Getting Started

Photograph by trunge (link)

     So you've got, or are thinking about getting, a Squier guitar. Maybe you've played guitar for ages, or maybe you're just getting started. Either way, you have an interest in modding your guitar, and you've come here to figure it all out.

Why Do Squier's Have the Reputation That They Do?

     Squier guitars are decent guitars. They may not have the best electronics, but their bodies are solid, good wood, and they're generally finished pretty nicely. Mostly they get their bad rap due to their quality control. It's not hard to Google "squier horror stories" and come up with a boatload of awful things to say about them. This is where actually seeing your guitar comes in handy before buying it. If you know what to look for, and how to spot imperfections, picking out a good Squier isn't all that hard. Taking it to a luthier afterwards and getting it set up will make things even better.

After Obtaining the Goods

Once you've got your guitar, and you want to actually start modding it, there are a few things to keep in mind. When replacing anything with wooden parts, keep in mind the type of wood you're getting. There are a huge range of tonal differences in each type of wood, and knowing them is crucial to getting the sounds you're looking for. If you're interested in the tonal qualities offered by each type of wood, check out the Wood Guide.

For pickups, and choosing between alloys, neodymium, and ceramic, check out the Pickup Guide

The Benefits of Just Looking Around


     Just seeing what other people have done will give you a great idea of what you want on your guitar. There are a million possible combination out there, and you'd be a fool not to really look at what you can do. Aside from watching the videos on the site, get onto some community forums and check things out!

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Creating A Custom Guitar Body : Sunburst Designs

     The Sunburst design is a traditional guitar finish that has been used for years and years. If you're picking up your own guitar body that is unfinished, this is a finish you can apply with minimal effort. It just takes a bit of time and patience!


Materials

• Nitrocellulose Lacquer - Limited colors can be found in a home improvement store. You'll need a base color, as well as a darker color for your outer layer, and clear coat.
• Masking Tape
• An Unfinished Guitar Body

• Time - Lacquer can take a good while to dry, so you'll need quite a bit of time.

Process

1. Prepare your work surface. You're going to be using aerosol lacquers, and you'll want a well ventilated area for this.
2. Clean your guitar body. Use a tack cloth and a small amount of oil to clean your wood surface. Let dry.
3. Lay down your base color on the back first. You want a nice solid 2-4 coats, applied as thin as possible.
4. Lay down your base coat on the front. You want to use many very thin layers, as dried nitrocellulose is almost irreversible. Take your time, and be sure to mask the sides of your guitar. You want no drips, and as little 'orange peel' as possible. Letting this dry overnight would be optimal.
5. Take your darker color being used for the burst, and freehand apply the darker outside. This is very easy to do. Simply spray from the center out at a steep angle, allowing your hand to smoothly move around the body. Your burst may seem a little 'sharp', but the clear coat should soften everything and help it all to blend.
6. After applying a few clear coats, leave it to harden for a few days before buffing it to a high gloss.

Closing Comments
This is a simple design using a minimum amount of masking. If you aren't comfortable spraying freehand, you may want to look into 'softer' masking solutions, and mask everything out. Nitrocellulose is one of the most gorgeous finishes you can create, and when polished to a proper shine, is jaw-dropping.  

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Squier Guitar Mods : Modding Guitar Bodies

For the casual guitar hobbyist or player, replacing and re-wiring the electronics into  guitar bodies is complete overkill, and requires some knowledge of electronics and soldering. Generally, it's much easier to just simply buy  pre-wired guitar bodies, and to install that. Guitar bodies are in no way cheap either. In fact, it wouldn't be strange for them to be more expensive than your original Squier. Unless you've bought an expensive guitar with nice electronics, moving to a more expensive body might be pointless. Squiers and other budget guitars are known for having good quality wood, but cheap electronics. Buying a new body along with all the of the required electronics is going to cost close to what you would pay for a MIM Fender, which will have superior electronics and most likely materials. If you do decide to go through with modding / replacing your body, there are a couple things to pay attention to.

