guitar sounds like a strat, wow, you are in for a suprise..hehe. Sorry, don't wanna take over his tread here, he did a wonderfull job retrofitting the squire, but man, comeone, you realy think that just changing pups on a guitar will make it sound like a 1000$ instrument?..
actually hes got pretty expensive fender replacement pups in it- better than many youd find in many american models these days.
ive been playing strats for 28 years- i dont think im in for much of a surprise
$200 guitars sound the same as $1000 guitars everyday man, where you been? i think youre confusing cost with how a guitar sounds.
there are little touches you get with a more expensive guitar, but these can be addressed with a little time- and really dont affect the guitars voice.
a guitar that cost $1000 will be superior, but wont necessarily sound better.
i really dont want to get into a running debate with yu, the wording of your posts just really got to me- they sound very close minded, but i doubt you are that
biggreen
07-14-2008, 12:59 AM
wow...you guys like to jump the gun a bit fast here!..ok..it's a learning curve, sure, i respect that. Now as to who cares what it sais on the head stock!..huh, any serious musician does actualy, not the actuall writting..but a squire is basicaly a POS, and please, i know it's all a mather of choices and all, but a squier, even if you change every part possible will NEVER sound as good as a real strat. NEVER, it's a fact and it can't be changed.
BUT, i'm sure as time go by, you'll start building better guitars as you mentionned. :rockon:
Are you kidding? The $400 Mexican Standard IS a Squier, atleast that is what they called them in the 90's before they started making them in Indonesia as well and rebranding the MIMs as Fenders. The Squier Deluxe, is every bit as good a guitar as the MIM standards, if not better. From what I have seen they do a better job with their frets and the paint jobs are a lot better, especailly that stock pearl oly white Deluxe. At the end of the day both of them are as low end of a fender as you can buy and neither define a real strat by any means regardless of what they decided to put on the headstocks this year.
BTW Nice work to the OP. Looks good and you did a nice job of personalizing it, but a painted pickguard? you are going to need a pickguard for your pickguard. :tongue:
happydude
07-14-2008, 01:10 AM
BTW Nice work to the OP. Looks good and you did a nice job of personalizing it, but a painted pickguard? you are going to need a pickguard for your pickguard. :tongue:
I couldn't find a black pickguard locally, so I improvised. Didn't have to worry about drilling any new holes I might add :p
biggreen
07-14-2008, 01:13 AM
I couldn't find a black pickguard locally, so I improvised. Didn't have to worry about drilling any new holes I might add :p
:food-smiley-004:
FROM ANOTHER THREAD
Quote al3d
"i'de just like to mentionned that i basicaly just turned a new leaf toward MIJ and CIJ strats...when i had made those statments, i had tried a few and they were SHIT...but i bought one yesturday that is just BLOWING my mind...simply a cool cat man. it's a Flammed chery red strat, ebony board, HSS config with a "real" original Floyd rose...jsut a beauty"
Time to turn another new leaf?
don't confuse the MIJ and CIJ with a squier dude. Jesus!...no one knows the difference!
actually hes got pretty expensive fender replacement pups in it- better than many youd find in many american models these days.
ive been playing strats for 28 years- i dont think im in for much of a surprise
$200 guitars sound the same as $1000 guitars everyday man, where you been? i think youre confusing cost with how a guitar sounds.
there are little touches you get with a more expensive guitar, but these can be addressed with a little time- and really dont affect the guitars voice.
a guitar that cost $1000 will be superior, but wont necessarily sound better.
i really dont want to get into a running debate with yu, the wording of your posts just really got to me- they sound very close minded, but i doubt you are that
Dude, if you think a 200$ guitar sounds the same as a 1000$..good for you, buy cheap then. but unfortunaly, i got good hear, so i DO hear a major difference. If you argument made ANY sens, no one on earth would buy a guitar worth more then 200$, we"de all buy POS and dump new pups on it.
As for been close minded, not at all, but to be told a 200$ sounds the same as a 1000$..wow man, i mean if you've been playing for that long, and think that way...ouff, it's sad
cdub66
07-14-2008, 08:29 AM
We need one of the little popcorn eating smilies for when threads deteriorate. :tongue:
Congrats to the OP, you've got what you wanted. I've spent a few thousand dollars over the last few months on higher end guitars-I still prefer my MIM Standard.
