I Put $450 Of Upgrades Into A $230 Squier Strat

[@arikmeraz2639]

Original pickups all the way for that strat tone

[@coreyhaynes2975]

To me old pickups sound good, new pickups are muddy.

[@eddiejr540]

AGREED!!!!!!

[@bobjordan69]

Same

[@user-fc9iq6le2g]

That makes absolutely no sense Technology is so much better especially in electronics and that is a fact No one and I mean no one can tell with an old pickup to a new pick up that is modeled after the old one. It's in your head, if you say you can. I've put them on the oscilloscope and the differences are so minimal and inaudible. There are plenty of YT videos that also prove this

[@carlodanielcelestinomilito3976]

Agreed me two. Old sound like fender vintage . I prefere old for sure.

[@gorgon9786]

Same,.. And that's why I've always been saying the Squires have a great punk/crunchy tone,.. And the strats (fender) do not have so distinct punky pickups (originals)

[@han36solo]

Stellar job Lucas, especially the demo! This, is how you do sound samples people.

[@Stashmanfpv]

Nice.job!! Hate to be the odd man out, but on my phone the stock pickups were much clearer and not as muddy / dark sounding, as the new pickups...? Gonna re-listen when I get home and on my recording PC. Hoping the phone is the issue... Best! ✌🏼

[@mysocalledguitarlife3278]

The best review I've seen on KZbin. Great job, Lucas! Making a guitar your own like that is too much fun.

[@Casey_J96]

I did a similar build using an affinity body, great platform for a project guitar. I used a Wilkinson bridge which also had the larger block for a deeper body but I just left it. I usually leave my back plates off anyway but once the strings are under tension it’s pretty stable, I haven’t had any issues with bumping the back of the block. This turned out great though! Lots of options with that control setup. Like you said, for the money you likely won’t find something spec’d exactly like what you’re looking for and this way you can put your own personal touch.

[@stopthink9000]

Tone is subjective but man, that sounded great before the upgrades. Not a fan of those new pickups. It sounded muted and muddy to me. They don't look as good as the white either. Great how to vid though!

[@kuitaristi3003]

I liked those stock pickups better than new ones at clean but new ones on drive. After many pickup changes and other things i have notice that, most cases guitar is good as it was made so if it doesn't suck completely then you can keep it as it is and just play.

[@eddiejr540]

I totally agree... I’m starting to think this pick-up thing is mostly marketing hype...unless you do from 7.0 ohms up to 16ohms or higher you’re not gonna notice that much difference!!

[@slowfinger2]

Agree completely. The key is to play all guitars on the rack and find a good resonant, lively feeling one first. Why pay 680$ plus tax plus hours of work? Because the instrument is a dead feeling lemon? Bought the wrong guitar? Next thing is that a proper set-up (neck, nut, intonation) will often do magic to a so-so axe. A friend has a stock Affinity that is set-up just about perfect. We jam all the time. Even the guy with a 900 dollar Strat thinks the Affinity plays and sounds as good as his.

[@joinerleal]

I moved to a new country and I was forced to leave my guitars behind. As soon as I came to the new place I got a squier affinity cause I needed something to play, you know... I was shockly surprised, in a great way! The fretboard is so nice and well done, the sound and the overall feeling of the guitar is really really good, it feels like a much more expensive guitar. I wish I had such guitar when I started. for $220ish guitar is a no brainer! Now that I got back my LTD ec1000 deluxe and bought a nick johnston strat I still have the squier right next to my desk, this thing is my daily driver

[@CanalCruisers]

I agree 100%! My previous fender player series strat (Gilmour tribute) had stock custom shop fat 50’s. Traded it in for a shell pink HSS player strat and thought the first thing I was going to do was switch the neck&middle pups back to fat 50’s straight away. Call me crazy, but I ended up liking the stock player series pickups more over the fat 50’s when it comes to the music I play/record. They’re super versatile and maintain note clarity on both clean and OD

[@damienalvarez2957]

Yeah, I’ve noticed that as long as you got a good amp & speaker, and as long as your electronics aren’t buzzing like an angry swarm of killer bees, you can get a good, clear sound from just about any guitar these days.

