Turning a Stock Fender Squier into a Tom Delonge Signature Stratocaster

[@noeffnwaypal]

I just finished a similar build with an Affinity Squier. Being thrifty on parts (with the exception of the Invader pup), I was able to complete the build for just under $350. Plays great and does the thing very well!

[@clifisboring]

10/10 brother activities here, he’s so lucky to have a brother like you.

[@ChelseaElizabeth1991]

You're a good brother! Even with the re-release this year, I'm sure your brother will loves this guitar more.

[@Travis-guy-247]

Great video mate! Squier themselves have actually made a Tom DeLonge style Strat this year. It's part of their "Affinity" series and it's a blatant homage to the TD Strat. It's hardtail, got 1 single humbucker in the bridge and is even available in Surf Green with a pearloid pickguard or black with a black pickguard (both further references to Tom DeLonge). The only difference is they have a volume and tone pot, which actually makes them a bit more versatile. All you need to do is put an Invader in the bridge and you have a TD Strat for £300!

[@finto182]

I picked one up! Had to check it out! It’s a nice guitar and looks very close to the Tom strat ! Only thing missing really is the volume controller

[@Travis-guy-247]

@@finto182 I've been meaning to grab one. I need to get one before Summer otherwise it will probably be discontinued and disappear into the ether lol

[@finto182]

@@Travis-guy-247 Its a lovely looking guitar and im going to upgrade some parts to make it look like a Delonge !

[@Travis-guy-247]

​@@finto182 I noticed that the Affinity Strat started to go out of stock on many websites, with one even saying "discontinued product". So I decided to stop thinking and start doing 😅 I ordered one and it came today! Sounds great. I've got a bit of a shit amp right now, but I can't wait to hear it through a better one 👌🏼 I'll get an Invader pickup at some point in the future, but the important thing now was to just get the guitar whilst it was still available

[@finto182]

@@Travis-guy-247 i ordered an invader for mine and it shipped yesterday so going to have it soon! Can’t wait to do the work on it

[@aarondwood6628]

I did a replica of his all black strat seen in boxcar racers "I feel so" music video. It was easy to do the wiring since all you have to do is follow the wires from the neck and middle pick ups and clip them of with pliers. Same for the tone knobs and switch.

[@RobGalley]

Something I want to try at some point!

[@aarondwood6628]

@@RobGalley it's a lot of fun.

[@kurdtjohn]

Nice build, man! Also, Tom DeLonge is now using a custom set of 11-52 strings with a wound G string for tuning stability.

[@RobGalley]

Thanks man! Ah that’s cool to know, might have to try those!

[@jonathanr6143]

Out of interest where did you hear this

[@VEV-cu6no]

Source?

[@kurdtjohn]

Forgot to reply here until now. Saw it in his tech’s post a while back when he started touring again with Angels & Airwaves in 2019.

[@michaelcarey9359]

..on his Gibson-scale guitars, no doubt.

[@VEV-cu6no]

The guitar build is great, but that playing is amazing, bravo mate!

[@Kristhebear856]

Nice build man . Look for a affinity neck to get the big headstock all your missing. Looks great 👍

[@miki1258]

amazing build and demo man keep up the good work : )

[@RobGalley]

Thanks! Appreciate it 🎸

[@carltonlong1985]

That's a really nice thing to give to your bro. Nothing cooler than a Tom DeLonge seafoam green Stratocaster.

[@Wabin22]

If I were your brother I would really like Christmas to come soon... Nice work man! There's something about giving a green guitar to a brother, as I gave with my Surf Green Affinity Strat to my brother after he rode his bicycle from Sweden to Paris for charity. Hope your brother will enjoy this :)

[@RobGalley]

He loved it! Thanks for watching 🤟

[@thurgood107]

Did the same with mine but used an Iron Gear pickup and had a treble bleed installed, cavity copper shielded and bone nut installed.

[@RobGalley]

Awesome stuff! 🤟

[@mattpearce79]

Montypresso guitar wax is excellent for conditioning and darkening the fretboard.

