Talk me out of it (Squier '51 modding content)

[marnold***]

Agreed. I have some of the non-permanent stuff and, while it takes a little effort to break it once it's dry, it's definitely possible. I just loosened some 1/4" cables recently to do some repair work. I think they come in difference strengths.

Hmmm. I thought it was tougher than that. I learned something!

Here's my take on your situation (from my experience): either do the cheapest option or nothing at all. Unless you are ridiculously dedicated to the Squier, you will probably just return to your best guitar (DK2M) and play that 90% of the time. There's really no sense in making a Squier '51 into another Jackson. You will never recoup the modding costs if you decide to sell.

That's a good point about trying to back it into a Jackson. I guess there is some of that. That would be a bad idea (tm).

That said, if you want to do it just for kicks (and not with the expectation that you will make this into a #1 guitar), it sounds like a good project for learning. You could even try sanding down the existing neck to your preferred profile.

And it would be for kicks, more or less. It would never supplant my Jackson. Basically, I'd like to have a good hardtail guitar in addition to my Floyd-equipped one. The problem with sanding the neck is that I'd prefer bigger frets too

I go through this phase every so often where I want to mod it and then that feeling goes away. I'll be patient.

[Eric***]

Basically, I'd like to have a good hardtail guitar in addition to my Floyd-equipped one.

That makes sense. My gut just tells me that if I was in your situation, I'd rather buy a decent hardtail and be done with it. My level of dedication to any one guitar is very very low, however, so the situation may be entirely different for you.