I'd consider the following do's and don'ts: Don't: - Buy parts before you know 100% sure that they will do what you want. Spending $100 on the wrong part will ruin your day. - Mod your guitar in a way that requires extensive woodworking. Dropping in new pickups is one thing, taking a significant chunk of the wood out to fit a Floyd Rose tremolo is another. - Modify a guitar if you don't like how the guitar feels, or if it has build-quality issues. You're not going to compensate for a guitar you can't play comfortably. - Irreversably mod a guitar if you care about its resale value - no matter how good the mod, the resale value will probably go *down*, not up. Do: - Give your guitar a full set-up before deciding whether or not you want to mod it. You'd be surprised how many issues, even sound-wise, can be fixed with a good set-up job - and it'll help you decide if the guitar itself is worth modding if you get it as playable as it will ever be. - If you're fixing an actual issue, do the cheapest mod first. If all you needed was a new nut to fix a tuning issue, you've just saved $79 on a set of tuners. - Mod guitars you already like - it makes them more personal. - Take the opportunity to clean/set-up things you normally don't have access to. If you're taking the strings off anyway, clean the fretboard. If what you're doing takes tension off of your floating bridge, might as well do that height adjustment you've been putting off. - If you're planning to do many mods, do yourself a favor and do as many of them at once as possible so you only have to disassemble your guitar once.
Good advice! That’s why I do pawn shop guitars that are name brands and play well to begin with! I don’t touch my Gibsons or Fenders other than cleaning and set up.
Fantastic advice here - that I regularly seem to forget myself. The Partscaster bug is relentless! I recently noticed that starting from proper setup and ending being critical about 1. the guitar and 2. string gauges that suit the guitar first... Only then modifying small but crucial things one by one in guitars you already have leads to better result. Also to needing LESS guitars! More money to buy amps and speakers and HX and... Phew.
I got one of those very cheap DIY Harley Benton teles as my first guitar. I haven't done any sanding and painting to the body, because I actually like the look of the natural wood. It even came with a few light scratches and the factory sealing is kind of spotty. It's fine, I like al worn look anyways. And Thomann do expect the buyer to do sand the body down and do their own stuff I guess, so it's fine. I really like the neck though. Satin and nicely finished, even the thread edges. I like the whole feel and weight of the guitar. So... what I want to say is that modding this to make 3rd party parts fit better won't make me sad :) Imagining changing every single part to the best ones that I prefer over time except for the body. I might even do some sending and painting for that at some point. But I mean, then it's suddenly a completely different guitar :)
@@kevinhaggerty8144 It sounds slightly cleaner but tbh it's just a cleaner, deeper, thicker sound. Really tone is kind of preference but pickups are usually based on what style of music you wanna play.
@@crazytrain58 @Logan West I was just saying... We sit here and watch a video over 20 minutes long - watching them upgrade a guitar. It would have done been nice to listen to more than 8 seconds of demo. You said something about we'd have to have the exact gear and sound edits to be able to experience the same demo - or something like that.... Not true! Watch the beginning of this video again... They play a demo of a $1,200 guitar against a $75 guitar. I could hear the difference! They should have played and recorded the $75 guitar for a full minute or two before the upgrades, and then edit that into the end of the video. They can say, "This is the $75 guitar before the upgrades" and play that clip, and then say, "This is the $75 guitar after the upgrades" and play the same minute or two of music they played before the upgrades. Record a "before" and then record an "after" and then play them at the end. That's the demo I'm taking adout. I'm not taking about demoing the true sound quality - only the difference before and after. I could hear a big difference between the $1200 guitar and the $75 guitar. I'd be able to hear the difference between a before and after. If I couldn't hear a difference, I'd get a new device....
So many people pay for names. I've argued with many of them over that, but could never get through their cognitive dissonance. So, I don't even bother anymore. My budget guitars that I currently own rival nearly ALL of the hyper expensive guitars I've played during my career.
My opinion, since no one asked. If you are trying to upgrade to be like another guitar, just buy the other guitar. If you are modding to make something unique that no one offers, then go for it. In that case, less expensive guitars like a Squier Affinity can be a great starting point.
whatever you do to a squier,you are going to end up trying to imitate a higher grade fender,you aren't going to reinvent the wheel upgrading a squier so don't even think that way.aside from routing swiss cheese holes directly through the body,gluing random pointless crap on it or whatever unconventional ideas you may have every single upgrade to a low end squier is to make it play like a higher end fender be it a mexican or usa level guitar.thinking otherwise is stupid and wrong,sorry.you aren't making a les paul out of a squier,you arent making a hollow body out of a squier(i guess you could but why bother)making it your own as you say is upgrading it to "fender playable specs" you have false romanticism
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Adding Tuners Locking are my choice and usually a Nut is gonna help out just about every sub $500 Dollar Guitar and it's something just about every Guitarist should be able to do or learn by watching TH-cam . Crappy Pickups replacement can get costly and require a more experienced Luthier if your not into doing such things . The Fix for crappy Pickups can be fixed with a 7 or 10 band EQ like the guy below states !
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Damn, way to be a dick about this guy's personal experience and opinion. And you're wrong anyway. The possibilities are endless when it comes to modding electric guitars, Squiers are no exception. Electrical components, wiring schemes, pickup type/magnet/placement, scale lengths, on-board effects, etc! If you put yourself in a box thinking "I can ONLY imitate a high end Fender (or anything else)" that's fine, but maybe other peoples' imaginations aren't as limited as yours.
You're not going get filet mignon out of hamburger, BUT a hamburger can be absolutely delicious if it's seasoned properly. Doing mods is definitely a way to go if money is an issue or if you just want to go crazy with it. It's worth whatever YOU feel like investing in it. Just don't slap a FENDER logo on a Squier. If you want a real Fender, just save up and get a used MIM Fender. I don't know why people get into swapping decals like that. I guess owning a Squier is embarrassing to them. I'm doing mods to my Squier Bullet Strat and I'm fine with the logo on the headstock.
@@spottedsaint957 Yeah I paid $400 for my Squire totally respectable imo . Other opion's don't concern me . I enjoy modding I do things at my pace and the Guitar gets better with each step !
UPGRADE YOUR BRIDGE!!!! I hate seeing people upgrade everything but the tremolo. You would be amazed how much it changes the tone when you pit brass or steel block and saddles
The $1200 guitar still sounded better but it sure didn't sound twice as good. The right amp or pedals would fix any differences. Get a decent Classic Vibe or Standard and upgrade that, put the savings into a good amp.
@@b-sideplank tome the 1200 sounded better ... but theres another thing that we have to put in mind ... feel .. the feel ... and i bet that the 1200 feel way better play!!!!!
Nothing can replace the experience of switching out pickups and learning to do a setup. But if you want a high end guitar, buy the real deal. If for nothing else, the resell value. Partcasters basically carry no value, no matter the quality of components.
Depends on how good you are in doing guitar work though...i can get a cheap used squier for 60 bucks...change pretty much everything on it...pickups and electronics,tuners, nut...even install big stainless steel frets on it and keep the original parts in a box....now that guitar is already high end all the way...it has the excellent parts(and actually the parts i want) and the setup i want and saves me several hundred dollars i would pay extra for a company logo. Now if i want the resale value thats easy....i put the original parts back on...keep the excellent parts that iam gonna use in another build anyway and give that guitar so someone else with some improved parts anyway...like ss frets and a good nut...win win for everyone.
Bunch of idiots on FB market place will argue the differ. Because how else would they convince you to trade them your Les Paul Standard GoldTop for their "customs shop quality custom made guitars with the BEST parts available?" What do you mean my Squier affinity neck on warmoth body is not worth 2100? LOL
There's nothing wrong with the "cheap" potentiometers. You'll find the same ones in high end gear where space is a premium. The switch is fine too as long as it works. Just some advice for anyone trying to save some money to spend elsewhere.
Start with a decent guitar and then upgrade. In the end it's all about how it plays, not what it's worth. I would spend the extra couple of bucks and invest an additional 5 minutes to shield the cavity before replacing the pups, especially if I'm upgrading a cheap Strat. PEACE
I'm conflicted with shielding. If a guitar is quiet enough, leave it alone. Plus it's not easy to shield the cavities because you have to ground the shielding. Also it can affect the tone. It's definitely not a five minute job.
If you want a good sounding guitar, start from where the guitar is getting the amplification. The pickups. EQ pedals are only there to enhance the sound. I wouldn't rely on an EQ pedal for my general tone - you have the amp's EQ knobs for that one.
You should have shielded the guitar to reduce hum/interference. This can be achieved either using the expensive route of copper tape or the cheaper route of using aluminium tape.
The first demo piece i liked better with the cheap guitar before they fiddled with it, sounded clearer and better. The second demo i liked better with the rebuilt cheap guitar. After the demos at the beginning i said to myself that it isn't neccessarily a worse sound but rather a different sound and that the guys here obviously like the more bassy sound better than the more clearer metallic sound. So it really depends on personal taste what you want to do even with a cheap guitar.
This is why asking if modding a guitar is worth it is such a hard question to answer. Everything about guitar tone is so personal and subjective that one mod could make a guitar someone's favorite instrument while it could make it someone else's nightmare guitar
I know it has been just over a year but two things on soldering, 1.) Tin your wires before joining them (Put soldier on them) and you should have taken the 1/8 inch output jack out and soldered the wires directly to the jack and not used the thinner gage wires. This is just my 2 cents! I think the guitar sounded much better and the pick guard made it look better.
Tinning is something I've never had to do. It may make a difference though, haven't tested it. Either way an absolute must is heating up the joint before applying the solder, this is unanimous among people who's opinions actually should be listened and the reason that it helps is because if you don't heat up the joint before heating it'll wick the heat away, whereas if you heat up the joint at worst it won't change the heat and at best the opposite will happen (at least my understanding that is)
This happens every time on these vids. . $500+ upgrade just makes it lose high n mid tone n adds "body". some ppl like it some ppl don't. It's all just subjective honestly. I own a $1000 strat and have owned a few others. I also own a squier n play it almost as much as my expensive one just cuz i love it's jangley highs.
use and play whatever makes you happy..i,personally, cant get what I want off the shelf. ive put diffent pickups and different necks on cheap guitars and been totally happy with them. its all in taste. I have 3 partscasters that I would take over ANY American strat because they have what im looking for
My must have factor is playability. Tone is obviously important but post production is a wonderful world to explore and if you know what you’re doing you can dial in almost any tone.
I got a 28 year old beat up Fender for $100. It's a Fender Black label, which is the lowest end Mexican Fender available at the time. Perfect mod platform. So far I stripped all the parts and bought brand new stuff. I'll be starting the new paint job and installing the new nut and tuners this weekend. If I can get it to sound good, I think it will definitely be my new favorite, if for no other reason then I put it together myself.
One of the main noticable things when it comes to pickups for me, is that cheaper stock pickups dont give you full chords. For instance if you play a standard Major powerchord anywhere on the neck some of the notes will drown each other out and clash together. With good pickups each note in a full 6 string chord will pop out individually. That is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade in my opinion.. it's a small thing but once you notice it's hard to go back.
