My Squier Bullet Mustang DIY guitar mods - Coil Split and more

Watch me mod my beloved Squier Bullet Mustang to add a coil split and put in some better hardware! This was my first DIY guitar mod, so things didn’t always go as planned. Now it looks really snazzy though, feels smooth and I don’t have to deal with crackly pots or rattling saddles anymore! Win!
0:00 Squier Bullet Mustang - Problems to solve
1:25 Sanding the neck
2:25 Rounding the fret ends and polishing the frets
2:45 True Oil and Wax for the neck
3:27 Shielding the body
5:10 Turning 2 wire pickups into 4-wire pickups
6:20 Wiring the hardware
8:45 A new pick guard and pickup covers
9:42 New saddles and testing the wiring
10:35 Locking Tuners and string trees
11:21 Finishing touches and final result
12:33 Guitar tone demo after the coil split
16:32 Final thoughts on the project
17:52 Will there be more music builds?
19:04 Polarcoaster - Magnetic River
25:23 Bloopers
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Modding Resources
How to identify Wiring on Mystery Humbuckers - • How To Identify Wiring...
Testing Polarity of Guitar Pickups with a Multimeter - • Video
Identifying Pickup Wires & Polarities - Humbucker - • Identifying Pickup Wir...
How to Coil Split Humbuckers - • How to Coil Split Humb...
How to make a 2 wire humbucker into a 4 wire humbucker - • Guitar Electronics Tut...
Splitting a Humbucker and the sound in your head - • Splitting a Humbucker ...
Wiring diagrams:
guitarelectronics.com/guitar-...
Parts
Squier Bullet Mustang Imperial Blue - (US) amzn.to/2ZYOI4Z (EU) redir.love/thoprod/430057?par...
Birchwood Casey True Oil Finish - (US) amzn.to/31ww3xj (EU) Ebay?
Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax - (US) amzn.to/3a81rGa (EU) Ebay?
Locking Tuners Black, I used Vanson Tuners from the UK but Wilkinson or Harley Benton should work too - (US) amzn.to/30FFDyU (EU) redir.love/thoprod/283977?par...
Copper Foil - (US) amzn.to/30BAs2O (EU) redir.love/thoprod/461474?par...
Saddles: Graphtech 1x Graph Tech PS-8000-00 - (US) amzn.to/33EHeqp (EU) redir.love/thoprod/188841?par...
String trees: Graphtech Black TUSQ - (US) amzn.to/33CVPTi (EU) redir.love/thoprod/183135?par...
2x CTS Push Pull pots, Short shaft, 250K like the original. Go for 500K if you find the PUs too muddy - (US) amzn.to/2XITpPb (EU) redir.love/thoprod/494195?par...
2x Telecaster Chrome knobs - (US) amzn.to/3coreeI (EU) redir.love/thoprod/284069?par...
Switchcraft Short-Frame Toggle Switch - (US) amzn.to/3iOnR2j (EU) redir.love/thoprod/461748?par...
Pickup covers - (US) amzn.to/3fGcvMb (EU) redir.love/thoprod/185706?par...
Tone Cap: Sprague Orange Drop 0.033uf - (US) amzn.to/3gFxrEn (EU) 0.033uf for coil split Ebay? You can get 0.022uf from Thomann: redir.love/thoprod/408849?par...
Nut - if I could have changed it: Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL PT-5042-00 (US) amzn.to/2XIdjKe (EU) redir.love/thoprod/433552?par...
Pick guard: Black 3ply - www.ebay.de/itm/Squier-Mustan...
All parts collected at Thomann: redir.love/thocf/rolm91pvz2
Support me directly
If you enjoy what I do you can support me on Ko-fi!
ko-fi.com/lillyschwartz
Or buy my music on bandcamp:
polarcoaster.bandcamp.com/
Music
My own, which I make under the name Polarcoaster.
So, if you enjoy my music, subscribe to my music channel: / @polar-coaster
Oh, and let me know if it's getting too eerie 🙃
Recording Equipment
Canon EOS 750D (US) amzn.to/2I8wcxk
GoPro Hero 7 Black (US) amzn.to/2Zjn2EC
iPad Pro (US) amzn.to/2AMjCRl
iPhone 7 (US) amzn.to/2y2fLOs
Zhiyun Smooth 4 stabiliser (US) amzn.to/2QGqGWE
Gooseneck Tablet Holder (US) amzn.to/2ST7llp
ESDDI Ring Light (US) amzn.to/2VNUh2B
Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio (US) amzn.to/2DagrVv
Rode Video Mic Pro (US) amzn.to/2XV4ijc
Rode VideoMicro (US) amzn.to/2XW9lQ5
✪ Many links I use are affiliate links, so you can support me at no extra cost to you! ✪
Connect with me
Instagram: / lilly.schwartz
Twitter: / lilschwartzart
Facebook: / lilschwartz

[@LillySchwartz]

Frequently Asked Questions: 1. Why did you put copper shielding on top of shielding paint? I tested the paint with a multimeter and it wasn’t actually very conductive. Definitely not enough to do the grounding just via the shielding, which is what I had to do because of the size of the push pull pots! The existing shielding might be enough for you depending on your mod project! Definitely shield the pick guard though. 2. Why didn’t you replace the bridge? I didn’t need to, the saddles were the only problem. After I replaced them I could intonate it just fine and the annoying rattle was gone too. A lot of people don’t like this bridge, so it might be worth replacing if you really dislike it. I only disliked the saddles. 3. The neck actually has a satin finish, why did you refinish it? Yes, it’s amazing how much the original finish feels like just raw wood, definitely fooled me! It felt a little too rough for me in some areas though and it’s much smoother after sanding it a little. The neck went from okish to “Oh, so smooooooth!” Definitely worth doing! 4. But locking tuners don’t help with tuning stability ...! Nope, but I once had a string snap and hit me right in the face when I was restringing with regular tuners and it traumatised me 😂 Ever since then, locking tuners for me! If you have problems with tuning stability, heavier strings and a new nut help much more. I have 10s on there now, no tuning stability issues.

[@davethepius]

The black paint is shielding, not conducting. I use it for my builds because it's non-conductive. String Trees are also called "string retainers" which is way easier to say. Just found your videos last night and I've been digging them so far. Keep up the good work!!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Dave, I’m glad you’re enjoying my videos! “String retainer” is indeed easier to say. As for the shielding paint: The reason it shields anything is because it’s supposed to be conductive. That’s also why it needs to be grounded. If you Google shielding paint you’ll also find it called “conductive shielding paint”. This is because the principle that is used for shielding is the Faraday Cage. Here is where you can learn more about this: www.artisanluthiers.com/blog/conductive-shielding-guitars/ So, if your shielding paint isn’t very conductive it’s also not very effective. And since we are talking about the Faraday Cage: It needs to be conductive on all sides or it won’t work, so the pickguard also needs to be shielded. A lot of people just buy some inexpensive relatively non-conductive “shielding paint” on eBay - essentially a fake -, put it in the cavity, forget the pickguard and then wonder why it doesn’t work. Same as with the shielding that this guitar came with. Whatever it had in shielding before was completely ineffective because the pickguard wasn’t shielded and the paint wasn’t really very conductive. Of course it originally came with humbuckers anyway so it didn’t really matter all that much before I added the coil split.

[@justinTime077]

Lol! I thought the neck was raw wood also! Just learned here that it’s satin.

[@LillySchwartz]

Haha, glad I’m not the only one to be fooled like that 😂

[@justinTime077]

@@LillySchwartz “hmm this feels like raw wood, but it’s not so bad for the price I guess..”

[@davidrojas6457]

- "not really a guitar player" - proceeds to reverse engineer and rewire humbuckers

[@LillySchwartz]

😂 that’s just what happens when you give a guitar to someone with a Robotics degree! Doesn’t need awesome shredding chops to rewire humbuckers 😉

[@alphanumeric1529]

Lilly, you definitely are a unique, dying breed. Most young people would never feel they have the authority to make changes to a guitar, and just defer to the authority of the manufacturer.

