A year ago or so I did a relic parts caster from a kit that I wasn’t excited about although it was technically working all exactly right. I gave it to my uncle to tinker with he gave it to a teenager play teenager got tired of it give it back to him he decided to do the deep restore and I sent him a bunch of new hardware so maybe there’s a fun project in this were you might inspire somebody else
@@bladeoflucatiel the trick is to loan it. I've got an old Japanese or Taiwanese Epiphone that I redid and will let a buddy or coworker (back when I didn't have a solo shop) borrow it if his kid wants to try guitar, then I get it back when they either give up or buy something.
I love these videos saying how crappy the guitar is, and then in turn plays beautiful music out of it... definitely help me to not worry about gear that much and really try to get better at playing!
The question you should ask is, what would it take to make you want to play it. Then do that. A bunch of restoration work for a guitar that will just sit in a closet isn't worth it.
Exactly! When every guitar he owns is several steps above any Squire it could ever be, it still won't get played. Just make it a fun cool guitar that has it's own thing.
That thing is a perfect candidate for a restoration/modification series of videos. Do it right this time. Screw the relic job. Rich jewel tone color with a black pearl pickguard and black pup covers. And put the original neck on it.
My first descent guitar is an E series '86 MIJ Squire bought new for $299. It now has Eric Johnson Custom Shop pickups and Emerson Blender circuit. Love it!
This reminds me of a story I heard recently about David Gilmour and Mark Knofler, who have amassed 100's of guitars over their playing years and now sit, unused , trophies gathering cobwebs at their homes. What the heck, if your're not using the guitar and its surplus to your requirements, either sell it or give it away.
That combination seafoam with the guard and maple neck looks really good. That's the thing with Fender's modular design, you can always switch to a different neck in you don't like the one on the guitar.
this brings back memories. When I decided to start playing guitar when I was 27 I bought the cheapest strat I could find. I have a history of giving up on hobbies, so I didn't wanna spend too much on something I might never touch again after a month. But that knockoff strat I found was way more a blessing than it was a curse. Sure, the frets were shit and I sliced my palms open trying to play it the first month but that guitar taught me everything, I learned to restring on it, learned to swap pickups, played around with the bridge, almost snapped the neck by turning the truss rod too far. I carved the notes of the E and A strings into the neck to help me memorize them better. I carved pictures into the body. If I had bought an actual guitar I would've been to scared to touch the thing, let alone abuse it like I did my knockoff. That guitar taught me everything and I owe it everything. I still have it and play it occasionally when I'm feeling nostalgic. I have bought and sold way better guitars since then but I'm never getting rid of this one. It'd be kinda cool if I could be cremated with it lmao this reminded me of that. Being bad at first is how we learn, don't feel bad about it. Well, maybe just a little bit... a freaking Squier from Japan? Dude. lol
That replacement neck should be very much fixable. You can plane down the heel, to lower it into the body; and you can carve down the baseball bat into a thinner profile. If you sand and roll the edge of the fingerboard, that'll sort out the fret ends. Frets might still need levelling and polishing, maybe not. Maybe you could send it back to your friend to rework it to their current standard?
I buy loaded pickguards and change them out all the time....active, passive, single SSS, HSS, HH, I think its so much easier than buying new guitars or changing electronics.
To be honest, just leave it how it is. It has a story, and the neck on it now looks better, and even though it’s an MIJ probably plays better too, especially after a re-fret. And the pickups sound really good.
When you mentioned it probably having spent some time wet I thought about this one Ibanez that I have...according to the guy I got it from, it spent 3 days at the bottom of a pool. It had all the wiring hanging out of the back when I got it in trade for a danelectro wah pedal. As for this one, why worry about what it was or could have been? The fact that other people like other guitars from this series means nothing, make it what you want instead. Looks like a great candidate to test out some weirder ideas on. Edit: oh and those layers of paint are just the perfect base for a "future relic" if/when this thing starts showing wear those layers of color will be telling the story of YOUR history with this guitar
Hell Yeah Rhett!! I agree with the idea of restoring it!! If it's a 7.25 radius neck I'd refret it with taller frets to stop the strings from fretting out above the 12th and make it your own!!
It would be really cool to restore it talking to different experts and luthiers about the proper way to do refret, paint, relic, install different electronics, etc - it could be a whole series.
I know I'm late to the party but yes restore it as it will make you feel better about it and provide a happier ending to that story! I am in the process of doing just that myself by restoring my 1967 Fender Coronado II. It was given to me by my dad as a kid as something to play and while it's not physically broken in any way it hasn't been cared for at all, has a band sticker I put on it as a kid and doesn't work. I'm looking forward to seeing this all put back together.
Since you found the original neck, I would have the body sanded down and repainted by a professional, re-fret the original board and put it back on, and upgrade the electronics to some Fender custom shops or Fralins with some new pots. It might come back from the dead and be a sentimental gem for you.
I had a suspicion of where this was going when you said squire, and whhen you said "Made in Japan E serial number" I just stopped the video and said "Son of a B***!". Damn dude, my first guitar was a made in japan squire my dad still has to this day. That hit me in the soul 😭. If I were you I'd fix and reattach the original neck, and restore the guitar as much as you can to it's original glory, or at least with your specs but done right😂.
Definitely restore it! And I feel your pain. In my early 20s and early in my guitar playing life, I bought an amp at a pawn shop. I didn't know much about "good" gear, but it was a Marshall head, so I was happy. Played it for about 5yrs and sold it for basically nothing (about $300). Years later, after learning more about good gear, I realized painfully that I had sold a 70s/80s era Marshall 50w JMP Plexi Mk ii. I still feel the regret.
I love it, man. Any of us who’ve gotten into restoration or repair all have these stories. I beat myself up ruining a few myself. But in the end I learned a lot and now comfortably do a lot more advanced work on my collection. I think I’d give it another go and fix it up.
I sold a Gretsch Anniversary Model for $500. The neck was warped, sounded muddy to me, and smelled of stale beer and cigarettes. I don't miss it at all except it had a hard case.
I traded a 59' :es Paul Junior double cut for a made in japan telecaster with a Warmoth neck. I didn't like the Gibson. It didn't intonate well due to the wrap around bar bridge. And it had terrible neck dive due to the light weight. That said, it had an awesome P90. I wish I still had it only because of the resale value in today's market.
Give it to a luthier you trust, have him/her work their magic on it. It’s a good lesson that even when you make a mistake in life, it doesn’t mean you can’t recover from it and keep going.
You bought a Squier that was trash, 11 years ago for $125? lol. Imagine if it wasn’t a Japanese one. You woulda been the biggest sucker on earth. You got lucky it was a Japanese Squier.
It has a story now which makes it invaluable! It's is hard to find a guitar and love it completely so that's why I am into speaker cabs now. lol seriously though, the guitar is not that bad Rhett. I have some beaters currently holding up my fence.
Great t-shirt @RhettShull! Antone's Austin TX! Great blues club, thanks to Clifford! Austin TX full of great musical clubs (at least when I used to go, that is many many years ago)! Good old memories of fantastic concerts and the discovery of so many talented players!