However, It's my choice so it's ok.
:)..sorry if i was a bit harsh..specialy this morning...woke up and found my pool was leaking in the backyard, like 10 000 liters of wated had already spilled all over, garden, flowers, everything all ****ed, and the damn pool is just 2 months old.
RIFF WRATH
07-14-2008, 10:05 AM
nice job...........a little expensive.........so what........the learning curve is well worth it........and its definetly not a squire, it's a custom guitar.........boy if anyone knew the $ I put into my "kit tely style" compared to what I could have bought a "genuine" for..............but it's my guitar, a custom, and is priceless..........
Ripper
07-14-2008, 01:28 PM
don't confuse the MIJ and CIJ with a squier dude. Jesus!...no one knows the difference!
Ever played any of the MIJ squiers???
Ripper
07-14-2008, 01:31 PM
:)..sorry if i was a bit harsh..specialy this morning...woke up and found my pool was leaking in the backyard, like 10 000 liters of wated had already spilled all over, garden, flowers, everything all ****ed, and the damn pool is just 2 months old.
Sorry to hear that, what a mess. Maybe you should have bought a more expensive one.
Sorry to hear that, what a mess. Maybe you should have bought a more expensive one.
i love how some people can be idiots....and for your info...i got the most expensive one they had.
Ever played any of the MIJ squiers???
and yes..they sell those everywhere, it's basicaly a plywood with strings to me
greco
07-14-2008, 02:04 PM
This thread is better than an afternoon soap opera.
Ripper
07-14-2008, 02:16 PM
and yes..they sell those everywhere, it's basicaly a plywood with strings to me
You might want to check this out
http://www.21frets.com/
You'll find there are lots of squiers that are anything but plywood.
Ripper
07-14-2008, 02:23 PM
i love how some people can be idiots....and for your info...i got the most expensive one they had.
You're right, it was harsh and I apologize, but I was merely trying to make a point. Expensive doesn't always mean better.
and yes..they sell those everywhere, it's basicaly a plywood with strings to me
VERY interesting...
oh for god's sake...the squiers discussed here were the cheap 200$ kind.
biggreen
07-14-2008, 03:35 PM
oh for god's sake...the squiers discussed here were the cheap 200$ kind.
.. that are essentially identical to the $400 MIM standards, minus the finish on the neck plus better fret work and paint .
Ti-Ron
07-14-2008, 04:10 PM
I love project guitars, they are always differents and sometime you discover somehting new! Good word and hope you'll rock it! ;)
fraser
07-14-2008, 05:56 PM
Dude, if you think a 200$ guitar sounds the same as a 1000$..good for you, buy cheap then. but unfortunaly, i got good hear, so i DO hear a major difference. If you argument made ANY sens, no one on earth would buy a guitar worth more then 200$, we"de all buy POS and dump new pups on it.
As for been close minded, not at all, but to be told a 200$ sounds the same as a 1000$..wow man, i mean if you've been playing for that long, and think that way...ouff, it's sad
actually, all kinds of people would still buy the expensive guitars, some due to myths perpetuated by folks like you, and others who cant live without the right tags on the headstock.
i buy cheap, as well as more costly guitars- those mij/cij strats you talked about? they all need to be gutted, electronics replaced and pickups replaced to be good enough for my ear. squier guitars need the same treatment. mim standards need the same treatment.
how much of the guitars original tone remains once the electronics are replaced? maybe 5%?- a pretty negligable amount for most folks to hear
i mean if you've been playing for that long, and think that way...ouff, it's sad
i think that way BECAUSE ive been playing that long, some of us learn things over time. and its your attitude that is sad, not mine
actually, all kinds of people would still buy the expensive guitars, some due to myths perpetuated by folks like you, and others who cant live without the right tags on the headstock.
i buy cheap, as well as more costly guitars- those mij/cij strats you talked about? they all need to be gutted, electronics replaced and pickups replaced to be good enough for my ear. squier guitars need the same treatment. mim standards need the same treatment.
how much of the guitars original tone remains once the electronics are replaced? maybe 5%?- a pretty negligable amount for most folks to hear
i think that way BECAUSE ive been playing that long, some of us learn things over time. and its your attitude that is sad, not mine
dude..get a clue...or better yet, a life and stop dragging this shit around. you got your opinion!..fine. Stop trying to push it on others with your mombo jubo BS.
happydude
07-14-2008, 06:21 PM
oh for god's sake...the squiers discussed here were the cheap 200$ kind.
