Making This Squier Stratocaster BETTER Than My Fender!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Happy Mod day! I think I may have found the perfect setup for this Squier! Enjoy :)

[@emilyvargas7397]

Great!

[@Hickeroar]

Looks like Logan Designs is kaput :-/

[@vincezyx1]

I WOULD LIKE YOUR OPINION ON THE SRV OR HENDRIX PICK GUARD FROM GUITARGET SORRY GUITAR CENTER. THEY RUN ABOUT $300 LOADED. I BOUGHT A 69 SG THAT THE NECK AND BODY ARE DESTORYED AND WONDER IF THE 69 HUMMBUCKERS MIGHT DO FOR THIS BUILD. I'M ON DISABILTY AND HAVE TO WATCH MY MONEY. THAT IS THE SWEETIST BUILD YOU DID BUT I'M ON A BUDGET. TO CLARIFY 1 ATOMIC 69 HUMM 2 SINGLES AND THE OBSIDIAN ON A OLD SQUIER I HAVE.

[@DrKevGuitar]

@@Hickeroar Yeah, I can't find them either. Website is gone, and they had a reverb store but it's empty too.

[@kirkscobey3031]

No fair you’re cheating using the obsidian!

[@agcacustoms2852]

Awesome to see a Squier mod. Can’t wait to see your next build.

[@jcoulter43]

Fender ought to offer that exact wiring config and pickup combination as a stock build. That is the perfect pickup compliment to any Strat. Looks and sounds amazing. That same pickguard look could be achieved in plastic to save some money. HSS is also my preferred Strat setup. The Gilmore mod and Obsidian wiring sends it over the top. Great stuff Darrell. God bless and rock on 😎👍🎸

[@Bot-bg2cz]

Look at yamaha pacifica

[@daviddent4492]

They do in their American Pro II series. Just bought one and the 7 way switch is standard with that series.

[@ryansnydercg]

The solderless kits are complete game changers.

[@fonz4relli]

not for the better imo. I get the impression it's the end all be all to modding since you further modify what you have. No kill switches, affects or anything of the sort with it being on a board.

[@Jhizzle473]

I was thinking the same thing now I’ll def mod out a cheap squire which is what anyone I’ve known has done who has one

[@Gliese710_]

Gfs’s kwikplug system is really nice, they have a ton of different pickups that all sound great and you don’t need to solder anything to switch them, and you can still solder in freeway or 4 way or whatever switches, push pulls, and dual outputs and a ton other mods.

[@Firas-R]

In Kuwait where I'm from the only Strats available are the Squier Affinity Starter Pack ones which is what I bought as my first guitar. Watching all your videos has been really helpful in learning about all the different mods I can upgrade it with to bring it close to Fender level since I can't buy any of those here. So far I've bought new strings, setup kits, strap locks, locking tuners, nut, bridge set, saddles, pickups, knobs and now ObsidianWire electronics. Won't be anything left of the guitar other than the wood 😂 Thanks for all the great content, simple guides, and sound demos.

[@LAMBERTONES]

Looks and sounds killer Darrell! That’s a great playing Squier now for sure. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Grinder, we’re thrilled you love the tones!

[@BobbyMcGeePhoto]

I already have replaced the pickups in my 60s Classic Vide Tele and PRS Tremonti SE with your Blondie and Crema's respectfully, and after seeing this video, I see a Lambertones HSS setup for my MIM Strat in the near future. Great work guys! It was the Grinder Bridge and neck pickup sound that sold me.

[@alexnaturalis1179]

Of all the guitars in your collection this is my favorite one. Beautiful to see and hear! Just stunning, congrats on the build!

[@scottreynolds6317]

That tone with all 3 pickups is INSANE!!!! Love it! Also, the pickguard is gorgeous with the Daphne Blue... Great mods!

[@Stratocus]

I've been using a different wiring mod, for years, that also gives 7 combinations off a 3-way switch with master tone control. It works by turning the middle pot into dedicated volume for the middle pickup. No toggle switches or push/pull pots. It works with a bridge humbucker but there's no option for coil splitting. Gotta use a soldering iron but, still, it's a whole lot cheaper than the Obsidian rig.