[@RobGalley]

I’ll check it out!

[@VEV-cu6no]

Have you thought about doing a Starcaster build?

[@GuitarGuy4647]

What model did you use? I love the color - much more vibrant than the surf green used on the TD OG & reissues.

[@jeeeeev]

Does this guitar have the same wood for the body/neck as the original signature?

[@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee]

The Squier Bullet guitars are usually made of basswood (and in rare cases, poplar). The original signature was made of alder.

[@michaelcarey9359]

Did you use the neck version of the Invader, like the DeLonge model, or did you just get the bridge model... which has a special capacitor in it, and sounds different.

[@ultimatesteve]

how were the frets on the bullet? i really want to build a cheap tom delonge.

[@kintaro_f]

nice axe and riffs!!

[@bxbbyxx]

Love it! Do you mind sharing how much the fitting/wiring?

[@MrDabwee]

Where did you buy the pickguard from?

[@iantaylor1524]

Good job mate! I’m envious of your brother lol

[@davidkay3443]

Sorry if i missed it somewhere but where did you get the pickgaurd / scratch plate from? Ive got pretty much all the bits just need scratch plate.. top video... Very good... Oh I'm guessing it was the Seymour Duncan invader bridge and not neck pickup you went for? Seems to be a few people suggesting difference in opinion on that

[@MrDabwee]

Second that. Where did you get the pearl pickguard from?

[@bobsyeruncle4841]

played like a wizard

[@nkryptedmusic7961]

Hi, what’s the make and model of the volume knob? Thanks.

[@ewippel7446]

I never understood how he had no tone knob. If we compared it to a normal strat with tone switches, would the Tom Delonge guitar be in a 100% open tone position or zero tone position?

[@PivisHanak]

It's 100% open when there is no tone knob.

[@kristianjohnsen7995]

Players like Tom Delonge use the volume knob as a tone knob

[@DS-nw4eq]

Get another backing plate and put your own name on it. Just a suggestion, also learn how to solder... it opens up a lot of possibilities.

[@RobGalley]

I will get around to that at some point! Hah.

[@kirill2002aug]

What's the name of a demo song?

[@RobGalley]

The demo on the video is just a Blink 182 style jam I made up!

[@kikirodriguez5236]

@@RobGalley I loved the demo you created, you have talent, new sub bro

[@FeldSteinRecordsCompany]

is the song u were playing at 8:30 a blink one or did u come up with it urself ?

[@RobGalley]

Just a little track I made myself to demo the guitar!

[@armandofdz8]

@@RobGalley nice track bro, it sounds like a Cheshire Cat song

[@Sydney559]

Will get mine in a week. 220$ for the brand New guitar, a foam green one 😀. 160$ for the pick up. My friend will modify her Damn... Christmas was going to sucks but now... i am happy dude! That will be my 1st guitar... at 56... Thank you so much for the idea. That will help me in my sobriety. Have a beautifull Christmas mate!!! Where did you get the pick guard and volume knob?

[@davidoliver4520]

Hey mate looks super, have you tried montys fretboard wax? Really helps getting these light Chinese type rosewood to almost black / dark brown

[@RobGalley]

I haven’t but I’ll definitely look into that!

[@jamesjohn5334]

Those ernie ball 10-52 is what I use for every guitar they're amazing

[@gaetanmottin1703]

stop playing 10-52 it is to tight on low string , prefer to use 11-50 , try it so much confortable 11-14-18-28-28-50 , good video

[@RylinGipp-y8n]

Didn’t show the front faceplate replacement or internals. Bs.

[@segazora]

and now you can buy basically the same guitar for £1200, thanks fender.

[@TheInstantClassic86]

What pickup did you swap it out with?

