So last night I just finished putting together my $2700 Warmoth Strat. Fat 50s pickups, Floyd Rose Railtail trem, Schaller tuners, and all the works. As nice parts as I could imagine. About three months ago I customized a Squire Strat. TexMex pickups, Fender locking tuners, CTS pots and new capacitor, and Aged white knobs and pickup covers, and filed and polished the frets. Guess which one turned out to be my favorite.... All the money just doesn't equal up to sound and feel. The Squire sounds so good and plays like spreading butter. Spent about $550 all together on it. An expensive lesson, but I love my little Squire.
I hear ya, I have been through the same street with what you wrote, I think it's a crazy gut feeling you get, and a cold sweat covers you whole in an instant when you find out (after spending sooo much) and you expect this wonderful "to die for" tone and sound, and playability just simply is NOT there... I've run into several surprises with the following guitars, which by the I thought I would never ever get because I simply didn't believe in them when seeing how cheap they were!!! I thought, hell these will sound like crap!! But boy was I wrong... Mind you, I have had some pretty expensive great guitars, and to make this short, my "go to guitars" for stage/live and for studio work are as follows (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!) -Squire/Fender standard Stratocaster, with alnicos, and two point tremolo made in Indonesia -ST-62 RW Bk Vintage Series Harley Benton, alnicos as well -Fender Standard Stratocaster RW BK MIM (11years old) Incredibly enough, these are my go to guitars!!! Incredible tone/sound and playability...
@@leftymadrid Jack Pearson plays indonesian Squier/s, he commented specifically bout Made in Indonesia some thing like: I Dont know why but for some reason i like those made in indonesia ones. - no quotation! :)
There's a lesson learned from your experience. I'm going to fix up an old Squire Strat Affinity I inherited. The guitar in the video is really nice with the mods.
I was just now going to post a comment stating that NOTHING needs upgrading on my Affinity strat. NOTHING! But I have NEVER upgraded ANYTHING on any of my cheap guitars. Strats and teles. With the result that i am VERY PLEASED with every one of them. But now somebody has confirmed that he's done some upgrades which lead to a "holy krap". So that leads me to not change my mind. If a beauty guitar ain't broke, don't fix it. But I still did enjoy this video. ALL of Dylan's videos are worth watching!!
I have a G&L telecaster style Indonesian made. After the upgrades, it’s seriously good. The neck shape is not quite as refined but it’s a minor issue and subjective too. It’s definitely good enough to be used by a famous player for a mainstream album
a friend of mine found a black squire affinity strat in the trash ( yes really) I fixed the input jack, leveled/recrowned the frets , set it up beautifully, couldn't believe the playability and sound of this guitar. even stays in tune reasonably with the trem floating. nothing wrong with a squier.
My first guitar was a strat that I got in 2007, I leveled and crowned the frets myself and installed new pickups and pots and redid it all myself and it’s now my best guitar. Apart from having a very poorly routed out neck pocket I can’t believe how good the thing sounds. I love squire so much more now
I’d like to propose a future topic: There are some things that for Metal players would be good to understand better. - Active pickups. What are they, why many metal players like them. Why many hate them. Differences? What about Fishman-like tech? - Setup for lower tunings. For example I’m super confused about nut setup. If i cut it wider for 12-56 strings, will it work with 8-42 without a new nut? Thanks!
if you cut the nut for 12s, than 8s would be too low and probably buzz on the frets. I find if you slot the nut for say 10's, then you can usually go up or down a string size without affecting the nut action too much. Also if you cut a slot too low, you can fill it in with a baking powder & super glue mixture and re-cut it when it dries. Look it up on youtube, lots of good videos out there about making/adjusting nuts, cheers!
I hate EMGs because they are harsh, sterile and trebly and because they oversaturate the preamp stage of my tube amp even when I turn the volume down, so I can't clean up my sound and reduce distortion like I can with passive pickups. If you want to buy the EMGs I took out of my ESP LTD, message me because I hate them. I'm sure you'll love them for metal because they are absolutely wonderful pickups- I'll miss them. :P The increase in pickup output that comes from active pickups can be created by a boost pedal. Then your base sound is not built on a foundation of poop like it is when you have active pickups. ;)
Love your vids. I make allowances for the pins rather than cutting them off. Its a matter preference, you know, what works for you. I worked on many guitars in 53 years of experience and have turned several cheap guitars into something worth playing. Fender Squire Strat turned from trash to treasure. I record with it now. Got to admit, I subscribed brother. Yo are a no-BS guy. God bless you. One more thing, you don't cuss, appreciated.
I don't think I've seen anyone as passionate about guitar tone as Dylan, and then walk the walk. You can tell he's knowledgeable and a perfectionist and takes pride in what he does. I think I'll trust him to buy my next set of pickups.
I was given a black Affinity Squier Strat and small Peavey Transtube amp, that was in a garage collecting mold and dust. I cleaned them up, removed the single coil bridge pick up and replaced it with a Dimarzio Made in USA super distortion humbucker, I was given in the early 80’s. I put on new strings and set up the intonation, anchored the floating bridge and the works. Now I have a killer sounding Fender Squier Super Strat.
Wow, huge difference. I closed my eyes to notice the difference and I was amazed. I had to rewind the video because I was in Awe. Thank you for this now I wanna do the same to my Strat.