[@kitoyobeni1]

That's similar to the blender mod that let's you blend in either the neck or bridge pickup using what was the second tone knob. The blender mod is available in a solderless harness too.

[@neutrodyne]

So you are rolling the middle pickup in and out but wouldn't that give you 6 combinations? 1 Front, 2 front/middle, 3 middle, 4 middle/back, 5 back, and 6 front/middle/back. What would the other one be?

[@Stratocus]

@@neutrodyne front/back (neck/bridge)

[@jbarnhart2653]

I live in Canada, as does Darrell. I ended having to pay duty on The Obsidian...even though they do their shipping form the US. Made a very expensive unit even more so, and didn't find out until delivery. The wiring points and wires are TINY, and your eyes don't come with a macro setting like the camera here. There are a LOT of alternatives...

[@spenky]

A dark neck like roasted maple, walnut or rosewood would look sick with that body and pickguard, maybe a fancy warmoth one with flamed maple fingerboard?

[@kitoyobeni1]

It would, but after adding flame maple, you'd probably want to upgrade the body too. Roasted flame maple is pretty expensive.

[@WildBilly91]

While I respect your opinion, I tend to like the contrast the clear colour of the neck provides here

[@acousticshadow4032]

My first thought was a r/w fretboard would look much better with the copper p/g.

[@josegallegosdds]

Yes it would👍🏼

[@j_freed]

​@@kitoyobeni1 - Roasted non-figured maple Warmoth necks look great and are still are cheaper than equivalent unroasted lacquer-finished necks. Less manual labour to produce, and the torrefaction permanently seals out moisture so you can leave it unfinished. I'd personally avoid figured necks unless I knew they were made years ago and the wood was completely stable, it's a pain in the $#% for something that just looks pretty. Maple figure can theoretically release all kinds of stresses after it is cut and shaped, and I heard some early Fender CS flamed maple necks had to be warranty replaced. A neck should just be solid and not turn into a pretzel.

[@marvinhanson9391]

Wouldn't the cheaper way be to just smash your fender up with a hammer, making the perfectly functional playing squier the better guitar out of the two

[@tylerevans1700]

Lolol, Well that's one way about it...

[@mr1bienvenu1]

Just buy a better guitar with a full thickness body to start with or sell what it you have and buy a good used one.

[@maxkalba5197]

Not really. A USA Strat is about £1000 minimum. A Squire is about £150. Obsidian wire set is about £100, hipshot locking tuning machines are about £100 and a new roasted maple neck is £150. And all of those things can be bought item by item as and when the money becomes available. So you can get something very close to the sound for half the price. And no effort with a hammer

[@marvinhanson9391]

@@maxkalba5197 but if the fender doesent work it doesent work no matter how fancy it's bells and whistles are

[@maxkalba5197]

@@marvinhanson9391 so sell it or keep it because it’s a Fender and buy a Squire and make it better!

[@ChristopherStandardTime]

unfortunately, it appears Logan Designs is out of business... but i have one of their pickguards on a tele project and it's gorgeous!

[@picksalot1]

That's too bad. My favorite thing on the build was the gorgeous pickguard.

[@bigsteve9291]

Try brad adgrove not sure if spelt right but on here and does customize pickguards and from Canada

[@stevemiller1203]

Yeah, I got all excited about the design of this pickguard but I can't find them either

[@mindfall82]

Greasy Groove Inc. Out of Canada has a great selection, might have one similar!

[@Madchris8828]

That's one of the coolest pickguards I've seen. Very nice looking to say the least.

[@chrisggoodwin777]

I really like the pickguard. It's got the classic tortoise shell look at first glance, but has so much subtle detail

[@dim19790]

Watched literally hundreds of your vids during all these years. Talking aesthetics , this is my favorite guitar of them all.

[@marcherwig8060]

I did a very similar thing to a Squier Strat I have. Upgraded all electronics/Pickups and used a Tone Shaper Blender kit. So I have a single volume and single tone and the 2nd "tone" knob is a blender knob to blend the neck pickup or bridge pickup depending on what position you're in, so many tonal options. It's an awesome setup and no additional switches or push/pull pots.

