Is It Worth It To Modify a Squier Strat

[@elmoz71ls15]

For me it was, my squier was my second guitar, given to me by my dad in 2004. It sat for 10 years in its case. Now my youngest wants to play so for his 8th birthday, I’ve gone through the guitar and made some upgrades and will give it to him as a surprise.

[@adonny6255]

How did it go?

[@elmoz71ls15]

Adonny great actually, he’s playing and the old squier sounds great. I fixed the broken jack and changed the pots to fender 250k’s and it sounds better. The pots on the squier are small and look cheap, left the old pickups and installed in a new pickguard.

[@adonny6255]

@@elmoz71ls15 awesome!!! I'm 15 myself so I started about 2 months ago and it's the best thing I ever did. Rather spend 10 hours a day on my guitar instead of 10 hours a day in front of a TV. Hope all goes well for your son!

[@jdwhodey]

I love that you got your son into playing music at such a young age! Is he still playing a lot? My son is almost 2 and I'm going to wait a couple years and start him out with piano lessons and then slowly transition him into the guitar. I feel like our kids are lucky to have parents that give them tools to help them become creative. It should help them in all aspects of life.

[@elmoz71ls15]

James Carfield he still plays some, not as much as I thought he would, he picks up the old squier about twice a week now that schools back in.

[@justinrayguitars6024]

I have quite a few Squiers that I have upgraded and setup correctly that I would put up against a lot of guitars that cost twenty times as much.

[@tonyandkevintv3988]

I had that guitar (model and colour) and I put in better pickups, capacitors, machine heads, new pots etc

[@gringogreen4719]

I would say two things. First off old Squires command some pretty steep prices. Techniques that were budget then are considered more desirable today. I have a Partscaster Strat that has a Squire neck that is both Korean made and a one piece maple neck. I have Seymour Duncan pickups slated to go in it with new pots, a new brass trem block and also a Tusq nut to go on. Once these mods are done ( I am waiting for time with my luthier) I would put this against an American Strat all day long. Second, Squires are workhorses. They mod well and for the most part are pretty reliable. Even stock if set up properly. Compared to MIM Fenders or American models...there are things left to be desired. In many ways a modern Squire is as good or better than many vintage guitars. For this I am meaning Standard Squires and the models above them.

[@lunchandmilk2537]

That's the big one A proper set up can make a world of difference, my squire is heavily modified, I'd barely call it a strat copy anymore. But it sounded off still. A quite set up and intonate and BAM I wouldn't consider a new 6 for atleast 10 more years

[@roffaD]

I just got my first squier, what are the most essential mods you would fo to it to make it sound better?

[@backandfour]

@@roffaD practice playing it ;-)

[@joshuabenoit3744]

Just did upgrades to my first guitar, 2004 squier affinity Strat. Polished frets, graph tech trees, hipshot locking tuners, tonepro Classic blues pups, obsidian blender wire kit, brass block, and a tortoise shell pick guard. I will never get rid of it so it is worth it to me.

[@murfbass]

It occurs to me that if you put $400 worth of upgrades into a $1000 guitar, it is still worth $1000. You've lost the same investment. If you can make a $200 guitar sound and play the same as the $1000 one, I know which one I'm taking to the bar for the blues jam. If some drunk steals the Squier, I'll get over it pretty quick.

[@javaughnlemonius1418]

murfbass Preach!🙌

[@gringogreen4719]

Guitars are shit investments if you look at them financially. If you look at them as an investment into happiness, that's where the magic is. Upgrading a guitar in parts is essentially a fools errand unless you are getting period correct parts that do complete a period correct VINTAGE guitar. Even then its not as worth as much as museum quality or new old stock.

[@gringogreen4719]

@Bogdanmeoff Basically it is what the market wants. Trying to figure out which guitars will be worth bank in the future, that's impossible. It may be a common model, it may be rare. Then if you have it, it's best not to play it. Only mint condition instruments are worth more. If there is plastic parts on the guitar, the off gassing of plastic corrodes metal parts. So even the instrument could sabatoge itself! In short it's difficult to keep a guitar mint. Even then it may not be worth much. I have rare guitars that I bought that are cheap. They were nice diamonds in the rough but nothing expensive to resell. I used to own a Sovtek Big Muff, paid $65 new for it, sold it for $30 back in the 90s. I was never all that impressed with it and I see it as a $45 pedal. People want over $300 plus for it and to my ear, it's not that great. I have a Electro Harmonix NYC Big Muff that has been modded and love that waaayyy more and it was under $120. Go figure. Buy gear that you like. Buy guitars you find sexy. Mod them if it suits your needs but don't expect them to be worth much. If you want to possibly sell a guitar later, just keep it stock. That's 26 years worth of advice right there.😉👍✨

[@ianwebster3489]

@@gringogreen4719 I disagree on that slightly, just because if we're looking at the market value in isolation then absolutely. If you're out gigging and making money then that guitar is being put to work and paying for itself. Hate not to be pedantic, which is why I'm being pedantic.