If a Japanese squier Strat body is the cost of learning a musical gear lesson, your doing fine man. I traded a similar Japanese Squier Strat into Sam Ash when I was about 14 years old for a Mexican Strat that I liked marginally better and now I don't own either one of them because I ironically bought.... a John Mayer Strat. Each one was the right guitar for me at the time and I still regularly gig the JM Strat without losing sleep over the Squier that would probably been a pretty solid instrument for me today. I think restoring your Squier Strat would be awesome and maybe your storage of all the major parts of it over the years to become its best form in spite of younger Rhett learning to use power tools on it would be really a sweet full-circle moment. Cheers to spilt gear!
I find I get far more joy out of gifting an unused instrument to someone who can let it inspire them the same way we were once inspired to pick one up and play. I love what you do brother. My hat goes off to you kind sir!
So... with all of the great guitars that you own do you really think that you'll play the guitar that much if you restore it? If you don't want to sell it or give it away, then "shrine it." Display it somewhere as a reminder of how far you have come since "experimenting" with the guitar.... The guitar has special meaning to you because it has taught you valuable lessons. (you certainly learned a lot about what not to do...) BTW, I'm a big fan. I try to limit my "guitar guy" videos on UA-cam. It's basically you and Beato and Bukovac.... Thanks for all of the great content, I've been a subscriber for years. Great job!
I own a Japanese Squier from around 1984 (SQ serial) and I love it. I got it with some "bad procedures" done on it like the bridge was swapped by another bridge type for instance, but I really enjoy it and it is a keeper. Great and inspiring.
I started my extreme Strat mod rebuild with a cheap Starcaster Strat and stripped it down completely then added many upgrades and mode .. A total overboard build with a hand made extended brushed stainless steel pick guard loaded with 3 quad rail/coil humbuckers from Amazon as are mose of the replacement parts I used. Wired it like a 50's Les Paul with coul splitting and a P/P also in the bridge tome pot to activate the bridge and neck P/Ups together regardless of other controls a custom stars and planets paint job on body and head stock retained the Fender 5-way switch all pots are 500K audio taper. abd tone caps are .047 orange drops. the over all effect is a beautiful and unique guitar that has too many tone options to count . Since the humbuckers are quad rail/coil , when split are essentially humbuckers as the coils are wired as pairs with the 4 rails and 3 very strong ceramic magnets between the rails.. split they do sound very like single coils as the coils are so small to begin with.... Soldering all those connections in the control savity was quite the adventure. It all works as designed. with the 3 vol., 3 tone and coil splits and the 5-way switch does it's job as it should. I can get the regulad Strat function with the aditional feature of being able to get any combination including all 3 P/Ups together if I want. designing the circuit was fun and challenging.. the paint and the rest were as well.. I learned a lot and will apply these new skills to my collection build as I go along... the next will be a Tele based classic design 'Esquire. with classic wiring scheme. I researched the wiring and all that.. then Perhaps the next build will be the SG Jr. with P90'a. ther will be a 'Danelectro version with lipsticks in it at least.. built just like an original Sears Silvertone Model like I had as a teen. I don't even know where I got that one but It was my forst electric guitar and I plugged it into a Kenwood 6420 custom built for a "Disco" total power was nearly 3000 Watts from 5 pairs of pre amps amd power amps in the receiver that had many other rare features. the control knob had ... A.M. , F.M., F.M. auto (timer) Phono 1 and 2, tape 1 and 2, Aux. 1 and 2 then 2 more not marked that I found were Mic. amd guitar jacks in back of the unit that went through the amp set just as the rest did... powerful and so loud that you couldn't stay in the room with it past 3 0f 20 on the volume knob. Like I said, it was modified for a "Disco" danc club as the primare sound system... I go it cheap from a pawn shop with the story learned later from the D.J. from the closed club. cool unit that had way too much power... lol Sorry I get excited by powerful and unique stereo equipment and cars too... lol
Sounds like you already know the answer here; it's a lovingly authentic restoration, as close as you can get to original spec and parts. As an accidental luthier, restricting yourself with very specific criteria (I built a 50s spec Gibson in lockdown) is a lot of fun and a refreshing challenge. What better way to get to know your instrument than to re-craft it from almost scratch. Would love to see that journey. Respect, keep up the great content, it's an inspiration!
After reading many comments, I wholeheartedly agree with them about bringing it back to life, but I would do one thing: medium jumbo frets on the original guitar neck. I have one Squire that has an original pearl essence blue paint which is awesome with a chunk taken out on the top horn and I changed the wiring and pick-up and I've grown to really enjoy it. I had a 2009 Tabacco Brust Squire that was one of a kind that was an original and I absolutely loved its ceramic single pickups and all, such a great sounding guitar. So I sold it to the neighbor kid, so he could fall in love with playing the guitar as I had, well worth it. So please bring it back to life.
It’s alright Rhett. I did something similar to a lawsuit Aria Les Paul. We all start our partscaster/guitar mod journeys somewhere. I started in the early 2000s and even then, there wasn’t much out there on the right things to do. There’s an abundance of tools, parts, and resources now that were not as apparent back then.
I love the color of the finish and the white guard/maple neck. Maybe strip it all down, repair and refinish the body, replace the pups, harness and neck, but please keep the colors as they are!
It sounds great! I also have a crazy strat all over the place. I sincerely don't even remember how I got the neck. But it sounds amazing, it has "personality". Sticking to it. Great vid!
I have a guitar I bought over 20 years ago, that was a late 80’s Fender Japan ST-54. It was a two-tone burst, and it was very rough, like I bought someone else’s ruined relic project for well under $200. The body was too far gone, routed for a humbucker with a chisel, which went all the way through to the trem cavity. I ended up throwing the body out and putting the neck on a candy apple red MIM Fender body and turning it into my own take on a tribute to David Gilmour’s red Strat. Since then, I’ve hunted down a correct Fender Japan bridge single coil and some other parts. Over a year ago I bought an aftermarket pine relic Strat body and loaded all the old Fender Japan parts which I saved, except for the bridge, which is terribly pitted. Since I’ve put it together, I’ve been playing the hell out of it. Unlike my other Strat partscasters, this one sounds like a Strat should, and I’ve been missing that from my collection for awhile.
Hey Rhett, please make it, it's own thing and fun! Maybe you can give it to Duncan Price and get him to make a fretless-sustainer-baritone conversion of his forte. Although he would probably drown it in a pool, dip it in snow and drag it across the floor while doing so... guess it won't hurt too much, considering the outcome.🤔😅 If that's too out there, the other idea many commented, to fully restore it and do it right this time, would certainly be great also and the right way to go. But it would still never be considered to be truly original again, and would just be another Strat. Just an idea (and my first time commenting, cause I could not let this pass). Last but not least; have fun and thank you for all the good content!
beautiful und fun story... I love it. I would say: make it as original as possible (with the parts you have) and put some PU's in it like Filtertron on Bridge, SingleCoil in the Middle and Tele or P90 in the Neck. Let fix the body and give it a good PaintJob. My Squire (my first guitar ever from 1999) was my try (and a lot of) error guitar and three years ago I brought to my GuitarTech. He made one of my favorite guitars out of it and I love it since then and play it regularly (even on Gigs)... all the best
I just now watched your video here & had to go into MY music room to look and see if my “ Parts -Caster “ was still on it’s stand as I have almost the SAME one , color , pickguard, neck …. But mine has the name “ Simon “ for some reason on the headstock on the neck . It needs some fret work & I’m contemplating just buying a new neck ( maybe Flame maple ) off of internet , possibly from a reverb or someone , to just replace the one on it now as it’s pretty beat up . Still plays So-So as is though , and since it’s just a practice unit may stay the way it is awhile longer ……😏😉. Sounds about like yours in this video also , at least through my Fender Blues Deluxe amp . Good video as usual Rhett ….
