Pimp a Squire, or just go for a Fender?

[post.aux.fader]

Haha I have creat a tenacious thread.... now watch it die, lol.

Fender MIM HH (dual humbucker) Strat or Gibson Melody Maker?




....it continues....

 

[ibanezrocks]

Fender HH strat, just because. No real reason, but I played a melody maker and I'm sure theyre not all that bad, but the one I played was.

 

[jeap]

i have an older squire standard strat and it came with cheapie tuners, ceramic pickups, and the neck was too thick.

i have been planning to pimp it out with locking tuners which i have, and tex-mex pickups which i have, and i have already filed and sanded the neck down.

the prob is i bought 2 SG type guitars during the great dearmond blowout a few years back and those are all i play now. gold-tone pickups are sweet especially when the set neck sg only costs 200 bucks.

no motivation to work on the squire.

i will do it sometime...

the best thing is to take a cheap guitar to a jam and humiliate a gear snob or two. oh you got a 57 reissue les paul huh? what do you think of my squire?

its not where the thing is made or what name is on it. the music we make is the product that counts.

 

[metalj]

Id go with what ever would get all your friends to say, "wow your cool you have a xxxx", and dont forget about what would get you the most chic's, thats what is really important when choosing an axe !!!

ok, ill shut up now.

 

[A Reel Person]

I already have the finer Ibanez's and Danelectros, many finer guitars, but I got the Squier Bullet, and I like it. It's my only fender-like product. Sometimes I accidentally callet a "Fender Strat", but I know better! It's a nice, light guitar that's fun to play. I set it up myself.

Like Junplugged, I got it as a cheapie kickaround guitar, and it serves it's purpose well. Y'don't shed too many tears if you nick it!

 

[Gabriel_0]

I picked up a Standard SE MIM Ash Strat a few weeks ago. The neck was perfect and the entire guitar seemd perfectly balanced for me. 1st thing I did was gutted the electronics and put in a EMG DG-20. Next I put in some Sperzel locking tuners. Last thing was I took it to a luthier and had it proffesionally set up and everything re-examined. I love the Vintage bridge on the MIM strats much more than the 2 point bridges found on most USA strats so that remained as is and since the MIM strats come standard with a bone nut that stayed put also. What I ended up with was an incredible guitar that cost less than 1K and can probably blow most custom shop USA models out of the water. I asked the tech if he recommended any other mods. His reply was "abslutely not. You have a strat here thats as good as it gets. PERIOD"

My suggestion to others thinking of picking up a strat, go look for a MIM with a nice neck, properly dressed frets, nice body, wood of your choice and one that feels like it's a part of your body. Then do what I did, mod it to your hearts content and you will have an incredible guitar for a fraction of the cost of any USA model and one that probably will end up sounding better than most.

Just my opinion of course but I think a very sound one.

 

[Scottgman]

I don't really understand the big deal about American vs. Mexican vs. Jap Fenders.

It's a fact that the American Fenders are made with better wood and hardware (and presumably attention to detail). But they aren't that damn expensive.

Have you priced a Les Paul or Paul Reed Smith lately? You can get an American Strat for less than a grand! In my book, that's a steal for a great guitar.

If you only have $500, put the American Strat in layaway. Get a loan. Put the extra $300 or $400 on a credit card. Mow some lawns. Work some overtime. Beg your parents/girlfriend/uncle/grandma for some extra bucks. Pimp yourself on the corner if you have to.

A couple hundred bucks isn't a major deal. I think it's worth it to have a great guitar. But people would rather go the cheap route and then spend the rest of their lives wondering if their cheap Fender Squire REALLY sounds as good as an American Strat. Or you end-up spending countless hours and dollars trying to make your cheap piece of firewood sound like a real Strat.

A little patience and planning goes a long way.