[@gringogreen4719]

@@ianwebster3489 Welp...you do you...there really isn't a right or wrong. I usually get kudos on my builds. The two guitars in my pic, one guy from Fender liked my Tele, on my Ibanez, I've had a high end guitar shop owner give me props on that. As far as making money...nope not really seen any. Not a great financial investment economically. A much better investment in being happy though. Not sure about you but I am tired of seeing no talent players with money to burn buy top gear and either use them as decoration or worse...play them poorly.😐

[@MrJoeydano]

Yeah the guys that give thumbs Down are the ones that sell 2K to 10K Guitars and don’t like ya making a good instrument for under a grand 😂

[@jjc9882]

I bought me a 90 bucks sunburst affinity, fender custom electronics, chinese alnico 5 pickups, and 20 bucks locking tuners ... spend 10 on the picks.... it is the best guitar I have ever used, and I learn pickups are important but a GOOD amp is the GREAT equalizer !

[@kiezersosay49]

These are a great bang for your buck for sure. Feels and sounds like a strat, but to an american strat isn't light years better is a crime. My first guitar was a mim strat and like all mim strat owners id say it plays just as good as its American counter part...the first time I picked up an american strat I could tell a difference before I even strummed a chord. On the very 1st chord I stopped and humbly told the people around me that I was dead wrong. My mim strat plays absolutely GREAT. That being said it doesn't compare to an american strat.

[@HavendaleBlvd80]

Its a racket, isn't it?

[@barbmelle3136]

From Leo: If a guy already has a lower end guitar that plays pretty well, the initial price does not matter. If you add $200 to it to make it what you want, you are still ahead. If you take the same $200 and try to get another guitar , you end up with a guitar that has the same limitations a the first one. I agree with you, if you end up with something you like, resale value really does not matter. People that make money flipping guitars do not mod them anyway.

[@jimcamp2423]

I think the only people making money off guitars are on a gravy train anyway. Fender/Squier has costs, they mark it up and sell it. After that the guitar gets marked up by middle resellers. An Affinity modded/hot rodded is still an Affinity at the end of the day. The body thickness and the Tremolo bridge is stuck with what it came with. And that works for what it is. I found most issues with tune & intonation are with the nut & saddles with an Affinity anyway. Play that $ 200 guitar until it falls apart and virtually give it away. I bought a pre-owned 2016 Affinity for $ 55 summer 2019. And it was a guitar the guy bought a bunch of them and was just reselling them himself. So it had never been used really, it was B-stock blemished, mine had a scratch on the body at the edge. Didn't even get past the polyurethane finish. You really have to look for it too, but it's there.$ 200 guitar for $ 55. Did he make money or just unload stale inventory ? I think someone paid him something for working a sale thru an online Craigslist listing. A lot of the guitars over at Guitar Center aren't 2019/2020 guitars either. Check the serial number, they're date coded.

[@gringogreen4719]

Top resale prices are pretty much desirable stock guitars. At best mods keep a used resale price firm, like straplocks, a good to great strap, and a case. They don't add value but they also don't subtract. Mod the hell out of a guitar and the resale typically plummets if it's a invasive or permanent mod. It also makes finding a serious buyer more difficult. It gives the buyer more reason to haggle you down in price, even if the mods are desired by the buyer. Mod a guitar if you plan to keep it. I personally use the five year rule...am I likely to have this in five years and will it bring happiness sufficient or exceeding the costs involved? The costs being both initial investment and mods. If not, I feel good about saving money and effort. If yes than I just invested in myself and happiness. 😊👍✨

[@CarlYota]

Resale isn’t about making money it’s about getting back as much as possible. It’s still gonna be a loss because it’s a used ten year old guitar. But are you gonna lose $400 or $800? It matters if you ever plan on selling it. Your modded $150 squire is never gonna be worth more than the $150 you bought it for. If you dump $500 of mods onto it that doesn’t increase its resale value beyond that of a stock guitar. It’s still a $150 squire but now it’s used and ten years old. Best you could do there is take the mods off and sell it for $75 and then try to sell the mod parts separately I guess. But if you buy a $900 MIM strat what is that gonna resell for in 10 years? $600? I don’t know, but in that case you’re only losing $300 instead of $575 in our fictional squire deal. So you have to think about whether the mods you make to the cheap guitar make it BETTER or just equal to the more expensive guitar. Because if all you’re doing is making a MIM equivalent guitar for about the same price then just buy the real deal and if you ever sell you will end up losing less money on the whole thing. I modded the hell out of two Ibanez 7 string guitars I got twenty years ago. The mods themselves weren’t expensive but they are now so “non stock”that they basically unsellable. So what am I looking at now that I don’t want them anymore? Throwing them in the garbage? Listing on reverb for 10% what they cost stock? Just to get them out of my house? Make sure your mods are reversible and keep the original parts. That way they are sellable ten years from now when you don’t want them anymore you’re gonna lose the value of the mods plus depreciation of the stock guitar. But by buying a more expensive guitar you at least don’t lose the cost of the mod parts. I just look at permanent modding as an art project that won’t be sellable anymore. But if the guitar is cheap and the mods are cheap and you don’t care if you take a $200 loss on the whole thing five years from now it can be fun. But I don’t know about taking a squire and dumping $500 into it to make it comparable to a MIM fender. It’s barely cheaper and will have no resale value.