As mentioned, the magnets in the stock pickups were that cruddy synthetic magnet strip stuff they use in fridge magnets. Switching to a better magnet greatly influences output and response.
the end doesn't justify the means.an affintiy or bullet will never sound or play as good as a quality mexican or usa strat no matter what mods you do but you will pay as much to "TRY" and make it sound and play that good.one solution"classic vibe" or "vintage modified"
Hey! I know your comment is a year old but you sound like me. Also, if someone is on a budget, this month they can maybe upgrade the nut. Next month, maybe get nicer tuners. Maybe ask the Tooth Fairy for new pickups lol
I liked the video. In my experience, I have taken decent low to mid priced guitars that I thought played good and was good bang for the buck (well built and resonate) and upgraded with pickups of my choice and good components. (Pots, caps, switch jack and in some cases a graphtec nut) In every case I noticed much improvement and could not justify the more expensive counterpart. However, I’m not a pro on the road every night either. But I also enjoy doing the mods.
I think you nailed it. I just play for myself and maybe a few camp trips...... I am fairly new and most of my Guitars are mid to low range. I had so much fun pimping my squire out. well all except for my first dealings with Mr. Floyd Rose ..... anyways spot on!!
The amp also is really important too. I have a cheap valve amp, Laney LC15 with a vintage 30 speaker (upgrade); cheap guitars SX Telecaster and Epiphone Casino (Korea) Fernandes strato R9 (japan vintage). Recently I got the UAFX Dream 65 pedal conected in stereo to a pair of Yamaha DXR10mk2 (I'am singer, I got that speakers already). Result: Amazing sound! I'll never think in buying an expensive valve amp (really expensive in my country). I recognize that I've already have the Yamahas and they are expensive. But the sound is incredible with any of the cheapeast guitars I´ve connected to that pedal. Before that I was thinking in change the mics, eq pedals, etc. Now with a little of tweak in the Dream 65 I get a really good sound imposible to obtain with a cheaper valve amp. Also, I agree with the comments about the feeling that one have with respective guitar you own befor do the upgrades (the SX telecaster and the Casino are really confortable to play). Excellent video!
I have a crappy starcaster that was given to me and I completely rebuilt it and now it is one of my favorite guitars. I replaced the pickboard with a loaded one, replaced every plate, locking tuning pegs, string trees, replaced the bridge saddles and input jack. Painted it with black spray can truck bed liner, adjusted the truss rod, set the intonation and man it plays just as well as any Stratocaster I’ve played. The only thing I need to do still is file the frets, there’s just a little bit of fret buzz on the G but it’s not terrible. Rock on!
This vid is right up my alley... 1st response.... the upgraded squire sounds better than the real deal Fender, but I'm not a fan of the 'upgraded' pickups, especially for their price. They're a little dark and lacking clarity. I've heard and played many strat pup sets that sound better for less $. I've done this upgrade routine many times - I have several guitars that started out stupidly cheap and I've upgraded. I also have some top end instruments, and my upgraded cheapos are still quite often the guitars I reach for first. ( I have 4 or 5 guitars now that I purchased for under $150 that now play, feel and sound like pro grade instruments, but are still under $250 invested). 1. There's no need to spend big bucks on pups and wiring. There's some other places you skipped that cheap guitars could use some love - spending too much on pups leaves some loose ends if you want it to play well and reliably like a more expensive instrument. GFS has MANY great pickup choices for well under $100 for a set, and very good wiring harnesses for under $30. Dragonfire pickups are also a great sounding budget choice. The Stratosphere is also a good source... I have a partscaster with a $35 Stratosphere prewired Alnico pickguard and pup set that sounds great. 2. TUSQ nut choice is a great recommendation. I've done this to 2/3 of my guitars. Absolutely essential. 3. Locking tuners?? Yes, they make string changes quicker but if you know how to wind a string properly, they're completely unnecessary. There's plenty of REALLY good tuners available on EBAY or GFS in the $30 per set range. (Wilkinsons) 4. Saddles : A VERY worthy upgrade......again, GFS has some great stainless saddles. (Or Roller bridge if you want to upgrade a guitar with Tune-O-Matic style bridge) 5. Trem Block : you skipped over this.... some money from your overpriced pups would have been better spent on a nice fat brass or solid steel trem block. Better sustain, better tone, better 'ring' 6. Shielding : another spot you skipped....... a $5 roll of copper shielding for the pup cavities is a cheap and essential upgrade on a single coil guitar! 7. FRET LEVEL: I know you did a setup and 'softened' the fret ends, but did you do a fret level?? NO money involved, just patience and time. A good fret leveling, crowning, and polish will make a WORLD of difference! I have yet to see a cheap guitar neck that didn't need at least a partial level and polish. The only guitar I own that didn't need some leveling is my Carvin. The most important thing to making a cheap guitar play well...... make sure you like the "feel" of the neck, and make sure the truss rod works as it should and the neck isn't twisted.......... if those things are in place, your cheap guitar is ready to upgrade. Everything else can be fixed. BTW... you won't get any $ back when you try to sell it, but you'll enjoy the satisfaction of playing a great feeling and sounding guitar without spending a fortune. And no worries if you ding it up while playing the crap out of it! It really is the golden age of the "cheap" guitar.... unless our knuckleheaded leader screws it all up with tariffs (that WE the consumer will pay for) (there will still be the used market).
Idk if im just a horrible musician or what but cheap guitars sound so good to me. Just goes to show that cheap gear can make good sounds in this day and age. (Pre-upgrade)
I got a Grote 335 copy off Amazon for $129 bucks, delivered. I spent $300 bucks on hardware and it plays as well as my Original Gibson 335...and I can drive it like I stole it. The tone is all in the pick ups and wiring. As long as you have a neck you like the feel of, for sure, get a beater and upgrade it.
jack white sucks,he is absolutely the most talent-less hack ever to become popular and he definitely isnt in the top 100,000 guitar players of the lest ten years. he isnt even on the list for top 1,000,000 guitar players of all time.
trillrif axegrindor I hate to be the one to break it to you but he has a massive following for the projects he is involved in, and how can you objectively rate him on a scale with other guitarists? I can completely respect not enjoying a particular artist but to call him talentless is pretty thoughtless
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 dude jack white plays with FEEL. You should watch “death letter live” by white stripes. I will give you that he isn’t the most technically smooth player, but mostly everyone can feel what he’s saying with guitar. He’s the exact opposite of some metal shedder that plays million notes per second. I put him and John frusciante in the same boat. Both are players immediately recognizable when listening...
Pretty eye-opening! I love to tinker so I prefer to buy cheap and build up, but I didn't realize how much more the electronics contribute to the sound compared to the rest of the guitar. It looks like it's best to first find some guitars that fit your style with regard to playability and then find the one that sounds the best... or just do like me: find one that's super comfortable and easy to play, and then tailor the sound to your liking with the electronics (pickups, pots, etc.).
Buy a squire bullet tele for $170. Get a set of alnico pickups on Amazon for $20. Pay a guitar tech $50 to install the pickups and set the fret board. Then give it a set of $12 Elixer, coated strings. After tax your total comes to about $260, and the guitar will sound a d feel like a $500 fender telecaster.
Before comparison= Squier is super thin with no depth of tone. After comparison= NO comparison. The Squier sounds great! I am in the same situation ($22 Squier + $24 shpg= SCORE!). For those who don't know, Stew Mac has great how videos and lots of tools. I'm looking at a prewired pickguard from Mojotone. Their stuff sounds killer. And I really like the Graphtech parts, they're top notch! Definitely roll the edges and clean up the frets (No More Sprout!) and be sure to do it BEFORE installing the new pick guard so filings don't stick to the pickups. I would highly suggest changing the entire tremolo block/ bridge/saddles as well. Bladerunner is great. Stays in tune even on deep dives. Thanks for the video Nate!
Stew Mac is great! If you do want clean up frets while pickguard is installed just put a strip of masking tape over the pickup magnets. Works like a charm! The bladerunners look interesting, might need to try it out in the future. Thanks for tuning in and leaving a comment!
I bought a Squier bronco bass. I bought it specifically to mod it into a very playable, versatile and uniquely playable bass. I’ve had a Gibson 60s mudbucker pickup for forty years so that went into neck position. The center position has a Fralin 53 Fender P bass, and in the bridge I have a Lolllar T-bird. Switched like a strat with some extra options. A Badass bridge and Wilkinson tuners. Between parts and Luthery I spent over a grand. But, it can sound like a P bass, or Jack Bruce Cream with the flick of a switch.
This is a good way for a musician that doesn't have a lot of money to get a good sounding more dependable instrument But I still dig my Vintage stratocaster
I get the reason for using a very cheap guitar for the point of the video but I’ve done something like this with both the Squier Classic Vibe and older MIM standard Fenders I’ve picked up used both were in the $300 range and I probably put another $300-$400 into them and ended up with amazing custom guitars. I have a MIM Strat I prefer to my American made ones.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Rosewood on the neck affects the resonance and tonal response conveyed through the strings to the pickups. Swap the neck for a maple neck and you'll hear a difference.
It's great to upgrade a guitar. I understand both sides of the issues. I collect Ibanez Jems and I honestly prefer the jrs. And i don't feel guilty upgrading them. I met Vai and he told me the same thing....true story. I actually have an original 87 floral jem that I swapped the pups and electronics. I'm not getting rid of it and I didn't like the sound of the pafs in that one, so why not. And I totally replaced all the electronics and hardware on my jem7v, I kept the edge on it, of course. And on that one, I dremeled the bottom back horn to fit my hand. I do that to all my Jrs. So I had lots of practice. And I put a magnet underneath the pick guard by the bottom horn so I can put my slide. Ive been doing that way before Paul Gilbert. Been doing mods since I started playing over 25 years ago. Making cheap guitars sound great. If you want to upgrade like this video for fun or just to see, great. Try it, it's fun and you'll find out if it's worth it or not because you speak from experience. But if you like the strat tele styles, and you got anywhere from $450-750 to spend.......get a used charvel. More likely, you won't need to upgrade anything. Unless you like stainless steel frets, that's probably the only you'll do. And maybe the pups if you like certain ones. I love my Jems and I don't like the feel of the strat or tele. That neck and neck pocket though......that's the holy grail. That's the difference in comparing a strat to a suhr and Tom Anderson. The Ibanez az is the equivalent but used they go for over a grand. I got both a strat and tele pro mod. My Jems are probably mad at me.....
My comment comes three years later, but I just found your video. I actually do this kind of upgrades very often with Harley Benton guitars. They are inexpensive. Some times they must be sent back within the 30 days windows Thomann Germany offers. But most of the axes are cosmetically gorgeous and wooden parts are outstanding. Therefore they become a wonderful mods platform. One can chose from a wide variety of models & finishing mostly under €200. With €300 to €400 modifications, depending if you like or not the quite decent Roswell Pickups and a little work on frets edges (if you dear to), they become unbeatable by any branded €500 to €900 guitar. Only problem to be aware of: Reselling. Indeed, you will never recover even a part of the value of your investment. But if you plan to keep your guitar or make a happy friend or relative, then this is definitely worth.
