Upgrading a Squier Affinity Strat - how I failed and how nicely it came out

Upgrading a Squier Affinity Strat with Fender Yosemite Pickups! Despite it´s gone a little in the wrong direction it came out very satisfying. Haven´t heard a Custom Shop Strat sound so lovely since a long time. Blew me away!

[@3Gbroyota]

The staggered tuners are for better string angle down to keep apropriate pressure on the nut.

[@luisvillarreal5262]

I have the same guitar. A friend gave it to me along with his Peavey Rage 158 Transtube practice amp. I modded the Squire Affinity with a Dimarzio Super Distortion pickup, I had from the early 80’s. It’s now an HSS Super Strat. After a little bit of cleaning and setting up on the intonation, it sounds so much better. 🎸👍

[@MrJLobster]

So keep it and enjoy it from time to time! Good luck!

[@mikemiller3016]

Bridge saddles are the most important mod on a squier.. your biggest improvement will be there

[@jarthur1369]

i did similar. found a loaded pickguard from a am performer with those same pickups for $115 usd on reverb, and went from there. they really are good pickups. I just do light trem stuff with the heel of my palm, so i never have the trem arm on there so mine was much simpler :)

[@MrJLobster]

Thanks for commenting! Have good fun with your music!

[@nostravidaviva6360]

Great work. Nice video!

[@DaringDan]

Cool video. I did the same thing to mine and saved myself hundreds instead of getting an MIM and I put a loaded Am II pickguard on it.

[@MrJLobster]

Thanks for commenting!

[@stancoleshill8925]

The trem arm has a 10-32 thread which has to be one of the worst threads you could have used on this application. 1/4-24 would have been a much better choice. The tolerance is like night and day, however, a threaded joint should really not be used here. Should be a straight shaft with a threaded tapered friction devicethat allows for rotation of the bar while holding it in one position. A thread will not do this.

[@davidmeinertdecrepidude]

grinding the base off the string trees worsened the problem... you moved them closer to the headstock, increasing the break angle

[@dietmargroe-wietfeld6543]

Nice ,big one 👊👍

[@MrJLobster]

Thanks to Dietmar! Most faithful viewer!

[@patrichardson7481]

you should of used the Wilkinson trem and left the stock saddles on it. better block and thicker plate. lot better setup than the stock squire one that came on the guitar.

[@MrJLobster]

Maybe I should have, yea you right..

[@brozio77]

@@MrJLobster another idea is to put a new tremolo block and leave original baseplate and orginal saddles. more sustain but the more balcend tone of the zinc saddles. i foud myself than steel sometimes is too bright.

[@ruilopes8159]

Nice video. Why not just rotate the fender string trees 180 degrees instead of going back to Squier ones? Was it too close to the bridge then?

[@MrJLobster]

Thanks! ..thought about that but came up with an other solution. I think it would have been possible. However the dimentions of the pegheads are not identical as I found out. In particular the position of the saddle to the tuners differs quiet a bit.

[@staraxemaster3053]

Is the inside routed for Humbuckers?

[@vs_830]

It is better to show the difference between it was and become.

[@malcolmedwards296]

Ii might sound better than before you went to work but there's no soul in there you cant here that 😅 it's better but not good just my opinion

[@MrJLobster]

you´re opinion might actually be right!.... It was indeed a good Stratocaster to begin with. And I don´t say that lightly. Worked 40 years with Stratocasters. Had some Custom Shops too. Did not keep any of them. Because they are custom these instruments where made or at least should be made for one persons speciffic needs or opinions to what it´s sound should be. It should not be a Dealers preliminary decision for kind of a small "mass production" ... like it is here in europe. Most if not 99% of them never ever had a real good Vintage in hands nor did they play it in comparsion to a contemporary instrument. I´m from that era. I held them in hands. As the american army soldiers moved from here many of them sold their old Fenders to the music shop I part times worked. Should have kept some for myself but - they were out of my pocked. Simply to much money for the F sticker that we couldn´t afford. I´t was the 80tees. There was no vintage. They were just old. .... sorry I had an attack of exess speech

[@staraxemaster3053]

Is the inside routed for Humbuckers?