[@Mauitaoist]

Very nice job Lucas that sounded much better I think with the new pickups and you're playing sounds amazing, you're fantastic guitarist thanks for all that you share man

[@johnSmith-yn7dg]

I think you can cut that block down with a heavy duty band saw. The upgrades definitely improved the tones of the guitar.

[@eddiejr540]

I was thinking the same...maybe take it down with a grinder or heavy duty sander!!

[@stevelaferney3579]

Get a proper sized replacement block. For that Affinity it is a 36mm. If you cut one down it can create problems with string loading and stuff. Not that expensive. Sell the too long one or keep for future use.

[@cliftongardner4367]

Incredible playing and fantastic demo. It's funny, though - I felt like the stock pickups actually recorded better, although I suspect that the upgrades sounded much nicer in the room. Funny how that works, haha. I've got a decent Gibson and Fender, I think my next guitar will be a mod project. Those Squier Affinity Jazzmasters have been calling to me for a couple of years now.

[@donniecook8438]

Out of all the Squire guitars the Affinity would probably be the only one I would upgrade those ones made in Indonesia are damn good

[@jazzalmenasmusic]

Excelent upgrades. What ppl fail to aacknowledge with the pickup change is the EQ needs to change as well, and I'm sure the reason you didn't reEQ is to notice the difference. The overdive sounds beautiful! I think they make for a good backup or main guitar for live situations where you don't want to bring the big boys. I will check the parts, although I have a 'pimp my strat' project with my Epiphone S-310 Custom ongoing. Thanks again!

[@LucasFowler]

You might be one of the only people who understood the reason I didn't change the EQ and why it sounds very different 😆

[@jazzalmenasmusic]

@@LucasFowler Bingoooo! 😉

[@ph6376]

Great video and really nice playing too! I'm here because I've come to realize my little Squier - which I bought as a beater - is actually a diamond in the rough. It really plays great, in fact, so there's a solid foundation to work with. I think you've aptly demonstrated that the results are totally worth the $400ish investment.

[@randyupchurch1899]

...Greetings from Southern Illinois,my Brother!!!...Haven't seen you in a while,I hope all is well!!!...LOVE YOUR PLAYING,ALWAYS!!!...Thank you!!!..."Your playing has JUICE!!!"...Peace...

[@stevelaferney3579]

I’m doing an upgrade on my Affinity with Yosemite pickups, new innards, new tuners are great they are Fender locking ones. This is a great starting Guiana even better after upgrading. Yours sounds amazing.

[@TeamUltraSlow]

Nice work Lucas. As far as the trem block, the Affinity and others like that with the thinner body use a shorty block that is 37mm (I believe) compared to a normal 42mm. Guitar fetish offers some steel and brass shorty blocks or at least they used to.

[@Voxguitarsrock]

I had that issue with a old Squier affinity I had. I just took the bench grinder to it till it fit.

[@robertrobertson3754]

I have a squier strat and made an upgrade with hip shoot looking tunners and a fender tex.mex prewired pickguiard and pickups it turned awesome

[@gloryxkid]

Gfs sells import steel blocks, you can get it in brass too. They’re made for these thinner body strats

[@davidharvey8812]

You play really well dude ! 👍🏼

[@kenjikodai]

I like these because it means you could push your guitar higher with you before fully upgrading

[@gertzpalma]

THANKS, LUCAS!

[@GoNorthDesign]

This is great, but any chance we can get an “extended” edition, with the actual modding bits slowed down to normal (so we can follow along?) :)

[@slowfinger2]

In other words. How new/different pickups make a Strat sound like a Gibson. LOL

[@jakeritchie3805]

I used the full size block on my affinity for years. It stuck out a touch, I just cut a small bit out of the back plate, before just removing it all together. It worked just fine.

[@soljawaiian]

New PUPS definiyely muddy

[@Lespaul13100]

Nice Lucas. I replaced the cheapy Squier trem/tailpiece with a GFS 'shorty' big brass block bridge/tailpiece. Fits Squier/ import bodies perfectly!

[@mikecorey8370]

I'm sure Mark would be happy about demoing the guitar with the CTH solo. Nice touch. I've got an Affinity Strat that I've been slowly changing. Paid $100 for it. I won't drop the name who I bought it from, but even popular players have cheap guitars. The neck has always been great. The biggest change was installing Fender Gen4 noiseless pickups. Great guitar.

