Hey, really cool! Thanks for sharing all the details. So many cool mods are possible.
Hello,
I decided a while ago that I would mod my Squier SE-100 Strat and this is where I am currently at with the project.
I really like the Squier '51 that I have and I thought it would be an interesting experiment to mod my cheap Chinese Squier Strat to be similar to the '51.
One thing that bothers me to a small degree is the thin sound and somewhat too bright sound of my '51. I thought that maybe my darker sounding agathis wood Squier Strat body might provide a somewhat fatter sound which would be more pleasing to me. The body on this Strat is the same thickness as a standard Strat too, which might provide a somewhat different tone.
I had already modded my Strat with a Squier '51 neck that I got off of ebay. I got this neck for a good price and I am very happy with the way it feels. This is the guitar I grab to play the most. I also added U.S.A. Fender reissue vintage pickups to this Strat which really brought it to life. Now the neck and middle pickups will be used on my Jazzmaster project and the bridge single coil I will use at the neck on this project.
I removed the Strat pickguard and pickups and installed a new Pickguard from WD Parts which I ordered with no holes except the mounting holes and one bridge hole for a humbucking. I used an original '51 pickguard to mark where I wanted the single coil to be on the new guard.
I transfered the selector switch location from my Strat pickguard, which was changed from a 5 way to a 3 way to the new pickguard and used my hobby modeling drill to get started. Using a small bit I rough drilled the location out and finished up with a sharp utility knife and a very small hobby file.
Next I started work on the single coil mounting hole by drilling many small holes and then cutting them with a wire cutter. This is crude way to go about doing this but I have a limited amount of tools and this gets the job done.
At this point I used various files to even the opening out.
This view shows where I am at right now with my U.S.A. 2006 Fender bridge vintage reissue pickup in the neck position. I ordered a Dimarzio Classic PAF humbucking pickup off of ebay but they sent one that was not F spaced to fit the Fender pole spacing and I had to send it to Dimarzio for a swap, which they agreed to and were very friendly to deal with. The wait is on...
I hope this helps
M29
Last edited by M29; April 19th, 2007 at 08:19 AM. Reason: Added text
Hey, really cool! Thanks for sharing all the details. So many cool mods are possible.
Steve Thompson
Sun Valley, Idaho
Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
Amphs: Peavey Classic 30, '61 Fender Concert
Effects and such: Boss: DS-1, CE-5, NS-2 and RC20XL looper, Digitech Bad Monkey, Korg AX1G Multi-effects, Berhinger: TU100 tuner, PB100 Clean Boost, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, DuhVoodooMan's Rabid Rodent Rat Clone, Zonkin Yellow Screamer Mk. II, MXR Carbon Copy Delay
love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart. . .
- j. johnson
Very very cool M. I love to see photos with descriptions. That's gonna be a cherry guitar. A Dremel would be really useful to you.
Guitars/Bass - MIM Fender Classic 50s Strat, MIM Fender Standard Strat, Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Epi '56 Gold Top Les Paul, Martin DSR acoustic, Sigma Martin Auditorium electric/acoustic, Squier Jazz Bass.
Amps/Cabinets/Modelers - Model 2558 50 watt Marshall Silver Anniversary Jubilee combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30s, 4x12 Marshall cabinet w/25 watt Greenback Celestions, Fender Blues Junior w/ a couple of Billm mods, Line 6 POD 2.0, Roland Micro Cube
Pedals/Effects - Cry Baby Classic Wah, Boss TU-2, Boss NS-2, Boss RC-2 Loop Station, Ross Compressor, MXR Micro Amp, Danelectro FAB Echo, Danelectro FAB Chorus, Danelectro Chicken Salad, Marshall Guv'nor Plus, Marshall Echohead, Duhvoodooman's Zonkin' Yellow Screamer, Digitech Digiverb, Digitech Bad Monkey, Dunlop Fuzz Face, Homemade Loop Bypass pedal, Duhvoodooman's Sonic Tonic (Maxon SD-9 clone +), Voodoo Labs Superfuzz
Thanks guys, I am glad you like it.
I really enjoy modding, you never know what you will come up with Sometimes good sometimes not so good
I have a dremel here but I never seem to use it much. I have been cobbling away at things by hand so long I just don't feel the urge to use it much. It is like wrenches on a car, I have air tools but I hardly ever seem to use them either.
Thanks guys, I want to get this thing back together but I have to wait for that darn pickup from DiMarzio. I don't like leaving a neck without string tension very long. I will probably have to back the truss rod off some for a while...Oh well, no big deal.
You know...One thing I noticed on the DiMarzio pickup box is that they have a note there that if you are not happy with the sound of the pickup you can exchange it for another. I thought that was pretty good on their part.
M29
Very cool! Are those knobs really green? They look super against the green paint job; I love those surf guitar colors like sonic blue and sea foam green.
And +1 on the dremel.
Thanks aeolian, Yeah the knobs are mint green. I had them on my Strat but I need a coil tap on this so I will have to use Chrome like the Squier '51.
I wanted to use a mint green pickguard but could not find one when I ordered the white and when I did fine the green it was too late to change my order. I may end up getting one and cutting it to match someday down the road. I like the white but I reallllly like mint green!
Thank you again for the kind words.
M29