I recommend that you fix it, and restore it as best as you are able to, with the knowledge that you have now, and do a proper job of filling in the holes and depressions and then you could attempt to paint it in the original color, but essentially just try to make it correct, install the proper potentiometers, or just just install a pre wired pick guard with Fender pickups if you don’t want to do that work yourself. Have the original neck repaired and re-fretted, and essentially try to make it like it was intended to be. Thanks for sharing! Please have an excellent and awesome day! ☀️✨🌟🎸
I just recently entered into the Partcaster world and I have to say that I am totally in love of this way to acquire instruments. I feel my creations are much better than what I would bought with that budget from Fender. I use MJT, or Fender original bodies, roasted maple necks from warmooht or some other manufacturers, Fender & GOTOH hardware, Lollar pickups, CTS PushPull pots, Treble Bleed Circuits and my own wiring configurations to customize the pickup combinations. You must revive/customize that Strat 🙂
This guitar has a story, is part of your journey and looks cool! Honestly, I would fix the electronics and bring it to a luthier to make the neck profile bit thinner and more playable. Then use it or give it away.
I have a 73 Mustang that had been rattle can painted black. It’s made it through all the decades and it looks and feels great. What you did to your Strat is now part of its history. I would put back on the original neck, and fix the pots. Then just use it as is for a while. As for the paint, I think it looks fine, just leave it.
This should be part 1 of a series where you chase turning this guitar into a beast. Send it off to various techs and luthiers and have them all approach a different aspect and see what this guitar can become.
I have a 1988 Japan E series strat, 57 strat specs. bought in 89. Famous Fujigen factory. black w white pickguard but i blacked it out just like you did yours. Still All original including electronics except for the 5 way switch upgraded to switchcraft, still sounds great, Still my fav guitar, THIS VIDEO IS BLASPHEMY! Bring it back to factory specs.
I think you should restore it and post your progress in a series. Better people have done worse things...don't beat yourself up too much :) Keep shining Rhett.
I can relate. I used a blowtorch and sandpaper on a Mexi strat I paid $110 for when I was a teenager. I'd even scrape it over the pavement outside to make it look relic'd. I still love it.
Been there. One of my first guitars was a JV serial number Japanese squire strat. It was already modified, refinished, beat up, etc by the time I got it, but I just made it worse. I covered the headstock in stickers and years later tried to remove them and lifted most of the finish and screwed up the logo. I recently spent some time working on it and got a reproduction water slide and refinished the headstock and for some reason decided Lollar firebird pickups in it were what I wanted 🤷🏻♂️ I like the green though, who cares if it’s not a great finish, let it wear the history. I’d say cleanup the neck/frets and do what you want for electronics
Hey Rhett, this was so encouraging to me because I am a lot earlier along on my journey, but it helps me (and perhaps the rest of us) to cope with some of the things we've gone through similarly in our journeys. I've destroyed a few things. Hahaha! But with the help of others like you, here on UA-cam, I have been able to fix 🛠a lot of those mess-ups and I've learned a ton of things in the process. If you have the time and the parts to restore it...Why not go for it? It would also make a great video for us to watch! Stay blessed!!!
I'm trying to slap together my own guitar right now so I'm excited for you to bring back the Squier. Maybe I can get some pointers. I look back when I was a newbie. My first truss rod adjustment I put on safety goggles because I fully expected the neck to explode have a fret fly off and put my eye out.
I had a '68 LP Custom in 1976 and drilled into the front of it to mount a hot switch for the DiMarzio pickups I installed. Kind of regretted that over the years...in 76 a 68 LP was cheaper than a new one. (that really flipped over the decades)...but I relic'd it anyway over a decade of bars and outdoor jobs and basement practices.
I restored my first weird off brand strat which also had lots of weird things done to it by me, including a couple of drilled holes. It was a great decision, feels so good to have it back and playing. It just feels good and right to have a functioning instrument instead of sad guitar remains.
I think the smartest thing you did was not mess with the OG neck. I recently picked up an MIJ medium scale Strat that the previous owner tried to have MJT refinish but it didn't go to his liking. Unfortunately they refinned the neck too so it was hard to authenticate, tho I managed. I would honestly restore it, maybe not to Olympic White if that's still not what you're into, but restoring it to a better condition could make for a good video series. Plus, with the baseball neck, you could actually recarve it to a profile you'd now prefer, so you'd be able to salvage that too. All while not messing with the OG neck, or just remount the OG neck.
Dude, you don't need to feel badly. I think every (*real) guitar player has, at least, one of those "attemptcasers". It's akin to a *right-of-passage, to the next level. imho. Thanks for sharing yours :)
If you don't decide to restore it, I'd be happy to take it off your hands. I have a USA Squier that I've been wanting to upgrade, but am not confident I could do it right. I pulled off the pickup covers on the neck and bridge, about 20 years ago, because I thought it looked cool and proceeded to loose the covers. I originally bought some black pickup covers to replace them, which didnt end up fitting. Also replaced the volume and tone knobs with black ones. Other than that, it's stock as far as I know.
You might create a show guitar. It has been wrecked up anyway. Put some smoke and light pickups in there. Maybe some gold or glitter on the body and go totally overboord with it. Still sounds okay for a strat.😊
My first refret that wasn't for myself was on a e series squier. I caught it at guitar center for $200 and it looked brand new... except the frets. There were divots all over the cowboy chord area and totally worn out. I bought it to get refret experience and resold it for $700. Pretty sweet payday for learning how to refret. It's out in the wild with fresh frets but otherwise 100% original. I like your guitar as is better than a restored e series. The reason they are 'sought after' is that it's a squier that is actually a good guitar. You can get a newer japanese fender strat for comprable money and it's the same guitar just different electronics.
I did a similar thing when I turned 18 I bought a 1990 Fender MIJ 57’ RI Stratocaster, the shop had refinished it in fiesta red with a really thin nitro coat and it was slightly road worn in areas and looked great, it also came with a set of 90’s Seymour Duncan’s antiquity pickups, played and sounded great (still does). Not knowing that a nitro finish would wear naturally anyway, I took sandpaper to it not long after receiving it and sanded the entire thing down multiple times, leaving the red but taking most of the lacquer off of areas, I also stabbed it and dug wood out of areas and put stickers all over it. After realising the mistake I made I felt so stupid and tried to fix what I could using some filler and I took some stickers off but when trying to remove the adhesive residue, I used nail polish remover and it ate right through some of the paint to the point I had to smooth it off again with more sandpaper so my girlfriend painted over the worst of it and recovered it some what but I will forever regret what I have done to this guitar. However i still use it and it’s a great guitar
My favorite guitar mod so far: I added a momentary button and routed it to an output jack (drilled out a new hole and added it) so that I have an outboard expression pedal 'tap' output I can run to whatever I want and use the button on the guitar. It's good for tap tempo in many devices or in some cases where a pedal or amp accepts a foot switch to channel switch clean/dirty. In those cases you can use it as a momentary fuzz/dirt button. Is this functionally any better than a cheap foot switch like a sustain pedal? Prob not. does it look cool and add a unique capability to the guitar? Definitely. Is it annoying having 2 cables coming out of the guitar? For me, not so much ... but I don't gig it. Maybe the idea will inspire you? Or maybe it's a pointless idea because I could just buy a sustain pedal and use my foot. But... What can I say - Sometimes I want a button on my guitar for this... You could also use a slider pot like a mixer slide and then you could run things that accept a volume pedal, but I haven't tried it yet.