[@riphopfer5816]

I’m in PA, in the USA, and I LOVE that Squier. I ADORE the circuit layout, and those pickups all sound INCREDIBLY sweet. Not to mention how beautiful it is. Your builds are deadly, Darrell! Cheers, and thanks!

[@d3nn771]

I did a total upgrade on my fender highway one. I replaced the tuner with fender locking tuners, the nut with tusq nut, jescar ss frets, pots caps switch to obsidian wiring, bridge to gotoh wilkinson bridge, trem spring with a brass stopper stabilizer and lastly texas pickups. I really think it is really close to american elite. I definetely loving it more than ever

[@marshalmercer594]

An important-to-know item that was not mentioned here, nor by Obsidian, is that if you have an HSS configuration, check to see if the humbucker has two wires, or four. Obsidian's 7-way Strat harness for HSS requires a 4-wire pickup. Having a two-wire unit is as good an excuse to buy a new humbucker pickup as it gets. The Obsidian harness is really nice.

[@kirvin2]

I installed a similar setup by Emerson Custom in my US Highway One Strat. instead of the push pull pot, there is a blender knob that blends the neck pickup in with any setting that normally wouldn't include the neck pickup. The other two knobs are a master volume and master tone. It made my Strat much more versatile. The Emerson Custom prewired harness isn't solderless though.

[@rjb7569]

That is a sweet-sounding Squier; a bit of a looker. One of my Strats is a Squier 50th Anniversary, picked up on eBay years back for $85. Excellent player that now yearns for a bridge HB.

[@orafaelorsato]

The thing I'm most impressed about is how Obsidian Wire THINKS ABOUT EVERYTHING AND EVERY POSSIBILITY. It's amazing

[@BluMeino]

The daphne blue and copper pickguard look fantastic, perfect contrast.

[@DavidHBurkart]

Such a great mod. The Braun Squier Custom Shop. What phenomenal and versatile tones and sound.

[@wmot206]

These videos are great. I tend to think of my used Strat as a "priceless Steinway" or Stradivarius; when you show how easy (esp. solderless) and impactful these changes can be it's quite liberating!

[@naghiyev]

I wish I could give someone my guitar to do all this for me . Sounds so good !!!

[@3cardmonty602]

That pickguard looks fantastic, and a great mod to boot. You’re inspiring me to perform some mods to my Partscaster Strat.

[@rayschoch5882]

Not a fan of Daphne blue, but the pick guard is killer, and yours sounds a little bit better than my 36-year-old Squier Strat. I like those kinds of switches - I put a Freeway on my Affinity Tele - and you've almost convinced me for the Strat.

[@macdaddyblues1]

Its a well known fact that Daphne Blue gives you a cleaner bell like tone! I fact checked it!!!! :>)

[@j_freed]

Larry Mac - but I thought Seafoam Green gives you that highly limited custom colour Sixties sound.

[@macdaddyblues1]

@@j_freed Only if it has a slab board and clay dots... details, details.

[@slo_carry]

Thanks Darrell! No matter what, I always make an effort to watch your videos!

[@marc8vino]

I don't think Logan Design is in business anymore. I've been trying to contact them for over a year and can not reach anyone. I have a great tele guard and want some more styles from them but I guess I'm lucky to have any at all. No other company makes the kind I was looking for.

[@DrErickLopez]

That’s a great tone! Love the cleanliness of the wiring.

[@kaimaarks1095]

I'd definitely look into that obsidian system, just to save me having to solder. Although I feel like I'd rather the 2nd position switched the humbucker to parallel rather than splitting it.

[@daviddent4492]

After watching your video, I ordered a Gilmore switch from Obsidian and a set of SSS Triple Shot pickups from Lamberttones, along with a new pickguard cover. Just finished the mod to my $99 Squire with a perfect neck. It sounds awesome. Thanks for the video. It in spired me.

