My newly modified Squier Strat

Garth-S

Hi all I have just had some upgrades done to my Squier Strat which I got back in 2001. This was my first electric guitar, and I am very proud of it now :) . I replaced the standard white pickguard with a really cool off white pearl one. The old pickups have been replace with aged white Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups (sweet deal off ebay) and the old pots were replaced with the ones that came with the pickups (500K volume & 1meg tone). New selector switch, extra switch to turn on the bridge pickup (thanks to Allan's web site), and all screws have been replaced with stainless steel ones. Replaced white knobs with aged white ones. After reading Allan's comment about the vintage "toneless" pickups, I was a little worried how they would sound, but MAN OH MAN, what a sweet sound. My old Squier sounds absolutely amazing (after a little fiddling :) ). I am very very happy with it. Check out the picture and let me know what you guys think.

JoeyBones

Looks good man. The picture is a bit dark. Is it a black or green body ?

Garth-S

The body is black.. I took the photo on my cellphone, so it's not the greatest ?

AlanRatcliffe

Yeah, it's a great look - I love the pearloid on black look.

Replaced white knobs with aged white ones. After reading Allan's comment about the vintage "toneless" pickups, I was a little worried how they would sound

? You have to take into account that I'm a really fussy old curmudgeon. Overall, they are not bad noiseless "single-coils", on a par with the Duncan Stacks and the DiMarzio HS series. But up against some of the good real single-coils in the same price range - like Fralin and Fender CS '69s, or other noiseless pickups like Kinman and the DiMarzio Area series, they're missing the mojo.

cain

I wish i could have some sound clips of the fralin and fender pickups ☹

Garth-S

I would really like to hear what the Kinmans sound like. The CS '69s were in a totally different price bracket when compared to the price I got the vintage noiseless pickups for, I paid $108 for the pickups plus $30 for shipping, and the CS '69s were about $180 plus shipping. When I get a better bodied guitar in the future, I will definately consider the better pickups.

AlanRatcliffe

Francis Viviers wrote I wish i could have some sound clips of the fralin and fender pickups ☹

http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/Strat_Pickup_Sound_Clips_W1.cfm
Same guitar, same amp, same recording setup. A variety of Fender, Lollar and Fralin Pickups.

AlanRatcliffe

Garth S wrote I would really like to hear what the Kinmans sound like. The CS '69s were in a totally different price bracket when compared to the price I got the vintage noiseless pickups for, I paid $108 for the pickups plus $30 for shipping, and the CS '69s were about $180 plus shipping. When I get a better bodied guitar in the future, I will definately consider the better pickups.

Yeah the CS 69s are up there price-wise - especially the older sets with Abby's signature on them. I just swapped a set of those for a set of Fralin Blues Specials that I'll probably never use - I just fitted a steel plate to the bridge pickup so I could get pics for the book.