$268 actually. And you can clearly see it's a three piece body, not plywood. And if I'm somehow mistaken, it's very nice plywood.
fraser
07-14-2008, 06:21 PM
lol- mombo jubo BS- i like that.
"uh oh, here comes fraser with his mombo jubo BS again!"
sdsre
fraser
07-14-2008, 06:24 PM
$268 actually. And you can clearly see it's a three piece body, not plywood. And if I'm somehow mistaken, it's very nice plywood.
looks very much like basswood happydude- my cij strats are 3 piece basswood, a perfectly good tonewood.
Ripper
07-14-2008, 06:25 PM
dude..get a clue...or better yet, a life and stop dragging this shit around. you got your opinion!..fine. Stop trying to push it on others with your mombo jubo BS.
Mr. Pot, please meet Mr. Kettle.
Ripper
07-14-2008, 06:26 PM
lol- mombo jubo BS- i like that.
"uh oh, here comes fraser with his mombo jubo BS again!"
sdsre
Isn't that an old Muddy Water's song?:rolleyes:
Accept2
07-14-2008, 07:28 PM
You guys might want to cool it abit. Im not sure why people would want to make themselves look foolish over and over again, but here we are. Again.......
greco
07-14-2008, 07:47 PM
Hey Happydude...did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think that your thread would go in this direction and be so long. It is like a book on the best seller list...LOL.
For the record, since I have neglected my manners up until now, I really like what you have done with your axe.:food-smiley-004:
You have learned a lot and ended up with your own personal creation...both of which are very cool and admirable.
Dave
happydude
07-14-2008, 07:54 PM
Hey Happydude...did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think that your thread would go in this direction and be so long. It is like a book on the best seller list...LOL.
For the record, since I have neglected my manners up until now, I really like what you have done with your axe.:food-smiley-004:
You have learned a lot and ended up with your own personal creation...both of which are very cool and admirable.
Dave
Um... no... no I didn't but I guess I'm not surprised I revived that old Squier/MIM/MIA debate. Like my uncle used to say, shit happens.
Frankly, I'm happy with the final product and that is really all that matters here. The biggest part of the whole project was the learning experience, most which involved what not to do next time 'round. I'm still just grateful that Andy was able to salvage the pieces into something this nice.
Ripper
07-14-2008, 08:17 PM
Happydude,
I'd like to apologize for helping take the thread in the direction it ended up. It has taken away from your project and the fine results you ended up with. Sorry about that and kudos to you on your project.
Ripper
hey..same here...we got overheated in the usual love and hate crap..;)
fraser
07-14-2008, 08:34 PM
my apologies as well happydude-
again, that strat looks good, glad you like it too.
and that hamm sure is a fine fella.:smile:
ripper- yeah it does kinda sound like a muddy waters tune- lol, excellent observation-
copperhead
07-14-2008, 08:42 PM
what is the diff MIJ or CIJ made in japan or crafted in japan is it the same or what
what is the diff MIJ or CIJ made in japan or crafted in japan is it the same or what
a question of date of production and company that produced the instrument. from what i gather, the MIJ are better quality. but that's something to be discussed i guess
happydude
07-14-2008, 08:59 PM
Don't worry about it folks, we all have our opinions and I'm not taking anything personally. Besides, isn't music supposed to be about passion? I would expect that spills over into gear now and again. :food-smiley-004:
Maxer
07-14-2008, 09:24 PM
This thread has gotten back on track nicely. Well done, y'all!
Hired Goon
07-15-2008, 02:50 PM
Maybe we need a blind test - play a few Squiers and few "Fenders" with exact same audio chain, and see who can tell the difference.
Lately I've been more and more impressed with "cheaper" guitars, and I'm inspired to do a project myself. Sure it'll cost more than an off the shelf with similar components, but like the other guys said - it's got the personal touch.
Guitars are being built in every corner of the world now, and the competition is pushing up the quality immensely. US models may be a tad overpriced.
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