Red Squier is off to the luthier
My little guitar in Dakota Red is being reconditioned and modified.
There are 2 guitars that made me slightly e-famous on the internet. The 2010 Squier Bullet Strat in Arctic White (traded out a while ago), and the 1989 Squier Stratocaster II.
Why did I keep the '89? Because it's my first guitar. Can't trade out or sell that one. :)
My first guitar, after all these years, is finally in the shop getting some repair, restoration and modifications done to it.
I mentioned some of what was going to be done, but this is the full list:
Restorations
The top horn strap button hole is totally stripped; that's getting filled/re-drilled...
...and that is, in fact, the only restoration happening.
Repairs
Entire neck is being refretted with stainless steel fret wire.
Nut may be replaced. Luthier's discretion there where it needs to be or not.
5-way selector is being replaced. On all Samick-build Squier Strats of this era such as mine is, the blade selector was notorious for being stiff even as a brand new instrument. Yes, I'm saying it's always been super-stiff.
Tuners are being replaced, but I'm unsure whether I'll get back vintage slotted style or sealed. I had sets of both and sent both to the luthier. The slotted (which most would know as Kluson style or just vintage tuners) is new, never used and manufactured by Gotoh Japan. The sealed tuners are a real-deal vintage set from my 1993 Fender American Standard Stratocaster (I'll talk more about that guitar later). I'd prefer the slotted set installed, but of course, that set works "six on a plate" style, and at the moment it's unknown whether the spacing of the pegboard holes will allow it. If the spacing is good, the slotted set gets installed. If not, the Fender sealed tuners get installed.
Any bad wiring found under the pick guard is getting replaced.
Modifications
The rear-only (as in bridge) pickup will be getting a tone control wired in. Rear will be dedicated to Tone 2 and Mid + Front will share Tone 1. I could have had Rear + Mid share Tone 2, but doing it the way I am separates out the tone controls better.
Last but not least, I might be getting not one but two "no-load" tone controls installed. These are tone controls where 0 through 9 is regular tone control, then you hit a detent, and 10 is a position where the tone capacitor filtration is completely bypassed.
What am I not certain I'm getting these? Because of the slim profile of the Squier Strat body.
Take a Fender TBX Tone Control for example. That absolutely will not fit in a Squier slim profile Strat body. It's just not happening. Way too tall.
Fender part number 0990833000 on the other hand, which is the no-load tone kit, has a pot that is much shorter and might fit in a Squier slim body.
If the no-load pots fit under the guard, I get no-loads for both controls. If not, I have to stay with the smaller pots that fit the Squier slim Strat body.
The idea for putting in a pair of no-loads came after my concern from adding the load of a tone control to the rear pickup possibly changing the overall sound of it (something I don't want happening). The luthier said he had a few no-loads and could see if they fit. I'm hoping they do.
Tone wiring considerations aside, the big deal here are the frets, tuners and 5-way selector. Having these 3 things actually all work correct will make the guitar truly a joy to play, and make the guitar feel and play just as good as American Standard Strat if not better.
Guitar of the Week #58 - Schecter S-II Omen Extreme
Schecter makes an SG style guitar with a simplified layout, and it's good.
What's good? The Schecter S-II Omen Extreme, that's what. And to the best of my knowledge, any Schecter model with S-II in its model name has an SG-like shape to it.
What makes the S-II easier to deal with compared to, say, an Epiphone G-400 is the fact you only have to deal with two knobs instead of four, the knobs are metal, knurled and easier to grab, the nut is a Graph Tech TUSQ (meaning better string travel in the nut slots), the neck is a "thin C" with 14-inch fingerboard radius and you get 24 frets instead of 22.
I'm not a fan of 24-fret guitars, but I like this one for one very particular reason. It's an SG shape with a longer top horn.
Why does that matter? A typical problem many SG players have is neck dive. The only true solution to fix the problem is to use a guitar with a longer top horn. If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, look at the guitar above, and notice the body wood sticking out over the neck, similar to two horns. The top horn is above the neck and the bottom horn (with the black pick guard on it) is below the neck. Notice that the top horn is longer than the bottom horn. Now you know where it is.