I love my affinity strat. I did same. New CTS pots, oak Grigsby switch, wilkinson ez lok tuners, roller trees, and pick ups: Seymours ssl5 for neck and middle and fender Shawbucker 2 for bridge. About £400 for upgrades and £60 for used strat. Sounds and plays amazing
Dave Carpenter Cool idea! Yep, I wanna do something similar but the problem I’m running into is the company I wanna use for my wiring says the special switch won’t fit my 2020 Squier Affinity depth. Mine is 1.6” total and the switch is 1.5” deep. Is your Affinity deeper than mine? Is that how you made yours work? Thanks. HSS Yosemite singles Fender Double Tap Humbucker
Dylan, during modding my squire, (full depth body) i replaced each electronic component and screwed on s "ALLPARTS" Maple neck them went through a bunch of pickups from all Major brands and even real vintage pickups singles and full size humbuckers including 1970 Gibson T top PAF"s the upgrade that made the greatest different was upgrading the tremolo. My recipe: Fender steel baseplate and Fender vintage style bent steel saddles and finally a "Allparts" stainless steel tone pots. 4 trem spings and angled trem claw. Finally a great guitar that I took on many stages on many gigs. It was the tremolo/bridge that allowed this squire to stand next to a Fender USA alder strat with Custom Shop Texas Special 3 pickup sets. I'd finally found my secret recipe for tone I gladly now share.i admit getting past a shalloq body is issue. My recommendation, wait until a Squire with a full body deph with the color, weight and n3ck features pops. I must say that squire sounds like a fine fender strat.
Great little project which is relevant to so many people. Your pickups sound great btw. (but in fairness a set is also priced a little higher than a new Squire Affinity Series Strat if I'm not mistaken). I really like the blender knob mod too. The only little thing I would do also is to change the string trees to roller types which is a super cheap and easy mod. Personally I might also consider changing the small trem block to a brass block with a little more mass at some point but that's obviously not crucial and might not be worth it for everyone. Different scratch plate and knobs are easy cosmetic mods if your individual taste so desires. Speaking of cosmetic mods I recently spent around 30 bucks and turned my own Squire Strat into an expensive looking bling thing. All I did was to mount an aluminum scratch plate and some really nice all aluminum knobs (intended for hifi amplifiers). To top off the all metal look I found some nice aluminum valve caps (for normal car tires aka Schrader valves) which match the knobs perfectly so I used one of them for the pickup selector tip. I sanded the original plastic tip (using a drill) so it would fit inside the valve cap and mounted it with a dab of super glue. I thought I would pass on that tip (pun intended) to those of you who might be interested in that sort of thing. I added some chrome color pickup covers too btw. This look draws some attention and really makes it stand out from all the traditional and relic strats out there. The aluminum parts also feel more high end to touch than plastic.
I did these mods to my Squier Affinity Strat (different brands of parts but definitely upgrades) plus I installed a Graphtec Tusq nut and Tusq string saver saddles. They are so smooth. Guitar stays in tune and sounds like a real strat. Even my instructor agreed. I have a 5-way switch with the blender knob. Need to work with them more to figure out the possible sounds. Also my instructor loaned me a Koch amplifier. It's a beast and sounds clear with the volume maxed. Had to replace some windows though. haha.
I have been playing acoustic for years, but started with a cheap electric back in middle school. I recently bought this exact same Squire (down to the surf green color) and I have been looking to make some upgrades to do exactly what you said that you are trying to help others with - make my guitar an instrument that I can uniquely connect with and be proud of regardless of the retail value. I appreciate these videos and look forward to attempting to make my upgrades to my own Squire. I do need to learn a bit more about soldering and working with electric components, but the challenge is very much worth the reward. Thank you very much!!! P.S.- Boycott Doug H. In VA
I did similar mods to my Affinity, but also changed the neck for a “full” width Mighty Mite neck from eBay as find the Squier necks too narrow at the nut for my fat fingers and the “pot” metal bridge saddles. I found some narrow bent steel Fender ones on again eBay that fit which improved clarity and allow the bridge to be set up floating and still stay in tune using the trem! The guitar now plays and sounds fantastic with the Fender Tex Mex pickups, comparable to any Fender Strat I’ve played! Guitar Fetish now do a replacement steel bridge with smaller steel block for Squiers at reasonable price which I recently bought but have yet to fit which should complete the upgrades. Think I’ll keep the Fender bridge saddles though! Pots are CTS and wired with universal tone and blender to do the “Tele thing” and all 3 pickups, selector is Oak Grigsby, jack is Switchcraft and capacitor is Sprauge black beauty, bought pre-wired from “The Rhoadhouse” on eBay for a great price! Black with maple neck and tortoise shell pickguard, Wilkinson Eazy Lok tuners and modern Fender string tree. Also replaced all plastics and screws with genuine Fender too, definitely a keeper!
The only problem I had upgrading my Squier Affinity Strat was the plastic nut. It's 40mm, and there's no bone or tusq replacement for that. I ended up using a 41mm nut and filed off the edges. It changed the string spacing, but not enough to care. One day I'll take a bone nut blank and make my own 40mm nut with better string spacing. But I'm in no hurry.
Sounds really good!! The only thing you did not do that most techs should if they upgrade a cheap guitar pout some conductive shielding paint inside the cavity and some conductive shielding foil on the back of the pick guard with the electronics.
Hi, i totaly agree on the upgrade stuff (still not topping the price of a Fender strat !) but there were still 2 things that could have been mentioned is the nut replacement and tremelo replacement, specially if you wanna use the trem (even on a Squier with upgrade tuners and set up well it still get's the guitar out of tune pretty quick when using the trem !) it's again an extra cost but making again all the difference
Whoa. I'm gettin some Alvin Lee vibes from this @8:20 ! Nice! 😎👍 Alvin happens to be one of my favorite guitarists. He was one hell of a guitar player. 🎸 And so very underrated.
