As those of you following this blog know, A year ago I installed a pickguard loaded with the Vintage Noiseless pickups and electronics from a Fender Player's Strat into a 1997 Squier Standard Strat made by Saehan in Korea. This pickguard had gold screws holding the pickups because the original guitar had gold hardware. Initially, I purchased some gold pickguard screws so they would match, but I left the stock tremolo, football and strap buttons in place. It was always my intention to upgrade the tremolo and tuners in gold and also order the jackplate "football," jack and strap buttons to match. I finally placed that order with Guitar Fetish (http://www.guitarfetish.com) on February 13th.
Here are the original blog post links for reference:
http://squierman.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-first-project-1997-squier.html
http://squierman.blogspot.com/2013/04/97-squier-with-05-player-strat.html
http://squierman.blogspot.com/2014/02/getting-ready-to-finish-my-custom.html
Here are the original blog post links for reference:
http://squierman.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-first-project-1997-squier.html
http://squierman.blogspot.com/2013/04/97-squier-with-05-player-strat.html
http://squierman.blogspot.com/2014/02/getting-ready-to-finish-my-custom.html
Gold Jackplate w/ Jack $ 7.95
Gold MIM Tremolo $44.95
Gold Strap Buttons $ 5.95
Shipping $10.85
Total $69.70
This morning I installed these items on the guitar and the results are simply stunning. See for yourself:
Before After
Here are two close ups for a little more detail:
After installing everything, I strung the guitar and did a quick and dirty setup so I could ascertain how my modifications felt and sounded. Everything of course looks great. I did forget to order some more gold screws for my "football" and back plate-so those are still temporarily sporting the stock screws. The biggest difference tone-wise was that large brass block on the upgraded tremolo noticeably improved the sustain of this guitar.
I had to leave for a job site at noon, but before I left I noticed my gold Kluson Style Tuners had arrived from Dragonfire/TNT Guitars. (www.dragonfireguitars.com or www.guitarpartsonline.com) I will get those installed in the next couple of days and post some new pictures. The "trapezoid" tuners that come on OEM import guitars are complete junk and are easily one of the most useful modifications you can make to your axe.
The Kluson style tuners from Dragonfire/TNT were $19.95 plus a $6 upcharge for gold. The shipping was $10.95 which brought my total invoice to $36.90.
Here's how my total costs break down so far:
Loaded Pickguard from Fender Player's Strat: $ 50.00 (Craigslist)
1993 Squier Standard Strat $100.00 (Craigslist)
Gold Pickguard Screws $ 3.50 (eBay-imported from China)
Football, Tremolo & Strap Buttons $ 69.70 (www.guitarfetish.com)
Kluson Vintage Style Tuners $ 36.90 (www.dragonfireguitars.com)
Total investment in this guitar: $257.10
The "cork sniffers" out there will never acknowledge what I know to be true-I've made an inexpensive custom guitar that compares favorably in playability and tone to a guitar with a Fender logo costing $1000. Feel free to turn up your nose at the Squier nameplate. I judge every guitar on its own merit. This guitar was a particularly nice '93 Squier Standard-with a decent body and a very nice maple neck and fingerboard. With my modifications, I now have a guitar that I can use night after night for gigs without worrying about what might happen to it. Sure, I haven't significantly increased the resale value. That wasn't my goal-I won't be selling this guitar. My goal was a sharp looking and functional axe to play night after night that wouldn't break the bank. I believe I have achieved that.
 |
| Stock Tremolo, "Football" and strap buttons. |
 |
| Upgraded Gold Tremolo,"Football" & Strap Buttons |
Here are two close ups for a little more detail:
 |
| Upgraded Tremolo and "Football." |
 |
| New Gold Strap Button |
After installing everything, I strung the guitar and did a quick and dirty setup so I could ascertain how my modifications felt and sounded. Everything of course looks great. I did forget to order some more gold screws for my "football" and back plate-so those are still temporarily sporting the stock screws. The biggest difference tone-wise was that large brass block on the upgraded tremolo noticeably improved the sustain of this guitar.
I had to leave for a job site at noon, but before I left I noticed my gold Kluson Style Tuners had arrived from Dragonfire/TNT Guitars. (www.dragonfireguitars.com or www.guitarpartsonline.com) I will get those installed in the next couple of days and post some new pictures. The "trapezoid" tuners that come on OEM import guitars are complete junk and are easily one of the most useful modifications you can make to your axe.
The Kluson style tuners from Dragonfire/TNT were $19.95 plus a $6 upcharge for gold. The shipping was $10.95 which brought my total invoice to $36.90.
Here's how my total costs break down so far:
Loaded Pickguard from Fender Player's Strat: $ 50.00 (Craigslist)
1993 Squier Standard Strat $100.00 (Craigslist)
Gold Pickguard Screws $ 3.50 (eBay-imported from China)
Football, Tremolo & Strap Buttons $ 69.70 (www.guitarfetish.com)
Kluson Vintage Style Tuners $ 36.90 (www.dragonfireguitars.com)
Total investment in this guitar: $257.10
The "cork sniffers" out there will never acknowledge what I know to be true-I've made an inexpensive custom guitar that compares favorably in playability and tone to a guitar with a Fender logo costing $1000. Feel free to turn up your nose at the Squier nameplate. I judge every guitar on its own merit. This guitar was a particularly nice '93 Squier Standard-with a decent body and a very nice maple neck and fingerboard. With my modifications, I now have a guitar that I can use night after night for gigs without worrying about what might happen to it. Sure, I haven't significantly increased the resale value. That wasn't my goal-I won't be selling this guitar. My goal was a sharp looking and functional axe to play night after night that wouldn't break the bank. I believe I have achieved that.
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