Wood Type

Refer to Part 1 and note the tonal differences in wood types. These will apply to the body you decide to purchase. When purchasing your electronics, they should come with a guide detailing how to install them.
A huge part of this process, and the most exciting one, is finishing your body. When purchasing a body, they usually come as unfinished wood, that must be painted and sealed. This is where you let your creative side show. Don't be afraid to try different things out, such as stencils, using stains, and special spraypaints. When you've finished your design, you need to apply a sealant. Whether this is polyurethane, nitro, shellac, or any other sealant is up to you. There are a million different ways to go about personalizing your guitar bodies, and my best advice is to simply look around at what other people have done for ideas.

Cutouts
When purchasing guitar bodies, make sure to pay attention to the cutouts, and to make sure everything else you have or plan on buying fits with the body you've selected. You either have to be prepared to fix the routed holes yourself, or you need to go with a different style of body. For a place to start, check out these bodies at Amazon.

Mighty Mite Stratocaster Electric Guitar Body - Swamp Ash
 
Golden Gate S-313 T Style Guitar Body (Tobacco Red, Single Cutaway, Single Coil)
 
Golden Gate S-309 T Style Guitar Body (White, Single Cutaway, Single Coil)
 

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Picking Up Your Pickups For Your Squier Guitar

 

Author : Gabriel Rose

    After modding your guitar neck, the next thing you can upgrade that will affect tone the most are your pickups. There are hundreds of different pickups you can buy,  and they each have their slight differences. There are a couple of main types of pickups that exist though. Before I get into the specifics of how the different styles of pickup sound, I want to go over how pickups actually work.

 Magnets : How Do They Work?

     I don't need a scientist to explain it to me. But really, it's quite simple. A guitar pickup is a series of magnets surrounded by extremely fine copper wire. This creates a generator which amplifies the wavelength of the string as it twangs. Single-coil pickups are made exactly like this, and can sometimes amplify amp frequencies as well, producing the dreaded buzz. This is why the humbucking pickup was invented. The humbucker has a second set of magnets facing the opposite direction that reverses the sound polarity of stray sounds. Therefore amplified amp buzz is cut out as it's reversed into a frequency we don't hear, while the frequency of the string enters the pickup normally.

      There are a couple of different factors that affect the tone that pickups generate.  Considering the fact that the magnet makes up the heart of the pickup, depending, on what it is made of will have a strong affect on tone.

     In the early years of the electric guitars Alnico was traditionally used as the magnet material, favored for its mellow tone and smooth response. As these classic guitars have aged, it's been found that their tone dampens over the years as moisture and sweat wear down the magnets. You'll see Alnico magnets used in many "vintage" pickups.

     Ferrite / Ceramic pickups were designed in the mid 1950s as an alternative to Alnico. An alloy created from mixing strontium and iron, they're found commonly in more budget instruments. Stronger and longer lasting than Alnico, they tend to display less string "warbling", and have an overall brighter tone.

      Rare Earth magnets are many times stronger than ceramic magnets. They're stronger, brighter, and much more powerful. They aren't commonly found, and are only now starting to be using in newer pickups.

Are Pickups Like Fine Wine? : Vintage VS Modern Pickups

     I can't really describe the tonal differences between vintage and more modern pickups. It's a subtle difference that you can really only understand once you get out there and play as many different guitars as you can. I can tell you a couple different things between the two though. Humbuckers are louder. They are much louder, as they are literally two single coil pickups interlaced and reversed. Even though the only point of humbuckers were to remove the hum caused by amp frequencies, they affect tone in many important yet subtle ways. Most people agree that humbuckers are more suited for a distorted sound, whereas single coils will be much more appropriate for clean guitar. In the end it's all down to preference though, and the only way to figure out what you want is to get out there and try out different guitars.