[@michalmayer7442]

that can not be dificult if you rememer something from the school :)

[@nellayema2455]

@LillySchwartz Robotics Degree. Cool! I kept thinking, "She's quite skilled and knowledgeable for someone modding a guitar for the first time." I thought that perhaps you are a scientist or engineer. You did a great job on the guitar. I appreciate you explaining why you were doing the mod's, and how things work. Subscribed. Cheers!

[@user-lf3kr1nq2d]

Her modesty makes me snicker. Great video!

[@iamjsams755]

Wow, this video is a gold mine for those of us wanting to mod our Bullet Mustangs. Thanks Lilly!

[@LillySchwartz]

You’re welcome! ✨ I had such a hard time trying to find information on how to do some of these things, so I thought I’d put it all together here! I’m glad you’re finding it useful!

[@PinetopJackson]

Great video! I really like how you took your time to explain everything you did, and did not shy away from talking about the mistakes made along the way. And the cinematography, those great close-up shots of the details of the guitar, love it!!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I always find it strange when DIY projects go so smoothly and without a hitch on KZbin! It’s just unrealistic! I’ve built plenty of stuff and something always goes wrong! All the perfect videos are just intimidating to people who have never tried it! Better to show how it really is and give people the opportunity to avoid the mistakes I made 😀 I’m glad you liked the cinematography too! I guess it helps that this is mainly a photography channel 😂 Thank you for watching! ✨

[@davidkastin4240]

I love how your Mustang turned out. I collect and modify electrics and am impressed with your mods. It looks and sounds excellent. Great video with alot of valuable info as well.

[@rutiger6901]

Guitar Enya! This package you have presented us with is terrific! You ARE an inspiration.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Rutiger, I’m glad you enjoyed it! ✨

[@vincelicas2422]

WOW for the statement, in the beginning, I swear this was a guitar channel! Great video. Great Mod video!

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thanks Vince! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! I occasionally make videos about music like this one or my pedal builds, but my main thing is photography videos with my music playing in the background 😀 it needs so much gear to keep guitar channels going, I wouldn’t be able to afford it! 😂

[@axelmorisson]

this IS a guitar channel. Maybe just she doesn't know that yet.

[@LillySchwartz]

😂 I wouldn’t object to the channel being secretly about music, since that plays a big role in my photography videos too! Guitars aren’t my main instrument though, I mostly make music with synths! I’m planning on working on an ambient album with guitars though, after I’m done with my synthwave crossover EP! There will be more music related videos coming too when that one is coming out! It’s basically finished, just need to finish the videos to go with it 😀

[@axelmorisson]

@@LillySchwartz Now we guitarists are like that, we see guitar , we see guitar being (tastefully) modded- it's a guitar channel! With "other music and photography related content mixed in" - regardless of quality, focus or proportion. If you only put up a pic with a guitar in the background, it becomes a guitar channel- it's the way it is.

[@LillySchwartz]

😂 Mind you I have a distinctly guitar shaped bass Uke in my photography video backdrop, so people put 2 and 2 together and check in the description whether I make my own music. Subliminal messages all the way 😂 Besides, considering how well this video and my delay pedal video are doing I’d say this channel is definitely more a guitar channel than anything else 😉

[@SinaFarhat]

Great job modding the guitar! I know very little about guitars so it was interesting hearing and seeing you do your thing and get a result!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much, Sina! I actually learned a lot about the electronics in guitars during this project! I knew how they worked theoretically, but wiring a guitar from scratch really helped to make it more real, if that makes sense? And it was a lot of fun too! I’m glad you enjoyed the video ✨

[@mattiasjp]

Well done! It’s nothing short of amazing for a first project. Very good looking guitar.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much Mattias! I’m also very happy with how it turned out! Exactly how I wanted it!

[@Area-nc7gs]

This is brilliant Lilly. Your knowledge and skills are very impressive to say the least! Enjoyed this very much.

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed it! ✨

[@conorfowler]

Thanks so much for this video and the detailed description. I'm hoping to pick one of these up soon and do some work on it after all the great things I've heard about them. This certainly helped me know what to look out for out of the box!

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and that you found it helpful! These are great little guitars and really shine after a bit of work on them. And you know, if you buy new it might actually work quite well out of the box. I just got a second one for P90s and it’s well intonated and the pots are silent! Still don’t like the wiring of the tone pot and the neck needs some work, but I’m actually going to play the new one for a while before modding it! I hope you have fun with yours when you get it! ✨

[@Seventeen_Seconds]

Great video Lilly, really enjoyed that, one of the best mod videos I've seen in ages 👍🏻

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! ✨

[@sethmorales174]

This is so badass you just inspired me to mod even further towards my mustang I’ve only owned it for a year now and all I’ve done was replace the strings...that’ll change, thank you!!!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that it’s inspiring you to give your Mustang some upgrades! These little guitars are really great for modding, I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun! Thanks for watching! 😀

[@carpathus]

Good work! Have leveled and polished the frets and installed locking tuners on my new Bullet Mustang, the rest is stock as it comes from the factory. Love this little guitar!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you! It’s already a great guitar out of the factory, just needs a little love to be perfect! The sound is awesome, I’m so impressed by it! Compared to my first guitar some 20 years ago which cost double that it’s an absolute dream! I wish I had a time machine to send it back to my younger self 😂 Such a fun guitar! Did you have problems with the pots and switch yet? My pots were horribly crackly and the switch sometimes gave out, so I replaced it all. And not all of them have the intonation issue either it seems!

[@jcig1501]

OMG! Luv that you have a Yamaha MT100 Multi track recorder. That was my “go to” recorder back in the day. I used to record everything at the highest speed possible including cranking up the fine pitch control. It actually sounded pretty good for being a low-end machine. Easy to use, great for demos.

[@megatedassaultituary6783]

Love the dedication and patience, you make this tech stuff sound so pleasant than it actually is, especially when you rolled your eyes at the wiring mistake, lol I would've gone mental. You are too adorable 😍btw, amazing background music.

[@LillySchwartz]

😂 This was one of my more straight forward builds at least 🙃 I’m glad you enjoyed the music too. If you would like to hear more of it without the rambling, you can check out polarcoaster.bandcamp.com

[@guywihn1658]

Wow, Lilly Schwartz!.. What an extraordinarily pleasant, informative, comprehensive, relaxing, enjoyable video. Really glad I found your channel!

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you Guy, that’s really nice to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed it! ✨

[@sczarnecki5887]

Great video! I just got a bullet mustang to mod also. I wasn't sure how to do it, so this video was very helpful. OH! Im also an ambient music lover and maker! Great song at the end. Kind of had Slowdive vibes and then into a Tim Hecker organy type thing. I like how you layered the 2 guitar tracks. I look forward to checking out more of your videos.

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and the music too. I love making ambient. It allows me to play with non-standard song structures and all the layering is so much fun to figure out. Do you make ambient mostly with guitars then?

[@claybushmusic600]

That was so cool! I like to mod my Squiers too but never split a humbucker like that..would have just thought it wasn’t possible. I just replaced with 4 wire pickups, love what you did. Great video!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Warren, I’m glad you enjoyed it! To be honest, in most situations just buying a 4 wire humbucker would be the more sensible choice, it was a bit annoying to do 😂 I bought this guitar for the sound though, so I really wanted to keep those particular humbuckers! And besides, I like a challenge! I saw a video about how to do this quite a while back and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out! On most other budget guitars it wouldn’t really make any sense since I’d want to replace the pickups anyway!

[@tjm5492]

Great job Lilly...background music was exceptional. Now I need to watch some of your pedal vids.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much, I’m very glad you enjoy my music and hope you’ll like the pedal video! I should really make another one of those pedals, they are so much fun to build!

[@kevinovard8354]

calm, well explained...and with no waffle or showing off, like a lot of guy guitar videos...enjoyed the sounds too

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Kevin, I’m so glad you liked it! I have to admit that I have a tendency to waffle too. Luckily I can edit that out on video tho 😂

[@kevinovard8354]

@@LillySchwartz Good luck with completing the project Lily. Good to see a photographer still working in the dark room and using film. Enjoy the process and discoveries - and stay safe.