[@eljefeguapobarbon]

Great point made about making it yours, not for resale. Love cheap with upgrades!

[@CarlYota]

Yeah, as long as you do it in a way that makes sense. If you’re doing it because there isn’t a stock guitar that has the stuff you want then fine. What you don’t want to do is take a cheap Squier and then put parts from a MIM fender on it. You’re just making a valueless MIM parts faster then. Why don’t you just buy the fender, which will have the parts you want and resell for $600 instead of $100? I think the vast majority of people thinking about modding are people who can’t afford $800 guitars. But do they realize that the electronic swap and new tuners are gonna cost damn near that much by the time they are done modding thier $200 guitar? Gotta make sure you understand the total cost of your project and then choose a starting platform that makes the most financial sense.

[@andycowell608]

Dylan, I'm a maybe advanced beginner, and have found your videos really educational. I feel confident enough to set up my own guitar now, thanks! I subscribed on Patreon. My goal for the year is just to stick with it, practice the entirety of the year!

[@DylanTalksTone]

Andy Cowell wow thanks so much! And thanks for joining the Patreon family also!!!

[@aveojos153]

Did you do that?

[@andycowell608]

@@aveojos153 Yes. In fact, I just finished my own Telecaster body from scratch. I bought a pre-made neck, and have it playing. Been practicing on it for the last week!

[@jackscholes9458]

@@andycowell608 nice one mate

[@ScottDreyfus]

@Andy Cowell Wtf is an advanced beginner

[@ianaintsaying1625]

Just added a full size trem block to my buddy's son's Squier Strat this week. His dad works at a machine shop so I had .080" milled off the trem block. It now fits and works like a charm.

[@chrisboblitt6103]

Hello I’m thinking about upgrading my squire like you because it was my first guitar. Are you thinking about changing the neck?

[@collinplatt1699]

My first guitar was a fender squier bullet strat and just now realizing I’d like to modify. I found this helpful. Thanks

[@Josbornevonosborne]

My beater guitar is a 2000 squier standard strat. I refretted it with fender jumbo fretwire, did pickups and rewired. It's great, and I don't mind knocking it around or letting my 4 year old play it

[@CarlYota]

Modding cheap guitars is fine as long as you don’t dump too much money into it. Or if the mods you are making result in a guitar that is BETTER than a more expensive stock option. Or if the guitar ends up being different and bespoke in a way that you can’t buy stock. But what you don’t want to do is take a cheap guitar and swap it out to be equal to a more expensive guitar. Because after all the miss your cheap guitar is now basically the same cost as the more expensive one. Except now it has the resale value of the cheap stock guitar instead of the expensive stock guitar. In other words. Don’t spend $500 turning your Squier into a MIM fender. Just buy the MIM fender at that price point. Or buy a used fender that has already taken the depreciation hit. Otherwise you will have to take all the mods off and then hope to resell them individually to recoup some of that money. All of that is way more work than just buying the stock guitar that is closest to how you actually want it. And then doing as little modding as possible.

[@thomastourville1674]

05-15-2021 i just bought a 2021 Squier Classic Vibe 60’s guitar today and would like to up grade it completely.

[@Grungebob_Squaredance]

I modded a squire 70s vintage modified Strat with new bridge, wiring harness, pickups, and tuner. Sounds and plays as nice as my Fender American Professional.

[@Rogata_Dusza76]

Hello my friends. Sorry everyone for my English (I'm from Poland). I am writing here 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 any of you have any comments or suggestions, I will be very grateful. Thank you in advance for your response and best regards.

[@kensolo6793]

Hi Dylan - just an FYI guitar fetish makes a full size trem block that fits squiers in both steel and brass. I put one in my squier affinity strat and what a difference in both resonance and sustain.

[@rivulus]

Actually, you can get brass and steel blocks which are 35 mm deep and fit a squier affinity on ebay. Makes a lot of difference compared to the zinc alloy piece of fluff that comes in a bullet or affinity strat.

[@DylanTalksTone]

I will check them out!!

[@rivulus]

I got mine here www.ebay.nl/sch/hower66/m.html . There are many squire versions. The affinity has 52.5 string spacing, 35mm block depth and for the indonesian vesion a m6 whammy bar.

[@carstenfunk6075]

I have two steel blocks from eBay seller hower66 (he is German) in use, one is 40mm, the other one is 35mm. I strongly recommend them. The price is fair, only shipment out of Europe might make it less interesting....

[@joshuabenoit3744]

I just installed this in my affinity Strat www.guitarfetish.com/-Squier-Compatible-39mm-Shorty-Solid-Brass-Tremolo-Block-105m-Import-Spec_p_24702.html

[@fazalkmd]

I also have a guitar that I bought back in 1990 and it was my first guitar. I remember, I bought a used red Squire HSS from a guitar shop, slapped a Chicago Bulls sticker on it (MJ and the Bulls rising at the time), and played it for years. Once I got some cash inflow, I bought a better guitar and put the old Squire in the closet. I took it out and freshened it up a few weeks ago and the question is, do I want to keep it the way it was (nostalgia) or do I want to improve it to make it sound better?