It sounds great!! One thing to do before anything else, is, remember to put on some Conductive Shielding Paint. Squire guitars are only painted in the cavity, and if you put shielding paint on , it will make your guitar noiseless
Alright....i went back n forth between this and the stock pups. The bridge, yes absolutely without a doubt TOTAL 180 in tone. The rest......mmmm man. Thise ceramics are really good. Does it sound different in room? Maybe its the quality of the software?? Idk man. Ok ok the boost? Obviously yes AMAZING. Itd be worth it for me to get that bridge and that Keely. Great job, you definitely contribute to the guitar world. Keep it up. 👍👍
Love my Squier strat! A few mods, dress and level your frets, and it's a great player! And you can do it at your own pace as you can afford it. Great video!
Same! Picked up a Squier Bullet Strat for 35 bucks. Put some orange drop caps in and a toggle switch for the Gilmour Mod, which was free because i recycle electronics people throw away lol!
Guitar Fetish has a bridge with a steel block that fits right in a Squier strat. I heard you say in part 1 that you couldn't upgrade the trem block because of the shallow body. Well, you def can drop an upgraded trem block right in to this guitar.
You can get a cheap jig to set new pin holes for the tuners. Takes 15 minutes. I've done that on 3 squires, works well, and makes them compatible with all modern Fender tuners.
@@DylanTalksTone The one I have is a little cheaper, yes maybe too much for a single project, but if one think's they might do 2 or 3, I think it's worth considering. reverb.com/item/2111497-g-tech-guitar-works-tuner-drilling-jig-single-two-pin-fender-schaller-squier-locking
Check out the HipShot UMP, Universal Mounting Plate, that comes with some of their tuners.. No holes needed to mount new tuner machines. Works like a champ. Have used them on a couple of guitars, with their Hipshot Grip-Lock 6 inline Staggered Locking Tuners - Chrome . Plus they have changeable keys so you can get the look you want.. awesome 18:1 ratio tuners, smoothest I have ever used.. If you don't want the hassle of drilling new screw holes in your headstock check it out.. th-cam.com/video/Q9R9s_mz_X8/w-d-xo.html
GFS makes a great drop in bridge to fit that guitar with no mods. Graphtech makes drop in locking staggered tuners for that guitar so you don't have to mod that either. Times are a changing.
I found the cheapest mod to do is to take a razor blade and scrape of the Squier logo. BOOM! There goes the psychological hang-up about Squiers. Sounds better already! For some folks, just putting a Fender decal on the headstock make all the difference in the world. I put a DiMarzio Super Distortion in my Squier Tele version of that Strat (same color too). Very happy with it. It is a cheap enough guitar so when I drop it and ding and scratch it, like I already did, I don't feel so bad. If folks are into modifying guitars or making custom Fender-type guitars, then just by a Squier and use it as a canvas. The cost of a whole Squier is cheaper than a Fender replacement neck.
Sometimes the Squiers have sharp fret ends and need to be filed to get rid of the 'cheese grater," effect; that takes extra time. (I find this more on the Chinese models than the Indonesian ones.) If it's used, you may need to oil the fretboard and dress the frets after a deep cleaning. Upgrade a 1-ply pickguard to a 3-ply. Maybe do a cavity shielding? Looks like you may have covered the whole back of the pickguard but didn't mention it. Sounds nice!...
I took my Affinity Strat and painted it Maui Blue (I hated the off-white color it was), threw in a white pearl loaded pickguard with single hot-rail pickups (that sound amazing) and replaced the string trees with titanium roller trees. It's a much more dynamic instrument than it was before and I often find myself just sitting there and staring at it when I'm not playing it.
Hipshot makes locking tuners with a backplate that will fit them to any straight 6 regardless of one or key key design...$50 new. Put them on my 2004 Squire like cake. No issues after two years. Super Squire Strat!!!
I have a few Squier's that I absolutely love... buy the right model, some will take the MIM parts as a direct fit without mods. My fav has the MIM trem, and I made a custom pickguard with Trisonic pickups like Brian May has with all the switches. Nicer tuners and bone nut... after a good setup, I don't see the point in paying for a USA Strat. Model that seems to fit MIM parts and full body thickness and not plywood, is a made in China model, serial starts with CSX, I think an SE model. Had a few now and so easy to work with and get parts to fit.
I have a Squire Bullett. The neck has been done beautifully but why do the tuners need to be changed, these ones I have on haven't got F on them but they work. I need to do the pots and tremelo. And pickups I need to know what to buy.. love your vid.. John..
I thought that Fender and Squier pickguards were not interchangeable? For example, the screws don't line up and you have to make modifications to the faceplate to accommodate pickups? Also, how do you avoid 60 cycle hum on the 1st and 5th selections from the 5-way selection switch? Thank you - Chris
it's early here and I thought I missed a modification to the guard. I was given one a year ago and I think I had to leave 2 screws out and trim the pickup slots for the pups. Short video, but somehow I missed that. Sorry
@@chrisgrabowski2678 : to avoid 60 cycle hum in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th positions you would need noiseless single coils which are actually not real single coils. They're humbuckers, but in a stacked coil configuration. You could also use a noise gate.
From Leo: Nice tone from those Dylan pickups. I generally use the G&L PTB style wiring, but the blender is a nice touch. Was there any reason not to just drill the neck for the two pin tuners?
I'm replacing the pickups in my Squire. I've watched a number of videos but no one talks about what the distance should be from the pickup magnets to the strings. Since there are springs involved I have to believe that is to allow for adjustments. What distance should I be looking for?
I'd be interested in knowing what the measurements for the pickups were on the Affinity with it's original pickups.What the resistances were for each (neck, middle & bridge). The 2016 Affinity Strat that I have is 3.65k/3.5k/3.65k Ohms in switch positions 1, 3 & 5. For switch positions 2 & 4, it was 1.8k Ohms. Magnets are pretty strong for the staggered poles when I took a steel screw to each pole to see how much magnetic strength it had. I guess they might be lacking the number of winds for higher resistance ?