[@thomasrose7713]

Super helpful thank you . You clearly added distinctly different sonic characteristics this way. And the racing stripes, well one can never go wrong with racing stripes.Several tips are key the saddle upgrade was particularly useful . Would like to see you do a demo on your wiring soldering technique and measurement protocols.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Thomas, I’m so glad you found the video helpful! Racing stripes are definitely the way to go 😂 Interestingly I’m actually not very good at soldering. There is usually a lot of foul language involved, especially when having to solder the ground. Not sure whether it’s my cheap Chinese soldering iron or using the wrong solder wire, but I usually need several attempts and burn myself in the process 🤦‍♀️ Luckily I hardly ever break things though 😉 It really doesn’t need all that much skill to solder the wiring in a guitar! I find the gazillion solder joints on guitar pedal PCBs a lot more challenging (the trick is to use thinner wire for those). By the way, there are video links to the measuring techniques in the description, I do the exact same thing as described in those! Check them out, they are really helpful if you’ve never tried to figure out the polarity of a pickup!

[@windyhollow7869]

super entertaining video! i love the music as well :)

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed the music too ✨

[@itsjusttravis692]

this is so cool! guitar turned out looking sick in the end, i love the stripes

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thanks Travis! I think it turned out awesome too and it’s so versatile now, love it!

[@johntaylor8829]

Great video! I found out about this Super Cool guitar from Colin in the UK on his KZbin channel. Thanks for diving into the guitar to uncover more about it and possible upgrades.

[@rodiaz6652]

Great video! I'm in the process of rehabilitating a very old (and very poorly treated) Telecaster Custom body and in this video I found exactly the kind of encouragement I needed. The worst part for me is waiting until I have all the pieces.

[@LillySchwartz]

So, how did your project go? I should really get going on my second Mustang. I had the parts already a while, but I didn't have enough space on my desk.

[@guitarzan0515]

This is a Fantastic video! You go girl!! Great demo and sounds!!! AWESOME 💥💥👍🤙

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙏

[@redskysaturn75]

loved all of it, been contemplating buying a bullet mustang for a few days, this does help, thank you!

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m glad you enjoyed it! These are great little guitars and affordable too, I’m sure you’re going to like it! 😀

[@redskysaturn75]

@@LillySchwartz yes they are thank you

[@justinTime077]

It’s a crazy sick guitar for a crazy dope price. I got one thinking it was a pretty piece of junk so I could mess with a shorter scale fretboard, and quickly fell in love with it. I love this guitar way more than a $750 fender I recently had!

[@LillySchwartz]

The price is really deceptive! And they even improved production quality since I posted this video! I bought a second one and the pots weren’t even crackly. It was even intonated properly, so they did something about the saddles. Still rattly, but playable enough that I haven’t modded the new one yet! With a few mods it’s definitely a really nice guitar, especially for the price!

[@dimitrik5390]

This video was the first guitar mod video that was surprisingly soothing to watch. You speak about, appears to be a stressful task (at least it would be for me), with such a calm demeanor. I wonder if your spoken parts were recorded many many days afterward! And the chords played at the end - *chef's kiss*

[@LillySchwartz]

I actually made that video right after I finished modding the guitar, so it was still fresh! I didn't get stressed with this one though, it was pretty straight forward in comparison to some of my other electronics projects. And I always try to keep my videos calm and soothing. There is enough hyped up ADHD content out there already 😅 Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!

[@yellowcat1310]

Lily, i had to comment right after you started picking. the first thing i thought was beautiful tone. very nice job. it really sounds good. going back to finish the vid now.

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you! Some of the tones I can get out of there after the mod have become my favourites now, it really turned out great! ✨

[@mikerodio3785]

Came here from the pedal build video. These videos are inspiring, super relaxing and informative, which is a nice change from how youtube can be lol. So on the music side of things, I'd love to see more!

[@LillySchwartz]

Oh that’s nice to hear! Thank you! 😀 And there is actually a ton of music stuff coming! I built like 3 more pedals and several synth modules in the last couple months! I filmed all of the builds and I’m now working on the music to go with them 😀

[@jimmytgoose476]

I'm coming back to this video again after 2 years because the day for finally doing mine is approaching! Hope all is good with you Lily 🙂

[@LillySchwartz]

Oh wow, have you taken the plunge? I should really do my second one now! And yeah, all good here! Are you doing alright too?

[@seb.mfuentes]

Been looking up this guitar for some time now since I'm quite tired of my tremoloed strat going out of tune by itself, aside from the set bridge and short comfy scale, the modding potential is what makes it so appealing, great help on making those pups splittable too, definitely one of the first things I'll try once it's on my hands.

[@LillySchwartz]

It’s a great modding platform for sure! Interestingly I got it mainly for the sound. Couldn’t quite believe that such a cheap guitar could sound so good! The pups definitely have something! Splitting them is a bit of a faff, but well worth it too, my favourite clean sound is one of the split options now! Definitely a great little guitar! Have fun with it once you get it 😀

[@NeoRichardBlake]

If the Strat's trem is bugging you and you don't use it, you can lock it down to prevent tuning issues. Just cinch down the 6 screws on the top, cinch down the trem plate in the back, and wedge wood blocks/shims around the trem block to essentially turn it into a hard tail bridge. There are some videos on KZbin for how to do this. Can't remember who though. Rob Chapman might have been one. 🤔

[@artanduniverse8935]

Good Job Lilly, Good job! Really nice guitar!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Gavin! It really turned out nicely, I’m very happy with it!

[@cristoestobal]

I enjoyed everything in your video! It's really great seeing videos of guitar projects, with high quality and the experience behind them. Also, i think you've had great taste for your mustang and loved the sounds you've acomplished with the coil split. About your music, i kind of liked what you did with the track, maybe because i love shoegaze and dreampop. So, it's not very far in sonic terms. Keep the good work!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you for your detailed comment Cristóbal, much appreciated! I really like the sounds I can get out of this Mustang after the coil split. One of the combined humbucker and single coil positions is now my favourite clean tone, so it was well worth the hassle of turning them into 4 wire pickups! And you’re right, there are definitely some shoe gaze and dream pop influences in my music! I used to listen to that kind of music a lot a few years ago and once you’re hooked on that it doesn’t really let you go. Well spotted! I’m glad you enjoyed the video ✨

[@farangkinok]

Nice job on the Squier and enjoyable background music, very relaxing !

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the video and the music too 😀 always nice to hear!

[@LA80sMike]

Very much enjoyed your video, i now modd all my guitars, through trail and error i finally got it down pretty good, i just modded a Esp/Ltd Viper 301, new quality pots and orange drop cap, installed a Seymour Duncan JB and it sounds incredible!! I play hard rock/heavy metal but appreciate all music and the love of chasing tone.. Greetings from Los Angeles!!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Mike, I’m glad you enjoyed the video! It’s amazing how much the tone can change and improve with just a few little mods, and it’s such a nice way to make a guitar your own! I’ll also mod all my guitars from now on! Best way to get exactly the tone I want!

[@angusorvid8840]

A very cool upgrade. Cool playing too.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much! ✨

[@raycochrane3971]

Excellent video...gentle humour and cool sounds at the end. I have two of those Yamaha Four Track machines - I love them. I'd be interested to see/hear you recording process and use of pedals.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Ray! I’m glad you enjoyed the video! And those Yamaha 4 tracks are cool! Just a little too intelligent for their own good, to be honest! Mine won’t play tapeloops, so I’m thinking of getting a Tascam multitrack for that! I’m actually working on some more music behind the scenes videos right now and I’ll definitely put pedals on the list too! Thank you for the suggestion!!

[@stephanematis]

Thanks for sharing a well explained and filmed video. On mention, technically the black paint in the cavity is (meant to be) a shielding variety.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Stephane! Yes, it’s supposed to be shielding paint, but after testing it with a multimeter I concluded that it wouldn’t be enough. It’s really not very conductive! I had to do the grounding via the shielding too, so there was really no other way than to cut up my fingers with the copper foil 😬

[@impulsecoupling]

Very cool. Great video. I'm trapped in a bunker for covid so I bought one of these $179 USD Bullet Mustangs and am enjoying the problem of figuring out how to improve it. Starting off with the Graph Tech saddles and a new nut, then swapping to .011s. Enjoying your ambient style as well. Thanks.