[@choimdachoim9491]

I've tried out hundreds of guitars, banjos, mandolins and pianos over the past 50 years and the amazing thing to me is that some instruments inspire me when I play them or are easier to play. It has nothing to do with the cost of the instrument. It's kind of a mystical thing. Which is why I've put $400 so far into an Indonesian-built Fender Squier Bullet from 2004 that I found when cleaning out a client's garage that they didn't want...I don't understand why or how but it is the easiest to play guitar I've ever picked up. My 2 favorite acoustic guitars are from Goodwill and one cost $4.99 and the other cost $14.99. The worst guitar I ever tried was in the mid-1970's with a plastic or fiberglass body, I think it was an Ibanez and was selling at Guitar Center in Los Angeles for $1400. It was physically unplayable. Favorite instruments are sort of like a favorite coffee cup that you've used for 20 years and you don't care about the cracks and chips as long as it doesn't leak.

[@Michaelarvin71]

Same.. easiest guitar to play I 50 bucks for it- put a Duncan everything pick guard- little file of the frets.. bomb guitar mine is a hard tail

[@ramencurry6672]

As long as the neck is stable and easy to adjust with no low quality truss rod, good neck size, light weight body and a solid tremelo bridge that’s all that matters. You can add the pickups to your taste

[@dougrobbins5367]

Some guitars just ring like a bell, and I've seen several budget guitars that were like that. A lucky combination of synergistic grain patterns, wood characteristics, I guess. They figured out what made Stradivarius violins so great. It was Unicorn pee in the varnish. I knew it.

[@mikethebloodthirsty]

My favourite strat copy is Indonesian too, I own 15 guitars... nothing high end but some good ones, a Japanese Epiphone, A expensive Japanese 80s Squire... but the cheap Indonesian guitar is always the one I go for. It has IT.

[@ericsimmons4962]

I made the modifications that you suggested on a kit Strat and, you're right, there was a bit of Dremel work involved in enlarging the cavity to accommodate the larger pots and switch. I also bought a Fender bridge. The body thickness, as you said, was less than my American Standard Strat. I determined that the tremelo had just enough space to be able to move as required. The problem, though, was that the springs projected above the trem block to the point that there wasn't enough clearance if I wanted to install the cover plate. My solution was simple and it worked out great. I simply cut slots in the block, in front of the spring retaining holes to allow the springs to seat lower into their locating holes.

[@chrisradzion2148]

My first guitar was a mid 90s Squier Strat, black with a white pick guard. Years ago I took out the tuners and replaced them with vintage style ones, and threw on a cool red tortoise shell pick guard. Last year, I noticed it was just collecting dust, so I put on a 70s style Fender maple neck. That changed everything; it became my favorite guitar to play. Now, I’m looking into doing the 7 way “Gilmour” mod; only I like the pick guard so much and can’t find another like it, I don’t want to drill into it to fit a small switch. So I went with the push/pull option, only to find it won’t fit; the cavity is too shallow. So it looks like I’ll be doing some routing. This is a sentimental guitar to me, as it’s my first, and my father helped me do some of the modifications.

[@tolvajakos]

That cheap-o strat does not sound half bad.

[@capristuntman]

My 87 Korean squier strat has fender bridge, tuning pegs, never checked the pickups or pots but it sounded sweet off the bat. I picked it up after my aria pro 2 was stolen when I got burgled. Still got the squier 30 years later.

[@jorb5994]

recently got the courage to upgrade my 2010 squier strat SE. wired in a seymour duncan sh-4, new pots, new tuners, new nut, and pickguard. made it into something i absolutely love to death and really made a difference

[@bradsims7089]

I'm going through this process gradually with my MIM Strat. Fret end file came first. Over the last year I've done Vintage string trees, strap locks, graph tech saddles, Short Post locking tuners, and today a graph tech nut. Next on the list is 500k pots for the bridge humbucker. I'll do pickups eventually but I think the player series pickups are fine for now. I'm not that picky, i just like to tinker. This channel has been a big part of my learning process.

[@GardensoftheAncientsHerbal]

when the HEAD MASTER at the Fender Custom shop states "Buy a Squire and upgrade it, they are all the same." I believe him. Why would he say something that is counter intuitive to his job if it wasn't true. He also states some of his favorite guitars are always squires. So...

[@cliffwarner7549]

Oh, and the last part of the video makes me smile. 😃 Way to be you. Keep it up!

[@dulla8469]

as someone who has never done any modification or even played with any of the inside or builds of a guitar, with my new squier strat i dont really feel comfortable modifying tuners, or re wiring stuff, are there any tuners that will just fit in instantly that you know of, or good all in one pickup guards and stuff that will limit me from ruinin everything

[@kimedmond5377]

Why Bourne pots and not Alpha or CTS etc? I have a Squier classic vibe. My volume pod is cutting out even if I just barely touch it and you can wiggle it back-and-forth it cuts out at the volume knob it’s not loose It just cracks the minute you touch it. Thinking somethings broken or loose in there but I can’t find anything

[@thelowlifex9437]

Im thinking in buying one of these with hard tail , swap the neck , locking tuners and duncans.