[@owenpipes8735]

What do you mean perfect neck? I’m thinking about doing exactly what you did but I’m concerned that the playability won’t be as high quality as an American made fender

[@daviddent4492]

@@owenpipes8735 probably by accident of manufacture. It has no fret buzz. The fret wire is smooth, the surface is unblemished, the finish is satin and not glossy, so that the hand slides along effortlessly. It just fits my hand really well. It truly is amazing. I've picked up a lot of guitars and don't get the same feeling. I have my genuine Corona made strat which is awesome, but this squire neck is just as good. I found a diamond in a coal heap.

[@calbrockocat8728]

My friend did the HSS mod on his Squier Affinity back in 1985. It remains his go to guitar.

[@devinftf]

I just installed this drop in mod on my MIM Strat. Also, I switched the stock humbucker with a Seymour Duncan SH4 JB. I cannot stress enough just how good this sounds. It is nice to have the ability to have a tone knob for the bridge pickup. Also the two extra configuration options are neat

[@juhazz]

Hi, did you use "trembucker" spaced JB humbucker or normal?

[@devinftf]

@@juhazz Tbh I dont know. I just know it sounds good

[@andrewregan2131]

Iv got stacked coils in mine with 3 push pull post essentially when att knobs are pulled up i have a strat with 3 humbuckers it sounds mean 🤘🏻👍🏻

[@stringspicksandfiddlestick6388]

My last Strat wiring job has a Lindy Fralin blend pot for the bridge pickup and a TBX master tone control and I know how to solder. It's cool to be able to blend in some bridge pickup into the mix. If I use a push pull pot it turns on the the bridge pickup and turns off the bridge tone control so I can still get the original unloaded bridge pickup sound in the 5th position with the push pull pot pulled up.

[@MrTSRHG]

I am really liking the Squier. The maple finger board is a winner with me and the bakelite pickguard is nice too. I am in Canada.

[@hearpalhere]

It looks beautiful Darrell! I really like the look of the cream components against the blue of the body and the maple fretboard too.

[@cramster3495]

Great mod thanks Darrell. I bought a Squier Paranormal Cabronita 2 months ago and, straight out of the box, it plays and sounds wonderful. It's actually better sounding than my Fender Cabronita which was my number one gigging guitar for 8 years.

[@JaniceLalla]

That's some mighty fine playing there

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Thanks!

[@johnwelch557]

Hey Darrell. Yup, a strat isn't complete unless it has the tele pup and all 3 positions. I install a mini toggle (easier on the fly switching for me) and put it in one of the tone pot positions. I prefer one tone for all and SSS pickups. Thanks!

[@drej1714]

My 1991 MIM Strat is Hum/(blank)/single with a 3 way switch. I also ordered a new pickguard after I deleted a tone pot and moved the volume pot down a hole. My favorite set up.

[@robynchilson9849]

Enjoyed this build. Looking to buy my first electric and now I have even more questions and ideas!

[@barrywebber100]

Fascinating series of mods! Thanks for posting.

[@fnersch3367]

Wow. Love that pick guard!

[@andrewurban8583]

I have 2 squier strats I have built up and 2 squier teles... I appreciate your videos they have helped me out a lot... Thanks

[@isaacjohnson.]

Wow that pick guard is gorgeous. Guitar looks great, and sounds fantastic.

[@pdland4936]

The 7 way switch pre-dates Gilmore by many years. I've done it on all my strats. The Bridge-Neck combo has been my favorite for a long time. My '97 ('57) MIJ has just the neck and bridge pickups (Fender custom shop AY '69s) volume only (moved to middle hole, out of the way). MODS ARE FUN !

[@DFox-ud3gx]

This is a great build for a newbie I'm impressed with the sound great job

[@JimmyRadloff]

I did a very similar mod to a Squier Telecaster with a solderless Obsidian wire kit and some Planet Tone pickups....turned out pretty badass

[@soleusboss6388]

Obsidianwire is great. Thanks to a prior vid of yours I bought a wiring harness for my epi LP and couldn’t be happier. Service was very responsive too to email.

[@GUSCRAWF0RD]

"I ordered years ago with good intentions" I have a whole reverb of bizarre essoteric accessories

[@-Thunder]

I just installed an ObsidianWire HH with coil splitting in my heavily modded Squire Affinity. High recommended. If you sell the guitar just put the stock pickguard back in.