Just throwing an idea out there. The Sandhills NC chapter of Soldier Songs and Voices could use an amazing guitar like that. We teach veterans, and first responders how to compose, write, and perform original works. As a point of therapy. Or you could find the job that the guitar can perform. I love your videos and have been watching them for years. Have a great day man.
I have a silver E Series Squier Strat made in Korea , I bought it in 1986 , I did mod it a bit over the years added Seymour Duncan vintage staggered strat pick ups with new wiring and pots , later re-fretted it with jumbo stainless steel frets and hipshot locking tuners . I still gig with it on occassion however its really heavy , Im not sure what the body is made of , it has the weight of a vintage LP. I took it to my local guitar center to give it a good " once over " before I took it on a gig . They wanted to buy it! I kindly told them no and asked why they wanted it . The store luthier stated that it had a kind of spank like no other Strat he has ever played . I will never sell it .
80's MIJ Squires were really good guitars to learn on back in the day since they could be set-up with really low action w/no buzz, stayed in tune fairly well with some Ernie Balls, worked well with effect pedals (Boss DS-1, BF-2 Flanger, DD-2 Delay) and the neck feel was smooth! (The pickups weren't top notch, but that might have been the Gorilla GG-25 Amp I used :-D )
Make a vid of one of your luthier buddies having a crack at moulding it into something killer. And get them to step through their decision making process as they go. Would be a cool edu vid on how we can repair or breath new life into old guitars we can’t part with.
I have a 1985 Squier Strat I got new. I was a metal dude, and this was my only guitar, so I put a Schecter locking tremelo (black chrome) on it. This required routing and I had a professional do it, as well as put a Duncan hot rails in the bridge. Then I did everything in black chrome. I even gave away the original bridge pickup, which I regret. The other two pickups are really good. I bought a TexMex bridge pickup and put a jumper in to be able to use the tone knob on it. I have that original Duncan hot rails if anyone is interested.
I also have an early MIJ Squier Strat, which is in 'almost' stock condition. It has a maple board, which I swapped out with a Fender US Rosewood neck for a while, but I eventually saw the error of my ways, and returned the original. I did rewire the guitar, and replaced the five way switch, which was always a bit 'iffy'. I also replaced the pickups with a set of Fender Texas Specials. It sounds and plays beautifully, and I doubt I would ever consider getting rid of it
I would say you should do these: fix the electronics if needed cut the pots a bit so the pot covers fit correctly put back the original neck and just keep the body like it is, in some way all the mods you have done it's like making it your "signature" guitar. whatever you decide, I would be happy to see the second part of this! Regards!
Don’t change a thing! It’s a unique orphan partscaster. Not all of us like uniformity (custom shop, hello?!). Post details with measurements-someone will adopt and love it just the way it is or put their own mods and make it their own. If not wanting $, swap or do a charity auction so it yields multiple positive outcomes and sees the light of day as someone’s player!
Mate, since it's already a bit of a shame, you should leave some of the paint on it but scuff it up a bit, or a lot. It's your guitar. Try to unearth some of the original paint, if it's still there. I'm sure you will love it again once you are satisfied with its new look. I've got a space where I park up my old cheap guitars. I just thought everyone had a few of those. You've sparked my interest now, of seeing what I have stored away. Could be good? By the way, I have 2 × 80s MIJ Strats. A well worn basic blackie / maple & a 80s contemporary short scale black / Rosewood w the factory trem. I always keep my 85 Aria Acoustic with me. It looks like crap but natural relic & had to re glue the bridge back on & add a brace at the bottom end of it. So bright & resonate, since. It's almost 40yrs old. Wow!
I would like to see you experiment with some wacky pickup configurations on it. Maybe comparing the sound of not commonly used pickups on Strats. Have it be a mod guitar to try things on. I really like a filtertron in the bridge of a Strat for example. Otherwise maybe give it to that guy with the sustainer guitar and see if he can make you one. You sounded good on that thing
I made a project guitar of a 1981 Ibanez Roadstar 1 in a SSS format. It's now got a Seymour Duncan fat Strat set up with a late 80s Kahler trem. In your Strat case, I like my Ibey, I would keep it, fix up the frets so it's a comfortable player and keep it for the sentimental value it obviously holds.
Strip it down to bare wood and repaint it the original color. Put the old neck back on it after a fret job. Put some sweet pickups and new wiring in it and call it a day.
I’d maybe pimp it out with a nice custom paint job and restored neck. I wouldn’t look at it as destroying it. You are creating something that means something to you. And you have increased the value for the remaining unrestored-early-eighties-Japanese-Squier Strats.
I found the original neck! Should we restore this guitar?
Yes.
Definitely
Yup.
Yes!
YES !
Since you found the original neck, do a complete restoration and customize it to what you really like (including pickups and electronics).
I agree
I second!
yes, Rhett should do this
this is the way!
@@kukulkan1717 The ONLY way.
Give it to a teenager. When I was a kid getting a playable guitar like that would have been a huge blessing.
Give it away, give it away, give it away NOW! Some young person would appreciate it!
Exactly my point
A year ago or so I did a relic parts caster from a kit that I wasn’t excited about although it was technically working all exactly right. I gave it to my uncle to tinker with he gave it to a teenager play teenager got tired of it give it back to him he decided to do the deep restore and I sent him a bunch of new hardware so maybe there’s a fun project in this were you might inspire somebody else
Then he will play it for 3 months and sell it on a pawn shop for 50 bucks.
@@bladeoflucatiel the trick is to loan it. I've got an old Japanese or Taiwanese Epiphone that I redid and will let a buddy or coworker (back when I didn't have a solo shop) borrow it if his kid wants to try guitar, then I get it back when they either give up or buy something.
Its part of "YOUR" story... restore it.. but to your specs.
I was going to say the EXACT same thing! @rhett it is part of your story
The story is worth more than a meticulously restored guitar.
couldn't have said it better, it's worth giving this guitar another chance at making beautiful music
Claptons blackie wouldnt exist if he had been careful to keep the value of the original!
I love these videos saying how crappy the guitar is, and then in turn plays beautiful music out of it... definitely help me to not worry about gear that much and really try to get better at playing!
I can't believe you have a GEAR DUNGEON
Lol different level
Truth is that most people in a blindfold test wouldn’t know from the sound that it wasn’t a vintage strat.
Looking at the paint, the first thing I thought was, “Perry? Perry the Platypus?” You should fix it up and gig the hell out of it!
The question you should ask is, what would it take to make you want to play it. Then do that. A bunch of restoration work for a guitar that will just sit in a closet isn't worth it.