[@LillySchwartz]

Glad you enjoyed the video and my music too! I can relate. Not exactly a bunker here, but I’m risk group so I’ve been wandering around this medium sized flat for months now pondering what I’m going to build next. I have 10s on mine now and it feels a lot less slinky, definitely an improvement. 11s would probably be too much for me. I definitely prefer the graph tech saddles. Just the nut I couldn’t change. Maybe one day I’ll manage to get the old one out!

[@francisjuneescama]

Love the effort for the guitar. Dreaming to have one Squier Bullet Mustang soon

[@lonetapes]

Great video and the track playing in the background is beautiful

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and the music, that’s always nice to hear! 😀 If you want to listen to some of the music in the video without all the waffling, there is a bandcamp link in the description too by the way!

[@TFShaw]

This is so cool! You did a great job! 👍

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you 🙏

[@XCELERATIONRULES]

Great camera work,nice job on the upgrades. furniture polish for guitar polishing,works great and cheap.

[@zucchini-carwash]

Love the video . I just bought this same guitar and you have inspired me to make the same modifications. And you are adorable 😍

[@LillySchwartz]

Awesome! Good luck with your mods! And thank you!

[@charleswheeler3418]

Stunning work.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Charles ✨

[@larryrichards3668]

Sounds awesome, all your hard work really paid off.

[@LillySchwartz]

Those mods were so worth it! 100% would do it again!

[@PsychoticFlubber]

I know I'm commenting on an older video, but I have been doing some video searches on modifying the Squier Bullet Mustang, and specifically coil splitting. I just wanted to thank you for this video, especially how thorough you described everything! I am looking to add mini toggle switches to individually split the humbuckers, and I am so glad you pointed out that there are inconsistencies in humbucker wiring. One thing I have found is that PRS guitars adds a resistor to reduce the south wire on the pickups so it's not a full split, but you maintain more volume when splitting. I can confirm that my PRS guitar sounds very close to a true single coil with this method, so this may be another small modification for you to consider (Fralin Partial Split Resistor, I believe is what it's commonly called). I am waiting on some parts, but when I try splitting the coils I am going to try 1k resistors, and I'd be happy to reach out with my results. Unrelated, I am very inspired by your ambient music, you did a great job!

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m so glad you found the video helpful! That resistor technique with the coil split is very intriguing indeed! Definitely let me know how that goes, I’m curious about that for sure! I just assumed I would have to get a guitar with proper single coils at some point. Getting a tad closer with just an added resistor would be quite cool! And thank you also for your kind words regarding my music! That’s always nice to hear 😀

[@richardwallace4212]

Brilliant video. Thanks for the additional video reccomendations. Its as though youtube read my mind, as I am about to put a 10 way blade switch on a strat for more tones and have been asked about putting a 3/6 way toggle on to one of these. Will watch your pinned vids before hand for sure. Thank you very much.

[@LillySchwartz]

Oh that’s great Richard, I’m glad you’re finding the resources helpful! I had to dig deep into the oldest videos on KZbin to find all the wiring information I needed for this one. I thought I’d collect the most useful ones so that people don’t have to reinvent the wheel over and over! Glad it’s helping people out with their projects!

[@richardwallace4212]

@@LillySchwartz Oh it is. I have a squire classic vibe thinline telecaster with 2 humbuckers in it, I upgraded the electronics in it 2019 and the difference is like chalk and cheese. I then found myself doing the bridge and the nut. It sounds like a totally different guitar now. I love a squire for modding.

[@LillySchwartz]

Squier is really great for modding! Cheap to begin with so you can go all out on the mods and still end up cheaper than one of the expensive guitars. And yeah, the wiring in the Squiers isn’t really my thing either. Just replacing that already makes such a huge difference!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Loved the video!

[@chrisadams628]

I like the background music. It gives me a Blade Runner vibe. The end result looks and sounds great!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks so much Chris! It definitely turned out amazing, plays really nicely now and sounds awesome! And well spotted with the Blade Runner influence! I often listen to that soundtrack when I’m working in the darkroom. There is a 4h fan version that’s just the perfect length for a printing session and I love the feel of that music! It’s the feel I aim for with my ambient, 1980s Sci Fi!

[@badactor101]

The nut on my Squier Mustang was a bit wrongly placed so that the high E was always sliding off the fretboard and getting caught under the fret ends. So I polished up the fret ends and removed the nut after applying heat via a hair dryer and tapping it gently. Nicely done video!

[@chriscunningham6510]

Great video on mustang mods with some great information. While I'm not planning to do ALL these mods to mine, I am going to do SOME of these mods to mine. Thanks!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Chris, I‘m glad you enjoyed the video! So, which of these mods are you planning to do in the end?

[@ryanberry4670]

Absolutely brilliant video! Thank you so much!

[@LillySchwartz]

You're very welcome, Ryan! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@frontmanguitars8276]

Great job, I'm a guitar tech (fix guitar) I love how you went ahead and did it yourself 😊 great result

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much! I’m glad that I didn’t make a fool of myself in front of a professional like you 😀 I love DIY stuff, especially when it involves electronics, so I just had to do it myself! Great learning experience too! And I’m so happy with the outcome too, just like I imagined it!

[@frontmanguitars8276]

You did excellent! I'm really impressed with how you figured out the pick up wires most of all, and how you used cts push pull pots for your splits. Perfect choice for the thinner body.

[@LillySchwartz]

😀 The pickup wires had me confused for a while, because one of the pickups was reversed and I thought their black and white cables actually meant something sensible. Luckily the information on how to test the polarity is on KZbin and I found it after a bit of digging! I definitely learned something new with that! I doubt anything but the CTS short shaft push pull pots would even fit in this body! It’s very snug even with those and it took some doing to get them to sit level too! I’m glad it worked out in the end! Getting the wiring to fit was probably the biggest challenge! I love how slim and light the guitar is, but that made it a bit of a headache for this mod 😂

[@noname11111]

The tone test is perfect asmr

[@LillySchwartz]

😅 Somehow I always end up making accidental ASMR. Oops.

[@jimmyopdelocht9770]

Great job,I really like how the guitar turned out!I'm thinking of doing one myself with a P-90 type pu in the neck,because i'm a bluesplayer.Have fun with your guitar and your music!

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thanks Jimmy, I’m glad you like how it turned out! It’s a pretty one! Funny that you mention P90s, I recently got a second one and guess which pickups I’ll put in there! 😀

[@jimmyopdelocht9770]

@@LillySchwartz Can't wait to see and hear it! 👍🎸

[@_Yep_Yep_]

The Bullet Mustang is a pretty rad guitar for 199 bucks. You made a real clean job of this, I like it. I think youre really cool, Lilly.

[@LillySchwartz]

Aw, thanks! Mine was still quite a bit cheaper than that!

[@journeyquest1]

Good job just ordered a surf green color of same guitar to add to my strats, jazzmaster and jagmaster.

[@bojanh6437]

I think I'll buy this Mustang just for fun and carying around. You covinced me that this can be a proper guitar. Great job and great video about that.

[@LillySchwartz]

Yay, I’m glad you enjoyed the video and have fun with the Mustang! It can definitely be a great guitar with a little bit of work. The newer ones even have decent intonation out of the box. I got another one for some P90s recently and it’s playing pretty alright even before changing anything on it!

[@jeffreyklippel6448]

just watched a video uot of the box before this one and amazing better sounding after you worked pon it. myself i uswed tio play a original mustang bass when i was 14 years old . 35 years ago. it always made me feel warm when i see one. good workl. enjoy

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Jeffrey! I definitely love what this did to the sound! I already liked it a lot stock, but now it sounds really awesome. In part it‘s the better tone cap for humbucking sounds, but I think the combo options of humbucker + split single coil really shines on it too! I‘d love a Mustang bass by the way. I think they look and sound awesome 😀 Thanks for watching!