[@sneakysnake3261]

they do make brass and steel trem blocks for metric guitars.

[@Mattwest1985]

4:43 that’s why I’m here! My dad bought me a stray for Christmas a long time ago. It was a cheapo but I love it and will never let it go! I’m about to upgrade it somehow.

[@draleigh8881]

I'm thinking of buying a squier strat hss ht and putting a seymour duncan nazgul humbucker in it or I was thinking of buying a ibanez gio and doing the same? in your opinion, which one should I get man?

[@frankhall7005]

Buy a Jackson js12 their 179 with free delivery. The Squire will say squire on the headstock. The Ibanez will have Gio on the headstock. Jackson's uses the same logo on all their guitars.

[@draleigh8881]

@@frankhall7005 I want a hard tail. if they had one with a fixed bridge I totally would but I ended up buying the ibanez rg421 for $299. I was thinking about it and those were big concerns I had were the headstocks saying squier and gio. on the squier I could sand it off but the gio i could sand it off but id have to re paint it. also the rg is an all around better quality guitar then both. so I spent the extra cash for the quality and look I wanted. its going to be a mod project so that was the cheapest most quality made guitar for doing what I want. I'm going to replace the nut for a tusq nut and the tuners and bridge I'll replace with hipshots. for the pick ups I'm going with a seymour duncan nazgul for the bridge and a sentient for the neck. its going to be a metal monster by the time I'm done with it!

[@MiguelMitchelMichiel]

After about 3/4 of a year of owning my Bullet Strat, my first ever electric, I swapped my bridge single coil to a humbucker and got a shiny new pickguard to go along with it. Worth every euro I spent on it. Planning to upgrade the pots next.

[@caleshtcincredibles]

I have a Squire StandardTele , I bought for a good price , added Fender Locking tuners and off to the races , the guitar does not need anything more that it sounds great for what I use it for . Stays in tune perfectly , the pups and pots are fine. Saved myself about a tone of money with a good result.

[@michaelrobinson6603]

All you have to do is change your tuners. I had a fender Stratocaster hard tail. I retired from full time session and stage work. My Stratocaster hard tail. Was amazing I bought it when I first got signed back in the 70s well yes I sold it for ridiculous amount of money. Bought a squire hardtail just for the odd work I do for my sons, changed the tuners, and bought a tele acoustasonic. My squire Stratocaster is amazing. Don’t be fooled there are so many guitars out there that are great save your money. Keep music live 🎶

[@robertburden9181]

If you love your guitar it’s worth putting money in it. Just wish I could afford all the things I need for mine. I love your stops on KZbin

[@tball5677]

I have a 30 year old Squire II and it's one my favorite playing guitars. Replaced the tuning pegs 28 years ago. Getting new pickups, pots and Jack. Itll be a beast!

[@michaeldimmitt2188]

Cool to hear someone mention the Squire II? I was given the same guitar and Fender 15w amp for helping some friends of a friend move from LA to Riverside in the mid 2000’s. It is a super solid guitar and I have always wanted to learn to fully utilize it. Starting to look into getting it playable now and maybe tweak it later!

[@rontidgwell8896]

Hey brother I just rebuilt an affinity. Metalor on Amazon has a vintage style bridge that fits. It’s not high end but much better than the original squire, it’s much heavier. Saphue 6R locking tuners 18-1 ratio I also would recomend very smooth but locating screws are very soft I would recomend not using them.

[@joelvioletOneHairLeft]

I have an affinity squire strat, as far as i im aware it is as it sold from store. I would like to modify so i as soak in info. Thanks for the talk

[@MosriteCharlie]

Add Fender springs to the trem bar slot to restrict wobble. file fret ends and round off fretboard edges.

[@andrewcruz7595]

Those fenders fret's aren't that bad . I have 1 and a real strat and the two are very similar. Squire really stepped up their game

[@GMec78]

Will an after market (All Part, Might Mite etc) neck fit into a squier affinity? Conventional wisdom says no but has anyone tried (obviously with modifications)?

[@anthward1972]

I've just bought a Squier Strat Bullet model. Bottom of the range. I'm going to put a prewired '57/'62 Fender Loaded pickguard in it and some Fender locking machine heads, so other than the bridge and output jack, the hardware will pretty much be genuine Fender. As much as I would love to have a proper Fender, I've decided that this is my best and cheapest option at this stage. With a bit of shopping around t's going to cost me about AUD$750 instead of the base Fender which would be around AUD$1200

[@DanielGoeman]

You can put a fender trem block in an affinity strat. I put one in a 2001 affinity strat. It does stick out the back and you can no longer put the back cover plate on. Huge upgrade, well worth it in my opinion.

[@Kubooxooki]

I just bought that same model/color guitar at a pawn shop for a project. Couldn't agree more about making a guitar your own. This one will be my gift to my 6 year-old niece, for whenever she wants to play it.

[@itsmetheeprd]

Did you make that second video that you mentioned you would make about the modifications you needed to do for an affinity?