[@sevenrhye]

Fantastic mod! The Lambertones pickup sounds amazing. I might have to try this mod to one of my strats.

[@lonspangrud5992]

Recently took a Kramer Vt 211s body. Squire strat (affinity) neck. Wilkinson floater with matching locking tuners. Bone nut and roller tees. Wilkinson Alnico 5 (paf /s/s) pickups After the debugging/fine tuning it sounds and plays sweet. Two more strats are in process both with XGP necks and Floyd trems. Still bouncing around on pickup types and configuration. But yes modding is a rabbit hole.

[@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...

[@johncrafton8319]

My Michael Kelly CC60BB came with this pickup switching, but it also has a splittable humbucker in the bridge. This offers even more tones. For me, the CC60BB is one of my two favorite guitars, handily beating out damn near every other guitar I'd ever played. Not just for the tone coming from the HSS with this mod, but also because of the amazing neck, frets, and hardware.

[@rockinrog6085]

I also have a red and black with the turtle shell pick guard standard squier stat.i like the squier standards the most out of all the squier line. I love the black pick guard mod you did changes the whole look of the guitar much better.

[@ridemx1416]

Probably one of the best sounding strat bridge pickups I've heard.

[@paulmullins8425]

The bridge pickup is the business 👌👌👌

[@loco323rhythm]

I was so excited when I first heard of Obsidian until I looked more into it and realized these sets are made specific. As in, I can’t use them to mod my left handed guitars. Bummer. Lol

[@explodeder]

Did you and agufish plan what you were wearing today, too?

[@jonnybroomhead]

Hahahaha. I also watched the agufish video today and had a similar thought.

[@RahSH1]

Go outside

[@Ottophil]

@@RahSH1 truth. If you noticed youtuber clothing you really need a life

[@whssy]

Perfect timing. I just ordered a black/maple neck Affinity to mess around with and make into something a bit different. Think I'm going to go with Fishman Fluence... black on black and darken the maple. Always loved those all black 70s-mid 80s Strats - but not enough to pay what they seem to be going for.

[@Manny-eo3my]

Such a great build and sounding guitar. Like always, love the channel. Keep doing what you do

[@tylerevans1700]

Thanks for the pickguard maker info, I really love the look of that thing!

[@jeremykervran1598]

I'm becoming obsessive with this video, coming at least once a day just to see the beauty of the upgrade. Absolute brilliant job you did here, man I'd even consider this over a standard US at some point.

[@LaneyPower]

Thanks Darrell! Absolutely brilliant! I have SO many projects you wouldn't believe at standstill because of my long term inability to get to grips with soldering. Despite the fact that they aren't cheap, I'm going to get one of these to get a Strat Seymour Duncan project finished, which will hopefully inspire me to knuckle down and learn to solder properly and get the many others completed. TBH, I don't know why all guitars aren't shipped with solderless now, solder is ancient technology.

[@dennisflock3958]

I'm currently modding a Squier 70s Classic Vibe Custom. Got new pickups from Fiesta and a harness from 920D Custom. Its the 2nd harness from them. Great products. The stock pots are terrible, the volume drops out totally below 2 1/2. Otherwise the construction is pretty darn good.

[@j_freed]

That's pretty smart, some even would say the harness and pots is even the first thing you should try swapping out for more clarity.

[@patrickbrown8540]

This video came at the right time. I am currently planning to upgrade my Squier Telecaster

[@joshuascholar3220]

I just did that my squier using custom wiring. Also changed it from SSS to HHH. And I put in switches that go back and forth between series humbuckers, split and parallel humbuckers. Also upgraded pots. I didn't have a 7 way switch, I just used the standard 5 way and swapped the position of bridge and middle on the switch. So I no longer have neck+middle, instead I have neck+bridge.

[@DonnieRockett]

Nice build. Looks great and the multitude of sounds you can get out of it is impressive.

[@randyfolkner9496]

Absolute favorite guitar that you have played on your channel. Hss is really the only way to fly. I enjoy your channel 😊

[@RiddleKingOnline]

Heel mod next? I got my first strat about 6 months ago and couldn't believe how intrusive strat heels are so I routed/rebated the neck plate 13mm lower. Works sweet.