     If you're looking to stick traditional with your Squier stratocaster or telecaster, you'll want to grab a pair of single coils. Don't think that makes selecting a pair of pickups easy. There are a fair amount of brands to choose from, all with different sounds, and more importantly, different prices. When buying these for your electric guitar, pickup reviews are important. The guitar community can be incredibly detailed with their reviews, and it's important to look at what they have to say.  Among electric guitar pickup brands, the most well known are:

• Seymour Duncan
• DiMarzio
• EMG
• Gibson
• Fender

All of these companies offer great sounding pickups for different purposes. I'm going to go over a couple of specific models, and address the intricacies they have.

DiMarzio DP415 Area '58' Pickup - $61.95 ea.
     The DiMarzio DP415 is a warm vintage pickup using Alnico 2 magnets. The guitar pickup reviews featured on Musician's Friend state that the DP415 has a solid warm tone, with a good amount of attack, and amazing response. They're very sensitive to small magnet adjustments, so when installing them, a lot of fine adjustments may be necessary. At $62 per pickup, it's an expensive upgrade to consider. With many positive reviews attesting to it's beautiful range and tone though, it's an investment worth considering. You can find it cheapest on Amazon here.

Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Custom Staggered Single-Coil Pickup - $52.95 ea
     The SSL-5 is a classic Seymour Duncan single coil pickup. Although advertised as a bridge pickup, it's been tested to work great anywhere else. If you're looking for a real classic Fender sound, you'll get it from these pickups. Quiet and smooth, they offer supreme clarity and clean sound. Seymour Duncan recommends that you use the SSL-5 as a bridge pickup, and SSL-1s for the neck and middle pickups to achieve maximum tonal variety. At $52.95 each, they're a slightly cheaper alternative to the DP415s, with a more classic sound. Again, they can be found cheapest on Amazon with free shipping SSL-5 guitar pickup Amazon page.

 EMG S1 Hot Passive Single Coil Pickup - $59.00 ea
     The EMG S1 is loud. Guitar pickup reviews describe it as a powerful pickup with tons of depth and action suitable for distortion. The S1 is a great pickup for those interested in a more powerful rock or metal sound, and will keep up with any other sound going on. Loud and deep, the S1 is great for those who really need to be, well, loud. You can find them on Amazon with free shipping EMG S1 guitar pickup page.
 
Broke But Still Rockin' : Budget Pickups

     So if you don't have the couple hundred dollars it takes to replace the pickups on your guitar, you still have a couple options. If you're running a Squier stratocaster, you can simply decide not comes to replace all of your pickups, and replace what you can. You can also look into budget pickups, which will offer significant improvements still over your stock guitar pickups. GFS pickups are regarded as some of the best guitar pickups for the price. At around $35 per pickup, they're around half the price of more expensive name brand pickups. You can find all of their models at Guitar Fetish, with in-depth specs and prices. You can find a video of GFS pickups in action on our video page.


Here's The Skinny About Pickups

     After the neck, pickups are the most important part of the guitar that you can change. Replacing pickups can be the most expensive of all mods, and it really comes down to how much you're willing to spend on that Squier stratocaster or telecaster you have. If you're going to spend the money it takes to replace your guitar pickups, know that like any expensive item, it is an investment that will definitely pay off in the long run. Always make sure to read as many guitar pickup reviews as you can before making your purchase, and if at all possible, get your hands on a guitar that has them installed. Installing the pickups is usually quick and painless, and when purchasing pickups, an instruction booklet it usually included.  And as always, never stop rockin'. You can have the best pickups in the world, but if you don't practice, you aren't going to get anywhere. Up next : body mods.

 

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Squier Affinity Strat With GFS Pickups

Here's a guy playing his modified Squier Affinity Strat with GFS pickups. As you can see, great clean sound with great tone. To see more, check out OneLoveJK's YouTube channel.

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Choosing the Wood For Your Squier Frankenstrat

     Let's face it, alot of Squier stratocasters and telecasters can sound pretty great out of the box, but eventually you either want to upgrade to a more expensive Fender, or other guitar. But what if you just can't bear to part with the Squier you learned to play on? There is an answer, and it's called modding. It's usually a simple job to buy higher end parts and put them on your old guitar. I'm going to go through the different parts that you can replace, and review the most expensive hardware you can buy. I've split this up into four parts, and will post the next sections up as I finish them.