Great video. Quick question about the pickups: why did you leave the pole pieces flat? Is that a conscious decision or do you eventually tweak them once you play it?
Replacing the bridge is not a big deal. I did it: just get a metric one (guitar fetish and gotoh have them) and leave the back cover off. The block protrudes a bit but not a big issue
Love your videos Dylan, but just don't understand why you wouldn't take the extra 10 minutes to drill the proper holes in the headstock for the two peg tuners. Just to make it 'right'.
I have a coworker who may be willing to sell me his old Squier for cheap and I'm thinking if I take it off his hands I may try sanding down the body, getting rid of the paint in favor of a stained finish, some new hardware and a pickguard, and replacing the neck with a vintage style neck as I've never really been a big fan of modern Fender headstocks. If anyone has ideas for stain finish I'm all ears.
People thought I was mad for throwing money into an affinity Strat. It's a ripper guitar with fender locking tuners lace sensor blue fire set of pickups genuine fender pots and switches still cheaper than a MIM Strat but people say it plays A1
I have a 2020 Squier Affinity with a 45mm full size alder body. Does anyone know it all new Affinities now come with a full size body? I'm wondering if this is just a one off manufacturing anomaly or a permanent change.
id have upgraded the bridge before anything else. the stock ceramics arent the worst in the world, they are not traditional strat, but they are actually hot, big sounding pickups.
Nice but I think I would have went with the locking tuners from Fender off ebay for $41.00. I also would have taken more time to either plug the holes on the neck if needed or created the double pins holes where needed to be. Thats just me.
That's my experience ànyway. Other channels are finding the same. The quality went down. My older strat deluxe fender lockers are fine. I seen recently Know your gear said something similar so he stopped using them also
I just got a Squier Contemporary HSS Strat, I'm thinking of changing out the pups (for Bare Knuckle) but I'd really like to change the block which seems kinda skinny to me, I heard the Fender Pure Vintage won't fit, too long? Any suggestions please!
Man I couldn't stand those 6 holes in the cover plate. I cut it out to be a rectangle like on some other Strats. Makes string changes much, much easier. I also just measured my Samick-built Silvertone Strat. It's right it the middle of 41mm and 45mm at just over 43mm. Lol! It's getting CTS pots, Oak Grigsby 5 way switch, and a hb this weekend!
I got a Chinese made affinity strat today, same colour. Should I return it as its not indonesian made? Build quality is not great on one part where the neck bolts on. Plays nice but the tuners suuuuuuuck. Lots of dead spots.
My suggestion for a next hotrodding challenge is a trio of Harley Bentons! Flat shipping for up to 3 guitars so I'd say maybe their gretsch clone, their 335 clone, and their lp clone
So last night I just finished putting together my $2700 Warmoth Strat. Fat 50s pickups, Floyd Rose Railtail trem, Schaller tuners, and all the works. As nice parts as I could imagine.
About three months ago I customized a Squire Strat. TexMex pickups, Fender locking tuners, CTS pots and new capacitor, and Aged white knobs and pickup covers, and filed and polished the frets.
Guess which one turned out to be my favorite.... All the money just doesn't equal up to sound and feel. The Squire sounds so good and plays like spreading butter. Spent about $550 all together on it.
An expensive lesson, but I love my little Squire.
uniqueness
I hear ya, I have been through the same street with what you wrote, I think it's a crazy gut feeling you get, and a cold sweat covers you whole in an instant when you find out (after spending sooo much) and you expect this wonderful "to die for" tone and sound, and playability just simply is NOT there...
I've run into several surprises with the following guitars, which by the I thought I would never ever get because I simply didn't believe in them when seeing how cheap they were!!! I thought, hell these will sound like crap!! But boy was I wrong...
Mind you, I have had some pretty expensive great guitars, and to make this short, my "go to guitars" for stage/live and for studio work are as follows (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!)
-Squire/Fender standard Stratocaster, with alnicos, and two point tremolo made in Indonesia
-ST-62 RW Bk Vintage Series Harley Benton, alnicos as well
-Fender Standard Stratocaster RW BK MIM (11years old)
Incredibly enough, these are my go to guitars!!!
Incredible tone/sound and playability...
leftymadrid have you tried any cheap Ibanez guitars? I found them surprising.
@@leftymadrid Jack Pearson plays indonesian Squier/s, he commented specifically bout Made in Indonesia
some thing like: I Dont know why but for some reason i like those made in indonesia ones. - no quotation! :)
There's a lesson learned from your experience. I'm going to fix up an old Squire Strat Affinity I inherited. The guitar in the video is really nice with the mods.
I was thinking how good the Squier is with original parts... until Wham ! After new parts.. holy crap !
I plan to do this to my old Squire Strat Affinity this year.
@@jonathanhandsmusic Sounds like a fun project, pretty much the only reason I want a strat is for the look itself.
I was just now going to post a comment stating that NOTHING needs upgrading on my Affinity strat. NOTHING! But I have NEVER upgraded ANYTHING on any of my cheap guitars. Strats and teles. With the result that i am VERY PLEASED with every one of them. But now somebody has confirmed that he's done some upgrades which lead to a "holy krap". So that leads me to not change my mind. If a beauty guitar ain't broke, don't fix it. But I still did enjoy this video. ALL of Dylan's videos are worth watching!!
I have a G&L telecaster style Indonesian made. After the upgrades, it’s seriously good. The neck shape is not quite as refined but it’s a minor issue and subjective too. It’s definitely good enough to be used by a famous player for a mainstream album
a friend of mine found a black squire affinity strat in the trash ( yes really) I fixed the input jack, leveled/recrowned the frets , set it up beautifully, couldn't believe the playability and sound of this guitar.
even stays in tune reasonably with the trem floating.
nothing wrong with a squier.
