Polishing a turd?

Evo

For want of a better term, that's exactly what I want to do.

I'm looking to bring my very first guitar up to a nice, reliable workhorse standard.I could never bring myself to sell it and it's just hanging on the wall at the moment so I figured I should spend some money on it and make something special for myself. 

It's a squier affinity strat (no surprises there) and i'm well aware that i'll be spending probably several times the original cost of the guitar but i'm sure you understand that "first guitar bond"

The pickups are going to be first out, but that's simple enough to do. Where i'm not quite so sure is the hardware.

I want a better trem unit in there and was wondering what people could recommend that would fit? Could I whack a gotoh in there or would I need to look at re-drilling and things?

Secondly, the tuners. Similar question really, what do you recommend to easily fit onto the squier without too much trouble?

I'll be taking the guitar to my local tech for the upgrade work and if I can keep the labour costs down by keeping everything as compatible as possible then all the better.

What do you guys think?

Rox

All those jobs are pretty simple; do yourself a favour and do them yourself.  You'll feel an enormous amount of satisfaction, and save yourself some money to boot.. Money that can be spent on better parts... 

thermionic

I think I read somewhere (possibly the Haynes Manual for Strats - some good stuff on Squiers in there actually) that the Affinities have a slightly thinner body and conventional trem units/blocks won't fit. I'm not certain about this, but probably worth checking before you buy one.

Fuzzdog

Yep, the Affinity has a thinner body, full size blocks won't fit unless you leave the back plate off.

Someone gave me an Affinity Strat a while ago, had no electronics so I dropped a spare pickguard in with a set of Duncan SSLs - I was quite surprised at how good it sounded.

Evo

Back plate shouldn't be a problem, lost that years ago! But the actual trem units themselves could be ok?

jd0272

^^^^^^^

What they said. Have yourself a play about with it. Don't 'tech' it, although I'm not wanting to deprive a Pro of his/her money, but it's an ideal opportunity for you to do it and learn stuff.

Google, and the Making/Modding section are your friend.  

Fuzzdog

Evo said:

Back plate shouldn't be a problem, lost that years ago! But the actual trem units themselves could be ok?

Pretty much all trems of the appropriate type will fit, you'll just have the block protruding from the back by a couple of mm, which I really did not like.

I think even changing the pots would make a world of difference on an Affinity - they're horrible tiny little 500k things.  I honestly didn't have any issues with the Squier tuners - nothing special, but they performed just fine.

I ended up pulling all the frets out, filling the slots and epoxying the board for a bit of strangeness - turned out to be pretty fun, actually. )

timhulio

I wouldn't bother messing with the bridge or block. The pot-metal blocks get some stick, but they're perfectly fine and sound nice and stratty. Replace the pickups with a set someone has mistakenly removed from a CV Squier and you'll have a great sounding strat for peanuts. The tuners are probably poor, so whack something better on there. I've got some vintage Schaller M6 tuners on mine, as that's what I had lying around.

imalone

Is there a particular reason it's hanging on the wall? Sound, feel, some niggle that makes it easier to reach for a different one? Looks? (I'm all for safely watching other people's attempts at refinishing...)

Evo

Several reasons really, for practice I'll reach for my caparison or my kotzen tele as they're the most comfortable. For gigs I grab my Gibson as it suits the setlist better. So there's not usually any reason for me to pick it up, I think with some new pickups then it'd be a decent alternative to the Gibson when the setlist is on one of its lighter days

capo4th

Just make sure you wear gloves

Andyjr1515

There is a good choice of trems at Axesrus. In the details for each, you will see a tab marked 'technical'. There will be a fully dimensioned drawing. Make sure the pivot screw distances are correct for yours and that the string spacing is also the same. They do some cracking locking tuners too at £25 a set that I fit to all of my builds, including the high spec ones.

imalone

Andyjr1515 said:

There is a good choice of trems at Axesrus. In the details for each, you will see a tab marked 'technical'. There will be a fully dimensioned drawing. Make sure the pivot screw distances are correct for yours and that the string spacing is also the same. They do some cracking locking tuners too at £25 a set that I fit to all of my builds, including the high spec ones.

These ones? http://www.axesrus.co.uk/Axesrus-Rear-Disc-Locking-Machine-Heads-p/jn-07.htm can't remember if I got mine from Axesrus or Axetec, but they're nice.

impmann

Trem block upgrade (indeed, complete trem upgrade) is a good choice - if for no other reason, most upgraded blocks have nylon arm inserts to remove slop which is a huge improvement if you use the trem. The low end Wilkinson unit impressed me (roughly £25) and will improve the overall sound.

Machine heads - ANYTHING will be an upgrade, tbh. It depends on what you use the guitar for but I wouldn't automatically fit locking tuners - classic Kluson style units look best IMHO on Strats and Teles, plus have the advantage of the neatest string ends. Axesrus do some really good sets for sub £20. 

Good luck with it.

TorbayGuitarRepairs

New tremolo block or at the very least new saddles, new machineheads, new nut (upgrade to bone or graphtec), new pups with new electronics. As mentioned above Wilkinson gear is great value for money, spend the most money on pickups, as they make the most noticeable difference, Oil City Pickups are a must if the budget allows. With a decent setup and a bit of TLC you'll end up with a really playable guitar

Evo

Some really great advice here! Thanks everyone!

I'm leaning towards a new "drop in" trem with a steel block. Doesn't look like the wilkos have the right spacing so probably something from axesrus at the same time I grab those locking tuners. I'm still deciding between some modern sounding pups or some vintage bluesy loveliness so I'll no doubt end up trying both! A nice graph nut will be a definite as well and probably a new scratch plate as a treat