Spruce up a Squier?

smudge_lad

Hey guys,

Looking for some guidance here - I've got an old Squier Strat that's sat in my cupboard for about 23 years unplayed, as this is when I changed up to a Les Paul and never really looked back. 

I now really fancy getting some Strat tones, so I wondered what the consensus is for either spending some money to get it fixed it up a bit - setup, upgrade nut/pups/wiring etc - or am I better off putting the same cash towards buying a cheaper Fender strat 2nd hand that already has better hardware?

What's regarded as the must-do's for upgrading a Squier? 

Pickups
Wiring
Nut?
Tuners?
Bridge?
Buy an upgraded neck?

Thanks in advance

Keir

WezV

A bit of love for the frets will work wonders and should be top of the list before upgrading anything else.    The necks and bodies are normally fine and worth working with

munckee

I upgraded the tuners and wiring on my old standard, it was one that had alnico pickups though, if yours has ceramic I think you will get better strat tones with some better pickups.

I paid £100 for the strat and probably another £100 on bits including spray paint as I oversprayed the antique burst in surf green and sanded the neck and oiled it which made a drastic improvement to the looks.  £200 wouldn't get you a much better strat I don't think.

Lestratcaster

I did this last year to my 22 year old Squier affinity.

The biggest upgrades I noticed were new tuners, nut, steel trem block and a good fret dress. Then when the electronics and pickups were changed it allowed it to fully shine.

stickyfiddle

My 20-year old Squier Strat is still my only strat. It's had everything replaced multiple times except the body and jackplate, but it's excellent now  

Flanging_Fred

I had a Japanese Squier strat and I had the same dilemma. If I had got a re fret, new pickups, tremolo, electrics, machined heads etc. It just wasn’t really worth the expense so I sold it. I guess it comes down to how much of the remaining original instrument you love. 

Switch625

If you have a sentimental attachment then by all means spend some money on doing it up. If you don't then I would probably sell it and get a 2nd hand Classic Vibe/Mex/US depending on your budget.

smudge_lad

Flanging_Fred said:

I had a Japanese Squier strat and I had the same dilemma. By the time I had got a re fret, new pickups, tremolo, electrics, machined heads etc. It just wasn’t really worth the expense so I sold it. I guess it comes down to how much of the remaining original instrument you love. 

Absolutely none of it, lol! It was my first electric guitar, cheap as chips from Sound Control with a practise amp, strap etc. 

If I decide to go ahead with upgrading the guitar, I'll be giving it to the same luthier who just done all the work on my 335. He builds a lot of strat's from scratch, including winding his own pickups. 

I did say to him that I'd drop it in to let him get a look over it and see what he thinks it needs in terms of frets, how the neck is etc.

Sassafras

Maybe Strats just aren't for you.

thecolourbox

My guitar could be described as a spruced up Squier - it's a VM Mustang but with lace sensor pickups and some good fiddling done to the neck (frets and rolled edges) by Sir Funkfingers of this parish, and I really like it. But then, it sounds like you don't really want your instrument but are only considering doing it up because moving it on isn't really worth the effort. So i'd look at how much it's going to cost to do it, and what the spec would be, and then it should be pretty clear whether it's worth doing it or just buying an instrument that already has that spec and doesn't need fiddling with

smudge_lad

Sassafras said:

Maybe Strats just aren't for you.

I used to think that about Telecasters, for the best part of 15 years, and now I have 3. So, now I don't really believe in this way of thinking

When I said I don't love any part of the guitar, I just meant that there's nothing about it that I'd particularly want to keep - I'm happy to change it up.

To be fair, I definitely haven't played it in the last 20 years, therefore I wouldn't really know if I like/love/hate the neck/frets etc. I'll need to dig it out and see what's what. I do know that the wirings/pots etc need a good clean up to get any sound out of it.

The main reason I've started thinking about it, is that I ended up using a strat in the studio the other week, using the neck and middle pickup to get some U2-esque tones for the project I was working on, and it sounded great. It may be that I only use a strat style guitar for that one song, hence not really wanting to go and buy something expensive

I guess the only sentiment is that it was my first ever electric guitar.

steer

You could change absolutley everything, or leave it as stock. There are Squier Strats and there are Squier Strats. 

Some come with wonderful necks. Some come with pretty decent pups as standard. I like the ones in mine - it looks like a strat and sounds like a strat. 

The obsession with changing everything for the sake of it, new pups, new tuners, new neck etc. is a bit of a haphazard start, if you do not understand exactly what it is that you do not like with what you have already got. I mean, why would you consider putting a new neck on it, if you like the neck that it already has? You could end up wasting a huge amount of money and time and not really improve the stock guitar. 