Exactly! When every guitar he owns is several steps above any Squire it could ever be, it still won't get played. Just make it a fun cool guitar that has it's own thing.
What will his rich friends say though. Dude isn’t going to play a Squier.
That thing is a perfect candidate for a restoration/modification series of videos. Do it right this time. Screw the relic job. Rich jewel tone color with a black pearl pickguard and black pup covers. And put the original neck on it.
Restore it! Would need an awesome video. Always fun to watch something new brought back to its original glory
My first descent guitar is an E series '86 MIJ Squire bought new for $299. It now has Eric Johnson Custom Shop pickups and Emerson Blender circuit. Love it!
This reminds me of a story I heard recently about David Gilmour and Mark Knofler, who have amassed 100's of guitars over their playing years and now sit, unused , trophies gathering cobwebs at their homes. What the heck, if your're not using the guitar and its surplus to your requirements, either sell it or give it away.
That combination seafoam with the guard and maple neck looks really good. That's the thing with Fender's modular design, you can always switch to a different neck in you don't like the one on the guitar.
this brings back memories. When I decided to start playing guitar when I was 27 I bought the cheapest strat I could find. I have a history of giving up on hobbies, so I didn't wanna spend too much on something I might never touch again after a month. But that knockoff strat I found was way more a blessing than it was a curse. Sure, the frets were shit and I sliced my palms open trying to play it the first month but that guitar taught me everything, I learned to restring on it, learned to swap pickups, played around with the bridge, almost snapped the neck by turning the truss rod too far. I carved the notes of the E and A strings into the neck to help me memorize them better. I carved pictures into the body. If I had bought an actual guitar I would've been to scared to touch the thing, let alone abuse it like I did my knockoff. That guitar taught me everything and I owe it everything. I still have it and play it occasionally when I'm feeling nostalgic. I have bought and sold way better guitars since then but I'm never getting rid of this one. It'd be kinda cool if I could be cremated with it lmao
this reminded me of that. Being bad at first is how we learn, don't feel bad about it. Well, maybe just a little bit... a freaking Squier from Japan? Dude.
lol
That replacement neck should be very much fixable. You can plane down the heel, to lower it into the body; and you can carve down the baseball bat into a thinner profile.
If you sand and roll the edge of the fingerboard, that'll sort out the fret ends. Frets might still need levelling and polishing, maybe not.
Maybe you could send it back to your friend to rework it to their current standard?
Totally agree I think the neck looks awesome and it is worth it to continue to work on it
It’s a Rhett Relic! New Fender Signature? We all have done something like that in whatever craft we start out in. Great story.
I buy loaded pickguards and change them out all the time....active, passive, single SSS, HSS, HH, I think its so much easier than buying new guitars or changing electronics.
I get that it’s a collector, but it sounds like it deserves to be played. Who cares it’s not proper spec.
To be honest, just leave it how it is. It has a story, and the neck on it now looks better, and even though it’s an MIJ probably plays better too, especially after a re-fret. And the pickups sound really good.
When you mentioned it probably having spent some time wet I thought about this one Ibanez that I have...according to the guy I got it from, it spent 3 days at the bottom of a pool. It had all the wiring hanging out of the back when I got it in trade for a danelectro wah pedal.
As for this one, why worry about what it was or could have been? The fact that other people like other guitars from this series means nothing, make it what you want instead. Looks like a great candidate to test out some weirder ideas on.
Edit: oh and those layers of paint are just the perfect base for a "future relic" if/when this thing starts showing wear those layers of color will be telling the story of YOUR history with this guitar
Hell Yeah Rhett!! I agree with the idea of restoring it!! If it's a 7.25 radius neck I'd refret it with taller frets to stop the strings from fretting out above the 12th and make it your own!!
It would be really cool to restore it talking to different experts and luthiers about the proper way to do refret, paint, relic, install different electronics, etc - it could be a whole series.
Yes do this
I know I'm late to the party but yes restore it as it will make you feel better about it and provide a happier ending to that story! I am in the process of doing just that myself by restoring my 1967 Fender Coronado II. It was given to me by my dad as a kid as something to play and while it's not physically broken in any way it hasn't been cared for at all, has a band sticker I put on it as a kid and doesn't work. I'm looking forward to seeing this all put back together.
Since you found the original neck, I would have the body sanded down and repainted by a professional, re-fret the original board and put it back on, and upgrade the electronics to some Fender custom shops or Fralins with some new pots. It might come back from the dead and be a sentimental gem for you.
I had a suspicion of where this was going when you said squire, and whhen you said "Made in Japan E serial number" I just stopped the video and said "Son of a B***!". Damn dude, my first guitar was a made in japan squire my dad still has to this day. That hit me in the soul 😭. If I were you I'd fix and reattach the original neck, and restore the guitar as much as you can to it's original glory, or at least with your specs but done right😂.
Definitely restore it! And I feel your pain. In my early 20s and early in my guitar playing life, I bought an amp at a pawn shop. I didn't know much about "good" gear, but it was a Marshall head, so I was happy. Played it for about 5yrs and sold it for basically nothing (about $300). Years later, after learning more about good gear, I realized painfully that I had sold a 70s/80s era Marshall 50w JMP Plexi Mk ii. I still feel the regret.
Build it out. You of all people can.
I love it, man. Any of us who’ve gotten into restoration or repair all have these stories. I beat myself up ruining a few myself. But in the end I learned a lot and now comfortably do a lot more advanced work on my collection. I think I’d give it another go and fix it up.
We all did dumb stuff, I sold a 1971 Les Paul Custom to a friend for $800 about 14 years ago, it did have the mandatory headstock repair
I sold a Gretsch Anniversary Model for $500. The neck was warped, sounded muddy to me, and smelled of stale beer and cigarettes. I don't miss it at all except it had a hard case.
I traded a 59' :es Paul Junior double cut for a made in japan telecaster with a Warmoth neck. I didn't like the Gibson. It didn't intonate well due to the wrap around bar bridge. And it had terrible neck dive due to the light weight. That said, it had an awesome P90. I wish I still had it only because of the resale value in today's market.
Give it to a luthier you trust, have him/her work their magic on it. It’s a good lesson that even when you make a mistake in life, it doesn’t mean you can’t recover from it and keep going.
You bought a Squier that was trash, 11 years ago for $125? lol. Imagine if it wasn’t a Japanese one. You woulda been the biggest sucker on earth. You got lucky it was a Japanese Squier.
right? a trashed squier more expensive than a brand new one (at the time). squier has been getting so hyped up the last few years they cost $600 now.
It has a story now which makes it invaluable! It's is hard to find a guitar and love it completely so that's why I am into speaker cabs now. lol seriously though, the guitar is not that bad Rhett. I have some beaters currently holding up my fence.
someone who will be a musician one day is having trouble getting their first guitar
Anyone aspiring to be a musician can get a guitar nowadays. Mow some lawns to buy 100$ single coils XX chinese strat. Almost anyone can do that
@@Konata228 mowing lawns is not as lucrative as it used to be lol. In my area every neighborhood has a landscaping company that does it for you.
Great t-shirt @RhettShull! Antone's Austin TX! Great blues club, thanks to Clifford! Austin TX full of great musical clubs (at least when I used to go, that is many many years ago)! Good old memories of fantastic concerts and the discovery of so many talented players!
