Suggestions for Upgrading a Squier Bullet

[Dr356]

A friend has given me a Squier Bullet. I'm a newbie to guitars in general and electric guitars in particular and am wondering if there are there any relatively inexpensive mods that can be made to a stock Squier Bullet to improve it?

Any suggestions will be much appreciated!

[Dru Edwards]

Hi Dr356. I think the first thing is do you find anything about the guitar that you don't like? For example, do you like the tone of the pickups? If you think they could be better, that's the first place I'd start. If you replace the pickups then the internal wiring and pots could be upgraded as well.

What amp are you playing it though? That's ~50% of your tone right there.

[RedJoker]

I have one too! The first thing I did was go to the fender site to learn how to set it up. I also replaced the nut and string trees with a Tusq. Since I don't use the tremolo, I bought a couple extra springs so now it has five instead of four. With those improvements, it now holds tune for months on end and everything was less that $15, I think. I keep being told I need to upgrade the pickups and maybe I will some day but thats not what is holding the guitar back, it's the player....

[Davis Webb]

Be careful what you invest in it. By the time you buy pickups and re-do the wiring and customize it, you have laid out as much as a Standard would be.

Do a search on here for posts by Fret Buzz, he is the master of tweaking the Bullet. He fiddles with pickup height and all manners of things.

The pickups are definitely awful. But is it worth spending a few hundred to upgrade them, when a used Standard is the same price? I think not.

[EoE]

"Be careful what you invest in it. By the time you buy pickups and re-do the wiring and customize it, you have laid out as much as a Standard would be"........ this is mostly true but ill tell you a secret. thump on the neck then thump on the guitar body . it is easer when it is plugged in. try to listen for the tone.. if the body tone matches the neck tone....invest keep it forever. I do not care how cheap a guitar is or what brand.. you have a gem and is worth doing what ever it takes to make it a great guitar. I am going to add I have this 400.00 dollar bass I keep talking about. Well the neck and body are perfectly tuned together. I will be investing in this instrument and I love it. it is a great piece of finger candy. every one that plays it loves it. it is not just me.

[Dr356]

The only amp is a Marshall MS-2, roughly 4 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall. What might be an affordable replacement?

[EoE]

Marshal people will swear by marshal and you do have a good amp. for small amps for guitar I like bogie. I like carvins also the legacy is my favorite. right now I am using a pmp16805 euro power beringer powered mixer.. 10 channel running all my basses my double neck 4/6 . my guitar's and keyboards through it and I love the sound. ill be honest and say I will move up to a carvin legacy later . and ampeg for bass. but not till I move past small rooms with my show. Peavy has always been the working mans go to ...

[swsman]

Spend time with it. Get to know what sound you can coax out of it. Don't rush with upgrades.
If it plays hard have it set up. You can play with pickup height to get most of them. Pots and switches will be of questionable quality as it is, they are either full on or full off. Not much in between.
Like someone said a good amp is a half the battle. Look for a deal. I went with Mustang III modeler and am happy with it at this time. For home playing I feel solid state amps are easier to dial in compared to tube amps.
Like I said play it a lot, take your time. I purchased my Fernandes brand new sometime in 1998, just a couple months ago it received a pro setup, CTS pots and five way switch, CTS input jack. Pickups and everything else is still all original. At the same time I replaced crappy factory tuners with Gotoh 18:1, a world of difference.
It doesn't get played near as much as in the early days, that aside it is an old friend, love the feel of the neck and it isn't going anywhere. My only electric.

[guitararmy]

Do you know anyone who plays electric guitar? You could get a second opinion on how playable your Bullet guitar is and whether it's worth upgrading.

Some nice inexpensive amps include Roland cube series, the Blackstar iCore series and the small modeling amps from Fender.

[kbraker]

Look for a good used loaded pick guard on another forum's buy/sell page.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

Be careful what you invest in it. By the time you buy pickups and re-do the wiring and customize it, you have laid out as much as a Standard would be.

Do a search on here for posts by Fret Buzz, he is the master of tweaking the Bullet. He fiddles with pickup height and all manners of things.

The pickups are definitely awful. But is it worth spending a few hundred to upgrade them, when a used Standard is the same price? I think not.

Great point worth repeating, Davis.

Originally Posted by guitararmy

Do you know anyone who plays electric guitar? You could get a second opinion on how playable your Bullet guitar is and whether it's worth upgrading.

Some nice inexpensive amps include Roland cube series, the Blackstar iCore series and the small modeling amps from Fender.

+1.

[jcarlos]

I have a Bullet Tele and it sounds great through all my amps, no upgrades needed there. Have yet to try a Bullet Strat though.

[Dr356]

The Squier now has a very different, more versatile sound, but growly, fuzzy and distorted a bit. Would prefer a very clean, more jazz type sound. Then again,ties early days, and I'm still trying out all the little dials and gizmos

[Davis Webb]

Not only that but the Bullet, of which I have owned 3, gave me hand pain. The neck is very limp and vibrates as you play. I had serious hand joint pain due to playing it.

I think your bullet is best donated to a kid who cannot afford a guitar. Take the money you would have upgraded it with and buy a used Standard Strat or Tele.

I screwed around with Bullets a long time before I realized, they just aren't anything but a toy. If you are a hobby fixer up kind of guy, they are great for that. But if you actually want a good sound, don't bother. They are sold for about $120 with an amp as part of a kids entry package for a reason.

Just saving you time and heartache brother. Been there.

[RedJoker]

Let us know what you do. I know several bands that gig multiple times a week with Squiers. If it works, it works, regardless of the name on the headstock.