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.
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
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 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.
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.
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?
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!
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 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 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!
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
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.
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😂.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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 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.
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!
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 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 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
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 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 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 .
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 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'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.
To me, the trial and error of customizing guitars can be part of the fun. My first guitar was a lo end Jackson RR. I did all kinds of things like put in a Dimarzio Super Distortion, added an extra spring because some guitar tech was like "this way it can handle thicket gauge strings." It ended up sound bad and had poor playability. On the flip side, I spent years gathering the parts to customize my black 2017 gibson explorer. it looks great and sounds great.
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.
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.
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 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 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! ☀️✨🌟🎸
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.😊
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.
It's a great story: Now you are older and wiser and have found the original neck, time to get to work on that baby. You likeley have the resources too to get a refret, and a pro paint job. Replace all the electronics 'correctly' and get some vintage pickups in there. She'll be stunning. I recently did this to a JV and although I was worried about gutting the electronics (I kept the original parts in a box) she now sings and is a daily player. Not vintage correct, but hey, want to play it or put it in a museum? Go for it 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.
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
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.
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.
Hi Rhett! I believe, for the reasons you stated in the video. You should finish what you started. With all of the experience you've gained since you began the project, if you put some love into it, it would be the killer Rhett Strat. It's a Japanese Squire that survived the younger version of you and deserves to have the man you've become make it the next level version of its original form. We would love to see you make it happen.
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.
My first electric I took apart piece by piece and put on a shelf in a garage that was cleared out and every bit of it is scattered around separate sites at the dump right now. At least you still have most of it dude, I made a huge mistake with mine.
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.
You should do a full restoration. Get a few guitar heros to sign it and auction it off for a charity event. It has a cool.story and deserved to be played.
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!
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
This would be a great guitar to show people what a professional shop setup can do. Take it over to our favorite shop and get it plec’d and setup right.
I started my modding with a cheap Harley Benton PB20 SBK, a super cheap basic Satin Black P bass. Now it's had basically everything changed except for the tuners and that is only because I haven't wanted to plug and redrill holes yet lol It's got different wiring, pickguard, pickup, bridge and has been defretted. It's now got La Bella tapewounds and sounds pretty good and plays pretty well, especially considering it's my first real major mod of anything besides wiring fixes or pickup swaps. If I had ruined it though, it was still only a cheap bass so not a big deal.
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.
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!
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
Truth is that most people in a blindfold test wouldn’t know from the sound that it wasn’t a vintage strat.
I can't believe you have a GEAR DUNGEON
Lol different level
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.
What will his rich friends say though. Dude isn’t going to play a Squier.
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
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!
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 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.
I get that it’s a collector, but it sounds like it deserves to be played. Who cares it’s not proper spec.
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.
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.
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!
Restore it! Would need an awesome video. Always fun to watch something new brought back to its original glory
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 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.
Build it out. You of all people can.
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!
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
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.
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.
Steve Rothery has been performing live with a Japanese Squier for decades now.
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😂.
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.
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.
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.
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 $600 now.
Give it to a luthier you trust, have him/her work their magic on it. It’s a good lesson that even when you make a mistake in life, it doesn’t mean you can’t recover from it and keep going.
someone who will be a musician one day is having trouble getting their first guitar
Anyone aspiring to be a musician can get a guitar nowadays. Mow some lawns to buy 100$ 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.
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.
You smell like beef and cheese
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!
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!!
Give it to a kid who wants to play guitar. Don't sell it. You don't need the money, so give it to a kid.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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…
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.
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 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.
Oh man, something must be done with this bro. Very cool guitar and worthy of a restoration. :)
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!
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 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.
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!
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
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.
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 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 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 .
The flamed maple custom neck looks gorgeous! Maybe, its creator can upgrade its playability now?
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!
Trust me you are not the only one with a DIY project that you swore will never see the light of day.
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'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.
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.😊
To me, the trial and error of customizing guitars can be part of the fun. My first guitar was a lo end Jackson RR. I did all kinds of things like put in a Dimarzio Super Distortion, added an extra spring because some guitar tech was like "this way it can handle thicket gauge strings." It ended up sound bad and had poor playability. On the flip side, I spent years gathering the parts to customize my black 2017 gibson explorer. it looks great and sounds great.
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.
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.
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 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 🙂
I like the colour that it is, and that maple fingerboard looks fantastic. The guitar sounds good as well.
Came for the sustained-chord neck strangle wobbles and sways, wasn’t disappointed.
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 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!
☀️✨🌟🎸
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.😊
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.
It's a great story: Now you are older and wiser and have found the original neck, time to get to work on that baby. You likeley have the resources too to get a refret, and a pro paint job. Replace all the electronics 'correctly' and get some vintage pickups in there. She'll be stunning. I recently did this to a JV and although I was worried about gutting the electronics (I kept the original parts in a box) she now sings and is a daily player. Not vintage correct, but hey, want to play it or put it in a museum? Go for it 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.
Make it a series where you interview some repair gurus on how they save old guitars
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
Yeah, with the original neck you've found I think restoring it would be rad as hell. A nice little redemption for the guitar.
Restore it. All of it. Every detail. Make it a killer guitar. Document the entire process on your channel. Thanks for sharing. Great story.
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.
Cool vid and shoutout to Antone’s from Austin - been going there 30+ years! Keep the ruined strat btw
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.
Hi Rhett! I believe, for the reasons you stated in the video. You should finish what you started. With all of the experience you've gained since you began the project, if you put some love into it, it would be the killer Rhett Strat. It's a Japanese Squire that survived the younger version of you and deserves to have the man you've become make it the next level version of its original form. We would love to see you make it happen.
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.
My first electric I took apart piece by piece and put on a shelf in a garage that was cleared out and every bit of it is scattered around separate sites at the dump right now.
At least you still have most of it dude, I made a huge mistake with mine.
This dude looks like Pops from Jaboody
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.
You should do a full restoration. Get a few guitar heros to sign it and auction it off for a charity event. It has a cool.story and deserved to be played.
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!
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, take it to Dave Onorato and let him weave his magic on it. You might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.
I love the honesty of this story. No judgement
Bring it back to its original glory. Go for it.
I have had a few of these, and they are really cool and great guitars. Keeper!
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 😆
This would be a great guitar to show people what a professional shop setup can do. Take it over to our favorite shop and get it plec’d and setup right.
I started my modding with a cheap Harley Benton PB20 SBK, a super cheap basic Satin Black P bass. Now it's had basically everything changed except for the tuners and that is only because I haven't wanted to plug and redrill holes yet lol
It's got different wiring, pickguard, pickup, bridge and has been defretted. It's now got La Bella tapewounds and sounds pretty good and plays pretty well, especially considering it's my first real major mod of anything besides wiring fixes or pickup swaps. If I had ruined it though, it was still only a cheap bass so not a big deal.