Budget Guitar #10: Squier Bullet Stratocaster

[@Lespaul13100]

I placed rubber washers under the volume and tone knobs to keep them from spinning around. Popped them off, and placed the washers over the pot stems. Works really well. Agreed, very poor design for the volume knob placement. Great vid! Love the song! Cheers!

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

Top tip for pots that like to spin when exposed to a gentle breeze. I’ll keep that one in mind. Cheers for the kind words! 🤘🏻

[@christopherwinters7364]

Very nicely done Sir. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

Cheers buddy, appreciate the feedback.

[@letsbusk66]

The time lapse backing track is a beaut 🎵

[@howardtowler6146]

Well it looks great. But what does it sound like?

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

It sounded a bit muddy to be honest, so I put an EMG in it after I posted the video. Now it sounds like every guitar with an EMG 👍🏻

[@StevieZero]

Just done very same thing with a Bullet Telecaster... Lake placid blue and I've done exact same thing with all the black hardware and fittings... Turned it into an Esquire with a 50s broadcaster fender bridge pickup... It's the only way to do it if you can't afford a high end fender thoroughbred in one payment...It was a b stock piece of crap when I got it it's now up there with the best... You've done a real good job of this strat,, do you still have it?

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

Cheers, I do still have it, I was playing it when I saw your comment. My last build was a modern take on an Esquire, hoping to post a video of that soon.

[@larrytrasolini6217]

Que hermosa quedó !!!

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

Gracias!

[@rickyzoom8059]

I’m interested in how you accurately cut the pup cutout.

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

First thing I did was put the scratchplate on the body to find the alignment and desired distance from the bridge (I’m pretty good at eyeballing where it will fit in the cavity) and then I traced a humbucker ring for the correct size and shape. From there I stitch-drilled the majority of the material out and simply went to town with a flat rasp file. Once I got up to the line I had traced from the pickup ring I went slower to keep everything straight and kept checking if the pickup would fit. Once it slipped in without catching I was done. The trick is patience. Hope that helps.

[@bilalnachabeh]

I noticed that the tuning keys has two holes under them. so you can install fender locking tuners on the bullet eh! I got the affinity and it only has 1 pin in the middle

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

You can indeed with the Bullets, but I chose the Wilkinsons as they were a little cheaper new. If memory serves, the Affinity tuners also have the 45 degree screw tag don’t they?

[@bilalnachabeh]

@@timthebudgetguitarguy8322 yes buts its a 1 hole against the 2 holes fender and bullets have

[@davidgee4653]

@@timthebudgetguitarguy8322 Do you have a link to those Wilkinsons? I've heard the two pins on the Bullet tuners are closer to the post than the pins on the Fender locking tuners, so they're not a direct replacement. The Wilkinsons look like they dropped right in.

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

@@davidgee4653 as far as I can tell Wilkinson have stopped making them, I’ve not been able to find them since.

[@sunnytaufiq07]

Cool!

[@Hortron69]

“A bag of turds.” I’m adding that to my vocabulary.

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

I demand 0.01 pence for every use.

[@MrBiecool]

I want to know how it sound now ! 😉

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

I’ll be posting an update video as soon as I get the time, so keep an eye out.

[@jazznotes3802]

Awesome modifications. Were the “EZ loc tuners” a straight swap and fit? (Or was drilling needed)

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

They were a straight fit, the two pins lined up perfectly so I was really surprised, but it seems like Wilkinson stopped making the version without the screw tab, at least last time I looked.

[@ohkey2999]

nice

[@lucanuneztv]

Doing all this and not playing some chug at the end to test it is sacrilege 😢

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

This was just an exercise in aesthetics. It’ll make another appearance in a future video.

[@lucanuneztv]

@@timthebudgetguitarguy8322 just kidding bro, great job 🔥

[@silvasen1985]

What's the time lapse music? I tried searching up from the name in the description or shazaming it but absolutely no result

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

Reeltones are extremely underground, the band members don’t even have names. They’ve got one track somewhere on Facebook called Ugly Inside, but that’s about it. There’s a rumour that they’ve got a whole back catalogue from the last 15 years that they’re refining for release, I hope it’s soon…

[@simonboyle9961]

how are you getting on with the wilkinson tuners ? ive just put together a Tele kit and looking to upgrade ;o/)

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

They’re fantastic, I use them for every build now.

[@simonboyle9961]

@@timthebudgetguitarguy8322 thats good to know ,some of the revews in the past have been a bit off putting . Thanks for getting back to me ;o/)

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

@@simonboyle9961 I’ve not tried the locking ones or vintage style tuners, but the modern types, especially the EZ Loks, are ace. You can’t get better for the money, if at all.

[@dragtr0n]

What is the dye you used for the fretboard? Do u have a link?

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

No link unfortunately. I used a paint chip pen. Go to Poundland/Dollar Store or anywhere that has really cheap DIY stuff, like crap sandpaper or screwdrivers that bend, you’ll find the pens there.

[@JMotionZ]

Looks amazing!!! What is the name of the fret board stain ?

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

Cheers! The pens just say “Furniture touch-up marker”, they come in a set of 6 wood shades with some wax fill-in crayons (although I wouldn’t recommend using the wax ones) and they cost about £4 on Amazon, or whatever cheap shop near you that has a diy section. If you’re in the UK I just picked up a fresh set from B&M.

[@JMotionZ]

@@timthebudgetguitarguy8322 oh nice and yeah I'm in the uk I'll pop by b&m tomorrow Thank you

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

@@JMotionZ glad I could help!

[@Cwj108]

Nice job! What bridge did you use?

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

It was just a cheap Chinese one from eBay, but I always make sure to find one that shows the dimensions of the screw holes to make sure it lines up the same.

[@keananpather6957]

Why didn’t you play it??

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

This was more of an aesthetics exercise. I was focusing more on making a Strat that I liked the look of. I've since switched the pickup out for an EMG so I'll probably go into that on a video in the future.

[@sorbet.x]

what's the song for the intro?

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

It’s Battlegrounds by General Waste, one of my old bands. There’s a live version on KZbin somewhere, but the studio version is still in the works.

[@batuksri]

If that’s the look and humbuckers, I’d save a up a little more and get the Ibanez Jem Jr.

[@timthebudgetguitarguy8322]

I was going for more of a Charvel aesthetic with this one.