The S-II from Schecter appears to be a properly balanced SG shape. Believe me, Schecter didn't elongate the top horn just to look different from a Gibson. That longer horn is a design decision to balance the body, and a good one at that.
Yes, it is true that the Schecter S-II Omen Extreme is more expensive than an Epiphone G-400, but being the Schecter is designed as the better balanced instrument, that automatically makes it the better guitar.
If you've ever had to deal with a guitar that has a neck dive problem, you know how annoying that is. No matter how ritzy, glitzy and/or glamorous the guitar may be, if it's not balanced right, it sucks.
I can say with certainty that the Schecter S-II Omen Extreme does not suck.
Oh, and one last thing. Yes, it has a push/pull knob. The tone control, specifically. What does it do? I honestly don't know. I assume it's a coil tap or coil split, but Schecter's product page on this specific guitar doesn't actually state what the push/pull does. If anyone has any info on it, email me.
Guitar of the Week #57 - Oscar Schmidt OE30CH
A challenger to the Epiphone Dot Studio appears.
When it comes to semi-hollow guitars, the champion as far as value is concerned is the Epiphone Dot Studio. However, now you have an alternative that's $100 less, the Oscar Schmidt OE30CH.
If you ever wanted a Gibson ES-335 style guitar for as cheap as you can get it while still getting a decent axe for the money, I don't think you can do any better than Oscar Schmidt's "Delta King" series guitars.
The OE30CH has everything that makes a 335-style guitar work. From a lightweight semi-hollow body to the proper red stain finish to the properly voiced pickups, yes, this guitar nails it.
Better than a high-end ES-335? Obviously not. The question is whether this guitar is as good as the Dot Studio.
I'd actually say it's better than the Dot Studio for several reasons.
First, the OE30CH has body and F-hole binding on it while the Dot Studio does not.
Second, the OE30CH has four controls and the pickup selector on the top horn while the Dot Studio does not.
Third, the OE30CH has fret markers on the fretboard while the Dot Studio does not.
You get more guitar for the money over the Epiphone. The only thing you don't get is resale value. The Epiphone, solely based on brand name alone, is worth more than the Oscar Schmidt is. But in the end, are you buying a guitar for resale value or to actually play the thing?
As a player's guitar, the Oscar Schmidt is the better instrument over the Dot Studio, no question about it. You simply get more.
Guitar of the week #56 - Epiphone Emperor Swingster
A nice lower-cost alternative to a Gretsch.
The Epiphone Emperor Swingster has a cool name and a nice price for what it is.
Let's say for the moment you're really wanting a Gretsch G6120, but you see that price tag and say, "WHOA! Can't afford that!" That's when you start looking at the Swingster because it has a similar vibe for a much nicer price.
The Swingster is a hollow-body that's easy to get along with. It sounds like a hollow-body should sound and the Bigsby vibrato is predictable in a good way.
To note: The necks are different between Swingster and the limited edition "Blue Royale" model. The Royale has a slimmer "SlimTaper D" shape. What that basically means is that if you want a thinner neck, get the Royale version. As for fingerboard radius, it's 12-inch on all Swingsters.
Premium grade Grover tuners are on all Swingsters. The regular Swingster has Grover 14:1 ratio tuners and the Royale model has 18:1 ratio Grover Roto-Matic tuners. I can say with confidence you would be happy with either.
Both guitars have "SwingBucker" pickups with AlNiCo V magnets in them.
The Bigsby system loaded in to all Swingsters is the B30 model.
For what it sells for, you do get a lot of guitar for the money with the Swingster.
And again, if you think the guitar sells for too much, just look at the price of a Gretsch G6120. A Swingster is a bargain in comparison.
Reconnecting with the Stratocaster
You always go back to the basics.
The first guitar shape I ever played was a Strat. It wasn't a Squier, but a friend of mine had this really cheesy silver Yamaha Strat copy where I said to myself, "I have got to get me one of these!" A few weeks later I had a red Squier Strat, and I've had it ever since.
I've tried different guitars over the years with varying pickup configurations. The Jazzmaster, which I still own, was the guitar I thought was going to be my new #1.
Nope.
It's the Strat.
