Upgrades for Squire Affinity strat?

[jjtrain]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, the salesman at local guitar shop was setting up a blue and white Squire Affinity stratocaster on the workbench. He said he'd part with it for $70 so one trip to the bank later, I'm the proud owner of a new beater guitar. The body and neck are very playable, so I think it could serve as a base for upgrading. Aside from a few scratches and the odd paint chip or two, the body is in great shape. The neck is nearly perfect the way it is currently and is quite fast.

What I'm wanting to reproduce is having a 1960's stratocaster sound but not to break the bank. I'm thinking that I need to replace the pickup's, the 5 way selector switch (which cuts in and out if I bump it wrong), the bridge and tremolo, as well as the tuners. Currently, I'm just fixing some of the cosmetic problems. I've filled and sanded some of the paint chipping and the local car parts store has ordered in a couple of paint pens that closely match the color of the guitar, so the body should be in like-new condition pretty soon after some sanding and polishing.

I went into this knowing I'm never going to have a top-notch guitar, but surely replacing some of the components will give this guitar a big improvement in sound?

I'm looking to recommendations for replacing the pickups, tremolo and bridge (basically the whole unit, or at least the zinc block in the body), any worn electronics and the tuning machines.

And one note about the selector switch: I saw that some strats have 3 toggle switches instead, one for each pick-up. I'd like to use those instead of the selector switch since I keep bumping the selector when I play it.

I don't have a set budget, but I'd like to spend less than $200 Since the guitar simply won't b worth more than that, soundwise or financially.

Thanks!

--James

[Dru Edwards]

Hi James, Congrats on the new Strat! $200 is a tight budget for all those upgrades but there are plenty of used parts that can be found. I would play it a bit to determine what needs to be upgraded rather than what you think should be upgraded, although new pickups and tremolo block probably will help your tone.

A $200 budget will mean $270 in your Strat. You can buy a used MIM Strat for that so if the parts you're putting in are Mexi parts you always have another option for that guitar - to trade for a Mexi.

I wonder if you can get a used set of Fender Original 57/62 pickups for around $100? They're $159 at MusiciansFriend.

[jjtrain]

Thanks for the advice Dru. I can expand the budget a bit, but it's not practical to put much more into this guitar than that. The tremolo itself is in good shape, so how about I just replace the block instead of the whole unit? As for the pickups, I've found a website called Guitarfetish and the general consensus is that their pickups are pretty good, especially the REDActive pickups. Like I said though, I'd love to have a more vintage tone. They even sell a pre-wired pickguard with all new electronics, but something tells me that the parts are cheap when they offer the entire unit for $150. Also, on musician's friend, they sell a prewired pickguard with Lace Sensor Gold pickups for $218 and free shipping. Perhaps that is worth the money? I heard that Lace pickups were used in fender guitars for many years.

Otherwise, those 57/62's look like a nice deal, I'll check them out.

What I really need to do is replace the 5 way switch since it cuts in and out depending on how I bump it. I'd also like to replace the tuners with locking tuners.

If $200 is a tight budget, how much do think I ought to put into this thing? I Could buy a MIM, but where's the fun in that? This way, I'll have a guitar that fits me.

Once again, thanks. But I could still use some advice.

--James

[Davis Webb]

The Lace Sensor pickups eliminate hum. The neck and body on the Affinity are very good. The stock pickups are NOT bad. You might not need to replace all of them. Maybe on humbucker on the bridge would do it, like a Hot Rail.

I did not find the vibrato to be too unstable on them. Sometimes a setup is all you need for that.

If you really want to put some money into it , there are soooo many options. Head over to the Stratocaster guitar forum to the Squire subforum and you will see many options. From Texas Specials to vintage and on, there are so many options.

I love the Affinity right out of the box. Its actually a pretty good guitar, much better than the cheaper ones.


Lastly, what amp are you using? Fender Mustangs really will do that justice.

[jaybones]

I would start by just replacing the switch. There are both 5 and 3 ways available, and genuine Fenders are pretty cheap (under $10).

Once you get that not cutting out, try playing it a while before you decide that want to change the pickups. Over on strat-talk.com there are plenty of guys that are upgrading and selling pickups and other parts so that's a resource.

[rampix]

JJ. I did the same thing just for the experience. I bought a Squire Affinity from eBay for $48. I replaced the pots, caps, 5-way switch, jack and all the wiring with US parts like Switchcraft, CRL, Alpha pots and orange drop caps. I intended to change the pickups too, but the factory ones sound very good. The trem is stable and though the tuners are pretty hard to turn it stays in tune very well. I also added a wbw 3 ply pick guard and new knobs and pu covers.