[@RobGalley]

I put a Seymour Duncan invader in - the same one on the Tom Delonge model

[@acutemadness]

He literally said it in the video the invader is unique in looks it’s not like their typical slot poles on one coil and fixed on the other

[@definitelyjustjj4042]

I believe this is one of the most unique signature guitars out there, yet anyone can easily replicate it cheaply and quite accurately. It’s such an icon at this point

[@CFChristian]

That's actually a great looking guitar "for a Squier"

[@RobGalley]

Looked even better up close. Very impressed

[@byronofcalgary6985]

awwww... everybody notices a 1 humbucker guard with 1 knob. ...but we forget the orig was a STRING THRU ALDER HARDTAIL with a Top Rout for 1 HB only... ...and a Real Seymour Duncan ! ...so ...where does the TONE come from ? ? is it a simple SD swap ? or is it... GASP... the STRING THRU ALDER HARDTAIL with Mini Tub... that no one can find ? ? ? ? ? ? how does deleting 2 pickups improve your tone ? = 》 = 》 how does deleting a Tone Pot do ANYTHING if you have a Humbucker ? ? .. that's a trick for single coils... no tone pot... and people still do it on HSS ! ! ps... just scooped a real Squier Tom Delonge for $99 at a pawn shop... did some readin' ...did some playin' sold it to someone who knew WTF a Mini Tub ALDER HARDTAIL meant... Bonus Q... what do Fender USA guitars have that Mex & Squier never did ? ? ?

[@MolliOlli182]

Removing pickups and tone pots does nothing good to your sound (at least in this case). But if you plan not to use them, might as well remove them. That was Tom’s filosofy on getting these mods in his strat.

[@byronofcalgary6985]

@@MolliOlli182 the point is... you cannot undo the extra top rout.. the trem thru rout... or rear rout for springs... it's not anything like a Delonge with all that wood removed... And... since strats have the bridge pickup bypassing the Tone pot... it already was, what it is now ! it's only a pickup swap... Put it in a Tele ! if you want to hear a hardtail

[@byronofcalgary6985]

@@MolliOlli182 ps... I had no idea about Delonge's until i stumbled on one at a pawn shop for $100 like the other Squiers... so I read up... and played it a lot... but cheapie Duncan Design pickup vs real deal Seymour Duncans... so i sold it to a buddy for a discount ... $400 instead of $600 or more =》 I bought an Alder Hardtail and a SD... you can too... these vids are great fan boy stuff... but lousy at explaining why Delonge wanted a Mini Rout Alder Hardtail with a real H.O. Seymour Duncan..

[@byronofcalgary6985]

@@MolliOlli182 and... my alder hardtail is routed for 3 pickups so I know it isn't all it could be... but no thru rout... no rear rout.. You do notice the diff.. like every other subtle diff in guitars...

[@MolliOlli182]

@@byronofcalgary6985 I know it's not same tone wise to use a strat with space for the trem and extra pickups. But it's the cheaper option. One could always build a strat body or buy one that has no routing for excess stuff. But it wouldn't be as easy or cheap. I actually on the Mexican made TD strat. And even it in fact has routing for three pickups instead of just the hum bucker in the bridge. Why one might ask. Because Fender used they 3 single coil pickup hardtail strat bodies for the TD strats to get the price down. They would have had to charge extra if they custom built the bodies for one pickup. Also the first custom shop strat Tom ever got was in fact a three single coil strat with a trem system but he got it modded with a hardtail and the single invader. The rest of Tom's own guitars were propably custom made so they might not have cavities for three pickups. What I think of in the late 90's and early 2000's Tom might not have cared about the wood and routings and such of his guitars. He was a young punk-kid back then. So I don't think he chose the materials and stuff for his Fenders by himself. Might just have been the guy building them who saw what fit best and suited his needs and came up with the prototype for the first one, which was the regular American strat but just the pickup swapped and hardtail added. So yeah this modded squire might not be exactly like the guitars Tom played but I'm pretty sure Tom in 1999 would have played it for sure. And as far as the tone goes I think THAT Tom sound was more of a combination of hi gain amps and a hi gain pickup than the wood and build of the guitar itself.

[@GuitarGuy4647]

What model did you use? I love the color - much more vibrant than the surf green used on the TD OG & reissues.