[@JoeR203]

Is the pickup cavity routed the same for Affinity models that have S-S-S pickups? I'm assuming it would be to make mass production go quicker. But you never know.

[@jcoulter43]

Great video Lucas! Those Squires are pretty decent guitars straight out of the box. The mods you did really enhanced the look and sound of that axe. I'd add that to my arsenal all day long! Love your playing. Keep up the great work and Happy Easter to you and your family! God bless and rock on 😎👍🎸

[@IndependenceGuitar]

I get exactly what you mean. I do the same thing. If you buy a 650-700 dollar guitar, you’ll get something that has a bit better bones/hardware/electronics than the $200-250 guitar, but it still won’t be the high quality stuff like on a $1200+ guitar. I feel like it’s better to spend money on something with good bones, then do the work yourself to smooth all the rough edges, get premium hardware/electronics, and maybe even refinish it. The end result is that you get a much nicer guitar for around the same $650-700 that you would have spent. Anyway, the new stuff sounds really good. It almost sounds like it has 500k pots or something. It just sounds way more robust whether it’s the pickups or pots or both. Way smoother, and a lot less brittle. I kind of wish you had shown the result of that finish stuff you put on it. I’ve never used it, would have liked to see the end result a little closer. Maybe in another video. Anyway, good stuff man. Edit: btw, looks like you’ve lost weight. Not that it matters, just saying if you were trying to, it’s working 🤷‍♂️

[@EmtonGuitars]

5:05 - next time you can just sand down the end of the block. It’s a pretty common problem.

[@dongonzulman6478]

Hipshot rules. I have their locking tuners on a Warmoth tele and they feel a million times better than the Grovers on my Gibson 2020 LP Standard.

[@ljaygaming6988]

I did my squire strat affinity series and put suhr ml standard pickups and new 250k pots and it sounds just as good if not better than most of the expensive guitars out there today

[@valueofnothing2487]

I just put GFS pickups in mine. Sounds fine to me. Neck is awesome, pegs are fine.

[@stevekirkby6570]

New middle pickup sounds epic. More output?

[@thislisa]

I like your playing. Lots of nice double stops.

[@jonathanhorne6503]

I modded a special order pink Bronco bass with some absolutely crazy mods. A $250 bass has close to $1000 of upgrades and mods. It’s a phenomenal playing and sounding instrument. I wish I could add a picture to KZbin comments.

[@voodoochild1975az]

My favorite mod platform is the MIM Fender. When you find a good one that plays great (and it's not that hard to), the only thing holding it back are the electronics... they beg for pickup upgrades. Your project was $230+$450 in upgrades, $680 total. Mine was $400 for used 2011 HSS MIM Limited edition color (Candy Red Burst... LOVE IT). Best playing Strat I've ever picked up, I've owned 9 and played gods know how many... MIA, MIM... this one is the best playing for whatever reason. +50 for used neck and middle Texas Specials +10 for better string tree +200 for a custom build humbucker from Seymour Duncan Custom Shop (not ordered yet) +$60 for locking tuners (not ordered yet) +$40 misc pots and resistors to get single coils and humbucker working together better (250k tone, stock, for neck and middle now, 500k tone, new for hubucker only, new 500k volume with 500k resistor for single coils) Previous owner put a really nicely cut nut on it, TUSQ I think. My cost was spread out, still haven't done half of it, Texas Specials are going into it in a few hours. $860, but will be a beast in the end.

[@gajapi]

I love modding squier, have done 3 so far. When is a complete oddball but I love it lol

[@mauricebrown24]

Lucas, excellent video dude. Them magic fingers, you play off the graph. The Affinity already sounds magnificent with the right set up. Right now I have already ordered new trees. The tuners are next on the list. I am going to get the tuners you used. I want to replace the nut but, kinda afraid of the fret above the nut fracturing. I've seen it happen a couple of times. Saving this video so I will have the go to spot when I order. I'm subscribed.

[@DirtyDiezel]

take the bridge block to the bench grinder and take off the 1/4" thats stopping it from fitting the backplate, I did it and it works fine. Still retains much more mass than the stock wimpy one. Next time do a squier standard version they are the same thickness as a regular fender body.