[@gamepad3173]

This is my second Squire(first one being my 51 and that needed a new neck, some new tuners and string tree's) that I'm going to mod it's the same one but in black. first things first I would take out the entire pickguard and put in a Tex Mex Strat pickguard (if your looking to sound like Jimi Hendrix), second would be to replace the neck, eventually your going to wear down those frets so best to get one from Mighty Mite, and lastly the tuners and string tree's I'd get M6 Shcaller's and Graph tech Tusq XL string tree's.

[@daveyrock6521]

Considering I’d change everything on a squier especially the finish, just like I would on a fender, I definitely figure going the squier route is a better choice. After all, if I plan on changing everything all the way down to the color, why would I buy a template that over a thousand dollars more expensive?

[@smithfield06]

Would you recommend changing frets? On a squire strat?

[@kosztla]

Hi. I have the same guitar. Unfortunately i can not set well my affinity E6 and A strings. Do you think tuners are bad, or something else? Any idea?

[@Voartist]

I did pretty much what you di.I also changed to a Tusq nut and Tusq saddles.I had a shop do a setup om it and they didn't do a stellar job. It needs to be re-intonated. Besides that it sounds a whole lot better; even close to a regjular strat. Even my guitar instructor said it sounds really good.

[@travisguide4516]

tuning keys are usually all you need I've never had a squire bridge fail changing to alnico pickups doesn't hurt but i perfer stock squire pickups usually not everytime but usually.

[@PaulMoorhousehankooks]

Ive just bought a squire fender affinity it has not arrived yet but cant wait .and thanks for the video how to better it.

[@nmssis]

Just like my Wayne's World Squier Strat...I understand, I'm never going to sell that one either! ...btw, your overview of "tone" tutorials are the benchmark lessons for newbies like me. because of them, i'm now able to tell the difference between lesser quality p'ups vs better quality p'ups. Thanks D, n Happy New Year!!

[@handmadeindustrial]

I had one of those made in Japan Wayne’s world guitars, I stupidly traded it into GC 25 years ago for peanuts.

[@nmssis]

lol, I still have the original receipt. it's a fun guitar, I still grab it when I can

[@onlyfromadistance7326]

Bought the very same guitar. I put Fender TexMex pickups in it. CTS pots and aTRX tone control, and Fender super switch. Also a Graphtech nut a Fender locking tuners that actually fit perfectly. The neck took some work. I filed and sanded the fret ends, and leveled, crowned, and polished the frets. Also installed Schaller strap Locks and aged white accessory kit for the pickups and knobs. Also copper shielded the entire cavity. The guitar has turned into on of my favorites and totally worth the effort...

[@brandonkoch3852]

Did you have to route the body cavities for the pickups and pots?

[@kristophergamble8510]

My goal is to practice and play more! I’m hoping maybe this yr I’ll start playing out!

[@thebipolarbear1]

I hope you do bud good luck. I try to teach everyone and get them to play if they like it. Great stress releif and fun hobby for sure

[@uria702]

I upgraded a squier affinity because it was my favorite neck even more than my American or Japanese strats. It’s not worth more, but I kept the original parts so I can swap them back anytime.

[@HigherPlanes]

I have a squire start standard, which has a wider body, same as a MIA or MIM, I ditched the pot metal saddles for stainless steel saddles, ditched the stock nut for a tusq xl, strung it with with some DR pure blues and it sounds fantaastic.

[@cliffwarner7549]

I love your comments about doing modifications to your "first guitar" just for yourself! That's really what life (ok, and guitars) is all about! 👍

[@roffaD]

Hey Dylan thanks for the video I just got my first squier, what are the most essential mods you would fo to it to make it sound better?

[@chrisgrabowski2678]

My opinion is not to drill for the tuners. If the person is purchasing a $200 guitar, they may not want to risk damaging the head stock. My strong suggestion - so that you don't have to change pickups - is to disconnect the middle pickup from the second tone control and connect the bridge pickup to the second tone knob. Having control over the bridge pickup is very helpful.

[@RsqSqr]

Anybody can help me, especially Dylan , I have a squier protone stratocaster Sss, with 500k pots have a very little high sound to my liking. I want to change the pots from 500k to 250k any info which capacitor should I use for more warm sound.

[@paultomlin8278]

I put some musically tuners into my squire and they dropped right in and they were actually very cheap I think I spent $15 for them but they are actually fantastic

[@ranman58635]

I love my Squier guitar's. Learning about wiring and pots now. I do t like the cts push pull pot. No room for grounds. Out of phase and weak signal to two. Hey got one! Lol!

[@NelsonMontana1234]

I've done enough mods to know that sometimes it makes no difference at all. I so love the way my Squier Classic Vibe strat plays and sounds, I don't want to mess with it.

[@JHself]

1:26 hello, how did you get this sound please ? overdrive and reverb ? i'm neewbie ;)

[@scottN1980]

Angle grinders were invented with the sole purpose of grinding down steel blocks to fit in a squire strat

[@alangreen3425]

I had a modded squier I did myself. You can actually get a shorter, heavy trem block from guitarfetish. Works and fits quite well..really helps sustain and in my case, tone

[@fenderman6127]

My grandpa gave me a squire when I turned 8 and I’ve been playing and collecting stickers for it for a long time. Im glad I can get a way better sound but get to keep the same body

[@matthewmjb6860]

4:38 My dad got me a used 2009 Starcaster Strat. I've done mods on it, and feel pretty much the same way you do.