I found my one in somebody's trash as well haha, It was all taken apart xP
My first guitar was a strat that I got in 2007, I leveled and crowned the frets myself and installed new pickups and pots and redid it all myself and it’s now my best guitar. Apart from having a very poorly routed out neck pocket I can’t believe how good the thing sounds. I love squire so much more now
I’d like to propose a future topic:
There are some things that for Metal players would be good to understand better.
- Active pickups. What are they, why many metal players like them. Why many hate them. Differences? What about Fishman-like tech?
- Setup for lower tunings. For example I’m super confused about nut setup. If i cut it wider for 12-56 strings, will it work with 8-42 without a new nut?
Thanks!
these are great ideas!!
I still want to know how a fltertron works
if you cut the nut for 12s, than 8s would be too low and probably buzz on the frets. I find if you slot the nut for say 10's, then you can usually go up or down a string size without affecting the nut action too much. Also if you cut a slot too low, you can fill it in with a baking powder & super glue mixture and re-cut it when it dries. Look it up on youtube, lots of good videos out there about making/adjusting nuts, cheers!
I hate EMGs because they are harsh, sterile and trebly and because they oversaturate the preamp stage of my tube amp even when I turn the volume down, so I can't clean up my sound and reduce distortion like I can with passive pickups.
If you want to buy the EMGs I took out of my ESP LTD, message me because I hate them.
I'm sure you'll love them for metal because they are absolutely wonderful pickups- I'll miss them. :P
The increase in pickup output that comes from active pickups can be created by a boost pedal. Then your base sound is not built on a foundation of poop like it is when you have active pickups. ;)
why doesn't this channel have more recognition and more subscribers. The quality of the videos and advice is incredible, almost unmatched
Love your vids. I make allowances for the pins rather than cutting them off. Its a matter preference, you know, what works for you.
I worked on many guitars in 53 years of experience and have turned several cheap guitars into something worth playing. Fender Squire Strat turned from trash to treasure. I record with it now. Got to admit, I subscribed brother. Yo are a no-BS guy. God bless you.
One more thing, you don't cuss, appreciated.
I don't think I've seen anyone as passionate about guitar tone as Dylan, and then walk the walk. You can tell he's knowledgeable and a perfectionist and takes pride in what he does. I think I'll trust him to buy my next set of pickups.
I was given a black Affinity Squier Strat and small Peavey Transtube amp, that was in a garage collecting mold and dust. I cleaned them up, removed the single coil bridge pick up and replaced it with a Dimarzio Made in USA super distortion humbucker, I was given in the early 80’s. I put on new strings and set up the intonation, anchored the floating bridge and the works. Now I have a killer sounding Fender Squier Super Strat.
Wow, huge difference. I closed my eyes to notice the difference and I was amazed. I had to rewind the video because I was in Awe. Thank you for this now I wanna do the same to my Strat.
I love my affinity strat. I did same. New CTS pots, oak Grigsby switch, wilkinson ez lok tuners, roller trees, and pick ups: Seymours ssl5 for neck and middle and fender Shawbucker 2 for bridge. About £400 for upgrades and £60 for used strat. Sounds and plays amazing
Dave Carpenter Cool idea! Yep, I wanna do something similar but the problem I’m running into is the company I wanna use for my wiring says the special switch won’t fit my 2020 Squier Affinity depth. Mine is 1.6” total and the switch is 1.5” deep. Is your Affinity deeper than mine? Is that how you made yours work? Thanks.
HSS
Yosemite singles
Fender Double Tap Humbucker
Dylan, during modding my squire, (full depth body) i replaced each electronic component and screwed on s "ALLPARTS" Maple neck them went through a bunch of pickups from all Major brands and even real vintage pickups singles and full size humbuckers including 1970 Gibson T top PAF"s the upgrade that made the greatest different was upgrading the tremolo.
My recipe: Fender steel baseplate and Fender vintage style bent steel saddles and finally a "Allparts" stainless steel tone pots. 4 trem spings and angled trem claw. Finally a great guitar that I took on many stages on many gigs. It was the tremolo/bridge that allowed this squire to stand next to a Fender USA alder strat with Custom Shop Texas Special 3 pickup sets. I'd finally found my secret recipe for tone I gladly now share.i admit getting past a shalloq body is issue. My recommendation, wait until a Squire with a full body deph with the color, weight and n3ck features pops.
I must say that squire sounds like a fine fender strat.
Great little project which is relevant to so many people. Your pickups sound great btw. (but in fairness a set is also priced a little higher than a new Squire Affinity Series Strat if I'm not mistaken). I really like the blender knob mod too. The only little thing I would do also is to change the string trees to roller types which is a super cheap and easy mod. Personally I might also consider changing the small trem block to a brass block with a little more mass at some point but that's obviously not crucial and might not be worth it for everyone. Different scratch plate and knobs are easy cosmetic mods if your individual taste so desires.
Speaking of cosmetic mods I recently spent around 30 bucks and turned my own Squire Strat into an expensive looking bling thing. All I did was to mount an aluminum scratch plate and some really nice all aluminum knobs (intended for hifi amplifiers). To top off the all metal look I found some nice aluminum valve caps (for normal car tires aka Schrader valves) which match the knobs perfectly so I used one of them for the pickup selector tip. I sanded the original plastic tip (using a drill) so it would fit inside the valve cap and mounted it with a dab of super glue. I thought I would pass on that tip (pun intended) to those of you who might be interested in that sort of thing. I added some chrome color pickup covers too btw. This look draws some attention and really makes it stand out from all the traditional and relic strats out there. The aluminum parts also feel more high end to touch than plastic.