I am of the opinion that up-grading a cheap guitar let's you better connect with the instrument, gives it the start of it's mojo. Bought an old Ibanez rg in black ,looks pretty rough,plays like a dream. Nice old guitar for $40 !
I think if your going to buy a beast of a guitar you should do it. On the other hand maybe you have a guitar that is sentimental to you that is older and a bit out of date, that should be the one you upgrade to bring out a potential you never knew it had. Don’t buy cheap and upgrade as you’ll never forget its origin and you might not ever get over that. Buy quality and you’ll feel the quality which will give you piece of mind.
Benja Wormfost definitely dig that! Would hate to see my old guitar collecting dust while I play a new one. It’s funny the attachment you get to a guitar
My answer is I choose whichever one I like the feel of the best then worry about whether I need to modify anything or not. My most recent electric guitar is an ESP LTD EC 1000 - list price about $900. I LOVE it! However, it's my second favorite of my 7 electric guitars...my favorite is an 80's Squier Strat that was one pickup and on knob. I paid $90 for the guitar then put an EMG 81 in it which cost $95 so the pickup was more than the guitar but it plays like it was custom molded for my hands and SCREAMS! So yes, you can take a cheap guitar and make it better :)
That's why I play them all @ the guitar shops. Youd be surprised what you like. Plus "cheap" pickups can sound fine but maybe suffer from lower output. After all, a pickup is basically a bunch of wire wrapped around a bobbin with 6 metal poles on top of a magnet. It's not exactly rocket science. You're better off spending 500 dollars on guitar lessons. Trust me.
I have enjoyed modding basses, and building kits. Six strings, too, though as a bassist, well, you know…basses. I started with a gifted broken Squier, a catalog, and a book. Don’t go crazy unless you intend to be a pro luthier or a craftsperson. Big thing: have fun!
I like modding guitars to be specific to me but I mod them when I find a cheap guitar with a high quality neck like the SX Vintage series teles or Strats. These are very similar to the classic vibes and can be found for a steal so it’s def worth modding. Plus modding allows you to play and upgrade as u play because everyone doesn’t have $900/$1000 to spend on a guitar as well.
You really can make a cheap guitar sound great. I have an Ibanez Gio with Seymour Duncan pickups, and I installed a tone pot without a capacitor, and it sounds amazing.
Just sent my cheap guitar in today to get upgraded. I hope it will be as improved as the people in the shop said. Thank you for this video though: it gives me hope.
First of all thanks for for the time and work you put into this video you are appreciated. Having said that .. " Is it worth upgrading your cheap guitar?" .. ! Well if the upgrades happen over a long period of time. And for some reason you absolutely love the guitar? Okay then. Otherwise .. No ! What would be the point? if you you have around $700.00 to drop on a guitar and high-end parts and you have the ability to do all the work yourself? You can probably work an amicable deal for that $1200.00 Strat. That you want this $75.00 Strat to sound and play just like. And have a guitar; that is resalable near or perhaps more than you paid for it. You will never get your money back out of that Squire Strat. So as I said " for some reason you absolutely love the guitar? .. What would be the point?
This is all about preference. What sounds good to one person may not sound good to another. That’s why they make more than one guitar, amp, pickup, strings, etc.
I took a 350$ Epiphone les Paul put in Seymour Duncan p rails graph tec parts runners new bridge etc , so for about 900$ I got a 1500$ sounding Epiphone les Paul that’s a 600$ upgrade you did all that work and upgrade for a 200$ difference , you could have just spent the extra 200$ on the 1200$ strat . Sounds great though . My Epiphone won’t get me a 1500$ resale of course but it played like one .
I personally wouldn’t waste the time and money on a squire, I do this a lot and cruise the pawn shops and so far I’ve had really good luck finding several Schecters and Deans and a few Ibanez! When everything is off in-between installing new parts, I touch up, buff and/or sometimes install a vinyl wrap. I have a Hondo 2 I bought at a pawnshop for a believe 50 bucks, strat style, bought on EBay a loaded hot mirror pick guard for $145, vinyl wrapped with a cool Hellraiser puzzle box graphic, added a Floyd I found on EBay, and finally new flush mount tuners (these cost the most at $120 and are a new product) . So I spent about $350 and I did this because it’s the best playing guitar I’ve ever played before any upgrades! Now it looks and sounds awesome as well! Like I said I do this a lot, I’m at 21 instruments now mostly because it’s a working hobby, that has value and is fun! Thought you might be interested, Thanks for a great channel!
I’m all for and applaud people who want to learn the inner workings of their instrument... learning to solder and read schematics (wiring diagrams) are skills you get to keep for life but...I can take that same $600 to the used guitar market and find a MIM Fender Strat or Tele that’s ready to play...you may even get lucky and find more than one guitar for that $600 upgrade...and always remember kids...wear googles whenever you use solder...safety first...🎸🔊🎶🤘🏻
Watching this video five years later, in November 2024, and still the point is that the starting point does matter. Squier guitars are actually a pretty good base for mods( if you want to), but as they are stock they are faithful in sound to the Fender models. Do they sound thinner, brighter, or harsher than the Fender counterparts? Maybe or maybe not depending on the models of reference, but one thing is sure: if you plsy a Squier strat or tele you will know what the basic Fender strats and teles sounds are about
Just got a £60 rockburn les Paul. So far I've gotten a SH4 JB for the bridge. Only planned upgrades next are strap locks and grover tuners, everything else is awesome as is! Maybe some new pots, but honestly they are cool as is
heres my thing for 800 doallers upgrading a squire i could save 300$ more to get a fender MIM strat... and if i wanna buy a humbucker on it or mod a couple things from there cool, but for me im modding my 75$ chinese strat clone i got when i was 10 as more of a passion project because it has so much sentimental value im keeping all the knicks and dings to the body im just replacing a white sss pickguard with a Hss black pickguard (so its a all black guitar looks so fn cool) sand the Academy headstock decal off i might buy a new neck , i think it was 100$ with a amp 15 years ago? Lol but ill put ernie ball strings on it new pick ups scotch brite the frets polish the body,neck , i think all in all ill be paying 150? if u count the soldering iron 40 for the pickguard, 65 for neck 9$ for strings sandpaper free from work polish i already have and thats good enough for me i dont need it to sound like a fender i just wanna love playing it
I bought my son a new Squier Affinity Strat back in 1997. We got it playing OK, but he still moved on to low brass. Fast forward to 2015 - I pulled it out of the closet and took a new look. It turned out that the neck was really smooth and the fretwork was way more than the $149 would seem to provide. The nut cuts were perfect and the tuners were solid, but a bit of work on the existing 6 screw trem with a tension adjustment and new D'addario NY/XL 009's got the tuning, strings, and trem sorted. But, something still wasn't right. Enter Guitar Fetish with a pre-loaded Strat pickguard with new electronics and 3 hot-wound Alnico V pickups for $72 and, voila! A wonderfully playing and sounding Strat for under $220. It plays and sounds better than my American-made '48 with cost more than 10x as much. Even if you don't put $600 into an upgrade, you can definitely have fun upgrading an inexpensive guitar.
You can absolutely do less drastic modifications and end up with a fantastic guitar. For me, the first thing is to always replace the nut on any cheap guitar. After that, it's the pickups, pots and switches. I can't hear a difference from the pot and switch changes, but they feel waaay more quality. I also remove the gloss off the back of the neck if it has any, and roll the fingerboard edges as shown in the video!
I modded my squier 2 and so far have 225 dollars in it. It's a great player. I recommend buying one that has all the stuff the way you want it cuz paying to upgrade is a drag.
I have been putting strat style parts caster guitars together for over 20 years (I have about thirty) and have learned the hard way to avoid real cheap guitars all together i.e. squire, Mitchell, Glarry, Indio etc... If the body is not alder or ash just forget it, because to my ear and in my opinion it just won't sound or feel right no matter what you do to it. Believe me, I have been down that road and wasted a lot of money trying to make a piece of crap sound decent. Poplar, Basswood, Candlewood etc... are just, and not to be rude or step on anyones toes, crappy wood alternatives. Just get an decent mexican made new or used Fender strat for around 300 to 500 and put what you want in it and it will sing better than it's $1200.00 to $2000.00 counterpart. That is if you use the right parts. For example...I have a used mexican made deluxe with alder body and C neck which I purchased for $300.00 five years ago, that someone dropped in the guitar store. It had a small chunk taken out of it (which with bondo was an easy repair $5.00) I stripped the ugly blue translucent paint off it and re-did it in a beautiful salmon lacquer with a black lacquer under coat and did a nice relic job on it for $60.00 in paint, I already had the sealer and sand paper but it was around $12.00 for both. I then purchased a set of vintage locking tuners from The Stratosphere guitar Company for $19.00 (sweet deal and they work great) then bought a Wilkinson bridge with steel block at Guitarferish for $35.00 and new (better) saddles for $12.00. I then purchased a set of Fender pure vintage 59 guitar pickups for $99.00 (they are $150.00 now) and put them in the existing three ply pick-guard and for and extra $25.00 I went ahead and upgraded the wiring harness including a $3.00 treble bleed I got on ebay. Last but not least I purchased a Tusq. nut from Stewmac for $15.00 with shipping. Total cost after my original $300.00 including Bondo, sealer and sandpaper etc...is... $585.00 It took me a month or so to paint and sand and a day or so to assemble and set up properly. After all that, I have a guitar that is envied by my friends and was recently offered $2700.00 for it and I said NO THANKS. However, I did help my buddy (the guy willing to pay $2700.00) build his own parts caster for roughly the same money. However, he actually got a little carried away and his guitar build was more than mine because he just had to have this EMG DG20 David Gilmore prewired pick-guard set for $329.00. Even after that, he only spent a total of $715.00 for guitar, paint and parts and now he has a fantastic guitar that looks great and wails like he likes on stage. Sorry I prattled on, but hey, I love guitars. Don't waste your money on those high end guitars, because with a little practice you can build your own dream guitar for a lot less. One last thing I want to mention is that Guitarfetish has some decent Slick SL 57 guitars you can upgrade to be your dream guitar. I recently bought one for $259.00 and upgraded it for a few dollars less than the one I mentioned earlier. Peace
I wanna second the motion to keep the guitar as is ( unless the wiring sucks, then change and resolder) The easiest change of pickups is : changing the bar magnets! Buy Behringers EQ pedal, and sustain compressor
Replacing a nut is usually way more complex than just popping in a New nut. You gotta file the slots properly, otherwise your Action is gonna be a nightmare. Just to the beginners here.
Galgenvogel Yup. A traditional nut was definitely beyond my skill level. So I installed a Zero Glide nut on my Bullet Strat (bought for $70 used). goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/
Most of our preslotted nuts are made so you only need to do some minor sanding to get them to fit in the slot, and then maybe the height. But you don't need to file or cut our slots :D
I've gone over a dozen nut replacements with GraphTech. I had to shim one up a little, sand a couple down a little, and I only touched the actual slots once because I was stringing it with 12-62 gauge strings.