If it were mine, I would give it a good clean, get it working, put some nice new strings on it, set the action and intonation etc and then play it for a while. Then decide what if anything you want improving. 

HerrMetal

I have a heavily upgraded Squier Strat. If you think you would enjoy the process of researching, performing the upgrades then crack on. I like a project so wanted so see what I could do.  Not all Squier's are created equal so what you might end up with will depend on the underlying quality of the neck, existing hardware etc. Is it Japanese, Korean, Chinese etc Does it sound resonant played acoustically? These is plenty of knowledge out there.  If that doesn't sound like a fun task then sell and invest the proceeds in a new/newer Strat. The quality of new gear tends to be better than it was in the 80's/90's.

usedtobe

I’d just get it spruced up a bit, first.. frets, nut, set up.. play it a bit, then think again..

Funkfingers

steer said:

There are Squier Strats and there are Squier Strats. 

Exactly.

HerrMetal said:

Is it Japanese, Korean, Chinese etc 

It would help to know which variant is under discussion before proffering upgrade suggestions. 

Several Chinese-made variants have a shallower than normal body and a correspondingly shorter vibrato bridge sustain block. The majority of easily obtainable replacement vibrato bridges will be too tall for these bodies. The sustain block and tension springs would protrude at the back of the guitar.

The Hello Kitty, the Affinity STRAT and some of the Bullet models undergo a magical transformation when fitted with a single, high output humbucker. 

thecolourbox said:

Sir Funkfingers of this parish

Watch it, you! Protocol forbids me from discussing whether "honours" have been offered, accepted or declined.

thecolourbox said:

it sounds like you don't really want your instrument but are only considering doing it up because moving it on isn't really worth the effort. So i'd look at how much it's going to cost to do it, and what the spec would be, and then it should be pretty clear whether it's worth doing it or just buying an instrument that already has that spec and doesn't need fiddling with

TRANSLATION: Is it worth throwing money at a budget guitar, crossing your fingers and hoping it turns out really good?

IMO, the only way to arrive at the most suitable pickup set is through trial and error. Unfortunately, unless you already happen to have a stash of pickups leftover from previous Stratocaster upgrades, this could rapidly become expensive.

One other factor often overlooked is the value of your time. If, for the the sake of argument, you estimate your amateur guitar tech rate to be £10/hr, it should be possible to calculate how much (or little) of your time is justifiable on such a project. On the typical charity shop find guitar, work requiring much over five hours will negate any possible financial gain. Then, the smart option would be to give the thing away.

smudge_lad

steer said:

You could change absolutley everything, or leave it as stock. There are Squier Strats and there are Squier Strats. 

Some come with wonderful necks. Some come with pretty decent pups as standard. I like the ones in mine - it looks like a strat and sounds like a strat. 

The obsession with changing everything for the sake of it, new pups, new tuners, new neck etc. is a bit of a haphazard start, if you do not understand exactly what it is that you do not like with what you have already got. I mean, why would you consider putting a new neck on it, if you like the neck that it already has? You could end up wasting a huge amount of money and time and not really improve the stock guitar. 

If it were mine, I would give it a good clean, get it working, put some nice new strings on it, set the action and intonation etc and then play it for a while. Then decide what if anything you want improving. 

You're absolutely right....If I give it some TLC, get it u p and running, it might not need anything at all.

I'll get it out and check it tonight and see if I can find some more info on it, and start getting it cleaned up

Creed_Clicks

I had an affinity HSS strat for a while, and changed it to a H only. Put an Iron Gear pickup in there, and it sounded great. Felt a bit light though, not sure if that was the wood, or just the routed body without pickups.

thegummy

As someone who also still has a Squier from the 90s I'd say you'd be better off with a new guitar but not necessarily a Fender.

A lot of people say that current day Squiers are good so they must have massively improved since the 90s.

WezV

both My girlfirend and I had Squier Srats in the mid 90's.  Both standards in black from the same shop a couple of years apart.

Now I know there was probably a factory change and all kinds of subtle  differences between the two guitars... but as a newbie they were exactly the same guitar from exactly the same shop

Mine was alright.   neck was nice and when I stripped it I found a decent solid body underneath.  it was a great base for modding and experimentation.

The other one was nowhere near as good.   

Balrog68

I picked up a 2019 Hardtail Bullet Strat earlier this year in a part exchange. After selling off the other stuff it came with, it 'owes me' £20!
I honestly wouldn't change anything about it... It has become my 'go to' Guitar!.... I guess I just got lucky. 

Rocker

Make a list of what it does not do.  Then decide which or how many of those issues need fixing or are insignificant.  It may turn out that leaving it as it is is the best option.  Just play it.