I did these mods to my Squier Affinity Strat (different brands of parts but definitely upgrades) plus I installed a Graphtec Tusq nut and Tusq string saver saddles. They are so smooth. Guitar stays in tune and sounds like a real strat. Even my instructor agreed. I have a 5-way switch with the blender knob. Need to work with them more to figure out the possible sounds. Also my instructor loaned me a Koch amplifier. It's a beast and sounds clear with the volume maxed. Had to replace some windows though. haha.
I have been playing acoustic for years, but started with a cheap electric back in middle school. I recently bought this exact same Squire (down to the surf green color) and I have been looking to make some upgrades to do exactly what you said that you are trying to help others with - make my guitar an instrument that I can uniquely connect with and be proud of regardless of the retail value.
I appreciate these videos and look forward to attempting to make my upgrades to my own Squire. I do need to learn a bit more about soldering and working with electric components, but the challenge is very much worth the reward.
Thank you very much!!!
P.S.- Boycott Doug H. In VA
I did similar mods to my Affinity, but also changed the neck for a “full” width Mighty Mite neck from eBay as find the Squier necks too narrow at the nut for my fat fingers and the “pot” metal bridge saddles.
I found some narrow bent steel Fender ones on again eBay that fit which improved clarity and allow the bridge to be set up floating and still stay in tune using the trem!
The guitar now plays and sounds fantastic with the Fender Tex Mex pickups, comparable to any Fender Strat I’ve played!
Guitar Fetish now do a replacement steel bridge with smaller steel block for Squiers at reasonable price which I recently bought but have yet to fit which should complete the upgrades.
Think I’ll keep the Fender bridge saddles though!
Pots are CTS and wired with universal tone and blender to do the “Tele thing” and all 3 pickups, selector is Oak Grigsby, jack is Switchcraft and capacitor is Sprauge black beauty, bought pre-wired from “The Rhoadhouse” on eBay for a great price!
Black with maple neck and tortoise shell pickguard, Wilkinson Eazy Lok tuners and modern Fender string tree.
Also replaced all plastics and screws with genuine Fender too, definitely a keeper!
The only problem I had upgrading my Squier Affinity Strat was the plastic nut. It's 40mm, and there's no bone or tusq replacement for that. I ended up using a 41mm nut and filed off the edges. It changed the string spacing, but not enough to care. One day I'll take a bone nut blank and make my own 40mm nut with better string spacing. But I'm in no hurry.
Sounds really good!! The only thing you did not do that most techs should if they upgrade a cheap guitar pout some conductive shielding paint inside the cavity and some conductive shielding foil on the back of the pick guard with the electronics.
Holy crud!!!! Dude it sounds so full and punchy now!!! I've got 2 classic vibes that I want to upgrade. Thanks for the videos.
Hi, i totaly agree on the upgrade stuff (still not topping the price of a Fender strat !) but there were still 2 things that could have been mentioned is the nut replacement and tremelo replacement, specially if you wanna use the trem (even on a Squier with upgrade tuners and set up well it still get's the guitar out of tune pretty quick when using the trem !) it's again an extra cost but making again all the difference
I have blender pots on both of my strats now. Please consider a more in-depth video on blenders!
Yeah I want that
Whoa. I'm gettin some Alvin Lee vibes from this @8:20 ! Nice! 😎👍 Alvin happens to be one of my favorite guitarists. He was one hell of a guitar player. 🎸 And so very underrated.
It sounds great!! One thing to do before anything else, is, remember to put on some Conductive Shielding Paint. Squire guitars are only painted in the cavity, and if you put shielding paint on , it will make your guitar noiseless
Alright....i went back n forth between this and the stock pups. The bridge, yes absolutely without a doubt TOTAL 180 in tone. The rest......mmmm man. Thise ceramics are really good.
Does it sound different in room? Maybe its the quality of the software?? Idk man. Ok ok the boost? Obviously yes AMAZING. Itd be worth it for me to get that bridge and that Keely.
Great job, you definitely contribute to the guitar world. Keep it up. 👍👍
Affinity/affordable Mustang, Duosonic, jazzmaster? Offset fender type project?
Love my Squier strat! A few mods, dress and level your frets, and it's a great player! And you can do it at your own pace as you can afford it. Great video!
Same! Picked up a Squier Bullet Strat for 35 bucks. Put some orange drop caps in and a toggle switch for the Gilmour Mod, which was free because i recycle electronics people throw away lol!
Guitar Fetish has a bridge with a steel block that fits right in a Squier strat. I heard you say in part 1 that you couldn't upgrade the trem block because of the shallow body. Well, you def can drop an upgraded trem block right in to this guitar.
You can get a cheap jig to set new pin holes for the tuners. Takes 15 minutes. I've done that on 3 squires, works well, and makes them compatible with all modern Fender tuners.
These are great, but they are quite expensive for the person who will only use them once amzn.to/2C56qqz
@@DylanTalksTone The one I have is a little cheaper, yes maybe too much for a single project, but if one think's they might do 2 or 3, I think it's worth considering. reverb.com/item/2111497-g-tech-guitar-works-tuner-drilling-jig-single-two-pin-fender-schaller-squier-locking
Check out the HipShot UMP, Universal Mounting Plate, that comes with some of their tuners.. No holes needed to mount new tuner machines. Works like a champ. Have used them on a couple of guitars, with their Hipshot Grip-Lock 6 inline Staggered Locking Tuners - Chrome . Plus they have changeable keys so you can get the look you want.. awesome 18:1 ratio tuners, smoothest I have ever used.. If you don't want the hassle of drilling new screw holes in your headstock check it out..
th-cam.com/video/Q9R9s_mz_X8/w-d-xo.html
GFS makes a great drop in bridge to fit that guitar with no mods. Graphtech makes drop in locking staggered tuners for that guitar so you don't have to mod that either. Times are a changing.