[@jeffreyklippel6448]

@@LillySchwartz hey Lilly. yes i like that mustang really a lot. later i played an ibanez artist with two suuuuuper fat humbuckers. i took one out and the guitar burned to death in a fire witch desroyed my stdio completely.a drumkit , lots of speaker cabinets synths comp. mixingtable , a mesa lonestar top amp a bar . 500 records alll lost exept one record of a dutch comedian named smile about life and that one hu8mbuckwer element. that happened in 2007. now i own a roland alpha juno 1 , roland tr-8 drummachine and a hp mobile workstation with cubase pro11 running. an rolsand sh2 and 303 software syntys. and a 135 db sound system infront of my cpouch haha laterz

[@RavenburnX]

I have just bought a squire mustang in arctic white, after watching this I am glad I did, ,,great video

[@LillySchwartz]

Enjoy it!

[@leecheneler6202]

great video! i enjoyed watching this, full of useful information. cheers!

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful! 😀

[@JavierLopezElMagnate]

Absolutely amazing video. Thank you so much for this.- pretty much everything I was looking for including a link to diagrams. Very well done!

[@LillySchwartz]

I'm glad you found it helpful, Javier!

[@user-wt2tu7mt6p]

Very good video. I have a cheap bullet Im working on and just got some great ideas from you. Thanks for your time. Take care.

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful! Thanks for watching ✨

[@murraymeadowfield3981]

Well done! (That applies both to the mods AND the presentation)

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it ✨

[@geneclarke4385]

Good Job Lilly! My first full customization was also the bullet Mustang.Thank you for the honest review of this guitar.I experienced all of the same problems with mine that you did,it was literally unplayable when it arrived at my door.I see a lot of reviews of this guitar touting it as a great beginner guitar,and maybe I just got a junker,but I can think of nothing more frustrating to a beginner than to have to deal with the problems mine had.I bought mine with the intention of completely modding it,so I wasn't upset about it...my mods:Tusq nut,locking tuners,Schaller roller bridge,Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded humbuckers,and a full re-wire with 500K pots.I didn't do the coil splits,but I can always still do that if I ever want to...it's now pretty nice guitar.Really enjoyed your video,keep them coming!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Gene! You’re right, it’s kinda awful to start playing on a junker. That’s how I started on my brother’s really cheap strat copy many years ago! It was much much worse than this one, the action on that thing was really high, no tuning stability whatsoever and it sounded horrendously thin and meh. The opposite of inspiring. In comparison this Mustang is a dream, easy to play, light on the fingers, full grungy sound, I like it! But yes, it does need a lot of work to get it to play just right and most beginners would be a bit lost with all that. We’ve come a long way on the quality of these cheap guitars, but there is still room for improvement! Luckily I knew that this one would need mods since I actually stumbled on it through another modding video! Just fell in love with the sound and thought it would be a fun project to get it just right!

[@geneclarke4385]

@@LillySchwartz It is a satisfying feeling to make a low-end guitar into a nice guitar and I learned a lot from this build.These little Mustangs are a lot of fun with a little work going into them,and the neck is pretty fast.At the low price point of the guitar,it left me a lot of room for the hardware and electronics I wanted, and it is now right where I wanted it.I've been playing for 20 years or so and have several nice guitars,and the Mustang can hold its own with all of them...it's also kind of addictive,I'm just finishing up a Squier Affinity series Jazzmaster HH build...lot of fun, and after years of being a Strat fan,I'm having a love affair with the Jazzmaster....do you any new projects lined up?

[@LillySchwartz]

Precisely my thoughts on having spending money for parts rather than getting something fancy and then only being half satisfied with it. I’m sure that if I had gotten a Fender Player series I’d have paid more and ended up with a worse guitar. And I actually enjoy working on guitars so it’s a double win, nice project and lovely outcome! And yes, I have a couple music related projects lined up: I got myself another one of these Mustangs recently, this time I’m going to put P90s into it and there is also a fuzz pedal kit sitting on my desk waiting for a quiet weekend! It’ll be fun!

[@geneclarke4385]

@@LillySchwartz A mustang with P-90's will not only be fun,but it will have a cool factor as well.Can't wait to see it! I'm going to have to watch the pedal build for sure,I may want to try building one myself.

[@LillySchwartz]

I think the P90s Mustang will be so cool! I keep gravitating away from that classic Mustang single coil thing, but P90s will kinda be the best of both worlds. Although, who knows, one day I might splurge on a Mustang with a trem and Mustang style single coils! Wouldn’t be too surprised 😆 By the way, if you’d like to watch a pedal build, there is a Delay Pedal build on my channel already! That one was a lot of fun as well!

[@renula]

Great job! I can’t even solder. Nice music, too.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Gardy! Soldering guitar connections is rather easy! The wiring diagrams rarely get too complicated. Good way to learn soldering I think, if you ever want to give it a go! And I’m glad you enjoy my music too. Thanks for watching! 😀

[@superacidi]

I loved how you improved GuitarGeek's mod with coil splitting.

[@LillySchwartz]

His videos were very useful when I was modding this one! I just read in the Squier forums that other people managed to split the coils, so I had to try! I’m glad I did, so many tone options now! 😀

[@superacidi]

@@LillySchwartz I ordered the same guitar yesterday, also with modding intents. The coil split was one of the things I had in mind, thanks for showing me it's possible! Found a video talking about a lovely girl, you may find it useful ;) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZjRYXd4pbGeqrM btw Cool track!

[@LillySchwartz]

You’re welcome! It’s obviously a bit more fiddly than splitting a humbucker with the normal number of cables, but it’s really not that hard! And thanks for the link! l’ll have a look at the video and see what other ideas they have! 😀 I’m glad you like my music too, that’s always nice to hear ✨

[@PartyxPoision]

This video is so comforting

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m glad you found it comforting! Definitely the aim 😀

[@ChrisSmith-vm5tm]

Great video, well presented. I hope everyone watched to the end for the outtakes! 🤣🤣

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Chris, I’m glad you enjoyed it! And thank you also for watching to the end! The bloopers are always fun 🤣

[@TheLegendaryLP]

I am doing this. Thank you for this video!

[@LillySchwartz]

Best of luck!

[@downpetero]

Great remodeling ❤️! I own the same Squier Mustang as you, so I would like to try remodeling! Thank you 😊❣️❤️

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you for watching! It’s a fun one to mod, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

[@StratocasterHarry]

Totally cool that you’re modifying a guitar 🎸👍

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Harry! 🎸🤘

[@StratocasterHarry]

@@LillySchwartz you’re welcome Lilly

[@bluejuly2633]

It looks even cooler with that racing stripe! I'm planning to get a Mustang and modify it and this vid really helped a lot, I'm planning to replace the white pick guard with a pearloid pick guard and add a racing stripe just like yours!

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m glad you found the video helpful! The racing stripe is definitely fun! There are some limited edition ones that already have it by the way. I have another red one that had a racing stripe already and it will get a pearloid pickguard too eventually! Definitely a nice combination!

[@bluejuly2633]

@@LillySchwartz here in Asia it's impossible to find any mustangs from the competition run 😂 so most people just add the decal to make their Mustang pop! And it's so cool that you have a Mustang from the Competition series, the red one definitely looks the best in my opinion, is yours the one with the headstock matching the color of the body?

[@LillySchwartz]

Ah yes, it seems some of the Limited runs are US only, others seem to be only available in Europe. Mine is the red one with the non-matching headstock. It is just like my blue one, just with the racing stripe and the bridge didn’t have the intonation problems that my blue one had. I’m glad I got that one when I did since newer models seem to have different hardware that isn’t as easily replaceable, so they would be a little harder to mod. I haven’t started on the red one yet since I’ve been building synthesiser stuff instead!

[@andrescarmonagonzalez5929]

Great video ! thanks!. I got out the nut of this model of guitar by using a squared screwdriver of the size of the nut and gently hammering in the direction of the nut. The nut slides slowly out of its cavity. The trick is to use the squared screwdriver of the right size, so all the energy of the hammer goes into the nut. Tu use a cutter or blade to remove the glue/lacker around all the nut cavity previous to hammering helps to avoid finish cracks. Cheers!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Andres! That’s exactly how I tried to get it out, but it’s just completely stuck. They must have used an awful lot of glue on mine. I’m hoping that it will loosen over time or maybe I’ll try a heat gun at some point! Luckily after I adjusted the old nut and put some graphite in the slots it’s not too bad anymore!