[@luigimelella344]

Omg the pickguard!!! Phenomenal like always

[@Lowtech14]

That strat sounds phenomenal

[@justinrisen1929]

Man that has to be the most gorgeous strat i have ever seen truly.

[@franperez1671]

I'd like to see a mexincan strat againts this squier. It looks awesome Darrell, great Job!

[@caleshtcincredibles]

That is a very cool Squire mod , I have a couple Squires I have done lots of mods on and they are both really nice playing and sounding guitars . Lent one to my friend who is a studio player and he wants to keep it LOL. Good job on that and it's real eye candy as well I would not hesitate to play live with that . Cheers!

[@Walks-With-Pride]

Great job, Darrell! I am not a fan of modifying guitars. But you made that look easy, and the guitar is absolutely beautiful. Love it! I forgot to mention that the sound is as righteous as righteous can be. That pickguard is killer! Fantastic!!!

[@yeetusmcjesus1596]

Love all the old cats that stick their noses up to any Squier and Squier related content, but them taking the time to actually watch the video and comment means that they’re actually interested in it.

[@danointuitive6935]

Love Love Love the pickguard! Beautiful guitar!!! Sounds amazing.

[@kevin7rxxx346]

Been away from your channel bro...nice to feel like listening to a friend talking bout guitar gear 💯💯💯✌🏼✌🏼✌🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@craigmitton5047]

Pick up selector switch ASMR video and sound loop for the win!

[@jrsoper6524]

Wow, Im Loving the sound, thanks for this video. Absolutely killer sounding.

[@jmangi6221]

I've got a Squire HSS and love it. I don't have the push pull setup but my ears aren't that defined yet anyways. Nice guitar Darrell, love it, looks great.🎸🎶🎹🎵🎧

[@keithconville5460]

Man, I'm loving everything about this guitar!!

[@SoCalGuitarist]

Just ordered this very module from Obsidian earlier today, so your video was quite topical! FrankenSquier is gonna be awesome with it!

[@nazmoking3171]

Neck + bridge together sounds great together which surprised me combing humbucker with single coil.

[@Tone-Oz]

Sounds fantastic, like two different guitars in chorus.

[@IndependenceGuitar]

Ok, i have to look this up. I get that the pickups are solderless because they go in the terminal, but what about the cts pot? None of its normal terminals had wires in them. Is it wired through the obsidian harness somehow? Pretty cool setup if it is. Nice pick guard too. I wouldn’t use the obsidian thing because i just get too much electronics nerd satisfaction from soldering, but still really cool. I can see how a lot of people would love those. Nice and easy upgrade.

[@terryradford13]

Love the Gilmore mod, just wish they would throw in a series/parallel with it.

[@TexasGreenCows]

Did the s/s/s with solder of course on 08 ameri st, sounds great with 7 positions, also added a dummy coil. Nice mod Darrel!

[@Not_Sure-2020]

Pro and Ultra are coming with that neck pickup engage now too.

[@stratcat688]

I have this mod but with a blender pot instead of a switch, and a single tone control for all pickups. I like the blender because i will tend to roll off the neck pickup a bit to fatten up the sound as full on neck and bridge can sound pretty thin. By the way, that pickguard with the blue strat is divine!

[@risingpower3658]

This is two I've seen now on the Squire. I guess the weird question is, should I step down on the basics at first with a cheaper Squire, then have a guitar tech set it up. Or I might get brave.

[@Levelheadd]

Sounds Great! 🤘🏻That pick-guard is Stunning.✌🏼

[@PaulPauliePabloPaolo]

Nice one!... ive been thinking of putting a JB Jr in the bridge of my strat.... And I have been tinkering with mine for a while (25 years)...just had 6105 frets put in....and thats been absolutely magical!. Not a Squire tho, not sure I would commit to that on one of those....but a great idea for the higher end modders....

[@MJCL2010]

Put a 920D Custom DG loaded pick guard & stuck it in my MIM black Strat.

[@marcin4497]

Wow, it sounds amazing This is something I must do

[@rocnrobyn]

Really nice 👍🏻 aesthetically pleasing and sounds amazing too! I know what I want to build next 😃