Idiot talks about his crusty 2001 Squire Stratocaster

[@radmageirl]

THE CREED OF A UNITED STATES GUITARIST This adapted creed, inspired by Major General William H. Rupertus, USMC (Deceased), and the Marine ethos, is reimagined for musicians dedicated to their craft. 1. This is my guitar. There are many like it, but this one is mine. 2. My guitar is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. 3. My guitar, without me, is silent. Without my guitar, I am voiceless. I must play my guitar true. I must create music more beautiful than the noise of the world that seeks to drown me out. I must express myself before I am forgotten. I will … 4. My guitar and I know that what counts in music is not the volume we reach, the speed of our riffs, nor the flashiness of our solos. We know that it is the emotion we convey that matters. We will connect … 5. My guitar is human, even as I, because it is my voice. Thus, I will learn it as a partner. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its strings, its frets, its body, and its tone. I will ever guard it against the ravages of neglect and damage as I will ever guard my hands, my mind, my ears, and my heart against harm. I will keep my guitar tuned and ready. We will become part of each other. We will … 6. Before the universe, I swear this creed. My guitar and I are the messengers of my soul. We are the masters of our craft. We are the saviors of my spirit. 7. So be it, until harmony is achieved, and there is no discord, only music and peace!

[@HarryHarshman]

Heck yeah bro, it makes me want to play guitar more!

[@altemose_prime]

MY LP Junior had horrible tuning issues. Throw some graphite in the nut. Lube the nut. Work great for me.

[@HarryHarshman]

@@altemose_prime I will try that. I have to restring it soon anyway

[@riffsnoleads]

forgive the wall of text: Hey dude, as far the tuning stability, the two things it could be are either the tuners as you suspected OR it could just be poorly filed nut slots. The bad nut slots is a VERY common issue with cheaper guitars but also a relatively easy fix that you could learn to do on your own very easily. The tone knobs may not be reacting because you don't have the right pickups selected. Most Strats have the tone knobs connected to the neck (upper tone knob) and middle pickup (lower tone knob) only and the bridge has not tone knob at all. However, there is a simple mod where the neck and bridge pickup share the same tone knob. IF it is not that, then there is likely a wiring issue. Personally, I would save my money and get a Firefly Les Paul. They are usually only about $250 and they have significantly nicer features than any Epiphone for twice the cost, including stainless steel frets, which are so strong you will likely never need to recrown them or replace them. Colors are more limited but the build quality it primo, especially for less than an Epi. Lastly, I have been playing a Costco brand "Starcaster" for nearly 25 years. It's been modded (by me) a lot over the last 10 years, but not with any high end parts ($50 neck, various >$20 pickups). Still have the stock bridge and even use the tremolo for Slayer type whammy abuse and it sounds great and plays great and stays in tune. Don't let the cost or opinions of others sway you on how you perceive your instrument. If it feels and plays good for you, then it is good. Keep at it. It will change your life forever.

[@HarryHarshman]

@@riffsnoleads thats some pretty neet stuff actually! I have been wanting to mod my guitar cosmetically, which if I do I will release a video. Also, I'm glad you mentioned the tone knob things, since I would not have been able to figure that out lol. And lastly, like you said, I try not to let other people sway my opinions, if its cheap and I like it and I think it sounds good, then it just doesn't matter lol

[@ericdpeerik3928]

I have an old Stagg SES 30 I bought at a pawn shop. I just started messing with the parts I didn't like, slowly bought a bit here and a part there. The one stock part is the middle single coil pick up and the bone nut it came with 😂 I changed the rest with mostly inexpensive parts bought here and there. With locking tuners, hotrails, double locking bridge and a full black exterior and hardware. Not only would I never get rid of it, it got me to understand how to fix guitars without ruining them. Even though it has some battle scars here and there. Everything else I own is factory standard 😂 Get a job hippie, the parts and tools aren't free! 🤪 (But you also don't need expensive stuff and you can even scavange parts your friends replaced on guitars). Get to fixing it! (and make sure to have at least 2 sets of back up strings)

[@HarryHarshman]

@@ericdpeerik3928 thats honestly pretty cool

[@TomHolland-r6k]

Gotta start somewhere

[@HarryHarshman]

Truly

[@ImaBigNerd]

yo i got a squire stratocaster for christmas today and this shit just popped in my recommendation,,, sign from god,,,

[@HarryHarshman]

@@ImaBigNerd haha, thats pretty cool! I actually got a fender bass amp so I think we are on the same wave here 🤣

[@ericdpeerik3928]

Google: he almost found out, but blamed God 😅

[@nisselarson3227]

Keep at it dude. 👍

[@HarryHarshman]

@@nisselarson3227 thanks dude, means a ton honestly

[@Arcanyan]

Honestly, I'd keep the thing and just invest in a better amp. A bad guitar through a good amp will never sound as bad as a good guitar through a bad amp. Keep playing

[@HarryHarshman]

@@Arcanyan I agree, you can make any bad guitar sound good with the right equipment

[@riffsnoleads]

@HarryHarshman careful with all of that. A good SPEAKER will do more than a spendy amp. Even a Marshall MS-2 (belt clip amp) will sound great with a larger speaker cab.