You smell like beef and cheese
If a Japanese squier Strat body is the cost of learning a musical gear lesson, your doing fine man. I traded a similar Japanese Squier Strat into Sam Ash when I was about 14 years old for a Mexican Strat that I liked marginally better and now I don't own either one of them because I ironically bought.... a John Mayer Strat. Each one was the right guitar for me at the time and I still regularly gig the JM Strat without losing sleep over the Squier that would probably been a pretty solid instrument for me today. I think restoring your Squier Strat would be awesome and maybe your storage of all the major parts of it over the years to become its best form in spite of younger Rhett learning to use power tools on it would be really a sweet full-circle moment. Cheers to spilt gear!
I find I get far more joy out of gifting an unused instrument to someone who can let it inspire them the same way we were once inspired to pick one up and play. I love what you do brother. My hat goes off to you kind sir!
So... with all of the great guitars that you own do you really think that you'll play the guitar that much if you restore it? If you don't want to sell it or give it away, then "shrine it." Display it somewhere as a reminder of how far you have come since "experimenting" with the guitar.... The guitar has special meaning to you because it has taught you valuable lessons. (you certainly learned a lot about what not to do...)
BTW, I'm a big fan. I try to limit my "guitar guy" videos on UA-cam. It's basically you and Beato and Bukovac.... Thanks for all of the great content, I've been a subscriber for years. Great job!
Steve Rothery has been performing live with a Japanese Squier for decades now.
I own a Japanese Squier from around 1984 (SQ serial) and I love it. I got it with some "bad procedures" done on it like the bridge was swapped by another bridge type for instance, but I really enjoy it and it is a keeper. Great and inspiring.
I started my extreme Strat mod rebuild with a cheap Starcaster Strat and stripped it down completely then added many upgrades and mode .. A total overboard build with a hand made extended brushed stainless steel pick guard loaded with 3 quad rail/coil humbuckers from Amazon as are mose of the replacement parts I used. Wired it like a 50's Les Paul with coul splitting and a P/P also in the bridge tome pot to activate the bridge and neck P/Ups together regardless of other controls a custom stars and planets paint job on body and head stock retained the Fender 5-way switch all pots are 500K audio taper. abd tone caps are .047 orange drops. the over all effect is a beautiful and unique guitar that has too many tone options to count . Since the humbuckers are quad rail/coil , when split are essentially humbuckers as the coils are wired as pairs with the 4 rails and 3 very strong ceramic magnets between the rails.. split they do sound very like single coils as the coils are so small to begin with.... Soldering all those connections in the control savity was quite the adventure. It all works as designed. with the 3 vol., 3 tone and coil splits and the 5-way switch does it's job as it should. I can get the regulad Strat function with the aditional feature of being able to get any combination including all 3 P/Ups together if I want. designing the circuit was fun and challenging.. the paint and the rest were as well.. I learned a lot and will apply these new skills to my collection build as I go along... the next will be a Tele based classic design 'Esquire. with classic wiring scheme. I researched the wiring and all that.. then Perhaps the next build will be the SG Jr. with P90'a. ther will be a 'Danelectro version with lipsticks in it at least.. built just like an original Sears Silvertone Model like I had as a teen. I don't even know where I got that one but It was my forst electric guitar and I plugged it into a Kenwood 6420 custom built for a "Disco" total power was nearly 3000 Watts from 5 pairs of pre amps amd power amps in the receiver that had many other rare features. the control knob had ... A.M. , F.M., F.M. auto (timer) Phono 1 and 2, tape 1 and 2, Aux. 1 and 2 then 2 more not marked that I found were Mic. amd guitar jacks in back of the unit that went through the amp set just as the rest did... powerful and so loud that you couldn't stay in the room with it past 3 0f 20 on the volume knob. Like I said, it was modified for a "Disco" danc club as the primare sound system... I go it cheap from a pawn shop with the story learned later from the D.J. from the closed club. cool unit that had way too much power... lol Sorry I get excited by powerful and unique stereo equipment and cars too... lol
Sounds like you already know the answer here; it's a lovingly authentic restoration, as close as you can get to original spec and parts. As an accidental luthier, restricting yourself with very specific criteria (I built a 50s spec Gibson in lockdown) is a lot of fun and a refreshing challenge. What better way to get to know your instrument than to re-craft it from almost scratch. Would love to see that journey. Respect, keep up the great content, it's an inspiration!
After reading many comments, I wholeheartedly agree with them about bringing it back to life, but I would do one thing: medium jumbo frets on the original guitar neck. I have one Squire that has an original pearl essence blue paint which is awesome with a chunk taken out on the top horn and I changed the wiring and pick-up and I've grown to really enjoy it. I had a 2009 Tabacco Brust Squire that was one of a kind that was an original and I absolutely loved its ceramic single pickups and all, such a great sounding guitar. So I sold it to the neighbor kid, so he could fall in love with playing the guitar as I had, well worth it. So please bring it back to life.
It’s alright Rhett. I did something similar to a lawsuit Aria Les Paul. We all start our partscaster/guitar mod journeys somewhere. I started in the early 2000s and even then, there wasn’t much out there on the right things to do. There’s an abundance of tools, parts, and resources now that were not as apparent back then.
I love the color of the finish and the white guard/maple neck. Maybe strip it all down, repair and refinish the body, replace the pups, harness and neck, but please keep the colors as they are!
It sounds great! I also have a crazy strat all over the place. I sincerely don't even remember how I got the neck. But it sounds amazing, it has "personality". Sticking to it. Great vid!
I have a guitar I bought over 20 years ago, that was a late 80’s Fender Japan ST-54. It was a two-tone burst, and it was very rough, like I bought someone else’s ruined relic project for well under $200. The body was too far gone, routed for a humbucker with a chisel, which went all the way through to the trem cavity. I ended up throwing the body out and putting the neck on a candy apple red MIM Fender body and turning it into my own take on a tribute to David Gilmour’s red Strat. Since then, I’ve hunted down a correct Fender Japan bridge single coil and some other parts. Over a year ago I bought an aftermarket pine relic Strat body and loaded all the old Fender Japan parts which I saved, except for the bridge, which is terribly pitted. Since I’ve put it together, I’ve been playing the hell out of it. Unlike my other Strat partscasters, this one sounds like a Strat should, and I’ve been missing that from my collection for awhile.
Hey Rhett, please make it, it's own thing and fun!
Maybe you can give it to Duncan Price and get him to make a fretless-sustainer-baritone conversion of his forte.
Although he would probably drown it in a pool, dip it in snow and drag it across the floor while doing so... guess it won't hurt too much, considering the outcome.🤔😅
If that's too out there, the other idea many commented, to fully restore it and do it right this time, would certainly be great also and the right way to go. But it would still never be considered to be truly original again, and would just be another Strat.
Just an idea (and my first time commenting, cause I could not let this pass).
Last but not least; have fun and thank you for all the good content!
beautiful und fun story... I love it.
I would say: make it as original as possible (with the parts you have) and put some PU's in it like Filtertron on Bridge, SingleCoil in the Middle and Tele or P90 in the Neck. Let fix the body and give it a good PaintJob.