[@ritupabankotoky]

why no modification need o tele version sir ?

[@craigusselman546]

I love the teal Strata look amazing in just about any colour.

[@johnnorris1983]

You can put a fresh trem in it.. Get the Wilkinson trem and get the matching brass block. Mark the hight you need round the bottom edge with a sharp knife on a block of some sort of the right hight and borrow or higher a grinder for an hour. Clean up with a file after. Take off some of the lower side’s also for trem clearance and more movement. Copper plate the higher untouched end to deeper than the string ferrule seats and ground the strings better with a wire to the trem claw ground. Improve the affordable all the way

[@TexanUSMC8089]

In 2021 the Infinity series was upgraded. Normal Fender specs on body size, tuners, and nut. I opened my Tele and it has full size pots. A set of Ratio tuners fit right in. I was told that the Infinity series was supposed to be closer to the middle between Bullet and Classic Vibe. The Bullet series is still slimmer and nearly $100 cheaper than Infinity now.

[@kman8809]

Affinity

[@lbat5276]

Modding the strat I bought when I was 15 with dog-walking money was the best thing I ever did. It turned something I cherish into something I also play every day.

[@gutenbird]

Just got one for 179. Consider upgrading it a bit.

[@chrisgrabowski2678]

PS: I just started practicing with a basic loop pedal. We are not getting along ;). I don't know how I miss the "one" 90% of the time. Perhaps using the loop pedal would make a good video. Happy New Year - Chris

[@93greenstrat]

I think it depends. If it were me, one thing that I would not change are the pickups. They aren't like the greatest single coils you ever hear, but they work; they're pickups and do exactly what pickups were designed to do. I would wait and see on the tuners, but the nut would definitely be replaced (along with the string trees). Going back to the electronics, the pots, switch, and maybe the output jack and that's about it. Once set up properly, an Affinity Stratocaster should be a nice inexpensive and fun to play guitar and would probably do just well in stock form.

[@musiclover47335]

I have a question that I would like an expert to chime in on. My question includes a little story.. I bought a Stratocaster squierguitar made in Japan in 1985...serial no starts with E6 . It's a beautiful guitar, nice to play and sounds great but with one defect, a Nick in the back of the body about the size of the head of a Q.tip..It's obvious the defect happened during the construction phase because the Nick is painted and clear coated..I bought it new in 1985 or 86 by the way..regardless jump ahead to 2017 I decided to put it in the shop to have it set up, strings changed etc..they had it for 2 weeks, kinda long I thought but maybe they were busy..when I got the guitar back it played good and sounded good, i was happy with it..put it back in the case..never played it a lot and still don't...in Feb 2019 friend visited from away,he's into guitars more than me, showed him my stratosqier...he loved it,but I said to him it has one little defect and I showed him and lo and behold the defect is gone..I said what the he'lls going on,where did the defect go..we figured it out pretty quick that during the set up the guitar body was switched,no other explanation, we both agreed..My question ,is it worth it to basically switch that guitar body and replace it with an inferior one..did not question shop..can't prove it..any suggestions welcome..thank you

[@tyecook9630]

Purchase firearm. Return to shop. Open fire

[@musiclover47335]

@@tyecook9630 best part is i know which tec did the switch

[@petschem]

I had one of those.... swapped out the entire pick guard assy. Sounded just fine. But the tuners were useless. I ordered Fender locking. But as mentioned here, the head is too thick. I didn't know they could be modded to fit. Sold the guitar. Too bad because I like the smaller neck actually!

[@DavidHBurkart]

Is it just me or did the unmodified Squier sound pretty good in its own right? ...just me? Ok. I will keep my untrained ears to myself 😂

[@edmoreno5660]

Sometimes its not always about sound but feel too

[@thebipolarbear1]

I love squier affinity series guitars iv had about 6 of them. As far as squier goes the classic vibe series is amazing! Check them out if your not familiar. Beautiful paint job and glossy necks with Polly. Vintage modified is good too. But my goodness classic vibe is beautiful.one sticker away from being a fender . They're about$400-$500 . Check em out. And if you only have $200 the affinity is the way to go. Hell, the bullet is decent for $100

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

Chris Pielacha classic vibes don't need any mods maybe better tremolo. I got 3 of them and they are great guitars but I have a vintage modified that I like even more. I put a set of Fender custom shop 69 pickups and a big brass tremolo and it stands against any guitar ☺

[@patriots5628]

I just picked up the same gets off of $50 and it looks brand freaking new The gig bag looks brand new One on the shelf. It plays good but I want to change the single coil pickups I'm an Eddie Van Halen fan I love that sound but I'm not that great of a guitarist to know the difference between pickups to put replacements in there that will do me some good. Anybody would experience out there that could give me a little advice on some good pickups that don't have to spend a lot of money on to put in this guitar I'd appreciate it thank you

[@whatabouttheearth]

What's the song at 4:33, that's a jam man

[@jontypiper9881]

I'm wondering whether to get a MiM Strat and eventually upgrade the pickups to Mother's Milk, we'll see.