[@mrjah603]

Am I missing something here? You put tung oil over the poly finish on the neck? Won't it just wipe right off and not absorb into the wood because of the poly?

[@MrRafaelMatiazoguita]

Great video. I’ve seen the tone is darker with the mods.

[@Wardell43]

I modified my SQ Squier Start back in the 1990s, so Prices might vary. Wilkerson bridge seats $20+/- The standard Strat bridge seats approach the pivot point too sharp, causing string breakage as I work the dog snot out of a whammy. The seats that I bought graduated the bend relaxing breakage Wilkerson Roller Nut under $40 My guitar rarely goes out of tune Seymour Duncan pickups $ Currently I'm using the HHS and the humbuckers are the single size so no modifying the pick guard(untapped) Now an article from the 1980s by Roger Sadowsky, said take a 2" piece of window form rubber insulation with a sticky side (1/4" x 1/4" or so, comes in a 10 or 15 foot long roll) and place it on the tremolo block where it rest against the body to removing the thumping noise when coming to rest. And adjust the springs to neutral so the the bridge seat plate is fairly level(floating) So my guitar rarely goes out of tune or breaks a string. I paid about $225 for the Squier and case back in 1986 in a pawn shop and still use it along with my other guitars. The pickups were in bad shape so I began replacing them and tried various pickups over the years as a Guitar is the modern day Hot rod. I was forced into buying the guitar as I had a gig coming and my Gretsch Corvette's neck broke and the Start was the only guitar that I could afford at that time. We became immediate friends.

[@leadstrat]

Lucas, the new setup is definitely an improvement, but make no mistake about it, you make any guitar sound great and to untrained ears they would be hard pressed to tell a difference.

[@michaelreynolds6543]

anyone watching this ive looked into the trem block problem with affinity strats and guitarfetish make a brass item that fits an affinity strat perfectly and brass is definitely a better option for that mod

[@vaughan7835]

That's the 1st reason I don't have, or ever will have an Affinity, of any kind. Possibly a Tele if I can find 1 for under $100. I recently bought a friend, a Bullet Strat for $100. Aussie money. It's cool & sounds ok. Swapping tuning pegs from another cheap but good copy & done.

[@luigra123]

congrats! you made a cheap strat sounds like a chibson expending 450 bucks! amazing job!

[@gualakamola]

man what's the tune you play first in before/after? so cool.. looked through all comments, couldn't find the name of the song

[@bradhienzachary]

I bought a cheap Chinese Squire Stratocaster HSS style for $40AUD put new strings and professional set up and it’s playability and comfort is fantastic! I could believe it! Since my other is Ibanez JS1000! Squire is almost a good as the JS! Yes the pickups aren’t as good and tuning but that can be fixed if I choose to spend more money on it!

[@davidmarkham4391]

Hell yeah with the Poison Whiskey in the mix!!!! Love deep Skynyrd tracks!!!

[@davidmarkham4391]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/laS9eoOfbdpgnpo

[@danted4917]

It sounds great before and it sounds great after. I think for $450 the upgrade isn't as noticeable and beneficial. Unless you're playing arenas or gigs.. I don't really think it matters too much but then again.. if you were you would just get a fender with the pickups right from the factory. Overall, keeping it stock seems the way to go.

[@coldtruth3944]

I got affinity and I am surprised how good it is. People just don’t know how good these asian made guitars can be. Even the pickups sound so good and noiseless beat my expectations.

[@GoNorthDesign]

I upgraded to Fender locking tuners and bought the “fancier” string trees too (replacing the bat wing ones). But I didn’t realize that as the tuners are already staggered height I didn’t really need the string trees?

[@generalawareness101]

No need but I stick with the height of the original headstock instead of having two screw holes in it where the old T's went. I love the roller trees for those.

[@mr1bienvenu1]

Who makes a drop in bridge for Affinity Stratocasters?