I’ve heard guys make a 100$ guitar sing. I’ve heard guys make a 2000$ sound like a 50$ guitar. Bottom line: get a decent guitar 300-500$ and a decent amp 300-500$. 600-1000$ for a decent set up is not that much money. An iPhone can cost more. Besides, It shows a level of commitment and you’ll be more inclined to pick up the guitar and play if it sounds decent. But if you’re a full on dirt merchant. Just buy the best you can afford. 🤘🏻
As a heads up, never a good idea to use a soldering gun around pickups. The strong electromagnetic fields generated by the gun could inadvertently demagnetizing the pickups. You should only use thermal soldering irons.
Things like the locking tuners and locking strap are not really important to getting the decent sound so it is actually cheaper to get a good sound. Just some good tuners, strings, the nut, bridge and pickups and you got your sound. The rest make it a better guitar but not directly affecting the sound. I think we are lucky now compared to when I was a kid back in the 80's. You could give your guitar a better sound but firstly you had no idea what made the sound unless you knew someone with the upgrade already because there was no TH-cam to find what you want. Then, when you did find what you want, it was limited and expensive. It could be done but at great expense. Oh, and the cheap guitars back then were cheap for a reason.
The video idea is awesome. This gives a lot of oppotunities for upgrading DYI guitars. You guys really did a bad job displaying the pickguard back for comparison. I had no clue on the components difference with the camera on the side perspective. This topic interests me the most, anyways. The whole process (for example installing the tuners) was from the the side perspective, giving little hint of what was going on on the process. Thanks!
@@MusoraOfficial Definitely, I hope to improve its playability by doing everything in the video although maybe I'll keep the Duncan Designed pickups which I believe are good enough
Very cool video! All guitars have potential with the right tweaks. I guess some more than others. In my opinion for the sound differential, for the money the modded guitar is fantastic! I always go with whatever I feel sounds best regardless of price and brand etc.
Hello sir, After so long time ,found a really good channel on you tube for guitar learning,your teaching is the best .Right now I am going through your beginner course and it’s just amazing.Thank you so much sir
Niiiice. To me sounds better than the Fender Strat. I would recomend not to buy a $75 guitar, since their necks and frets tend to be kinda funny. Rather buy a $250 + mods. I have a Washburn RX50 with steroids. Love that thing....
I’ve done several upgrades over the years with varying degrees of success. It is a lot of fun. They can be really hard to sell and get your investment back. Folks don’t want to pay a lot of money for an upgraded guitar. Just be ready for potential rejection cause you will run into that.
I hear you man. It can be a fun process but I look at it as a learning experience/experiment. I would never get my money back out of my tele that I've upgraded. Fortunately that's one of the guitars I've held on to.
Assuming you do the work yourself, think of it as an investment in education. Yeah, you will never get your money back out of it, but if/when you get a more expensive guitar and want to mod it, or heck, even just do your own setup, you now have more experience. I mostly play bass, but I obtained a free squier as a project, just so I can get more comfortable working on them. If I destroy it, I'm not out any money other than what I spent in parts. I can also make it mine. I woudd have a hard time stripping and refinishing a $2000 guitar
Im in this boat right now. I have what I believe is a Squier tele and one of my covid lockdown projects was replacing the pickups with Fender Custom Shop Twisted tele pickups with a four way switch and all new electronics. Sounds immensely better. Tuners were already upgraded to locking tuners. Now I am wondering if swapping out the neck would be worth the approximately $300 plus set up cost - the neck is very flat, not the best fret edges, and the edge of the fretboard is rather sharp. Decisions decisions
I like modding because i enjoy having a hobby to work on. But it deffo aint cheaper. I think I'll just buy an expensive axe next and try and be happy... or maybe replace a switch or pot or two at most..
I think if you buy a mid-range guitar (300-600 bucks give or take) basically the only difference between it and a more expensive stock guitar (in the thousands) is gonna be the finishing details, hardware, and just overall quality control. Especially with Fender instruments. One of the most radical changed you can make on a mid range price strat/tele/any bolt on neck guitar is buy a better neck. A lot of MIM necks are great, MIA necks are usually pretty good too. But say you have a cheaper squire with maybe an indonesian neck or korean neck on it, you can probably find a nice Fender MIM neck for 150-200 probably with better tuners already on it. Or maybe find a Licensed replacement neck (Mighty Mite, Warmoth, StewMac, etc) with stainless steel frets. My personal Strat is a partscaster. I got a nice body made by a local builder (~70 bucks), a drop in 920D loaded pick guard (~200) and a used Fender american neck with the fender locking tuners included (~300) So I’m about 800 in the guitar in total with all the miscellaneous parts I bought and it’s basically my go to gig guitar. And it’s EXACTLY how I want it. Basically like having my own signature guitar.
LiveToPlayGuitar You have to wait for the right deal lol it’s not super common but it does happen if you scan around on ebay for a little while and wait for the right deal. I won a bidding war on one that I currently have for 175 and some change I think? Had the vintage style tuners. Not great but an upgrade from Squiers dye-cast crappy ones.
LiveToPlayGuitar reverb.com/item/25928504-fender-stratocaster-mim-made-in-mexico-electric-guitar-neck-rosewood?gclid=CjwKCAjw4NrpBRBsEiwAUcLcDOZLQIaTnIE3KnhSj-hTJf2q2pxqwntD-gD_7r0QIc_B2XrL8x2bQBoCVSMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&merchant_id=123929368&pla=1& it’s your lucky day, I found you one 😂
You can improve the electronic to even find good sound , but the neck, the playability, the feel, will steel be as bad as was in the beginning in a cheap guitar
If I were to get a cheap guitar to mod it, I'd mod so it would be unique for me. Anyone could by a cool looking, high-end guitar, but if I can turn rusty metal into a unique stack of diamonds, at a fraction of the price, I'd do modding all the way. As someone who comes from fighting games and uses an arcade stick controller, it feels special to use a modded controller with custom artwork and different specs, because it provides a more personal experience.
The replacement pickups sounded very hot. Or we’re just seated high? If you are able to get a used Squier, they are awesome to mod or experiment on. They are amazing for the money when set up correctly. Although I would change the pickups on them. They sound good clean, but when hit with a drive, that’s when they fall apart in sound. Otherwise, extremely great guitars.
putting some tlc into your guitar is always worth the time. Crucial points are neck setting, fret dressing, tuners, nut and in many cases bridge. This will in any case, upgrade your guitar and shoot your guitar into the players league. Upgrading your pickups and electronics is a whole different thing. In this case you should know what you're going for. you should be able to anticipate the sound characteristics of your pickup with your your specific guitar.(the seymour duncan tone wizard might be a go to web site for beginners) but first of all you should have a minimum knowledge of electronics. apart from all that pickup voodoo the circuit (especilly potentiometer value - not brand!) has a dramatic effect on the sound characteristic. Knowing what you are doing will prevent you from being disappointed afterwards. if you're a beginner it will help a lot to ask for an expert. Then you will certainly not have to pay 600$ for a comparable effect.
Bought an Eart strat style new for about $150 + tax. Love it but it needs help. Mostly pickups and maybe better electronics. I haven't looked inside yet.
Please note the soldering iron these guys are using is effectively a mains step-down transformer and therefore current flows through the tip. With the inactive parts of most electric guitars as in this video, there is no risk, but it could destroy the delicate components in any device such as an onboard pre-amp if you were adding one as a mod. It is far better to use a straight tip soldering iron, made for low-power electronics, the tip is isolated from the internal heating element and is earthed so no current flows through it.
A plek fret level , crown , and polish, a setup job, a set of cs pickups, done, it will sound as good as it going to get, will play a ton better than most guitars off a factory floor. Fret work and setup is #1 , to make a cheep guitar as good as it will ever get, nasty fretwork will never sound good, no matter how much in parts you throw at it, will be hard to play, will have dead spots, also fret sprout, sharp edges, string rattles, and all the issues with fretwork most all cheep guitars have. That is by far the biggest issue, vrs, and American fender, the nut, and the fret work is better. A plek job can offer a custom shop feel, and no rattles or issues. Locking tuners are not needed, if the nut is cut properly, and most nuts are cut wrong. All my guitars have stamped vintage tuners, they work perfectly. But I know how to properly cut a nut. No pencil led or nut goop needed, if you have tuning issues, its the nut, 99% of the time. Spend money on a custom nut, by someone who knows what they are doing, rather than locking tuners, Just some old fart advice, that’s been doing this guitar stuff, 40 plus years now. Both live and studio work.
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I'd consider the following do's and don'ts:
Don't:
- Buy parts before you know 100% sure that they will do what you want. Spending $100 on the wrong part will ruin your day.
- Mod your guitar in a way that requires extensive woodworking. Dropping in new pickups is one thing, taking a significant chunk of the wood out to fit a Floyd Rose tremolo is another.
- Modify a guitar if you don't like how the guitar feels, or if it has build-quality issues. You're not going to compensate for a guitar you can't play comfortably.
- Irreversably mod a guitar if you care about its resale value - no matter how good the mod, the resale value will probably go *down*, not up.
Do:
- Give your guitar a full set-up before deciding whether or not you want to mod it. You'd be surprised how many issues, even sound-wise, can be fixed with a good set-up job - and it'll help you decide if the guitar itself is worth modding if you get it as playable as it will ever be.
- If you're fixing an actual issue, do the cheapest mod first. If all you needed was a new nut to fix a tuning issue, you've just saved $79 on a set of tuners.
- Mod guitars you already like - it makes them more personal.
- Take the opportunity to clean/set-up things you normally don't have access to. If you're taking the strings off anyway, clean the fretboard. If what you're doing takes tension off of your floating bridge, might as well do that height adjustment you've been putting off.
- If you're planning to do many mods, do yourself a favor and do as many of them at once as possible so you only have to disassemble your guitar once.
I agree. You cant put lipstick on a pig and get bacon.
I wanna cut off a big chunk of wood because its poking in my boob and I dont want to buy a new guitar
Good advice! That’s why I do pawn shop guitars that are name brands and play well to begin with! I don’t touch my Gibsons or Fenders other than cleaning and set up.
Fantastic advice here - that I regularly seem to forget myself. The Partscaster bug is relentless! I recently noticed that starting from proper setup and ending being critical about 1. the guitar and 2. string gauges that suit the guitar first... Only then modifying small but crucial things one by one in guitars you already have leads to better result. Also to needing LESS guitars! More money to buy amps and speakers and HX and... Phew.
I got one of those very cheap DIY Harley Benton teles as my first guitar. I haven't done any sanding and painting to the body, because I actually like the look of the natural wood. It even came with a few light scratches and the factory sealing is kind of spotty. It's fine, I like al worn look anyways. And Thomann do expect the buyer to do sand the body down and do their own stuff I guess, so it's fine. I really like the neck though. Satin and nicely finished, even the thread edges. I like the whole feel and weight of the guitar.
So... what I want to say is that modding this to make 3rd party parts fit better won't make me sad :)
Imagining changing every single part to the best ones that I prefer over time except for the body. I might even do some sending and painting for that at some point. But I mean, then it's suddenly a completely different guitar :)
Almost 21 minutes and $600 in upgrades for an 8 second sound demo. Wow!!!
It doesn't sound $600 better. It's still shit.