My Squire (my first guitar ever from 1999) was my try (and a lot of) error guitar and three years ago I brought to my GuitarTech. He made one of my favorite guitars out of it and I love it since then and play it regularly (even on Gigs)...
all the best
Rhett, it needs to be reborn… you know the people, and perhaps the means to pull it off… another great idea for a series run.😊
I just now watched your video here & had to go into MY music room to look and see if my “ Parts -Caster “ was still on it’s stand as I have almost the SAME one , color , pickguard, neck …. But mine has the name “ Simon “ for some reason on the headstock on the neck . It needs some fret work & I’m contemplating just buying a new neck ( maybe Flame maple ) off of internet , possibly from a reverb or someone , to just replace the one on it now as it’s pretty beat up . Still plays So-So as is though , and since it’s just a practice unit may stay the way it is awhile longer ……😏😉. Sounds about like yours in this video also , at least through my Fender Blues Deluxe amp . Good video as usual Rhett ….
Restore that guitar!!!! 🎉It sounds good and I would get that maple neck redone. Good luck Rhett. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it…
Cool vid and shoutout to Antone’s from Austin - been going there 30+ years! Keep the ruined strat btw
I recommend that you fix it, and restore it as best as you are able to, with the knowledge that you have now, and do a proper job of filling in the holes and depressions and then you could attempt to paint it in the original color, but essentially just try to make it correct, install the proper potentiometers, or just just install a pre wired pick guard with Fender pickups if you don’t want to do that work yourself. Have the original neck repaired and re-fretted, and essentially try to make it like it was intended to be.
Thanks for sharing!
Please have an excellent and awesome day!
☀️✨🌟🎸
I just recently entered into the Partcaster world and I have to say that I am totally in love of this way to acquire instruments. I feel my creations are much better than what I would bought with that budget from Fender. I use MJT, or Fender original bodies, roasted maple necks from warmooht or some other manufacturers, Fender & GOTOH hardware, Lollar pickups, CTS PushPull pots, Treble Bleed Circuits and my own wiring configurations to customize the pickup combinations. You must revive/customize that Strat 🙂
You should do a series or video of restoring this guitar would love to see that and get Ben involved and maybe even your friend that made that neck!
This guitar has a story, is part of your journey and looks cool! Honestly, I would fix the electronics and bring it to a luthier to make the neck profile bit thinner and more playable. Then use it or give it away.
Oh man, something must be done with this bro. Very cool guitar and worthy of a restoration. :)
I have a 73 Mustang that had been rattle can painted black. It’s made it through all the decades and it looks and feels great.
What you did to your Strat is now part of its history.
I would put back on the original neck, and fix the pots. Then just use it as is for a while.
As for the paint, I think it looks fine, just leave it.
I have had a few of these, and they are really cool and great guitars. Keeper!
This should be part 1 of a series where you chase turning this guitar into a beast. Send it off to various techs and luthiers and have them all approach a different aspect and see what this guitar can become.
I have a 1988 Japan E series strat, 57 strat specs. bought in 89. Famous Fujigen factory. black w white pickguard but i blacked it out just like you did yours. Still All original including electronics except for the 5 way switch upgraded to switchcraft, still sounds great, Still my fav guitar, THIS VIDEO IS BLASPHEMY! Bring it back to factory specs.
I think you should restore it and post your progress in a series. Better people have done worse things...don't beat yourself up too much :) Keep shining Rhett.
I can relate. I used a blowtorch and sandpaper on a Mexi strat I paid $110 for when I was a teenager. I'd even scrape it over the pavement outside to make it look relic'd.
I still love it.
Been there. One of my first guitars was a JV serial number Japanese squire strat. It was already modified, refinished, beat up, etc by the time I got it, but I just made it worse. I covered the headstock in stickers and years later tried to remove them and lifted most of the finish and screwed up the logo. I recently spent some time working on it and got a reproduction water slide and refinished the headstock and for some reason decided Lollar firebird pickups in it were what I wanted 🤷🏻♂️
I like the green though, who cares if it’s not a great finish, let it wear the history. I’d say cleanup the neck/frets and do what you want for electronics
I like the colour that it is, and that maple fingerboard looks fantastic. The guitar sounds good as well.
Hey Rhett, this was so encouraging to me because I am a lot earlier along on my journey, but it helps me (and perhaps the rest of us) to cope with some of the things we've gone through similarly in our journeys. I've destroyed a few things. Hahaha! But with the help of others like you, here on UA-cam, I have been able to fix 🛠a lot of those mess-ups and I've learned a ton of things in the process. If you have the time and the parts to restore it...Why not go for it? It would also make a great video for us to watch! Stay blessed!!!
I'm trying to slap together my own guitar right now so I'm excited for you to bring back the Squier. Maybe I can get some pointers. I look back when I was a newbie. My first truss rod adjustment I put on safety goggles because I fully expected the neck to explode have a fret fly off and put my eye out.
I had a '68 LP Custom in 1976 and drilled into the front of it to mount a hot switch for the DiMarzio pickups I installed. Kind of regretted that over the years...in 76 a 68 LP was cheaper than a new one. (that really flipped over the decades)...but I relic'd it anyway over a decade of bars and outdoor jobs and basement practices.
I restored my first weird off brand strat which also had lots of weird things done to it by me, including a couple of drilled holes. It was a great decision, feels so good to have it back and playing. It just feels good and right to have a functioning instrument instead of sad guitar remains.
I think the smartest thing you did was not mess with the OG neck. I recently picked up an MIJ medium scale Strat that the previous owner tried to have MJT refinish but it didn't go to his liking. Unfortunately they refinned the neck too so it was hard to authenticate, tho I managed.
I would honestly restore it, maybe not to Olympic White if that's still not what you're into, but restoring it to a better condition could make for a good video series.
Plus, with the baseball neck, you could actually recarve it to a profile you'd now prefer, so you'd be able to salvage that too. All while not messing with the OG neck, or just remount the OG neck.
Dude, you don't need to feel badly. I think every (*real) guitar player has, at least, one of those "attemptcasers". It's akin to a *right-of-passage, to the next level. imho.
Thanks for sharing yours :)
If you don't decide to restore it, I'd be happy to take it off your hands. I have a USA Squier that I've been wanting to upgrade, but am not confident I could do it right. I pulled off the pickup covers on the neck and bridge, about 20 years ago, because I thought it looked cool and proceeded to loose the covers. I originally bought some black pickup covers to replace them, which didnt end up fitting. Also replaced the volume and tone knobs with black ones. Other than that, it's stock as far as I know.
You might create a show guitar. It has been wrecked up anyway. Put some smoke and light pickups in there. Maybe some gold or glitter on the body and go totally overboord with it. Still sounds okay for a strat.😊
Bring it back to its original glory. Go for it.
My first refret that wasn't for myself was on a e series squier. I caught it at guitar center for $200 and it looked brand new... except the frets. There were divots all over the cowboy chord area and totally worn out. I bought it to get refret experience and resold it for $700. Pretty sweet payday for learning how to refret.
It's out in the wild with fresh frets but otherwise 100% original.
I like your guitar as is better than a restored e series. The reason they are 'sought after' is that it's a squier that is actually a good guitar. You can get a newer japanese fender strat for comprable money and it's the same guitar just different electronics.