I only did this for the fun of learning the insides of a guitar, but it turns out to be a darn nice player that sits out on a stand ready to go...and I'm only in it about $130.

I ran the serial number and dated it as a '92. I've learned that those first year Squiers had full thickness Fender bodies and are more desirable...for a Squier that is. I have far more expensive guitars that get a lot of case time, while el cheapo gets lots of play time, go figure?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by jjtrain

...I've found a website called Guitarfetish and the general consensus is that their pickups are pretty good, especially the REDActive pickups. Like I said though, I'd love to have a more vintage tone. They even sell a pre-wired pickguard with all new electronics, but something tells me that the parts are cheap when they offer the entire unit for $150...

One of these should fill the bill:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Hand-Wir...rds_c_113.html

-and to complete the transformation:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Tremolos...rts_c_203.html

Quality isn't Lindy Fralin/Seymour Duncan/DiMarzio, but you'll be pleasantly surprised - and for a guitar of this type IMO anything else would be overkill...

[ljguitar]

Hi jjt…

I'm all over the drop in replacements for pickups and switches (and pots).

And a Strat isn't a Strat without a 5 way switch. It's positions 2 & 4 which make it "Strat-ish" (combines two pickups and throws them out of phase with each other).

If you want it to be old-timey Stratocaster, those drop-in upgrades in the $150-200 range will likely improve on what you have…if you
have a decent amp to let you show it off.

If not, then we know where this leads…

Do some Googling…

[jjtrain]

Thanks for the Advice everyone. I think what I'll do is keep the pickups I've got right now since all of them work. Instead, I'll focus on a good set of locking tuners, a 5 way switch (keep it strat-like), and a tremolo. I can touch up the pick guard and bring it back to life as well.

My roommate has a Vox tube amp that I'm using, but since it isn't mine, I can't use it all the time. Nope, I don't have an expensive amp, actually all I have is this little crappy thing that the guitar store gave me with the purchase of the guitar. It works for inside my room, but I wouldn't dare use that amp for anything other than that.

As far as my restoration goes, I've filled all the chips and sanded them down. The paint pen from Ford should be in tomorrow. I'm filling any remaining gaps with a little blue acrylic paint, the paint pen should match and used as an over coat to all the chips. Then I can sand the areas down to about 1500 grit, repaint as necessary, and then I'm putting a new top coat of hand rubbed polyurethane. Overall, it shouldn't add too much thickness to the finish. If, for some reason, the paint doesn't match, I plan to spray the body in a very light coating of paint to blend the colors and make it look seamless.

Thus far, the restoration is going well. I've learned from my project last summer that the best way to restore a guitar is to do as little as possible. No reapplying finishes, no total repaints, re-sanding, or re-fittings unless necessary.

I've already been using this guitar, unplugged, as a practice guitar. I'm sure the neighbors are thankful because acoustics get LOUD in an apartment.

Once again, thanks, I'll keep people posted.

But now I'm looking at tremolos and tuners. Which would be the recommended brands and models?

--James

[MBE]

Check out the guitarfetish online store. GFS pickups are decent (huge upgrade over stock affinity pickups) and cheap. They also have cheap locking tuners, etc.

Personally, with a $270 strat budget, you could not do any better than a used Squier Classic Vibe 60's strat. The pickups, hardware, body, and neck/fret job are simply astounding quality for the price. I have a (rather mildly) modded 50's CV strat that I enjoy just as much as my American Fenders.

Keep your eye out for one. If you play it, you'll understand. Best value in a strat I have ever come across.

[Davis Webb]

I think you could just play it as is. I know you wanted a mod project, but the guitar, as is, is good to go. Modding it makes not a lot of sense, since by the time you buy parts other than the switch, its gonna be cheaper to buy a used MIM.

[moon]

Winding your own pickups isn't hard. In the long term it's a cheap way to experiment with different flavours if you see more guitars in your future although you might not save much if you just want 3 for the strat.

Depending how much you spend upgrades might not make a lot of financial sense but you'll learn a lot in the process and that's worth something too.

If you ever sell the guitar you probably won't get back the cost of the upgrades so keep the old bits in case you ever want to put them back in.

[RedJoker]

I say go for it. Sure, it may not make "financial" sense but for a VAST majority of us, guitars and music don't make "financial" sense anyway. It's all just a hobby.

[Hurricane Bob]

I did the same thing, bought a 2008 Squire Affinity for $40.00 from Craigslist, very nice sunburst. The tuners, and the bridge are excellent quality. I bought an aftermarket Japanese neck for $75 from ebay that has the 1 11/16th nut that I prefer. The pickups aren't bad but the switch and pots are pretty cheap. Good luck