I found the cheapest mod to do is to take a razor blade and scrape of the Squier logo. BOOM! There goes the psychological hang-up about Squiers. Sounds better already! For some folks, just putting a Fender decal on the headstock make all the difference in the world. I put a DiMarzio Super Distortion in my Squier Tele version of that Strat (same color too). Very happy with it. It is a cheap enough guitar so when I drop it and ding and scratch it, like I already did, I don't feel so bad. If folks are into modifying guitars or making custom Fender-type guitars, then just by a Squier and use it as a canvas. The cost of a whole Squier is cheaper than a Fender replacement neck.
Sometimes the Squiers have sharp fret ends and need to be filed to get rid of the 'cheese grater," effect; that takes extra time. (I find this more on the Chinese models than the Indonesian ones.) If it's used, you may need to oil the fretboard and dress the frets after a deep cleaning. Upgrade a 1-ply pickguard to a 3-ply. Maybe do a cavity shielding? Looks like you may have covered the whole back of the pickguard but didn't mention it. Sounds nice!...
I'm getting ready to Frankenstein an old Fender Starcaster that a friend gave to me! This video was most helpful! Thanks man!
Excellent upgrade video! Your chops are fine bro. You got to ignore the haters. They are just trolling.
I took my Affinity Strat and painted it Maui Blue (I hated the off-white color it was), threw in a white pearl loaded pickguard with single hot-rail pickups (that sound amazing) and replaced the string trees with titanium roller trees. It's a much more dynamic instrument than it was before and I often find myself just sitting there and staring at it when I'm not playing it.
Which loaded pick guard did you buy. I was looking into something kind of like you described
@@billcosby9156 It's from Musiclily, sold on Amazon. It was only like $50.
Great stuff man!
I had this guitar and I loved it, and I SO regret giving it away to my brother..... :P
My wife just bought me some the exact guitar. I want to do the same as your doing. Very interested in what your doing.
This guy makes cutting strings off a guitar seem like the most badass thing
I love doing it because people freak out. It doesn't hurt a thing and people always flip out. #shockvalue
Did..did you See That??!! He Cut STRINGS!!!
Hipshot makes locking tuners with a backplate that will fit them to any straight 6 regardless of one or key key design...$50 new. Put them on my 2004 Squire like cake. No issues after two years. Super Squire Strat!!!
Great tip on the tuner nubs. Solves my problems with Squires
Dylan,
I liked the pickups, I plan on getting a set in the future. Nice noodling!
I have a few Squier's that I absolutely love... buy the right model, some will take the MIM parts as a direct fit without mods. My fav has the MIM trem, and I made a custom pickguard with Trisonic pickups like Brian May has with all the switches. Nicer tuners and bone nut... after a good setup, I don't see the point in paying for a USA Strat. Model that seems to fit MIM parts and full body thickness and not plywood, is a made in China model, serial starts with CSX, I think an SE model. Had a few now and so easy to work with and get parts to fit.
So cool! My son I. Law just gave me the same guitar. Now I know what to do w it. Cause it doesn’t sound good now
I put jumbo alpha pots, Homeland Alnico 5 mini humbuckers and a coil spit switch on mine.
I have a Squire Bullett. The neck has been done beautifully but why do the tuners need to be changed, these ones I have on haven't got F on them but they work. I need to do the pots and tremelo. And pickups I need to know what to buy.. love your vid.. John..
I know I'm late to the party but can you Gibson an epiphone? I have an es339 was wondering what you might mod on it?
How much modifications would it take to put a humbucker in the neck and bridge position
I thought that Fender and Squier pickguards were not interchangeable? For example, the screws don't line up and you have to make modifications to the faceplate to accommodate pickups? Also, how do you avoid 60 cycle hum on the 1st and 5th selections from the 5-way selection switch? Thank you - Chris
everyone says that, but it dropped right in! also, we just shielded the pick guard
it's early here and I thought I missed a modification to the guard. I was given one a year ago and I think I had to leave 2 screws out and trim the pickup slots for the pups. Short video, but somehow I missed that. Sorry
@@chrisgrabowski2678 : to avoid 60 cycle hum in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th positions you would need noiseless single coils which are actually not real single coils. They're humbuckers, but in a stacked coil configuration. You could also use a noise gate.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IM GONNA DO THIS WITH THE SAME GUITAR. CHEERS FROM CHILE !
Hi Great sound but wish Pickups do you installed? Dear Hot 5?
Guitar Fetish sells a "shorty" trem block (brass I believe) specifically for Affinity Strats....I wonder if I should get that.
From Leo: Nice tone from those Dylan pickups. I generally use the G&L PTB style wiring, but the blender is a nice touch. Was there any reason not to just drill the neck for the two pin tuners?
Barb Melle it’s harder to get right for a beginner, and I’d rather modify a part than the guitar. It’s more reversible
@@DylanTalksTone 10 months later I see this reply. Good answer
I happen to really enjoy your videos. Much peace and goodwill to you.
What replacement keys did use. .just found ur chanel love it. Cool of u to show is how. 👍
I'm replacing the pickups in my Squire. I've watched a number of videos but no one talks about what the distance should be from the pickup magnets to the strings. Since there are springs involved I have to believe that is to allow for adjustments. What distance should I be looking for?
The tele I got had 2 pins on the stock tuners and the Fender locking tuners I bought also had 2 pins but not in the same locations. Who knows!
Put fender staggered locking tuners on it instead, make a new nut out of bone, use ball ends of strings for string trees.
Where did you move the capicitor to? The side of the pot instead of on top?