@@kevinhaggerty8144 It sounds slightly cleaner but tbh it's just a cleaner, deeper, thicker sound. Really tone is kind of preference but pickups are usually based on what style of music you wanna play.
@@kevinhaggerty8144 The upgraded one sounds way better. Those pickups and whatever hes plugged into sound awesome.
Sound demos really do not matter. You would have to have the exact gear and exact audio edits (if any) to achieve the sound achieved in the demos.
@@crazytrain58 @Logan West I was just saying...
We sit here and watch a video over 20 minutes long - watching them upgrade a guitar. It would have done been nice to listen to more than 8 seconds of demo.
You said something about we'd have to have the exact gear and sound edits to be able to experience the same demo - or something like that....
Not true!
Watch the beginning of this video again... They play a demo of a $1,200 guitar against a $75 guitar. I could hear the difference!
They should have played and recorded the $75 guitar for a full minute or two before the upgrades, and then edit that into the end of the video. They can say, "This is the $75 guitar before the upgrades" and play that clip, and then say, "This is the $75 guitar after the upgrades" and play the same minute or two of music they played before the upgrades.
Record a "before" and then record an "after" and then play them at the end.
That's the demo I'm taking adout. I'm not taking about demoing the true sound quality - only the difference before and after.
I could hear a big difference between the $1200 guitar and the $75 guitar. I'd be able to hear the difference between a before and after. If I couldn't hear a difference, I'd get a new device....
$75 has my vote.
I was thinking that too. It sounds best haha !
I thought the same! Best sound came out of the original 75 bucks guitar jaja
So many people pay for names. I've argued with many of them over that, but could never get through their cognitive dissonance. So, I don't even bother anymore. My budget guitars that I currently own rival nearly ALL of the hyper expensive guitars I've played during my career.
The pickups are certainly less hummy
😂 Exactly
My opinion, since no one asked. If you are trying to upgrade to be like another guitar, just buy the other guitar. If you are modding to make something unique that no one offers, then go for it. In that case, less expensive guitars like a Squier Affinity can be a great starting point.
whatever you do to a squier,you are going to end up trying to imitate a higher grade fender,you aren't going to reinvent the wheel upgrading a squier so don't even think that way.aside from routing swiss cheese holes directly through the body,gluing random pointless crap on it or whatever unconventional ideas you may have every single upgrade to a low end squier is to make it play like a higher end fender be it a mexican or usa level guitar.thinking otherwise is stupid and wrong,sorry.you aren't making a les paul out of a squier,you arent making a hollow body out of a squier(i guess you could but why bother)making it your own as you say is upgrading it to "fender playable specs" you have false romanticism
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Adding Tuners Locking are my choice and usually a Nut is gonna help out just about every sub $500 Dollar Guitar and it's something just about every Guitarist should be able to do or learn by watching TH-cam . Crappy Pickups replacement can get costly and require a more experienced Luthier if your not into doing such things . The Fix for crappy Pickups can be fixed with a 7 or 10 band EQ like the guy below states !
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Damn, way to be a dick about this guy's personal experience and opinion. And you're wrong anyway. The possibilities are endless when it comes to modding electric guitars, Squiers are no exception. Electrical components, wiring schemes, pickup type/magnet/placement, scale lengths, on-board effects, etc! If you put yourself in a box thinking "I can ONLY imitate a high end Fender (or anything else)" that's fine, but maybe other peoples' imaginations aren't as limited as yours.
You're not going get filet mignon out of hamburger, BUT a hamburger can be absolutely delicious if it's seasoned properly. Doing mods is definitely a way to go if money is an issue or if you just want to go crazy with it. It's worth whatever YOU feel like investing in it. Just don't slap a FENDER logo on a Squier. If you want a real Fender, just save up and get a used MIM Fender. I don't know why people get into swapping decals like that. I guess owning a Squier is embarrassing to them. I'm doing mods to my Squier Bullet Strat and I'm fine with the logo on the headstock.
@@spottedsaint957 Yeah I paid $400 for my Squire totally respectable imo . Other opion's don't concern me . I enjoy modding I do things at my pace and the Guitar gets better with each step !
recent hobby for me is getting really pretty but cheap guitars and maxing them out it’s so rewarding
same hahaha
Me fkn too!!! I thought i was alone!
I just modded an Ibanez JS100 and it is beautiful! 🤘
Managed to watch the intro to 1:09 and then skip to 19:12 for the results.
Job done in less then 3 minutes. Go cheap and then customize.
Thanks! I was searching thru the comments just for this!!
UPGRADE YOUR BRIDGE!!!! I hate seeing people upgrade everything but the tremolo. You would be amazed how much it changes the tone when you pit brass or steel block and saddles
Exactly! I switched my cheap bride for a Wilkinson big block and it sounds
a 100 times better!
The $1200 guitar still sounded better but it sure didn't sound twice as good. The right amp or pedals would fix any differences. Get a decent Classic Vibe or Standard and upgrade that, put the savings into a good amp.
To me the $75 one sounded better than $1200 even before the mod.
@@b-sideplank 1200 sounded best clean, the upgraded the worst. But with distortion i preferred the upgraded followed by 1200 followed by 75
@@b-sideplank tome the 1200 sounded better ... but theres another thing that we have to put in mind ... feel .. the feel ... and i bet that the 1200 feel way better play!!!!!
I thought the exact same thing😊
Nothing can replace the experience of switching out pickups and learning to do a setup. But if you want a high end guitar, buy the real deal. If for nothing else, the resell value. Partcasters basically carry no value, no matter the quality of components.
Depends on how good you are in doing guitar work though...i can get a cheap used squier for 60 bucks...change pretty much everything on it...pickups and electronics,tuners, nut...even install big stainless steel frets on it and keep the original parts in a box....now that guitar is already high end all the way...it has the excellent parts(and actually the parts i want) and the setup i want and saves me several hundred dollars i would pay extra for a company logo.
Now if i want the resale value thats easy....i put the original parts back on...keep the excellent parts that iam gonna use in another build anyway and give that guitar so someone else with some improved parts anyway...like ss frets and a good nut...win win for everyone.
Bunch of idiots on FB market place will argue the differ. Because how else would they convince you to trade them your Les Paul Standard GoldTop for their "customs shop quality custom made guitars with the BEST parts available?" What do you mean my Squier affinity neck on warmoth body is not worth 2100? LOL
There's nothing wrong with the "cheap" potentiometers. You'll find the same ones in high end gear where space is a premium. The switch is fine too as long as it works. Just some advice for anyone trying to save some money to spend elsewhere.
Start with a decent guitar and then upgrade. In the end it's all about how it plays, not what it's worth. I would spend the extra couple of bucks and invest an additional 5 minutes to shield the cavity before replacing the pups, especially if I'm upgrading a cheap Strat. PEACE
I'm conflicted with shielding. If a guitar is quiet enough, leave it alone. Plus it's not easy to shield the cavities because you have to ground the shielding. Also it can affect the tone. It's definitely not a five minute job.
$75 Squier + EQ pedal = Sound like any strat you choose without changing a thing 👍
I love a EQ pedal as boost too.
Except for the jagged edges of the frets.
If you want a good sounding guitar, start from where the guitar is getting the amplification. The pickups. EQ pedals are only there to enhance the sound. I wouldn't rely on an EQ pedal for my general tone - you have the amp's EQ knobs for that one.
I got a bass amp for my first amp and I got an eq and it made the amp sound 1000 times better
I agree. I have several guitars and have changed pickups in all of them and still think eq is everything.
You should have shielded the guitar to reduce hum/interference. This can be achieved either using the expensive route of copper tape or the cheaper route of using aluminium tape.
Good tip Blutaxt Malta.
am i the only one that liked how it sounded before the mods? it seemd like the mods just gave it more midrage/bass
The first demo piece i liked better with the cheap guitar before they fiddled with it, sounded clearer and better. The second demo i liked better with the rebuilt cheap guitar. After the demos at the beginning i said to myself that it isn't neccessarily a worse sound but rather a different sound and that the guys here obviously like the more bassy sound better than the more clearer metallic sound. So it really depends on personal taste what you want to do even with a cheap guitar.
This is why asking if modding a guitar is worth it is such a hard question to answer. Everything about guitar tone is so personal and subjective that one mod could make a guitar someone's favorite instrument while it could make it someone else's nightmare guitar
I know it has been just over a year but two things on soldering, 1.) Tin your wires before joining them (Put soldier on them)
and you should have taken the 1/8 inch output jack out and soldered the wires directly to the jack and not used the thinner gage wires. This is just my 2 cents! I think the guitar sounded much better and the pick guard made it look better.
Tinning is something I've never had to do. It may make a difference though, haven't tested it. Either way an absolute must is heating up the joint before applying the solder, this is unanimous among people who's opinions actually should be listened and the reason that it helps is because if you don't heat up the joint before heating it'll wick the heat away, whereas if you heat up the joint at worst it won't change the heat and at best the opposite will happen (at least my understanding that is)
That cheap thing had better clarity before the upgrade. Some things are just better left alone.
Clarity isnt all. It was flimsy in my ears. After it had more girth and more pleasant.
Yep
This happens every time on these vids. . $500+ upgrade just makes it lose high n mid tone n adds "body". some ppl like it some ppl don't. It's all just subjective honestly. I own a $1000 strat and have owned a few others. I also own a squier n play it almost as much as my expensive one just cuz i love it's jangley highs.
It was also very empty and hollow sounding with no depth.
Those pickups sounded not so good and definitely not worth it. I think fish mans would have been better.
use and play whatever makes you happy..i,personally, cant get what I want off the shelf. ive put diffent pickups and different necks on cheap guitars and been totally happy with them. its all in taste. I have 3 partscasters that I would take over ANY American strat because they have what im looking for
My must have factor is playability. Tone is obviously important but post production is a wonderful world to explore and if you know what you’re doing you can dial in almost any tone.
I got a 28 year old beat up Fender for $100. It's a Fender Black label, which is the lowest end Mexican Fender available at the time. Perfect mod platform. So far I stripped all the parts and bought brand new stuff. I'll be starting the new paint job and installing the new nut and tuners this weekend. If I can get it to sound good, I think it will definitely be my new favorite, if for no other reason then I put it together myself.
One of the main noticable things when it comes to pickups for me, is that cheaper stock pickups dont give you full chords. For instance if you play a standard Major powerchord anywhere on the neck some of the notes will drown each other out and clash together. With good pickups each note in a full 6 string chord will pop out individually. That is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade in my opinion.. it's a small thing but once you notice it's hard to go back.
As mentioned, the magnets in the stock pickups were that cruddy synthetic magnet strip stuff they use in fridge magnets. Switching to a better magnet greatly influences output and response.
For me, I would buy a cheap guitar and upgrade it myself. I love to fiddle with all the different mods. 👍🎸
the end doesn't justify the means.an affintiy or bullet will never sound or play as good as a quality mexican or usa strat no matter what mods you do but you will pay as much to "TRY" and make it sound and play that good.one solution"classic vibe" or "vintage modified"
trillrif axegrindor you could get damn near close though
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 You're very wrong
Hey! I know your comment is a year old but you sound like me.
