Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: froglord on April 01, 2006, 12:55:39 PM
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I've been thinking about giving my Strat the BKP treatment. Trouble is, it's a Squier, so it would take as much cash as the guitar cost in the first place. Is this worth doing? (I can already hear a chorus of forumites saying "Hell, yeah!").
It's a pretty good player - it's from the days way back when Squiers were made in Japan, not China, and I think the quality is a step up from modern Squiers.
Also, I'm thinking of "Clapton-ing" it by putting five springs in the trem cavity so the trem is flush with the body. Anyone else done this? What effect does it have on tone? Will it give me improved tuning stability?
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The trem was also blocked with a chunk of wood, so the trem won't move at all.
Apparently it gives the guitar a springier sound than a regular hardtail strat, but without the tuning fun.
It's also reccomended to replace the trem block with a heavier steel one.
An hell yeah pimp it, you can always remove the new pickups if you ever sell it.
Rob...
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Ive heard locking the trem improves tone, and putting a block of wood into the hole improves sustain.
Japanese guitars are always cool. :lol:
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What is it's serial number? If its a JV or an SQ its definintely worth adding some BKPs to - these were the models that made Fender USA sweat - see http://www.squierjv.info/
A set of slow hands and a block off block would give you a tone canon!
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What is it's serial number? If its a JV or an SQ its definintely worth adding some BKPs to - these were the models that made Fender USA sweat - see http://www.squierjv.info/
A set of slow hands and a block off block would give you a tone canon!
Unfortunately it's not a JV or SQ - the serial number begins with a single letter "O". It was probably made around 1993/1994.
When I pick it up, I'm always surprised at how good the neck is. I've got the strings set flat and high for slide playing at the moment (an abortive experiment!) and it still plays well. There's a little bit of fret wear, but it's doing better than I'd expect for a cheap, 12 year old guitar.
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Mate all I can say is HELL YEA, If I were you Id buy one of those hot-rod hardtail bridges that look like flames, or Id route it out and put a FR in it. Then Id buy a set of Uber Sinners. your guitar would burn, rape, and pillage then!!!
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give it a go, just remember not to doi anything that isnt reversable if your unsure about the project in a long term sense.
ie dont paint it zebra stripe pink if you think you might hate it in a few years.
Other than that.... go nuts.
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Hi,
I've posted before but I'll chime in again. I have a Lite Ash Strat (Korean origin) which is the most over looked Strat in the portfolio. Birdseye maple neck, abelone and an ash body - I loaded an Uber hot rod Sinner (single coil Warpig) in the bridge - Blocked off the Trem with the springs and wood - then took it to Feline and had a Dunlop 6000 refret and electronic rewire...
I challenge any other Strat to a duel...
Cummon if you think you're hard enough..
It's that good.
DO IT... DO IT
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Hey Dave, I have MM but want something that is even more heavy, but with the alnico cleans. I was thinking of a NB or a WP. how does the WP compare to the MM?
cheers mate
Matt
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Man, there are some seriously hardcore metal muthas round here, aren't there? :lol: Thanks for the feedback, guys!
I'm aiming more for a "hot vintage" kind of sound - probably Mother's Milks or Irish Tours - so it'll do everything from dynamic clean to medium gain rock. I also might go for an H/S/S set for maximum versatility. The HB would be something other than a Mule (which I've already got in my Eggle and love).
However, Miracle Man Matt - I'm interested in the idea of "hardtailing" it. Can I just drop a hardtail in as a replacement to the trem block? Where can I get one?
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I have a Crawler and 2 Irish Tours in a Strat and it's a great combo for all the styles you mentioned in your earlier post :)
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I agree with the tremblock thing, Callaham make excellent Fender style bridges in fact. As for if it's worth upgrading, do you play it lots? If you do then it's worth it in my eyes, as soon as you sell it on if you do you can undo everything you've done in a matter of minutes if you use a drop in pickguard thing. You'll still have the BKPs for something else at the end of the day.
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Its strange that Squiers have such a bad reputation - My JV is the balls, plays like a dream. I've also had a go with the P90 telelcaster custom and that played well and sounded good too! No one slags off Epi Les Pauls in the way that people snub Squiers, so I am at a loss .
By the way what fretboard do you have: maple or rosewood and what type of stuff do you play - that can help people nail the pickup to tone you want.
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Earlier today I gave the Squier a proper setup and ran it through the Minimat. I was gobsmacked - played like the proverbial butter and sounded shockingly good for a guitar with pickups that are supposed to be cheap and cr@ppy. I can only imagine what BKPs will do to it. Where's my drool smiley?
Thanks for all the feedback, guys.
Elliot, I'm after dynamic clean sounds through to blues and rock. My favourite strat tones are by Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, and just to throw a couple of curve balls into the mix: Steve Hackett and Mike Oldfield. I'd like the potential for rock gain, but without losing that trademark Strat quack.
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Oh, and it's a maple fretboard.
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With Maple I'd go with Apaches - they seem to bring out maple boards really well.
I wonder if Slow Hands might be good - from the clip I heard they sounded monster.
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I have a similar Jap Squier which I 'pimped' before I knew about BKPs.. They are essentially like a current entry level Fender Jap Strat. I wouldn't hard tail it, but block it off like previous folk have recommended - having said that mine is not blocked off and it stays in tune pretty well. Things you might want to change... the tuners - not great, a decent set of Gotohs are not expensive and are a real step up. Electrics (pots and switch) - I've swapped mine for some from a USA Strat (word of warning - the pickup selector tip is not the same size!) and that helped too. Pickguard is now white tortoiseshell - I'll not mention the pickups but suffice to say they are are what the Irish Tours are probably based on... (and a new set only cost me £65 in the US!) :roll:
They are great guitars - if anyone is interested I have a 'Blackie' look-alike that is ready to be pimped that I will be selling soon.
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Thanks, mikeluke.
I think I'm just going to go for the "five springs" approach to get the trem flush against the body and see how that goes.
The tuners actually seem pretty decent, so I'll keep them for now. If I do decide to change them I'll probably go for locking units: I love 'em, and think they should be used even on non-trem guitars.
You're right about the electrics - my five-way is shot to hell! I'm thinking of ordering a completely new, pre-wired scratchplate so I get quality pots too. Which leaves me with a problemette: normal Strat scratchplates have 11 screw holes, whereas my Squier only has 8. Are the screws self-tapping and should I just screw the thing down regardless, or should I drill some holes first?
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I got a guitar repairer to do mine - of the 8 original holes, I think that only 2 or 3 actually lined up! (My replacement is also 11 holes) - fit the ones that line up and then you'll have to drill holes for the rest - you may be lucky enough to find an 8 hole pickguard - it depends just how far you want to take the pimping! - For the electrics - if you don't want to go down the pre-wired route - I'd recommed a guy called reliablefender on eBay - based in the USA but will ship to the UK - alternative would be axes-r-us online
Good luck!
Mike