I'd be interested in knowing what the measurements for the pickups were on the Affinity with it's original pickups.What the resistances were for each (neck, middle & bridge). The 2016 Affinity Strat that I have is 3.65k/3.5k/3.65k Ohms in switch positions 1, 3 & 5. For switch positions 2 & 4, it was 1.8k Ohms. Magnets are pretty strong for the staggered poles when I took a steel screw to each pole to see how much magnetic strength it had. I guess they might be lacking the number of winds for higher resistance ?
What'd ya know about the Schaller 455. 456. 458 bridge
Any good. AND what do you really think about woods effect on sound etc. ALL THE BEST SIR.
Great video. Quick question about the pickups: why did you leave the pole pieces flat? Is that a conscious decision or do you eventually tweak them once you play it?
wish you could've explain wtf you were doing during the montage of the pickguard
I love the topic!
Gotta love the good ole capacitor slip up with the Squiers haha
Nice looking guitar!
Maybe it was because it was the third time I'd rewired my strat, but I found the blender setup easier than the traditional, and it's more usable.
Really loved that vid. Thanks
Stoked. Nice I'm ready
Replacing the bridge is not a big deal. I did it: just get a metric one (guitar fetish and gotoh have them) and leave the back cover off. The block protrudes a bit but not a big issue
In 2021, Squier made the Affinity series standard size. Finally.
Actually not finally but again. Some Squiers were full size in the late '90s and early 2000s. I have 2 😃 One is a '98, the other is an '03
Yeah, it makes things easier standardizing but I sure love the light weight of my 2020 Affinity.
Great video. Subscribed.
Would a Vega trem fit in a squier affinity? If you know.
can you fit a humbucker inside the pickup placing without routing?
Probably could of just the new stuff in the the old pick guard if the screw holes were off on the new one
Love your videos Dylan, but just don't understand why you wouldn't take the extra 10 minutes to drill the proper holes in the headstock for the two peg tuners. Just to make it 'right'.
Do the pots and selector have a big impact on the sound, or would you only notice when adjusting them?
I have a coworker who may be willing to sell me his old Squier for cheap and I'm thinking if I take it off his hands I may try sanding down the body, getting rid of the paint in favor of a stained finish, some new hardware and a pickguard, and replacing the neck with a vintage style neck as I've never really been a big fan of modern Fender headstocks. If anyone has ideas for stain finish I'm all ears.
Super tone. Lots of quacks. Great dylan.....
Hey. I have a affinity hss do they have something like that for the hss?? And what would the price range be?
Yes we do! Right here. dylantalkstone.com/products/loaded-s-style-pick-guard
What tuners are better, Kluson or Gotoh? I have an old guitar that i want to change the tuners, but i can't decide which ones to buy
People thought I was mad for throwing money into an affinity Strat. It's a ripper guitar with fender locking tuners lace sensor blue fire set of pickups genuine fender pots and switches still cheaper than a MIM Strat but people say it plays A1
I have a 2020 Squier Affinity with a 45mm full size alder body. Does anyone know it all new Affinities now come with a full size body? I'm wondering if this is just a one off manufacturing anomaly or a permanent change.
id have upgraded the bridge before anything else. the stock ceramics arent the worst in the world, they are not traditional strat, but they are actually hot, big sounding pickups.
3.09 - isn't there just a back nut you could've discarded in favour of just a star washer?
Nice but I think I would have went with the locking tuners from Fender off ebay for $41.00. I also would have taken more time to either plug the holes on the neck if needed or created the double pins holes where needed to be. Thats just me.
Fender locking tunners are not that great. The changed how they are made for the bad
@@versafireguitars3145 That sucks because I have no problem with them at all. They work great.
That's my experience ànyway. Other channels are finding the same. The quality went down. My older strat deluxe fender lockers are fine. I seen recently Know your gear said something similar so he stopped using them also
@@versafireguitars3145 Ill keep that in mind for the next guitar I do.
Hi Dylan, guitar costs 200 usd plus how much in improvements?
I just got a Squier Contemporary HSS Strat, I'm thinking of changing out the pups (for Bare Knuckle) but I'd really like to change the block which seems kinda skinny to me, I heard the Fender Pure Vintage won't fit, too long? Any suggestions please!
Do you make this exact loaded pickguard for sale?
Wow, Love it!
Hi Dylan did you sold it?
The affinity is slimmer but how is the weight? Does it feel like a toy guitar?
Nope. Feels comfy. No energy drain or muscle strain. Maybe Monty Python could do something on it.
I love this guitar and is awesome the sound evolution, great work
Man I couldn't stand those 6 holes in the cover plate. I cut it out to be a rectangle like on some other Strats. Makes string changes much, much easier.
I also just measured my Samick-built Silvertone Strat. It's right it the middle of 41mm and 45mm at just over 43mm. Lol! It's getting CTS pots, Oak Grigsby 5 way switch, and a hb this weekend!
Did you put in 500k tone pots with .047 cap on this?
Bridge !!! Unfortunately this was no completely a modification!
I got a Chinese made affinity strat today, same colour. Should I return it as its not indonesian made? Build quality is not great on one part where the neck bolts on. Plays nice but the tuners suuuuuuuck. Lots of dead spots.
what amp were you playing through?
Why no locking tuners fitted ?
They aren't needed and thos was a budget build.
Well impressed with the speed of your response, great sounding job done, thanks
Inexpensive kit guitar?
Should have drilled out holes for new tuners, could have used one clipped tuner to mark holes instead of clipping all six turners.
well done.
My suggestion for a next hotrodding challenge is a trio of Harley Bentons! Flat shipping for up to 3 guitars so I'd say maybe their gretsch clone, their 335 clone, and their lp clone