Getting Wood : Choosing Your Neck

     So, you're tired of your guitar and want to spice it up a bit. The first thing you can replace, and one of the cheapest things to replace, is the neck. There are plenty of different styles to choose from, and for the most part, it's completely up to personal taste on what you want to put on your stratocaster / telecaster.
     The neck is where much of the action goes on, and it's absolutely essential to have a smooth neck with good action. The wood that your neck is made out of does affect tone to some degree. There are a couple of popular wood types that are used, and understanding the differences between them is crucial to choosing a neck that works for you.

• Basswood - Basswood is a very soft, wide grained wood that is used in many acoustic necks. Although, you'll also find that many high-end electric guitar necks are made with this wood. The most expensive necks are coated with an epoxy resin to create an incredibly strong and light neck. High notes become smoothened with a basswood neck, and you'll find that your low end notes will become softened.
• Mahogany - Mahogany has been used in guitar necks since the very beginning, only younger than maple. Mahogany guitar necks compress mids, and bring out the lows and low-mid tones. It isn't as responsive to mids as Alder or Ash is though. The main selling point of mahogany necks are the vibrant and rich highs that they offer.
• Maple - Maple wood was used in the creation of the first solid body guitar. For that reason alone, it has some serious traditional appeal. Maple offers very bright highs, pronounced mids, and tight lows. It has made itself known for it's very strong tone. Many say that maple "shouts" when compared with other wood types.
• Alder - Alder is a light wood with a tight grain. It is very similar to Basswood, but has a broader range of tones. This can cause some to perceive Alder as having less developed midtones than Basswood.
• Walnut - Denser than mahogany, Walnut offers much more pronounced and smoother highs, with textured mids and very solid lows.

     To really get a feel for the difference in tones, you have to get your hands on as many of these necks as you can. I'd suggest a trip to you local guitar store. Do a bit of research on which guitars use which necks, and go and play them. I've always been partial to maple necks, as I find they can hit some really funky highs. You're going to find that a lot of traditional Fender necks are going to be maple, due to the history of Fender.

Neck Styles and Obtaining A Fender Guitar Neck

     If you're going with Fender for this project, then you don't have to worry about neck style. Any neck you can use with a Squier guitar will be bolt on, so you don't have to worry about jointed necks. On the contrary, if you're modding an  Epiphone or a Gibson, you'll want to look into jointed necks.

     Obtaining a new neck can be difficult. The easiest place to locate authentic Fender necks is off of eBay. You'll find the people who generally sell them are hobbyists or luthiers who have dismantled the original guitar and no longer need the neck.  Although, if you don't like dealing with eBay, there's always Picker's Parts. You can find them here. Be aware though, they aren't cheap. Prices range from $100-$500 on individual necks. Necks can be one of the more difficult parts to find. When pickups are brought up, there'll be too many to go through! Just keep an eye out on eBay and other smaller retailers for the type of neck you're looking for. You could also buy a dead guitar and simply salvage the neck if you really can't find what you're looking for.

How To Replace A Guitar Neck

     For any Fender or Squier electric guitar, replacing the neck is remarkably simple. You just need to unbolt your current neck and bolt on your new one. You can re-use your old tuners, or you can always pick up a new pair. Squier guitar tuners can often be a little iffy. They're generally one of the things most Squier owners complain about. They aren't too expensive, and you can pick up a pair of genuine Fender tuners at Amazon here.
This will probably be the easiest part when it comes to modding you Squier stratocaster or telecaster.

Overall Cost

     This stage shouldn't cost more than $120-130 if you're frugal, less if you find a busted guitar to salvage. It's good to try and go for the highest quality you can afford though. If you can afford to spend more, do it, because the payoff can be very worth it.

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