[@Rogata_Dusza76]

Hello my friend. Sorry for my English (I'm from Poland). I am writing to you because I am the owner of a 2020 Squier Affinity Strat with HSS pickups and I decided to give it to my teenage son. He and his buddies started playing in a rock band. The problem is that they have "high-end" guitars. I am of the opinion that the Squier, after appropriate modifications, will not differ too much from their instruments. So I'd like to make a few upgrades before handing this guitar over: 1. replace the current tuners with genuine Fender locking tuners. 2. replace the Nut and string trees with those from Graph Tech (TUSQ XL). 3. replace the current tremolo bridge with a better quality one. 4. possibly to buy some not very expensive but good sounding pickups in HSS combination. If you have any comments or suggestions, I will be very grateful. Thank you in advance for your response and best regards...

[@StevieZero]

I've just something similar with a Bullet Telecaster... Stripped it right down left with only the neck and the body and fitted new electrics, pickup,,,tuners, pick guard,nut, string trees, bridge saddles & strap locks,,, even stained the neck...Also it's now an Esquire...It was a piece of B stock crap when I got it now it's as good as any high end Tele& looks amazing Lake placid blue with black tuners, pick guard, knobs and control plate... Sounds like Jimmy Page with the 59 bridge pickup...... It's the only way to do it if you can't afford a US Tele outright...

[@mikecooper8465]

I would just cut or grind a little bit of trem block to fit.ive done it to brass block's.just send after cutting..

[@liys540]

what about replacing the old block with fu tone big brass block ( strat style ) or vegatrem ?

[@pdeioann]

No nut replacement? I my squiere it make a huge difference..

[@robbphillips2845]

I reckon setting correct pick up height can change the whole tone of a guitar.

[@prodbyamrit]

Hi, amazing video!! could you tell me the bridge spacing for a Squier classic vibe 50s strat. I dont have access to one, and I am thinking of getting with a bridge assembly!

[@leonarddaneman810]

Start with the Squier Standard and you can use regular Fender spec parts. (I see them used for $400-$500, but I paid $150.) I found a silver sparkle FSR Standard (less than 250 run) with the same 'gold' series neck as yours . . . and yes, the neck looks and feels almost unfinished and a dirt magnet. So, the Tung Oil was a good idea . . . spraying Stew Mac nitro may also be an option. However . . . someone buggered up an Elite ebony neck and sold it cheap on FB Marketplace, an $800 neck with a bone nut, sprocket truss wheel, and staggered locking tuners for $340. I couldn't resist. I fixed the bone nut that had been filed too deeply for the E, B, and G slots . . . cheap and fast fix. As excellent as the Squier neck is, and it is beautifully made with Rosewood fingerboard, the 'Elite' neck is sublime. But, there's MORE! The pickups didn't have that 'strat' sound, so I gutted the electronics and put $50 worth of CTS pots, .022 and .047 mF capacitors to darken the overly bright/hot humbucker and add tone control to the bridge (Jimmie Vaughn setup) and BAM, the sound turned around to all the bells and chimes in a true Strat. The neck pocket had the classic Strat Cracks, but it was only the hard polyester finish, so scratched out the refractive 'split' with a sharp pick tool and filled flawlessly with clear lacquer. The pickups and tremolo? I kept the Indonesian Alnico V's, and the factory 2-Point bridge is smaller than a 'real' Stratocaster, but has some heft and the guitar stays in tune just fine. The pickups are very fine sounding, and the .047mF cap on the neck tone may be too dark for some, but that is one hot, spikey humbucker. So, sell the Squier neck for $100-$150 and my total cost is about $400 for a Strat that specs out to a used $1200 Elite. One day, I will upgrade to a four-wire humbucker and a push-pull splitter . . . but, for now, it is better than my 'real' Deluxe Strat.

[@robbphillips2845]

Make a half inch rubber spacer from insertion rubber.

[@brozio77]

i prefer old pickups more bright and lively, the others upgrades are stunning however. in fact under drive the parallel position of the bridge humbucker sounds bettere than series.

[@eddiejr540]

I use tung oil on all of the necks that I have sanded down...feels like natural wood...smooth and fast...kinda like you Lucas...ok, that was kinda weird...but you get it !!!!

[@mknewlan67]

Great looking fret board

[@ShadrachsGuitar]

great job!

[@gamepad3173]

I would take that a step further by just replacing the neck with one from Mighty Mite. it's what I did to my Squire 51 and it sounds monstrous.