[@axelmorisson]

Excellent, thank you for the presentation and the pickup teardown - nice to know my old mustang can coil split ( all coils are splittable, but on some you need a really steady hand, a magnifier, a fine solder tip and a surgeon's blade...).The result is magnificent indeed, both the sounds and the looks of the modded guitar are spectacular! Keep up the nice work! And as a suggestion from an old metalhead.. a good friend of mine got me into 8-string guitars recently, but recommended the cheapest of them all , approximately the same price as the Mustang and just as moddable, a Harley Benton 458 Progressiv. Well... I got it and.. let's say I am into atmospheric metal now .. and ambiental... because that thing is simply made for such things. The pickups it comes with are still humbuckers (with 8 poles!) but the light body and self-resonance /sympathetic resonance from the other strings every time you touch one make it certainly not about metal at all... still the sounds are very interesting and I think you might want to take a look at those....They need a similar kind of remake you showed here: full cavity insulation (no I'm not a dentist) , coil split maybe on-board preamps... Seriously think about it- you already made such nice soundscapes with a normal guitar- just how nice would it be to add a low F# and a low B to all that, and in addition, to have others resonate naturally or whenever using another string to have these lower ones as drones or ... Thank you and good luck in your artistic pursuits! Will follow...

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Axel, I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! The Mustang truly came out great, love the sound and the looks, I’m very happy with it! And thank you also for suggesting the 8 string! A friend of mine also recommended one of those Harley Benton 8 strings and they look super interesting, especially since they aren’t so expensive! But then, you know what really tempts me? A Bass VI! Such an interesting mix between a bass and a guitar and I’m especially interested in it because I’ve been playing a bass Uke quite a bit lately! The only thing that makes me hesitate with one of those is that the Squier version is quite a bit more expensive and still needs a lot of modding to make it truly great. Well, your comment prompted me to dig a little further and turns out there is actually a hard tail version of it from Harley Benton that doesn’t have the intonation problems of the Squier and is cheap enough to splurge on mods! Well, my next big project is sorted then! Again thanks for bringing this up, I definitely want something lower for more dark ambient stuff!

[@axelmorisson]

@@LillySchwartz Oh yes those... now look what you've done, I need to get one of those now...HB is the house brand of those distributors from Germany I think.. but for now they have a 5 to 8 weeks restock waiting time.But seriously as for all harley bentons of the world , you need to change the stock strings.Saw a video here on youtube demoing one, and while the guy was very good at playing guitar , he too felt the tone was a bit lacking ..both in low end and treble too. So a mid-heavy, short scale bass? Okay, 6 strings, could be nice (but prepare a large bag of tone caps to play with until it does something right). From my short experiences with short scale basses still they do not fully develop the natural, nice , harmonic rich content of a note on a normal (or extended) scale instrument. I somehow got a short scale EB-0 bass - that's ..er.. intresting in its own ways, but felt it sounded like a dark thumper.. very good for /at what it does but really one-trick pony. The recent Corona shenannigans got me into bass as well so I got a cort cheapie that has both a P and a J pickup and is lightweight, and 24 frets too , long scale. Now my wife, she does not care much about the sounds I make with all those guitars of mine but really shocked me with her remark: now see, that's interesting, this new bass of yours, it sounds somehow full and musical, but the other red one ( the EB-0 short scale) sounded dull and thumpy. Yup, long scale lets the harmonic series develop nicely. Short scale things are thumpy things, loud and racuous, and somewhat lacking fullness of sound- but are interesting in their own ways (less string tension leads to easy bending and tremolo on a bass is just sick). I do not know if there still is a possibility to try before you buy in store (mad world we're living in at the moment) but the returns at Thomann are really nice and...well- you catch my drift, you could try them both, the 8 string and the VI and see which or maybe both? I can hardly wait to see what you do (to?)/with your bass VI. I will leave you with another mind poisoning idea, a trap in which I fell a decade ago and never recovered: PIEZOS are NICE. yup. Piezos on a strat clone. You know that Malmsteen guy? He does nothing for me, BUT I adore his guitar- a strat without any magnetic pickups, so I got a squier (white of course), scalopped all frets by hand, dropped nylons on it (luckily it was a hard tail) , threw the old pickguard with all electronics on it in a parts box and cut a new pickguard with just one volume knob and a three way switch out of some stock PVC I had lying around . Then I collected some piezo disks like those from buzzers, musical cards, or smoke alarms or many other gadgets and made them into contact microphones. One on the cavity bottom, one on the pickguard, mid-way between the strings, and another on the string retainer block ,below the saddles on the other side of the plate of course. All three connected to the three way switch, with a pickguard +body, pickguard +string block and string block alone positions. On the output, I got 1 Meg logarithmic pot for a "master volume" and left tone shaping and impedance adaptation to the amp itself. Worked a treat and I still play it every day. I don't do speed runs but I try classic pieces now and then. The thing has harmonics to make the harpist angels drool. In anger it sounds..different through heavy distortion. Jazz is its middle name.. it can do anything you want except bore you. And the face of the guys at guitar stores.. I want some nylons for my electric, what would you recommend? jaws dropping, grunts and disarticulated sounds usually follow. Only once I met a cool guy at the store that looked me in the eye and said: ah, Malmsteen stuff, eh? I said : yeah.. and he said : Savarez , mate. Good times, good times.

[@LillySchwartz]

Hah, sorry-not-sorry for pointing you in the direction of the Bass VI. After all you just sent me down another rabbit hole. Nylons on an electric with Piezos? That sounds just like the mad stuff I’d love to play with! I will investigate! I wonder whether I could shortscale that on another one of these cheap Mustangs! The thing is: My hands are small, but I always loved the sound of bass. I used to play around on the basses of friends, but they always felt as if I was playing an oversized cheese grater. Just couldn’t get over the finger pain! When I saw a bass Uke on some channel I was like 🤯 and ordered one pretty much immediately. It sounds great and it’s such a joy to play! I was watching some beginner lessons and the guy says “Let’s rest those fingers, they must be hurting” and I was like “Nope” 🤣 That being said, I just can’t get it to sit right with any of my other stuff, it just sounds too upright? I love that sound, but it’s just different? Maybe I’ll figure it out one day how to record it so that it fits in. I also still haven’t found the right regular short scale bass for me, like you say, most of them sound fairly thumpy, and the ones that don’t are a touch out of my price range. By the way, if I want darker guitar tones I tend to play with an octaver pedal at the moment. Not the same as 8 string or Bass VI obviously, but fun in its own right!

[@axelmorisson]

