#1
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NGD Squier Mustang HH (MF $150 when on sale)
This NGD and review got buried in my Stewart travel guitar thread... With just a little work, it’s a great travel or backup guitar, and a good choice for a beginner. I also bought a Fender 610SS 10mm padding short scale gig bag. It was shipped tightly tri-folded which creased the padding. It's OK for the price. The bag is probably big enough for a Strat and not a super tight fit.
At its price point I expect some compromises and here is the list of things I fixed or noticed.
Upgraded Bridge
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 08-01-2021 at 05:49 AM. |
#2
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Nice work Jon. The grain on the fretboard IS real nice. I've always liked Mustangs, usually with single coils, but the humbucker option sounds pretty cool.
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-Joe Martin 000-1 Rainsong CH-OM Martin SC10e sapele My Band's Spotify page https://open.spotify.com/artist/2KKD...SVeZXf046SaPoQ |
#3
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I'm glad you like the pickups. I didn't ... because I just couldn't get them to sound clean enough. I bought one and I've tried at least three others in the stores and they all sounded pretty much the same ... very "hot" and just not if you like pristine cleans.
I have other guitars with humbuckers that cleaned up a lot better than my Mustang. Eventually I threw in the towel and gave it away as a wedding gift.
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Martin X1-DE Epiphone AJ500MNS Alvarez AD30 Alvarez AD710 Alvarez RD20S Esteban American Legacy Rogue mandolin |
#4
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I wondered why the tone control on the Mustang only worked when the volume was on 10, and that rolling back the volume to control the distortion with my Mustang Micro Headphone amp sounded muddy. It turns out the pickups are wired to the selector switch and the switch is connected to the wiper of the volume pot, along with the lead to the output jack.
This circuit reduces volume by loading the pickup and causing voltage drop across it's internal resistance AND INDUCTANCE! Also as you turn the volume down, the tone control network properly attached to the volume control hot side gets isolated from the output. I checked on-line pictures and forums, and sure enough this is they way Fender wants it wired, along with the unusual selection of 250K pots for humbuckers. I saw one forum post where the individual moved the tone control network to the volume pot wiper...not how I would do it. I moved the switch output to the volume control hot lead. It sounds better and the tone control works regardless of the volume setting. I've got an afternoon gig in direct sunlight tomorrow and I'm bringing the Mustang. No reason to perspire all over my US PRS. I also ordered some items to dress it up a bit, however sticking with the cheap as possible beater formula; chrome covered alnico vintage output pickups and a single piece tortoise pickguard. I've already returned one low end set of pickups as they came poorly packed, dented, and the bridge one buzzed out at 15K ohms which is hardly vintage spec. The pickguard looks really nice, but has no shielding tape. I'm wiring completely in shielded cable with two (500K) volume controls and no tone. The shield should not be important. This might be the first time I've used vintage cloth insulated pushback shielded wire. What a pleasure to work with!!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/124740009570 https://www.ebay.com/itm/293764840801?var=592550564600
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 07-29-2021 at 02:10 PM. |
#5
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Jon I admire your electrical skills...
Lets see pics when you are finished!
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-Joe Martin 000-1 Rainsong CH-OM Martin SC10e sapele My Band's Spotify page https://open.spotify.com/artist/2KKD...SVeZXf046SaPoQ |
#6
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I'm wondering how you're going to like your guitar without a tone control. I guess it's going to come down to how good the pickups you put into are going to be. I have rewired hundreds of guitars, and I have found with two humbucker guitars, I need a tone control, it's the only way to get the woman tone (rolled off tone pot). And, with the lower output pickups I like (PAF style), I generally like the tone control rolled back a bit on the bridge pickup. I like the ideal of using 500K pots to brighten things up though. I would have done the same thing although using the second pot as a tone control and using a .022uf cap. If the neck pickup still needed some brightness I would switch to a .015uf. One thing GREAT about the Mustang is with it's separate control plate, you can have access to the pots while the guitar is plugged in, so you can alligator clip different caps in 'till you find the right value for the perfect tone sweep. That's how I did it with my Jaguars, the other great short scale Fender!
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#7
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Quote:
For a long while I had no tone controls in my PRS (I removed them). I recently rewired it with Dunlop Ultra POTs which have a bit of viscosity and stay put. I installed 4 POTs and restored tone control. I did not put back the coil splits as to my ear they were not useful.
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields |
#8
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Congratulations on your new guitar! The wood grain on the neck looks nice.