The guitar sounds good with the Dimarzio pickups but a restoration job is in order since you found the original neck! Go for it!
I did a similar thing when I turned 18 I bought a 1990 Fender MIJ 57’ RI Stratocaster, the shop had refinished it in fiesta red with a really thin nitro coat and it was slightly road worn in areas and looked great, it also came with a set of 90’s Seymour Duncan’s antiquity pickups, played and sounded great (still does).
Not knowing that a nitro finish would wear naturally anyway, I took sandpaper to it not long after receiving it and sanded the entire thing down multiple times, leaving the red but taking most of the lacquer off of areas, I also stabbed it and dug wood out of areas and put stickers all over it. After realising the mistake I made I felt so stupid and tried to fix what I could using some filler and I took some stickers off but when trying to remove the adhesive residue, I used nail polish remover and it ate right through some of the paint to the point I had to smooth it off again with more sandpaper so my girlfriend painted over the worst of it and recovered it some what but I will forever regret what I have done to this guitar. However i still use it and it’s a great guitar
My favorite guitar mod so far:
I added a momentary button and routed it to an output jack (drilled out a new hole and added it) so that I have an outboard expression pedal 'tap' output I can run to whatever I want and use the button on the guitar. It's good for tap tempo in many devices or in some cases where a pedal or amp accepts a foot switch to channel switch clean/dirty. In those cases you can use it as a momentary fuzz/dirt button. Is this functionally any better than a cheap foot switch like a sustain pedal? Prob not. does it look cool and add a unique capability to the guitar? Definitely. Is it annoying having 2 cables coming out of the guitar? For me, not so much ... but I don't gig it.
Maybe the idea will inspire you? Or maybe it's a pointless idea because I could just buy a sustain pedal and use my foot. But... What can I say - Sometimes I want a button on my guitar for this... You could also use a slider pot like a mixer slide and then you could run things that accept a volume pedal, but I haven't tried it yet.
Just throwing an idea out there. The Sandhills NC chapter of Soldier Songs and Voices could use an amazing guitar like that. We teach veterans, and first responders how to compose, write, and perform original works. As a point of therapy. Or you could find the job that the guitar can perform. I love your videos and have been watching them for years. Have a great day man.
DO IT! Would love to see it back to it's original glory!
I have a silver E Series Squier Strat made in Korea , I bought it in 1986 , I did mod it a bit over the years added Seymour Duncan vintage staggered strat pick ups with new wiring and pots , later re-fretted it with jumbo stainless steel frets and hipshot locking tuners . I still gig with it on occassion however its really heavy , Im not sure what the body is made of , it has the weight of a vintage LP. I took it to my local guitar center to give it a good " once over " before I took it on a gig . They wanted to buy it! I kindly told them no and asked why they wanted it . The store luthier stated that it had a kind of spank like no other Strat he has ever played . I will never sell it .
I also have this same made in Korea strat. It's all original and mint. Bought it new for $300. Plays awesome to me.
@joeroggenbeck8444 yeh they are amazing guitars, I paid $285 for mine .
80's MIJ Squires were really good guitars to learn on back in the day since they could be set-up with really low action w/no buzz, stayed in tune fairly well with some Ernie Balls, worked well with effect pedals (Boss DS-1, BF-2 Flanger, DD-2 Delay) and the neck feel was smooth! (The pickups weren't top notch, but that might have been the Gorilla GG-25 Amp I used :-D )
Make a vid of one of your luthier buddies having a crack at moulding it into something killer.
And get them to step through their decision making process as they go. Would be a cool edu vid on how we can repair or breath new life into old guitars we can’t part with.
I have a 1985 Squier Strat I got new. I was a metal dude, and this was my only guitar, so I put a Schecter locking tremelo (black chrome) on it. This required routing and I had a professional do it, as well as put a Duncan hot rails in the bridge. Then I did everything in black chrome. I even gave away the original bridge pickup, which I regret. The other two pickups are really good. I bought a TexMex bridge pickup and put a jumper in to be able to use the tone knob on it. I have that original Duncan hot rails if anyone is interested.
I also have an early MIJ Squier Strat, which is in 'almost' stock condition. It has a maple board, which I swapped out with a Fender US Rosewood neck for a while, but I eventually saw the error of my ways, and returned the original. I did rewire the guitar, and replaced the five way switch, which was always a bit 'iffy'. I also replaced the pickups with a set of Fender Texas Specials. It sounds and plays beautifully, and I doubt I would ever consider getting rid of it
The flamed maple custom neck looks gorgeous! Maybe, its creator can upgrade its playability now?
I would say you should do these:
fix the electronics if needed
cut the pots a bit so the pot covers fit correctly
put back the original neck
and just keep the body like it is, in some way all the mods you have done it's like making it your "signature" guitar.
whatever you decide, I would be happy to see the second part of this!
Regards!
Don’t change a thing! It’s a unique orphan partscaster. Not all of us like uniformity (custom shop, hello?!). Post details with measurements-someone will adopt and love it just the way it is or put their own mods and make it their own. If not wanting $, swap or do a charity auction so it yields multiple positive outcomes and sees the light of day as someone’s player!
Mate, since it's already a bit of a shame, you should leave some of the paint on it but scuff it up a bit, or a lot. It's your guitar. Try to unearth some of the original paint, if it's still there. I'm sure you will love it again once you are satisfied with its new look. I've got a space where I park up my old cheap guitars. I just thought everyone had a few of those. You've sparked my interest now, of seeing what I have stored away. Could be good? By the way, I have 2 × 80s MIJ Strats. A well worn basic blackie / maple & a 80s contemporary short scale black / Rosewood w the factory trem. I always keep my 85 Aria Acoustic with me. It looks like crap but natural relic & had to re glue the bridge back on & add a brace at the bottom end of it. So bright & resonate, since. It's almost 40yrs old. Wow!
Wow all those cases in the basement! I'm jealous, I live somewhere humid and lost some to mold.
Yes, restore the guitar. I do this as a hobby. My current project is 80's Yamaha SG 450T. It's fun and you have a nice piece when your done!
Yeah, with the original neck you've found I think restoring it would be rad as hell. A nice little redemption for the guitar.
I would like to see you experiment with some wacky pickup configurations on it. Maybe comparing the sound of not commonly used pickups on Strats. Have it be a mod guitar to try things on. I really like a filtertron in the bridge of a Strat for example. Otherwise maybe give it to that guy with the sustainer guitar and see if he can make you one. You sounded good on that thing
I literally had a red one fall into my lap! Thanks for the upgrade tips, I’m sure I can mess this one up way more better 😆
I made a project guitar of a 1981 Ibanez Roadstar 1 in a SSS format. It's now got a Seymour Duncan fat Strat set up with a late 80s Kahler trem. In your Strat case, I like my Ibey, I would keep it, fix up the frets so it's a comfortable player and keep it for the sentimental value it obviously holds.
Strip it down to bare wood and repaint it the original color. Put the old neck back on it after a fret job. Put some sweet pickups and new wiring in it and call it a day.
Thanks for sharing it!
I’d maybe pimp it out with a nice custom paint job and restored neck. I wouldn’t look at it as destroying it. You are creating something that means something to you. And you have increased the value for the remaining unrestored-early-eighties-Japanese-Squier Strats.