@@LillySchwartz Oh boy.. don't get me started on those! Ukes are.. their own thing. Yes yes, they are nice , yes, they make the occasional visitor smile and can be loads of fun. Got the HB electric soprano uke that somewhat reminded me of my (much bigger) SG (and has 19 frets, yaay). That said, it is a solid body electric, piezo thing and it sounds insane through a proper guitar amp with pedals, but its extreme short scale "taketh away more than it giveth" - it is intrinsically squeaking, like a really angry mouse. More distortion, okay, it sounds at most like rabid rat but never like "warbeasts of the norse gods". You can get nice sounds out of an uke. You cannot however , really "bass" with an uke, be it called a bass uke or otherwise. On short scales :There is no substitute, alas, for sheer string length along which the whole harmonic series so beautifully develops. Small hands, I get it but you know what? Light gage on a long scale! Make it active to cancel the volume loss from lighter gage and go as light as it gets, but long scale. Trust me, I have seen hell ( the mini jazzmaster or 3/4 of a guitar, super-short-scale at 20 inches or so vs what people call short scale at around 22-24 or normal 25 or 25 and something.. and long/baritone/etc over that). There is nothing wrong with extreme short scale- if you don't mind the squeak. Once you go back to regular scale or baritone you miss the easy handling but the sound more than makes up for that. I mentioned before being an old geezer- well back in my day they had these so-called "Americana" songs that weren't (just) country, they were some just-out-of-the big band era ensembles , I think you would call them "fusion" today or something- and a particular sub-genre had ukes along traditional instruments. To my ears the ukes were there for comic relief and some " island vibes" but never for "serious stuff". Eh, how times change.. I guess somewhere over the net there is a kid making the next black metal hit with an electrified uke and maybe it will sound good- alien but good. But I would never.. Want easy bass ? until you find your magic, try some MIDI. Quick and dirty, just push some keyboard controller and pair it with a DAW - there's a lot of free ones and alot of almost free but good ones...Reaper is such thing.. Or even better: get a long scale proper, a clone of the old respected and incredibly versatile P-bass (the one with the funny staggered pickups Z style, not the single coil olden 50's revival that looks very nice but does not sound so) and swap its bad heavy gage and unweildy strings to the lightest ones you can find for bass. Then enjoy the sounds only a real bass can make. The string tension being much reduced, the long scale will be just a funny "run up and down this board" type exercise and that's doable, trust me. Octavers- good little thingies, but they can seldom track sufficiently to get into chords or harmonics...unfortunately. Nice to play with, but I would try some keyboard sorcery in DAWs to drop down to octave and such. This way there's more work true - but complex passages don't break anymore and there's nothing as disconcerting as an octaver that lost its way while trying really hard to be poliphonic but meeeeeh. On recording the uke : yes short scale tends to sound less harmonically rich. Get a DAW and search for plugins that are called harmonic exciters. Those thingies add some made-up harmonics, mostly high and mid frequency and make the sound "sparkle" (now I sound like a dishwasher commercial person).A tad of reverb, a pinch of "cabinet modelling" through an amp sim and there you have it, you squeeze all there is from it- not much, true....but still ..more.. To sum up : Bass VI? Yes please! (yup short scale but more like extreme baritone guitar). 8 string thingie? Please try. There is something about that resonance that reminds me of ancient hurdy-gurdy and nyckelharpa.. or maybe I'm just crazy in the head- but try and let me know :) . Piezos? Yes please. Evvery day for me- there is even string saddles with embedded piezos and I've seen one guy putting one on his SG and playing "acoustically enhanced" - i.e. not using the magnetic pickups at all and plugging into this add-on with no further mods to the guitar. It was removable and a simple install really. Interesting ( now I'm eyeing my SG with evil intentons). PS : Sorry about the mile long reply. Corona confinement maketh all crazy!

[@LillySchwartz]

Lol Axel, that was indeed a long one! I’m sorry you’re stuck in lockdown. Here it’s always open, no more lockdowns, which has a whole other set of difficulties for me, because I’m risk group. Because it’s open for everyone else it’s permanent lockdown for me because the number of cases is always out of control. I think you should re-evaluate your opinion on bass ukes! They actually sound really great if you like that upright sound and don’t want to spend a fortune on an upright bass. The funny rubber strings are what make the difference. Not the same as an upright obviously, but close enough! And they are so much fun to play. And of course they sound nothing like a bass guitar. As for the rest: I love ukes for the beach feel. I have a little soprano with horrible intonation, it’s the one you see in the background of this video. It’s so bad, I can’t even imagine how to fix it, but well chords in the first few frets are fine! It was really cheap and I just got it to figure out whether I like ukes and turns out, I strangely do! Who would have thought that someone coming from dark ambient and industrial punk would get a kick out of that, but here we are! My husband just gave me another one as a present and that one is lovely, concert size, by Ortega. Intonation is good on it, so I can play further up the neck without frowning over the out of tune mess of the little soprano. It also has a pickup already so I can run it through pedals. Funny that you mention making black metal on a uke, I actually still want to make a video about making dark ambient on a Uke 😂 I indeed use a DAW for most of my pitch shifting needs. Ableton has been my DAW of choice since 2004 I believe and it is now really good at pitch shifting without much digital distortion (although I like that too sometimes and will use one of the bad algorithms intentionally). I usually go one step further though: I record on tape loops, then reduce the speed of the tape and it becomes a lovely warbly organic mess that I can then pitch shift further in the DAW, warp to change the rhythm and use for different elements. Again, I should make a video! There is an old one where I show how I hacked a Walkman for speed control if you’re interested, it’s in one of the Studio vlogs. There you’ll hear what I tend to make with weird tape loops and pitch shifting. As for short scale vs regular or long: Most of the bands I enjoy play short scale guitars. It’s the strangest thing, but when I heard this little Mustang I was like, man, that’s the sound I’ve always been chasing and couldn’t quite get! Ordered it straight away! I know that you can get a fuller sound with regular scale and light strings, but I don’t like finger pain and the sound I was always looking for was hidden in the short scale! I used to be too proud to play short scale, never would have heard the end of it from my friends back when I started playing. “Hah, girls and their toy guitars” etc. But nowadays I just don’t care and it’s just the sound I want 🤷‍♀️ Not sure about basses yet, but I think between a Bass VI and maybe a more pricey Fender Player Mustang bass with 2 pickups I might find what I’m looking for too. That being said, I unwisely told my husband that I’d finish an album on my 2 Mustangs before I buy another guitar 😂 Gotta get a move on with that or no new guitars for me 🤣

[@stevebrassington3227]

Lilly you really are multi talented, your cinematography is brilliant too. Keep it up and the photography too of course. Lock down is really getting in the way now, fingers crossed we will soon be able to get out and take some photos. 😘😘❤️

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Steve, that’s nice to hear! Yeah, this situation is really getting on my nerves. They don’t do lockdowns here anymore, which is worse because then the cases just stay high and that makes it even more dangerous for people like me. We’ve had the numbers high enough to warrant a lockdown for 6 months now. They just don’t do it anymore 🤷‍♀️ I can go outside to take pictures, but it’s kinda too dangerous 🙄

[@stevebrassington3227]

@@LillySchwartz Thats a worry, stay out of it until the vaccine program comes your way. (Hopefully not too soon) Do you not upload your photos onto Instagram? 😘

[@LillySchwartz]

Well, I gotta wait with the vaccine myself. I have autoimmune stuff and they excluded people like me from most trials, so I’m waiting to see whether my friends with similar conditions have any bad reactions. Most of them have kids in school so they don’t really have a choice to wait. And besides with the vaccines already ineffective for some variants they might well be useless before it’s my turn 🤷‍♀️ can’t stay indoors indefinitely though, so it’s a no win scenario for me right now 😬 might just go outside anyway trying to stay away from people. No more street photography I guess? 🙄 And no, I don’t use Instagram. My photos just don’t suit tiny screens and I don’t like the algorithm. I only use it for drawings. I do have a website with years worth of blog posts though, if you’re interested! Should be linked in the description.

[@stevebrassington3227]

@@LillySchwartz Things will find their natural balance eventually, what ever that might be. Your right you have just got to stay away from people or at least a safe distance. It’s long lens time! I’ll check out your web site. Stay safe 😘

[@LillySchwartz]

Yeah, I better don’t tell you what this natural balance will look like. I have a degree in Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems and have predicted every single stage of this pandemic correctly, including the new mutations now. And I was right about what would happen even before the virus reached us in the West. That’s probably why I’m still alive. You literally don’t want to hear my current predictions, trust me. Probably enough to say that we’ll be trying to move out of the city and away from people as soon as possible 😬 With the current government strategies in the West things can only get worse, not better 🤷‍♀️ It’s alright though, I always kinda expected to end up a hermit and I enjoy taking pictures of trees too 😉 Stay safe out there!

[@MichaelVician]

Great job!

[@edmertins8072]

Good job Lilly!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Ed!

[@stonkpuppets6393]

Well done. Respect

[@Herpetile]

Such a great video. Inspiring.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Crix, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ✨

[@hanskung3278]

You are freaking amazing! 🔥

[@raymondtheriault2555]

I've been moding guitars for a long while, you did a fair job. What I've found to be useful and practical is to make cardboard layout (to scale of course) of the guitar's electronic layout. This makes it easier to optimize the lead wire lengths and to tape (or zip tie) the wiring. it makes for easier and more fluid work. Very cool video Lilly! Keep up going into new worlds, bravely ;-) P.S. I always copper line all my work, it makes for a better Farday cage and it grounds the pickguard at multiple points which eliminates unwanted static noise when brushing the pickguard with fingers while playing.)