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#9
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I played two gigs this weekend with the Squier. It was kind of liberating to not care a bit if the guitar was perspired on, dinged, or even stolen (there was a sketchy character behind the "stage" when we were setting up...). No one noticed I was playing probably the cheapest possible guitar short of brand X.
So exciting that I ordered another in matching green (my partner's American Performer Mustang Bass and looking over at his bass I noticed a tool mark by the tuning machines a bit more noticeable than the tool mark in my Squier!). I plan to make only modest changes to it (move the pickup selector output to the volume hot and move the tone control to bridge pickup only). So here is the new pickguard to be installed shortly. Two brand X alnico vintage output covered humbuckers (the impedance buzzed out correctly) with two volume controls and a switchcraft selector switch. I'm a bit concerned the Squier will need some routing for all of this to fit... I ordered the pickguard with the wrong PUP holes and had to file them out square to accept the chrome covers.
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 08-01-2021 at 05:59 AM. |
#10
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Nice work and love the pickguard Jon!
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-Joe Martin 000-1 Rainsong CH-OM Martin SC10e sapele My Band's Spotify page https://open.spotify.com/artist/2KKD...SVeZXf046SaPoQ |
#11
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I went to install the new pickguard and discovered I'll need to route out the switch cavity (or reorient the switch) and shorten the pickup height screws. So I stepped back for the time being, to rewiring the tone control to only the bridge PUP (I had previously moved the pickups to the volume hot from wiper). I also de-furred the internal routing with a Dremel tool. The paint might be conducting, though I got no reading with my meter. I guess it also prevents flaking furry routing from getting into the POTs. Probably something I shouldn't of done but it's tough being obsessively neat (it's all wired with shielded cable...). BTW the POTs are good quality Korean Alphas. I've since played the guitar and it is as quiet as before.
I also ordered an assortment of box toggle switches on eBay.
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 08-02-2021 at 05:20 AM. |
#12
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Hi Jon,
I am so impressed with all the things you have done to turn this $150 Squier Mustang into a really cool guitar! - Glenn
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My You Tube Channel |
#13
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Very nicely done Jon. I get a weirdly special feeling polishing the proverbial…to the point of being a highly functional and satisfying to play guitar.
You’ve convinced me I need to take some pics and tell my Squier story, but I won’t hijack your thread. It’s a liberating feeling not to worry about your guitar isn’t it?
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Guitars: too many or too few...depends who you ask |
#14
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Mods Final White Squire Mustang (still have green to go)
To summarize, two brand X vintage output alnico 2/5 scatter wound wax potted covered humbuckers, two (vintage...maybe 30 years in my parts box :~) Noble A500K POTs, custom USA made pickguard, Switchcraft toggle switch, and Switchcraft output jack.
This reroute of the wires fits the stock body routing. And it sounds great. Not as high output as the stock pickups. Maybe a little darker tone.
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields |
#15
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Now a green one to match my partner's Mustang bass (truly crazy...). This time a vintage output scatter wound alnico 2 neck combined with a 15K ohm ceramic bridge, both without covers.
The Fender Duo-Sonic I ordered, to have a trio of 24" scale guitars where at least one had some brand class, is due here tomorrow. The UPS truck was in an accident Thursday night which delayed it from Friday delivery. It will go back if it has damage (most common would be cracked finish at the neck pocket - both Squiers are cracked). EDIT: I sent it back. The no tummy or arm contour was not as comfortable and the toggle switch was defective. Otherwise very nicely made and a big step up from the Squiers. Maybe this time my wiring is a bit cleaner. I used shrink wrap instead of electrical tape where hot and ground got close together. Also, this time a horizontal Switchcraft toggle. And as before Noble A500K POTs wired volume/volume and a Switchcraft 1/4" TS jack. Both Mustangs had issues. The big ones were: #1 white had sharp frets, high action, fuzzy routing in the control cavity to flake off junk that would eventually make the POTs noisy, and a neck angled back too far which caused the bridge to buzz, #2 green had a pickguard not screwed down flat and some kind of goop in the neck pocket I sanded out (maybe a perfectionists only problem). I did see one in Guitar Center that was probably good to hand directly to a beginner. Very cool to carry around a cheap light guitar in a thin 10mm padding gig bag that sounds great and inspires not a care in the world.
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields Last edited by jonfields45; 08-17-2021 at 06:04 AM. |