Lately I've been reconnecting with the guitar, playing it more and more, and I might pick up another one soon, which may be another Squier or possibly an SX brand.
Why get another Strat? Because it will be new. Mine is a 27-year-old guitar. Most electric guitars don't survive more than 10 years, never mind 20 or close to 30 as mine is.
While there is the possibility I may have some work done to my '89 Strat soon to make it more playable (more on that in a moment,) it has definitely achieved patina status.
Not only is there patina in the look but also the sound of the guitar. It now has a tone to it that some people would pay big money for.
I did have the most fun on Strat guitars
Back in February 2011, I bought a Squier Bullet Strat in Arctic White, which at the time I write this is still made. I took to YouTube with that guitar and people that have been subscribed to my YouTube channel for years remember it very well.
Why did I trade it out? The same reason I got rid of my first Jazzmaster for another one. I wore out the frets.
Before anyone says anything, no, I do not re-fret guitars. I don't care how "easy" you think it is. It's not easy for me.
And for those of you who say, "If you didn't buy cheap guitars, you wouldn't wear out frets so fast." Wrong. Very wrong.
Here's why:
A quick 101 on fret wire (I may write a full article about this later)
The most common fret wire for guitars is nickel/silver. No matter where the wire is made and no matter what the wire size is, I will wear it down quick.
My only option to have fret wire that lasts longer is to use stainless steel frets. That stuff lasts much longer than nickel/silver does...
...but that fret wire material is, as far as I know, not standard equipment on any Fender Standard Stratocaster, be it Mexico or American made.
In the end, whether I buy a Squier or a Fender, the frets wear down at the same rate, more or less. Maybe the Fender will take slightly longer for it to happen, but it will still happen.
Better to have a $150 guitar with worn down frets after 3 years that you can trade out and not care about instead of a $1,500 one.
And yes, my red Strat's frets are all sorts of worn out, fret dents and all. I may be sending it to a luthier for a complete re-fret, and yes the new fret wire would be stainless steel. I don't know if I am for-sure sending the guitar out for that job or not, but if I do, I will certainly write about it here.
Like I was saying...
...I did have the most fun playing Strat guitars. And it was actually weird that some people on the internet got a little mad at me for trading out the Bullet Strat. Some of my viewers really took to that guitar and liked seeing me with it.
The keyword here however is fun. Now while I really like playing the Jazzmaster, it's not a guitar you can beat around like a Strat. I found that out first hand when I wore out the frets almost too fast on the original red Jazz I had.
Basically, I can't keep buying a new Jazzmaster every 2 years, especially since the damned things are now $400 (Squier put on a major price hike for that particular model.) As much as I love the Jazz, it's now cost prohibitive.
However, I can keep buying Strats, and there are some brands where I can grab one for $150 or less. That's certainly better than $400.
Thankfully, there are Squier Strats and Strat copies that still sell cheap
There's Squier, Xaviere, Rondo brands Hadean and SX, Bacchus, Jay Turser and others. There is no shortage of Strat copies out there. All have their little quirks and slight differences, but in the end, a Strat can be had cheap.
I don't plan on going dirt cheap. There are some $99 Strat copies out there and I doubt there's anything good for that price. But for $150, I should be able to get something decent.
Will I recondition my red Strat as my "#1"?
Some of you out there might ask that question, and the answer is maybe.
Why maybe?
If it's to be I send this guitar off to a luthier for repair, I will have to have him see if the wood is still stable, because I'm fairly certain my Squier's body is plywood.
Now contrary to popular belief, plywood is not bad for a guitar body and never was. Heck, mine has lasted almost 30 years, so I think that pretty much proves it works. However, I don't know how stable the wood is, particularly at the neck pocket.
The neck as far as I can tell is fine, aside from the worn down frets. No issues there. But I've no idea how a ply body holds up after 27 years. If the guitar gets to a luthier, I'll have him remove the neck, check to see if there are any stress fractures, warping or other bad stuff going on there.
If everything checks out, then yeah, I may just simply have my first guitar fixed up to be my #1, conditionally. The condition is I won't take it out to perform with live, but I would use it for studio recording.
Regardless of what happens to the red guitar, there may be a new Strat in the barn soon. And it might not be a Squier this time around.