Also, if someone is on a budget, this month they can maybe upgrade the nut. Next month, maybe get nicer tuners. Maybe ask the Tooth Fairy for new pickups lol
@@Cautionary_Tale_Harris Do what makes you happy. 🤘
I liked the video. In my experience, I have taken decent low to mid priced guitars that I thought played good and was good bang for the buck (well built and resonate) and upgraded with pickups of my choice and good components. (Pots, caps, switch jack and in some cases a graphtec nut) In every case I noticed much improvement and could not justify the more expensive counterpart. However, I’m not a pro on the road every night either. But I also enjoy doing the mods.
I think you nailed it. I just play for myself and maybe a few camp trips...... I am fairly new and most of my Guitars are mid to low range. I had so much fun pimping my squire out. well all except for my first dealings with Mr. Floyd Rose ..... anyways spot on!!
Honestly would be happy with the "before" if set up correctly. Saves $600.
The amp also is really important too. I have a cheap valve amp, Laney LC15 with a vintage 30 speaker (upgrade); cheap guitars SX Telecaster and Epiphone Casino (Korea) Fernandes strato R9 (japan vintage). Recently I got the UAFX Dream 65 pedal conected in stereo to a pair of Yamaha DXR10mk2 (I'am singer, I got that speakers already). Result: Amazing sound! I'll never think in buying an expensive valve amp (really expensive in my country). I recognize that I've already have the Yamahas and they are expensive. But the sound is incredible with any of the cheapeast guitars I´ve connected to that pedal. Before that I was thinking in change the mics, eq pedals, etc. Now with a little of tweak in the Dream 65 I get a really good sound imposible to obtain with a cheaper valve amp. Also, I agree with the comments about the feeling that one have with respective guitar you own befor do the upgrades (the SX telecaster and the Casino are really confortable to play). Excellent video!
I have a crappy starcaster that was given to me and I completely rebuilt it and now it is one of my favorite guitars. I replaced the pickboard with a loaded one, replaced every plate, locking tuning pegs, string trees, replaced the bridge saddles and input jack. Painted it with black spray can truck bed liner, adjusted the truss rod, set the intonation and man it plays just as well as any Stratocaster I’ve played. The only thing I need to do still is file the frets, there’s just a little bit of fret buzz on the G but it’s not terrible. Rock on!
This vid is right up my alley... 1st response.... the upgraded squire sounds better than the real deal Fender, but I'm not a fan of the 'upgraded' pickups, especially for their price. They're a little dark and lacking clarity. I've heard and played many strat pup sets that sound better for less $.
I've done this upgrade routine many times - I have several guitars that started out stupidly cheap and I've upgraded. I also have some top end instruments, and my upgraded cheapos are still quite often the guitars I reach for first. ( I have 4 or 5 guitars now that I purchased for under $150 that now play, feel and sound like pro grade instruments, but are still under $250 invested).
1. There's no need to spend big bucks on pups and wiring. There's some other places you skipped that cheap guitars could use some love - spending too much on pups leaves some loose ends if you want it to play well and reliably like a more expensive instrument. GFS has MANY great pickup choices for well under $100 for a set, and very good wiring harnesses for under $30. Dragonfire pickups are also a great sounding budget choice. The Stratosphere is also a good source... I have a partscaster with a $35 Stratosphere prewired Alnico pickguard and pup set that sounds great.
2. TUSQ nut choice is a great recommendation. I've done this to 2/3 of my guitars. Absolutely essential.
3. Locking tuners?? Yes, they make string changes quicker but if you know how to wind a string properly, they're completely unnecessary. There's plenty of REALLY good tuners available on EBAY or GFS in the $30 per set range. (Wilkinsons)
4. Saddles : A VERY worthy upgrade......again, GFS has some great stainless saddles. (Or Roller bridge if you want to upgrade a guitar with Tune-O-Matic style bridge)
5. Trem Block : you skipped over this.... some money from your overpriced pups would have been better spent on a nice fat brass or solid steel trem block. Better sustain, better tone, better 'ring'
6. Shielding : another spot you skipped....... a $5 roll of copper shielding for the pup cavities is a cheap and essential upgrade on a single coil guitar!
7. FRET LEVEL: I know you did a setup and 'softened' the fret ends, but did you do a fret level?? NO money involved, just patience and time. A good fret leveling, crowning, and polish will make a WORLD of difference! I have yet to see a cheap guitar neck that didn't need at least a partial level and polish. The only guitar I own that didn't need some leveling is my Carvin.
The most important thing to making a cheap guitar play well...... make sure you like the "feel" of the neck, and make sure the truss rod works as it should and the neck isn't twisted.......... if those things are in place, your cheap guitar is ready to upgrade. Everything else can be fixed. BTW... you won't get any $ back when you try to sell it, but you'll enjoy the satisfaction of playing a great feeling and sounding guitar without spending a fortune. And no worries if you ding it up while playing the crap out of it!
It really is the golden age of the "cheap" guitar.... unless our knuckleheaded leader screws it all up with tariffs (that WE the consumer will pay for) (there will still be the used market).
What......No Brass Saddles ???
Idk if im just a horrible musician or what but cheap guitars sound so good to me. Just goes to show that cheap gear can make good sounds in this day and age.
(Pre-upgrade)
Swfty I agree the squire sounded way better without any upgrades. Was very clear and had a better tone in my opinion
@@leobeats2255 I agree. It just had a lower output.
I got a Grote 335 copy off Amazon for $129 bucks, delivered. I spent $300 bucks on hardware and it plays as well as my Original Gibson 335...and I can drive it like I stole it. The tone is all in the pick ups and wiring. As long as you have a neck you like the feel of, for sure, get a beater and upgrade it.
Well, i kinda like the dirty ass, harsh sound of the cheapo. Reminds me of something Jack White would play :)
I agree. However, sometimes the lower output of cheap pickups is annoying.
jack white sucks,he is absolutely the most talent-less hack ever to become popular and he definitely isnt in the top 100,000 guitar players of the lest ten years.
he isnt even on the list for top 1,000,000 guitar players of all time.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 and who are you?
trillrif axegrindor I hate to be the one to break it to you but he has a massive following for the projects he is involved in, and how can you objectively rate him on a scale with other guitarists? I can completely respect not enjoying a particular artist but to call him talentless is pretty thoughtless
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 dude jack white plays with FEEL. You should watch “death letter live” by white stripes.
I will give you that he isn’t the most technically smooth player, but mostly everyone can feel what he’s saying with guitar. He’s the exact opposite of some metal shedder that plays million notes per second.
I put him and John frusciante in the same boat.
Both are players immediately recognizable when listening...
So surprised im not the only one checking neck relief like that. No kapo or ruler, girly stuffs etc
Pretty eye-opening! I love to tinker so I prefer to buy cheap and build up, but I didn't realize how much more the electronics contribute to the sound compared to the rest of the guitar. It looks like it's best to first find some guitars that fit your style with regard to playability and then find the one that sounds the best... or just do like me: find one that's super comfortable and easy to play, and then tailor the sound to your liking with the electronics (pickups, pots, etc.).
Buy a squire bullet tele for $170. Get a set of alnico pickups on Amazon for $20. Pay a guitar tech $50 to install the pickups and set the fret board. Then give it a set of $12 Elixer, coated strings. After tax your total comes to about $260, and the guitar will sound a d feel like a $500 fender telecaster.
Before comparison= Squier is super thin with no depth of tone. After comparison= NO comparison. The Squier sounds great! I am in the same situation ($22 Squier + $24 shpg= SCORE!). For those who don't know, Stew Mac has great how videos and lots of tools. I'm looking at a prewired pickguard from Mojotone. Their stuff sounds killer. And I really like the Graphtech parts, they're top notch! Definitely roll the edges and clean up the frets (No More Sprout!) and be sure to do it BEFORE installing the new pick guard so filings don't stick to the pickups. I would highly suggest changing the entire tremolo block/ bridge/saddles as well. Bladerunner is great. Stays in tune even on deep dives. Thanks for the video Nate!
Stew Mac is great! If you do want clean up frets while pickguard is installed just put a strip of masking tape over the pickup magnets. Works like a charm!
The bladerunners look interesting, might need to try it out in the future.
Thanks for tuning in and leaving a comment!
I bought a Squier bronco bass. I bought it specifically to mod it into a very playable, versatile and uniquely playable bass. I’ve had a Gibson 60s mudbucker pickup for forty years so that went into neck position. The center position has a Fralin 53 Fender P bass, and in the bridge I have a Lolllar T-bird. Switched like a strat with some extra options. A Badass bridge and Wilkinson tuners. Between parts and Luthery I spent over a grand. But, it can sound like a P bass, or Jack Bruce Cream with the flick of a switch.
This is a good way for a musician that doesn't have a lot of money to get a good sounding more dependable instrument But I still dig my Vintage stratocaster
I get the reason for using a very cheap guitar for the point of the video but I’ve done something like this with both the Squier Classic Vibe and older MIM standard Fenders I’ve picked up used both were in the $300 range and I probably put another $300-$400 into them and ended up with amazing custom guitars. I have a MIM Strat I prefer to my American made ones.
Those pickups sound so good! I prefer the sound of the modified squier and the rosewood board but prefer the look and neck of the Fender 60th
rosewood boards do not make sound on an electric guitar friend.pickups only transfer magnetic signal.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 and then amps amplifie that magnetic signal, ok got it.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Rosewood on the neck affects the resonance and tonal response conveyed through the strings to the pickups. Swap the neck for a maple neck and you'll hear a difference.
Thank you. A lot of good tips for set up and comparison.
It's great to upgrade a guitar. I understand both sides of the issues. I collect Ibanez Jems and I honestly prefer the jrs. And i don't feel guilty upgrading them. I met Vai and he told me the same thing....true story.
I actually have an original 87 floral jem that I swapped the pups and electronics. I'm not getting rid of it and I didn't like the sound of the pafs in that one, so why not. And I totally replaced all the electronics and hardware on my jem7v, I kept the edge on it, of course.
And on that one, I dremeled the bottom back horn to fit my hand. I do that to all my Jrs. So I had lots of practice. And I put a magnet underneath the pick guard by the bottom horn so I can put my slide. Ive been doing that way before Paul Gilbert.
Been doing mods since I started playing over 25 years ago. Making cheap guitars sound great.
If you want to upgrade like this video for fun or just to see, great. Try it, it's fun and you'll find out if it's worth it or not because you speak from experience.
But if you like the strat tele styles, and you got anywhere from $450-750 to spend.......get a used charvel. More likely, you won't need to upgrade anything. Unless you like stainless steel frets, that's probably the only you'll do. And maybe the pups if you like certain ones.
I love my Jems and I don't like the feel of the strat or tele. That neck and neck pocket though......that's the holy grail. That's the difference in comparing a strat to a suhr and Tom Anderson. The Ibanez az is the equivalent but used they go for over a grand.
I got both a strat and tele pro mod.
My Jems are probably mad at me.....
i upgrade cheap guitars but i leave my expensive ones alone. enjoyed the video.
Bought a FFLP and added some parts and labor. I love the thing now.