[@HarryHarshman]

@@riffsnoleads also a very good point. There is so much that goes into buying correct equipment

[@tracydavis96]

He doesn't have a job..he can't buy anything

[@purpleraventd3]

Without having to buy an amp, you could use an amp modeler on your computer. I use Amplitube 5 which has many different amps and pedals in the free version You would either need an interface or a cable to connect to your computer. Interfaces start at close to $100 but you can get a cable for @$20. Amazon sells them. I run the sound out back through my amp by connecting from PC audio out to a CD input on amplifier. Watch some videos too so that you can learn how to setup your guitar. You might not want mess with your truss rod but knowing how to set your action and intonation will be a great thing to know. I have one from about the same year and have it set up well that it plays pretty nice. I have a an Ibanez and a few PRS as well and still like my Squire. Keep practicing and learning. I let a long time go by not playing but a lttle over 4 yrs ago was reinspired to play by a great young band called The Warning. Here I am with my Squire Bullet playing Amplitube 5 through a Peavey Rage and and "trying to sing" lol. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6PGaJyAZsdpbdksi=2jckgDzgTUJIpaia

[@HarryHarshman]

This isn't a bad idea, I actually got a new computer so I might be able to play with that

[@philliplee1193]

Your guitar is like the Squier Cyclone I bought 15 years ago and started playing , same color, it’s neck couldn’t get low action, but I could afford a Fender G Deck amp with effects so it was much more fun. I don’t like strumming I just like finding notes and doing two string chords and strange melodies. The bullet is a tough guitar to love , lol.

[@HarryHarshman]

@@philliplee1193 I've never heard of that guitar, I think I will have to do a wee bit of research. And yes, slightly hard to love at times lol

[@johnnysunrise]

Don't be so harsh with you, man.

[@HarryHarshman]

I feel stupid because I just got this after a friend pointed this joke out 💀💀💀. I have heard this joke before too, so I don't even know at this point 💀💀💀

[@johnnysunrise]

@ remember my comment

[@RoachPiles]

If you like strats, look into the Yamaha Pacifica, they're better than anything Fender is putting out these days at a third the price. I just got one, and I haven't picked my fender up since. Food for thought before you spend 400 on an epiphone.

[@michaelsweeney5779]

Your tone knobs seem to be broken, If you need help fixing them give us a reply

[@altemose_prime]

I have a few Epiphones. They're all great guitars.

[@HarryHarshman]

@@altemose_prime thats what I had thought, nice to have a second opinion

[@evilstalkerhorne]

Why don't you become a TV watcher? You spent way more $$ on your gigantic TV and you don't want to get a Strat (Squire is not a Strat) and think the pickups are just fine etc. Listen, my 1st electric guitar was a Japan Stratocaster. I still have it. I finally after decades of not liking things about the tone just got rid of all of it and new pickguard, hot noiseless pickups, new pots the whole damn works. Sooooo much better. More than I bought the guitar for certainly. My next thing is getting the action perfect like my other guitars are which will be me taking off the neck and adjusting things again..... you want to advance at something you got to learn what to fix and efficiently spend money. If you want to just think things are ok and you are just starting etc and don't need that shit then my suggestion is don't waste our time trying and failing to play guitar. Do something else. If you do play guitar though realize that no one awesome sounding uses stock Squire pickups. We all spend a fortune tricking our gear out and learning how to use it better. There is one amp you will need Marshall Code. That is it and a great guitar. If you don't have the correct tools you will not advance because you will never be able to keep up with anyone and at the same time limit yourself. It is way cheaper to go to Musicians Friend or Sweetwater, get a new Alexi 200V and set up the action super low. GREAT GUITAR and the standard set for all my other ones. But hey, you could just keep going to pawn shops wasting your cash on stolen or abused tools. That is your choice perfectly fine there... realize that as a guy who knows people who own pawn shops and also the employees who work in them I can say that ANYTHING worth anything is sold before it ever will hit the show floor. Good luck!

[@bbq4126]

Get a Classic Vibe instead.

[@HarryHarshman]

@@bbq4126 I have heard they are good guitars, and I have no doubt they are, but I am going for a heavier sound, so a les paul would do better