[@montauta]

You change the tunning machines, but not the nut? 😉😉

[@ClaySmith]

I thought at first you were saying "Tone oil".

[@relytheone853]

I would love it if I can get seymour duncan pickups on my LTD. But my local store refuse to not put something they don't have for sale at their store. They have for sale Ibanez pickups. Are they good on LTDs?

[@derekjohnson5720]

When he first started playing clean i didn't realise it was the old pups and thought to myself they sound good just like a strat. Then I realised as he switched to the new pups and thought, the affinity pups sounded better lol

[@Newnodrogbob]

Neat vid. I am clearly doing something wrong with my life because I got an ad for Magic the Gathering Arena mobile, entirely in some Asian language that I do not know. It was...odd.

[@Voxguitarsrock]

My ads are coming up in French for unknown reason? Lmao

[@juliancottet6580]

i think the best upgrade falls on ceramic vs alnico microphones

[@aaronbrown0417]

The guitar sounded best in its original state... when it was modded one thing was not upgraded which was the pots those need to be upgraded for higher quality cts 250k full pots... secondly guitarfetish sells a shorty tremolo set that would fit that thinner body it has a full but shorten steel block and be better quality than the original pot metal bridge....

[@chrisboblitt6103]

Did you figure out the bridge?

[@buck7477]

Can I use true oil? I have a 2020 tele affinity

[@hearpalhere]

It's a good looking (and sounding) guitar Lucas! I kind of can't believe what so little money will buy you nowadays. I think the original pickups sounded OK but definitely a bit on the thin & wimpy side for my taste. It sounded pretty killer after the upgrades, albeit the pickups were maybe just a tad too hot for my personal preference. As always, happy to hear you play some Grand Funk! The other tune selections were on point as well!

[@ClivesEnglishCorner]

The only guitar that comes out of the box in this price range and with the nice pickups, bridge, etc is the Pacifica 612. So, that would be a bit of super strat territory, but...

[@timmyv694]

Makes me want to mod a guitar:) Guitarfetish has shorty solid steel or brass blocks that will fit squiers

[@muskymike1885]

why didn't you change out the plastic nut ?

[@ratkopetrovic4959]

I realized we live in a era where you can buy 3x better guitar than to spend on upgrading one. Last few years there are great guitars for $450.

[@murinator5948]

The stock pickups are not that bad! a little bit to bright I would say 🤔 But its all a matter of taste 😀

[@Annatar0]

one big problem that is common with cheap guitars is that it has a really hard time staying in-tune and the small things in the hardware like the bridge, pots, fret bars, etc. gets worn out quickly and causes annoying issues. But if the overall body is good then I would say its probably better to buy upgrades rather than buying the real deal for about the same price.

[@johnnyguitar7921]

what compressor are you usin

[@ElDami]

Killer playing.

[@liys540]

actually i prefer using dimarzio area 7 ways , fiesta polyphonics 7 ways ,sd p rails ( bridge + neck ) 7 ways and vintage rails , sd yjm fury

[@cmmnsenserules4339]

I thought maybe the stock NECK was better, but not any of the others 👍

[@kevinrice7291]

Damn you shred bro!

[@Tamadrummer708]

Which Planet Tone pickups were used for this?

[@joweerocks]

How about a Graphtech Nut?

[@Sean_Plays_Guitar]

Does anyone know if the bullets and the affinity’s are the same thickness? I would love a bridge upgrade on my pawnshop bullet

[@Newnodrogbob]

I think so? I had a pile of bullet strats when I was teaching a public school guitar class and they were definitely thinner than a standard strat.

[@jahkope]

I would have got my grinder on that trem block.

[@jacobseal]

Also GO ON AND SAVE YOSEEEEELLLFF!!!!!

[@itmfilms]

You see, this is such a great video. It clearly demonstrates how "playing" comes way above anything else. Yes, the modifications gave the guitar a somewhat richer and deeper tone, but it's negligible compared to what you can actually achieve by talent. You make the guitar sound very good with or without the upgrade. And made me realize I have to focus on studying rather than upgrading my Squier.

[@liys540]

part 3 modded charvel demo

[@kiivje]

Great video!

[@liys540]

i prefer using 2 points tremolo bridge instead of six screw