New body or old guitar?....

BeardyAndy

I want to upgrade my 90s Squire Tele. The way I see it is I can either use the neck and drop it on a solid wood body with some SOL67 Oil City pickups I’ve had my eye on and a new harness OR buy a pre owned MIM Tele, swap out the pickups and sell the Squire.
I figure the cost will be much the same at the end but what will be the best end result?

sweepy

Get the MIM Tele, the neck is much nicer and you are starting from a better modding platform 

paulnb57

Depends how much you like the Squier neck.....but as above a used MIM is prbably a better bet....

GoldenEraGuitars

There may be little difference between the two guitars, realistically.

A well dressed neck, nut and setup will work wonders.

ICBM

If you love the neck on the Squier, replace the body. If you don't, replace the whole thing.

John_P

lonestar said:

There may be little difference between the two guitars, realistically.

A well dressed neck, nut and setup will work wonders.

I’d agree - a well set up Squier and a MiM aren’t a world apart imo, if you’re going to upgrade and want to do it with parts then gradually add them piece at a time. You could get the pickups now and swap them back if you decide to sell the Squier later. 

BeardyAndy

And I guess if I ever want to sell it a mim is worth double what a Squire is 

Funkfingers

John_P said:

lonestar said:

There may be little difference between the two guitars, realistically.

I’d agree - a well set up Squier and a MiM aren’t a world apart imo

This is why I own several Squier Vintage Modified series bass guitars and exactly zero Fender MIM ones. 

lonestar said:

A well dressed neck, nut and setup will work wonders.

This is true at any price point. IMO, with the right fettling and a few well-chosen component upgrades, the Squier makes its nearest equivalent Fender MIM model look over-priced.