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you for the tips, Raymond. I will think about that cardboard layout. I’m not much of a crafts person, so a mock-up would probably infuriate me more than it would help 😂

[@raymondtheriault2555]

@LillySchwartz You're welcome, but I hope I didn't sound too condescending, as an Asperger I have a blind spot for that tone ;-) If not, all is well then lol I was just sharing info with a like-minded enthusiast. Continue being cool and have fun!!!

[@LillySchwartz]

Ah, not to worry. My dad is the same way, so I don’t really get annoyed about that sort of thing 🙃 all good!

[@socarrones]

In my opinion the guitar turned out very nice with your modifications. I had thought about buying the same model in the same color, but now I'm curious about the Squier Mustang Sonic. Anyway, thanks for the video.

[@LillySchwartz]

It really is a lovely little guitar! The new Sonics look really good too, but quite a bit too similar to make it worthwhile for me to get one, because I already have two bullets! I’m thinking that there might be a single coil mustang with a trem in my future though!

[@barryarcher6158]

Excellent Lilly many thanks

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you Barry, I'm glad you enjoyed it! ✨

[@mattdoliver1984]

Hey, I know this Video is a couple years old now but nice job, I think this is the only video I’ve seen with a female doing mods to a guitar and I think I preferred watching this for some reason 🤦🏻‍♂️ I’ve always wanted a bullet mustang but never pulled the trigger, I have a normal Mustang though and they are awesome guitars. I think watching this had made me want to get one and mod it out. Plus you get a lot of guitar for your money anyway way. Thanks, I’ll check your other uploads out 👍🏼👍🏼😊 Matt

[@jeffwigle9154]

I really liked this video 4:51 and all the comments if haven't read this much in awhile but vary informative just wish I had this available when I was a kid and there wasn't any info on you tube just a lot of trial and arrow trying to fix my guitars well thanks Lilly and everyone elses and the the blood just made the guitar go up in value

[@themikepadua]

THIS IS AWESOME

[@LillySchwartz]

Aww, thank you so much Mike!! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 😀

[@phillipholt6005]

That's too much work and money. You probably should have bought the Jaguar.

[@phillipholt6005]

You don't have a Mustang anymore.

[@LillySchwartz]

It is a Mustang body and a Mustang neck with the original pickups, so it remains a Mustang, no matter the switching! Even with the upgrades it’s still way cheaper than a Fender Mustang, plays nicely and has a lot of tones. As for all the work: sure, it was a lot, but I was having a lot of fun with this so why not? 😀 And yes, I do want a Jaguar at some point, but did you not notice that they have single coils and the switching on there is entirely different? The “single coil” sound I get out of this Mustang sounds so different from a Jaguar! Different enough that it’s worth having both actually 😂

[@phillipholt6005]

@@LillySchwartz That's true about the Jag but I don't modify because it's expensive and work when it's cheaper too buy a budget guitar ☺️ withthe features inmost instances cases 😆🌹!! Don't you agree? But your right 💑 some say absolutely love to modify!

[@colinfaulkner4269]

Really great job.....well done.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much, Colin! I really love how it turned out. Looks snazzy and plays nicely 😀

[@cassiobld]

Incrível !!!, the music is awesome.. i really like your project, greetings from Brazil...

[@LillySchwartz]

Thank you so much Cássio! I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for watching and greetings from Spain ✨

[@dgs5809]

I just got one of the FSR Squier Bullet Competition Mustangs and I love it. I added locking tuners, strap locks and lemon oiled the fretboard. I will polish the frets and consider dropping a Seymour Duncan JB in it and adding a coil split as well.

[@LillySchwartz]

Oh, that sounds like a really nice mod too! Which colour did you get? I actually got a red one as well. Still planning out my mod for that one while I’m busy with other stuff!

[@dgs5809]

@@LillySchwartz I got the black one with the gold stripe, it's beautiful!

[@LillySchwartz]

Oh, that one is a real beauty! ✨ Uh, I think now I need someone to convince me that I don’t need a third hard tail Mustang! 🤪😂

[@dgs5809]

@@LillySchwartz Haha, I'm not sure you need 3 but they ARE likely to become collectibles.

[@dgs5809]

@@LillySchwartz kzbin.infoeesSAVwyJ4Y to see mine!

[@danielwulf4241]

Gute Arbeit! Good work!

[@LillySchwartz]

Danke Daniel! ✨

[@mattwatsonthesecrethelicopters]

I've made a mod video of my Squier Mustang. The nut was glued in to. I found a fine saw and carefully ran the saw down the centre of the nut. (It's only plastic so was quite soft) This then made it easier to remove. I used a Graph Tech nut in its place and its massively improved tuning. I replaced the saddles too. The original ones were useless! Great mod Lilly. Looks great.

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks Matt! I’m always scared when I need to resort to a saw because I’m a touch clumsy and I’d probably break something. I hope one day I have the nerve to get it out, the nut on this thing is definitely a bit awful. And the saddles, yikes, that rattle! I’m really enjoying those stringsaver saddles!

[@mattwatsonthesecrethelicopters]

@@LillySchwartz Yeh, the saddles were terrible in mine. Rattled and could intonate properly. I just took my time with the nut. I had to replace it as it came with badly fitted one. I think mine was made at the end of the day in the factory! I've been tinkering more with it, and changed out a pick up and added covers and the scratch guard is now purple! What did you do with the tone? Mine doesn't seem to effect it barely at all.

[@LillySchwartz]

Oh sweet, purple! That’s gotta look nice! For the tone I replaced the cap with a bigger one and redid all the wiring, now the tone knob actually does something! Before I could barely hear a difference either unless I rolled off the volume a lot. The cap I used is linked in the description I think.

[@christophergrigg5227]

Matt did you use the Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL PT-5042-00 ??? is this the correct size nut?

[@mattwatsonthesecrethelicopters]

@@christophergrigg5227 I can't remember for certain. I know it was a Graph Tech White Nut. I have a feeling it may have been the same size as a Strat one. Sorry I can't be any more help than that.

[@NineVoltDigitalCinema]

That’s a gorgeous Mustang! What is the advantage of the copper shielding? Your ambient piece at the end is really cinematic. Inspiring as always!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks James! 😀 It turned out so lovely, I have it sitting out on a stand and I tend to just stop and look at it when I walk past 😂 the original pickup configuration of double humbuckers doesn’t need shielding, because the pickups cancel most of the electric hum or interference that they might pick up from the environment. When I bypass the second coil for the coil split there is no hum cancelling though except for the middle position, so without the shielding it would get quite noisy. And I’m glad you like the music too! 😀 thanks for watching! ✨

[@furcio2611]

This is really helpful, thank you!

[@LillySchwartz]

I’m glad you found it helpful, Carlos! Thank you for watching ✨

[@daviddr2d2]

Really interesting, well done, yep indeed, it's good to show failures as well as successes along your journey, as we can learn from them too. Failure is our greatest teacher, and the more you fail the closer you get to your goal as long as you don't give up, and I like your music. Haha String Trees!

[@LillySchwartz]

Thanks David. It also makes it more relatable I think. YT has a tendency to edit out all the difficulties and that’s not how it really is. Learning always involves mistakes or we don’t really learn. And I’m glad you enjoy my music! That’s always nice to hear. 😀

[@ohmuseek4290]

Nice to see your videos, if you put a 2.2K resistor on the coil split to ground it will sound more single coil, there are some videos about it, it's like PRS guitars do it.

[@LillySchwartz]

Interesting, I’ll definitely have to look into that, thank you for the suggestion 😀

[@richgray5762]

Great video. Just FYI the neck has a fairly thick ( on mine) satin finish that looks raw. Sanding it a you should see a white powder (not wood). The fretboard on mine was fairly flat 9.5 radius, but some frets on high e had gaps between bottom of fret and fret board because frets were not seated before being glued in. Good for you on the shielding. Not only is that paint highly resistive, it's not grounded. The nut has a ton of glue on it and you need to tap both sides and maybe some fret puller pliers. Then a graphtec 5000 drops in as a near perfect sub.