My comment comes three years later, but I just found your video. I actually do this kind of upgrades very often with Harley Benton guitars. They are inexpensive. Some times they must be sent back within the 30 days windows Thomann Germany offers. But most of the axes are cosmetically gorgeous and wooden parts are outstanding. Therefore they become a wonderful mods platform. One can chose from a wide variety of models & finishing mostly under €200. With €300 to €400 modifications, depending if you like or not the quite decent Roswell Pickups and a little work on frets edges (if you dear to), they become unbeatable by any branded €500 to €900 guitar. Only problem to be aware of: Reselling. Indeed, you will never recover even a part of the value of your investment. But if you plan to keep your guitar or make a happy friend or relative, then this is definitely worth.
I am of the opinion that up-grading a cheap guitar let's you better connect with the instrument, gives it the start of it's mojo. Bought an old Ibanez rg in black ,looks pretty rough,plays like a dream. Nice old guitar for $40 !
I think if your going to buy a beast of a guitar you should do it. On the other hand maybe you have a guitar that is sentimental to you that is older and a bit out of date, that should be the one you upgrade to bring out a potential you never knew it had. Don’t buy cheap and upgrade as you’ll never forget its origin and you might not ever get over that. Buy quality and you’ll feel the quality which will give you piece of mind.
Benja Wormfost definitely dig that! Would hate to see my old guitar collecting dust while I play a new one. It’s funny the attachment you get to a guitar
My answer is I choose whichever one I like the feel of the best then worry about whether I need to modify anything or not. My most recent electric guitar is an ESP LTD EC 1000 - list price about $900. I LOVE it! However, it's my second favorite of my 7 electric guitars...my favorite is an 80's Squier Strat that was one pickup and on knob. I paid $90 for the guitar then put an EMG 81 in it which cost $95 so the pickup was more than the guitar but it plays like it was custom molded for my hands and SCREAMS! So yes, you can take a cheap guitar and make it better :)
That's a good way to go Chris.
That's why I play them all @ the guitar shops. Youd be surprised what you like. Plus "cheap" pickups can sound fine but maybe suffer from lower output. After all, a pickup is basically a bunch of wire wrapped around a bobbin with 6 metal poles on top of a magnet. It's not exactly rocket science. You're better off spending 500 dollars on guitar lessons. Trust me.
I have enjoyed modding basses, and building kits. Six strings, too, though as a bassist, well, you know…basses. I started with a gifted broken Squier, a catalog, and a book. Don’t go crazy unless you intend to be a pro luthier or a craftsperson. Big thing: have fun!
I like modding guitars to be specific to me but I mod them when I find a cheap guitar with a high quality neck like the SX Vintage series teles or Strats. These are very similar to the classic vibes and can be found for a steal so it’s def worth modding. Plus modding allows you to play and upgrade as u play because everyone doesn’t have $900/$1000 to spend on a guitar as well.
You really can make a cheap guitar sound great. I have an Ibanez Gio with Seymour Duncan pickups, and I installed a tone pot without a capacitor, and it sounds amazing.
This is like watching people who don't know anything about electronics talk about electronics.
Just sent my cheap guitar in today to get upgraded. I hope it will be as improved as the people in the shop said. Thank you for this video though: it gives me hope.
Hows the guitar now? What was the cost to get it upgraded?
@@MrMusicgenius So so. To be honest, am probably just going to have to get a brand new one.
First of all thanks for for the time and work you put into this video you are appreciated.
Having said that ..
" Is it worth upgrading your cheap guitar?" .. ! Well if the upgrades happen over a long period of time. And for some reason you absolutely love the guitar? Okay then.
Otherwise .. No !
What would be the point?
if you you have around $700.00 to drop on a guitar and high-end parts and you have the ability to do all the work yourself?
You can probably work an amicable deal for that $1200.00 Strat. That you want this $75.00 Strat to sound and play just like.
And have a guitar; that is resalable near or perhaps more than you paid for it.
You will never get your money back out of that Squire Strat.
So as I said " for some reason you absolutely love the guitar? .. What would be the point?
This is all about preference. What sounds good to one person may not sound good to another. That’s why they make more than one guitar, amp, pickup, strings, etc.
I took a 350$ Epiphone les Paul put in Seymour Duncan p rails graph tec parts runners new bridge etc , so for about 900$ I got a 1500$ sounding Epiphone les Paul that’s a 600$ upgrade you did all that work and upgrade for a 200$ difference , you could have just spent the extra 200$ on the 1200$ strat . Sounds great though . My Epiphone won’t get me a 1500$ resale of course but it played like one .
I personally wouldn’t waste the time and money on a squire, I do this a lot and cruise the pawn shops and so far I’ve had really good luck finding several Schecters and Deans and a few Ibanez! When everything is off in-between installing new parts, I touch up, buff and/or sometimes install a vinyl wrap. I have a Hondo 2 I bought at a pawnshop for a believe 50 bucks, strat style, bought on EBay a loaded hot mirror pick guard for $145, vinyl wrapped with a cool Hellraiser puzzle box graphic, added a Floyd I found on EBay, and finally new flush mount tuners (these cost the most at $120 and are a new product) . So I spent about $350 and I did this because it’s the best playing guitar I’ve ever played before any upgrades! Now it looks and sounds awesome as well! Like I said I do this a lot, I’m at 21 instruments now mostly because it’s a working hobby, that has value and is fun! Thought you might be interested, Thanks for a great channel!
I’m all for and applaud people who want to learn the inner workings of their instrument... learning to solder and read schematics (wiring diagrams) are skills you get to keep for life but...I can take that same $600 to the used guitar market and find a MIM Fender Strat or Tele that’s ready to play...you may even get lucky and find more than one guitar for that $600 upgrade...and always remember kids...wear googles whenever you use solder...safety first...🎸🔊🎶🤘🏻
No doubt the upgrades put it on par.. only thing is gonna be the build quality
Watching this video five years later, in November 2024, and still the point is that the starting point does matter. Squier guitars are actually a pretty good base for mods( if you want to), but as they are stock they are faithful in sound to the Fender models. Do they sound thinner, brighter, or harsher than the Fender counterparts? Maybe or maybe not depending on the models of reference, but one thing is sure: if you plsy a Squier strat or tele you will know what the basic Fender strats and teles sounds are about
Just got a £60 rockburn les Paul. So far I've gotten a SH4 JB for the bridge. Only planned upgrades next are strap locks and grover tuners, everything else is awesome as is! Maybe some new pots, but honestly they are cool as is
heres my thing for 800 doallers upgrading a squire i could save 300$ more to get a fender MIM strat... and if i wanna buy a humbucker on it or mod a couple things from there cool, but for me im modding my 75$ chinese strat clone i got when i was 10 as more of a passion project because it has so much sentimental value im keeping all the knicks and dings to the body im just replacing a white sss pickguard with a Hss black pickguard (so its a all black guitar looks so fn cool) sand the Academy headstock decal off i might buy a new neck , i think it was 100$ with a amp 15 years ago? Lol but ill put ernie ball strings on it new pick ups scotch brite the frets polish the body,neck , i think all in all ill be paying 150? if u count the soldering iron 40 for the pickguard, 65 for neck 9$ for strings sandpaper free from work polish i already have and thats good enough for me i dont need it to sound like a fender i just wanna love playing it
I bought my son a new Squier Affinity Strat back in 1997. We got it playing OK, but he still moved on to low brass.
Fast forward to 2015 - I pulled it out of the closet and took a new look. It turned out that the neck was really smooth and the fretwork was way more than the $149 would seem to provide. The nut cuts were perfect and the tuners were solid, but a bit of work on the existing 6 screw trem with a tension adjustment and new D'addario NY/XL 009's got the tuning, strings, and trem sorted.
But, something still wasn't right. Enter Guitar Fetish with a pre-loaded Strat pickguard with new electronics and 3 hot-wound Alnico V pickups for $72 and, voila! A wonderfully playing and sounding Strat for under $220. It plays and sounds better than my American-made '48 with cost more than 10x as much.
Even if you don't put $600 into an upgrade, you can definitely have fun upgrading an inexpensive guitar.
You can absolutely do less drastic modifications and end up with a fantastic guitar. For me, the first thing is to always replace the nut on any cheap guitar. After that, it's the pickups, pots and switches. I can't hear a difference from the pot and switch changes, but they feel waaay more quality.
I also remove the gloss off the back of the neck if it has any, and roll the fingerboard edges as shown in the video!
If you tin the wires first it makes a much easier for connecting too :D
I modded my squier 2 and so far have 225 dollars in it. It's a great player. I recommend buying one that has all the stuff the way you want it cuz paying to upgrade is a drag.
Nothing like creating your own sound by building a guitar ! Have a Market Street guitar in going to spend 800.into mainly for sound and looks .
I have been putting strat style parts caster guitars together for over 20 years (I have about thirty) and have learned the hard way to avoid real cheap guitars all together i.e. squire, Mitchell, Glarry, Indio etc... If the body is not alder or ash just forget it, because to my ear and in my opinion it just won't sound or feel right no matter what you do to it. Believe me, I have been down that road and wasted a lot of money trying to make a piece of crap sound decent.
Poplar, Basswood, Candlewood etc... are just, and not to be rude or step on anyones toes, crappy wood alternatives. Just get an decent mexican made new or used Fender strat for around 300 to 500 and put what you want in it and it will sing better than it's $1200.00 to $2000.00 counterpart. That is if you use the right parts.
For example...I have a used mexican made deluxe with alder body and C neck which I purchased for $300.00 five years ago, that someone dropped in the guitar store. It had a small chunk taken out of it (which with bondo was an easy repair $5.00) I stripped the ugly blue translucent paint off it and re-did it in a beautiful salmon lacquer with a black lacquer under coat and did a nice relic job on it for $60.00 in paint, I already had the sealer and sand paper but it was around $12.00 for both.
I then purchased a set of vintage locking tuners from The Stratosphere guitar Company for $19.00 (sweet deal and they work great) then bought a Wilkinson bridge with steel block at Guitarferish for $35.00 and new (better) saddles for $12.00. I then purchased a set of Fender pure vintage 59 guitar pickups for $99.00 (they are $150.00 now) and put them in the existing three ply pick-guard and for and extra $25.00 I went ahead and upgraded the wiring harness including a $3.00 treble bleed I got on ebay. Last but not least I purchased a Tusq. nut from Stewmac for $15.00 with shipping. Total cost after my original $300.00 including Bondo, sealer and sandpaper etc...is... $585.00
It took me a month or so to paint and sand and a day or so to assemble and set up properly. After all that, I have a guitar that is envied by my friends and was recently offered $2700.00 for it and I said NO THANKS. However, I did help my buddy (the guy willing to pay $2700.00) build his own parts caster for roughly the same money. However, he actually got a little carried away and his guitar build was more than mine because he just had to have this EMG DG20 David Gilmore prewired pick-guard set for $329.00. Even after that, he only spent a total of $715.00 for guitar, paint and parts and now he has a fantastic guitar that looks great and wails like he likes on stage.
Sorry I prattled on, but hey, I love guitars. Don't waste your money on those high end guitars, because with a little practice you can build your own dream guitar for a lot less. One last thing I want to mention is that Guitarfetish has some decent Slick SL 57 guitars you can upgrade to be your dream guitar. I recently bought one for $259.00 and upgraded it for a few dollars less than the one I mentioned earlier. Peace
you even compared it with the 1200 guitar, great video!