[@kevinoconnor2921]

Vintage tuners, Fender Custom Shop pickups, CTS pots, Switchcraft switch, & jack, paper in oil caps, bone nut. The real expense came when it was time to re-fret. Still have it, play it, love it, & its now 38 years old. Mfc'd. 1985

[@DracoFoxNL]

Boring or not, in 2018 I have learned a lot about the technical stuff of guitars and inspired to do mods to my own guitars and even troubleshooted the wiring on my Epiphone SG wich I didn’t even know there was something wrong with the wiring. I fixed it and it sounds better than ever now. Next goal is to play again. I’ve hit that barrier after a few years and in 2019 I really want to get back to playing again and overcome that barrier. Always dreamed of playing, but want to make it happen this year. Happy New Year!

[@Brotelho]

Did you ever get to playing?

[@jjc9882]

weird, I mod my squier affinity with all fender electronic and aV pickups and didn't have to route the body at all....

[@jdkimple]

Late to the party. I have a Affinity model Strat. Replaced pickups, wired volume and tone like Teles (master vol and master tone) - full size CTS pots, no routing needed. Swapped trem with a MIM Strat and if I leave the back plate off (like most of us do), there's no issue. It's now my guitar for band practices and travel with.

[@BobZed]

I bought a barely used Squier Strat SE for $60 It came with a cheap Squire 10 amp that I sold for $10. Then I spent $40 for a loaded pickguard from a Mexican Strat and dropped that in. I sold the neck on eBay for $50. I got a Mighty Mite compound radius neck with Fender tuners for $45. I also spent $25 for a vintage Mexican Fender trem. So 60 - 10 + 40 - 50 + 45 + 25 = $110 for a Mexican Strat with a compound radius neck. Totally worth it. It did take some time and patience to make it all work.

[@madelynestrada8566]

is this surf green?

[@tonychestnut904]

You talk such sense! Thanks, Dylan, you help me keep the faith!

[@raceface_m2579]

The Squiers nowadays aren’t that bad anymore. Tone is subjective. And a very good amp goes a very long way. You can get away with a lot of different tones by stacking effects, but the clean tone is trickier. I’ve changed the pickups on a bullet and a mini before and quite frankly, I never could get the sound I wanted out of them; Perhaps it’s the type of wood combination. But I’ve since put them on a used CV strat that had a DOA neck pickup and they sounded really good. I usually will build up a pick guard with the upgrades and modify guitars here and there, and when it’s time to sell them, I just take the loaded pick guard out and put the old components back. Ive since figured that buying a used squier is the best way to go when modifying. Worst comes to worst is that you’d sell it off for the amount you paid for it rather than when purchasing it new and selling it later on.

[@4444POWER]

nice thought process

[@kennethcrickmore7858]

I may ahve already told you that I got a Starcaster to mod/upgrade the crap out of it to my personal specs and wired like a Les Paulbut retain the 5-way selector switch adding a bypass sw for bridge and neck together no matter what pos of the 5-way. adding piezos vol and tone for each p/u and coil split...fun figuring that wiring out but wasn't as hard as you might think only added a 3rd pot and p/u set to a Les Paul wiring diagram and only need to use 1 side of the 5-way sel sw. and wire the bypass off that using a 12 pin stdt sw i pos/side for bypass of 5-way for bridge and neck and other pos/side for the piezos attached to the trom block thru the sw directly to the upgraded output jack...more littly tricks for finish ans naming is in tune with the finish and tonal versatility..pictures and full descriptions as the project/ build progresses....haven't done anything except prorotype extended pick guard and wiring/soldering vol push/pull pots for coil split, tone pots with orange drop caps, quad rail humbucker pickups and switches so far got a new Fender classic steel trem block for upgrade locking tuners for tuning stability bone nut .roller string trees. yup I want it to stay in tune. damn I'm novelizing again, sorry..but excitement takes over sometimes..but you know how that goes...

[@valueofnothing2487]

It makes sense because you can spend a little amount at a time, as you earn more for this. You can also then choose the parts you want.

[@alexrudd1171]

Awesome video man. Just subscribed!

[@timcotter8178]

I honestly don't mind glossy necks.

[@ShadowPlay1919]

Can I ask why change the pickguard? Also I liked that shirt and figured it was a guitar company and I found it's you! Ha. I never saw one of your vids before but I clicked this one cause I wanna upgrade a messed up squier strat someone gave me

[@TexanUSMC8089]

I bought a Fender Noventa Strat because it was a hardtail and had 2 P90's. I like the rounded body of the Strat, but not the trem. I'd like to see more hardtail string through body Strats.

[@lunchandmilk2537]

I replaced all hardware on my guitar I was bought when I was 10. I'm 25 now, it has full gotoh hardware, new pots and 5 way, have a tone zone in the neck I believe, air Norton s and super distortion s (can't remember placement). Put heavy guage strings and it is SO versatile. The only other upgrade I'd consider is a longer scale length neck and make it baritone. These things are perfect for a cheap recording/live project