I wanna second the motion to keep the guitar as is ( unless the wiring sucks, then change and resolder)
The easiest change of pickups is : changing the bar magnets!
Buy Behringers EQ pedal, and sustain compressor
Replacing a nut is usually way more complex than just popping in a New nut. You gotta file the slots properly, otherwise your Action is gonna be a nightmare. Just to the beginners here.
Galgenvogel Yup. A traditional nut was definitely beyond my skill level. So I installed a Zero Glide nut on my Bullet Strat (bought for $70 used). goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/
Most of our preslotted nuts are made so you only need to do some minor sanding to get them to fit in the slot, and then maybe the height. But you don't need to file or cut our slots :D
honestly it's really easy just watch a youtube tutorial. did it as my first guitar mod on a shitty guitar went fine. beginners can do it
@@GraphTechGuitarLabs bought a TUSQ XL from y'all years ago and yup it was easy to fit into my old guitar
I've gone over a dozen nut replacements with GraphTech. I had to shim one up a little, sand a couple down a little, and I only touched the actual slots once because I was stringing it with 12-62 gauge strings.
I’ve heard guys make a 100$ guitar sing.
I’ve heard guys make a 2000$ sound like a 50$ guitar. Bottom line: get a decent guitar 300-500$ and a decent amp 300-500$. 600-1000$ for a decent set up is not that much money. An iPhone can cost more. Besides, It shows a level of commitment and you’ll be more inclined to pick up the guitar and play if it sounds decent. But if you’re a full on dirt merchant. Just buy the best you can afford. 🤘🏻
Def find something your fingers and soul love. Then go from there. 600 is chump change if you love it.
As a heads up, never a good idea to use a soldering gun around pickups. The strong electromagnetic fields generated by the gun could inadvertently demagnetizing the pickups. You should only use thermal soldering irons.
Always do the upgrades on the Squire. It always plays better and costs less. And I feel that it’s important to be able to fix it yourself.
🚩 Sanding Frets.. A Must on any Guitar after Winter. And I have a great humidifiers!, On board and home
This channel is underated
I jumped for joy when you referenced metalocalypse
Things like the locking tuners and locking strap are not really important to getting the decent sound so it is actually cheaper to get a good sound. Just some good tuners, strings, the nut, bridge and pickups and you got your sound. The rest make it a better guitar but not directly affecting the sound.
I think we are lucky now compared to when I was a kid back in the 80's. You could give your guitar a better sound but firstly you had no idea what made the sound unless you knew someone with the upgrade already because there was no TH-cam to find what you want. Then, when you did find what you want, it was limited and expensive. It could be done but at great expense.
Oh, and the cheap guitars back then were cheap for a reason.
The video idea is awesome. This gives a lot of oppotunities for upgrading DYI guitars. You guys really did a bad job displaying the pickguard back for comparison. I had no clue on the components difference with the camera on the side perspective. This topic interests me the most, anyways. The whole process (for example installing the tuners) was from the the side perspective, giving little hint of what was going on on the process. Thanks!
Thanks for this video, I so want to do this to my Squier Vintage Modified!
Those VM Squires are so good for the money.
@@MusoraOfficial Definitely, I hope to improve its playability by doing everything in the video although maybe I'll keep the Duncan Designed pickups which I believe are good enough
are u off your rocker ? those are fine the way they are , anything u do will be a delusion !
Very cool video! All guitars have potential with the right tweaks. I guess some more than others. In my opinion for the sound differential, for the money the modded guitar is fantastic! I always go with whatever I feel sounds best regardless of price and brand etc.
Sometimes those tweaks are a new body + neck + everything else ;)
(although these guitars are fairly rare in the modern era)
Hello sir,
After so long time ,found a really good channel on you tube for guitar learning,your teaching is the best .Right now I am going through your beginner course and it’s just amazing.Thank you so much sir
Niiiice. To me sounds better than the Fender Strat. I would recomend not to buy a $75 guitar, since their necks and frets tend to be kinda funny. Rather buy a $250 + mods. I have a Washburn RX50 with steroids. Love that thing....
I’ve done several upgrades over the years with varying degrees of success. It is a lot of fun. They can be really hard to sell and get your investment back. Folks don’t want to pay a lot of money for an upgraded guitar. Just be ready for potential rejection cause you will run into that.
I hear you man. It can be a fun process but I look at it as a learning experience/experiment. I would never get my money back out of my tele that I've upgraded. Fortunately that's one of the guitars I've held on to.
Assuming you do the work yourself, think of it as an investment in education. Yeah, you will never get your money back out of it, but if/when you get a more expensive guitar and want to mod it, or heck, even just do your own setup, you now have more experience. I mostly play bass, but I obtained a free squier as a project, just so I can get more comfortable working on them. If I destroy it, I'm not out any money other than what I spent in parts. I can also make it mine. I woudd have a hard time stripping and refinishing a $2000 guitar
Whats messed up is that i like the sound how it was before.
Im in this boat right now. I have what I believe is a Squier tele and one of my covid lockdown projects was replacing the pickups with Fender Custom Shop Twisted tele pickups with a four way switch and all new electronics. Sounds immensely better. Tuners were already upgraded to locking tuners. Now I am wondering if swapping out the neck would be worth the approximately $300 plus set up cost - the neck is very flat, not the best fret edges, and the edge of the fretboard is rather sharp. Decisions decisions
What’s the update on the guitar?
I like modding because i enjoy having a hobby to work on. But it deffo aint cheaper. I think I'll just buy an expensive axe next and try and be happy... or maybe replace a switch or pot or two at most..
I think if you buy a mid-range guitar (300-600 bucks give or take) basically the only difference between it and a more expensive stock guitar (in the thousands) is gonna be the finishing details, hardware, and just overall quality control. Especially with Fender instruments. One of the most radical changed you can make on a mid range price strat/tele/any bolt on neck guitar is buy a better neck. A lot of MIM necks are great, MIA necks are usually pretty good too. But say you have a cheaper squire with maybe an indonesian neck or korean neck on it, you can probably find a nice Fender MIM neck for 150-200 probably with better tuners already on it. Or maybe find a Licensed replacement neck (Mighty Mite, Warmoth, StewMac, etc) with stainless steel frets. My personal Strat is a partscaster. I got a nice body made by a local builder (~70 bucks), a drop in 920D loaded pick guard (~200) and a used Fender american neck with the fender locking tuners included (~300) So I’m about 800 in the guitar in total with all the miscellaneous parts I bought and it’s basically my go to gig guitar. And it’s EXACTLY how I want it. Basically like having my own signature guitar.
Ryan where exactly can one buy a MIM neck with machine heads installed for $150..? I’ll buy 3 of them right now...
LiveToPlayGuitar You have to wait for the right deal lol it’s not super common but it does happen if you scan around on ebay for a little while and wait for the right deal. I won a bidding war on one that I currently have for 175 and some change I think? Had the vintage style tuners. Not great but an upgrade from Squiers dye-cast crappy ones.
LiveToPlayGuitar reverb.com/item/25928504-fender-stratocaster-mim-made-in-mexico-electric-guitar-neck-rosewood?gclid=CjwKCAjw4NrpBRBsEiwAUcLcDOZLQIaTnIE3KnhSj-hTJf2q2pxqwntD-gD_7r0QIc_B2XrL8x2bQBoCVSMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&merchant_id=123929368&pla=1&
it’s your lucky day, I found you one 😂
You can improve the electronic to even find good sound , but the neck, the playability, the feel, will steel be as bad as was in the beginning in a cheap guitar
I like how nice they are.
If I were to get a cheap guitar to mod it, I'd mod so it would be unique for me. Anyone could by a cool looking, high-end guitar, but if I can turn rusty metal into a unique stack of diamonds, at a fraction of the price, I'd do modding all the way.
As someone who comes from fighting games and uses an arcade stick controller, it feels special to use a modded controller with custom artwork and different specs, because it provides a more personal experience.
the only mods worth doing are to make it sound better,play better and stay in tune better,the rest is superficial bullshit
Say you have an axe, and you break the handle. If you then replace the handle, is it the same axe?
Lol good point. Would you call it a new axe though
Nah, I’d just say I fixed my axe; And if I cannot fix it, I got a new wedge
The replacement pickups sounded very hot. Or we’re just seated high?
If you are able to get a used Squier, they are awesome to mod or experiment on. They are amazing for the money when set up correctly. Although I would change the pickups on them. They sound good clean, but when hit with a drive, that’s when they fall apart in sound. Otherwise, extremely great guitars.
sounded better before the upgrades ...
putting some tlc into your guitar is always worth the time. Crucial points are neck setting, fret dressing, tuners, nut and in many cases bridge. This will in any case, upgrade your guitar and shoot your guitar into the players league. Upgrading your pickups and electronics is a whole different thing. In this case you should know what you're going for. you should be able to anticipate the sound characteristics of your pickup with your your specific guitar.(the seymour duncan tone wizard might be a go to web site for beginners) but first of all you should have a minimum knowledge of electronics. apart from all that pickup voodoo the circuit (especilly potentiometer value - not brand!) has a dramatic effect on the sound characteristic. Knowing what you are doing will prevent you from being disappointed afterwards. if you're a beginner it will help a lot to ask for an expert. Then you will certainly not have to pay 600$ for a comparable effect.
Don't know if I'll get booed for writing this but I preferred the cheap guitar with the stock pups in every single case 🤔
it sounds pretty good stock!!
Bought an Eart strat style new for about $150 + tax. Love it but it needs help. Mostly pickups and maybe better electronics. I haven't looked inside yet.
Please note the soldering iron these guys are using is effectively a mains step-down transformer and therefore current flows through the tip. With the inactive parts of most electric guitars as in this video, there is no risk, but it could destroy the delicate components in any device such as an onboard pre-amp if you were adding one as a mod. It is far better to use a straight tip soldering iron, made for low-power electronics, the tip is isolated from the internal heating element and is earthed so no current flows through it.
A plek fret level , crown , and polish, a setup job, a set of cs pickups, done, it will sound as good as it going to get, will play a ton better than most guitars off a factory floor. Fret work and setup is #1 , to make a cheep guitar as good as it will ever get, nasty fretwork will never sound good, no matter how much in parts you throw at it, will be hard to play, will have dead spots, also fret sprout, sharp edges, string rattles, and all the issues with fretwork most all cheep guitars have. That is by far the biggest issue, vrs, and American fender, the nut, and the fret work is better. A plek job can offer a custom shop feel, and no rattles or issues.
Locking tuners are not needed, if the nut is cut properly, and most nuts are cut wrong. All my guitars have stamped vintage tuners, they work perfectly. But I know how to properly cut a nut. No pencil led or nut goop needed, if you have tuning issues, its the nut, 99% of the time. Spend money on a custom nut, by someone who knows what they are doing, rather than locking tuners, Just some old fart advice, that’s been doing this guitar stuff, 40 plus years now. Both live and studio work.
How is this compared with a 600$ guitar?