Guitar question

craigcharlie · 10-07-2006 12:46pm #1

Ok, I have a fender squier strat... the headstock says made in japan.

But here's the wierd thing.... it doesn't look like a strat at all. I don't have any pictures at the mo (could try to put one up later), but basically, it only has one humbucker pickup. consequently, it has no switches, and just one volume knob.

also, another odd (and annoying) thing is that there's no 'inset' angled plug for to plug the guitar in with. The plug sticks out straight from the pickgard, awful design obviously, just begging to be broken while you're strumming.

So I've two questions:

what the hell kind of model is this? I can't find it anywhere! Never seen anything like it. Although, the serial number on the back plate might indicate that it was made in japan between 85 and 86. It's an "A" followed by six digits, see http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html.

second question: Does anyone know if I could buy pickguards/electronics for a decent price anywhere? I'm thinking of replacing the electronics that are in it with the standard fender stuff, I don't mind doing a bit of routing/dremeling if I have to. Obviously the nicest thing would be to put in an angled input plug....

Thanks for any info!

cheers,
cc

Doctor J · 10-07-2006 1:00pm

Sounds like a Tom DeLonge from back when they were called Eddie Van Halens

It's most likely an EVH fan who, inspired by Eddie's single humbucker design butchered, I mean, modded his strat with that electronics setup in the 80's. twas all the rage (see Kramer Baretta too).

Have you had alook underneath the scratchplate and see what kind of routing is in place? Pics are good too

craigcharlie · 10-07-2006 1:19pm

that second picture was great, what a dweeb

that's good info, I think you might be right... I bought it in a pawn shop in the states in the early 90's.

yeah, I need to take off the pickguard and have a look. but the wacko thing is the way there doesn't seem to have been room for an angled input. I don't think the pickguard goes back any further than the pickguard in the photo you posted, it's like the input hole was never there. Maybe it does go back that far and I'm just hallucinating.

reckon it'd be easy to get secondhand scratchguard/electronics? I'm handy with soldering iron, so a broken/junk one would be ideal....

Doctor J · 10-07-2006 1:30pm

They disposed of the the third pot in 85 and put the input jack where the thrid pot used to be, ungodly things. In fairness, whoever put one humbucker in probably did the right thing

craigcharlie · 10-07-2006 1:37pm

hmmm... can't access that image....

edit:

aha!!! http://www.stratcollector.com/scn/models/standard2.html

exactly right. jeez that is kinda yuck... hmmm... would love an angled input, but don't fancy routing an entirely new hole for it.....

have to think about options for changing to a standard set-up (though I plan on leaving the humbucker in it's position....)

cheers for that info!!

cc

Doctor J · 10-07-2006 1:40pm

http://www.stratcollector.com/scn/models/standard2.html

craigcharlie · 10-07-2006 2:03pm

hey doctor j,

you know what's wierd though? my guitar doesn't have the tremolo position they talk about on that page, it actually does go through to the back....

I'm googling "squier strat 2nd version" now to see what I can find...

cheers,
cc

craigcharlie · 10-07-2006 3:48pm

Didn't find much. But it's pretty clear what kind of style mine is made in, it's a bit annoying not having the routed input lead. oh well.

essentially, it appears that my squier is a copy of the first strat model on this page... it's from the "contemporary" range..... http://freespace.virgin.net/john.blackman4/cont.htm

so there ya go. cheers for all your info, I wouldn't have found it otherwise. I'm interested in possibly routing a hole for the input cord so that I can replace the electronics with standard strat electronics.... does anyone have info/experience doing this?

cheers,
cc

Doctor J · 10-07-2006 3:56pm

Probably the easiest way would be to put a tele style input on the bottom edge. You can buy fully wired strat scratchplates from the likes of chrisguitars really cheap when he has them in, it's simply a matter of a couple of solders and that's it.

Japanese Squiers are very decent guitars actually. There's a stigma about the name but most Squiers of that era were pretty much as good as the full on Fenders.

Doctor J · 10-07-2006 3:57pm

And it's kind of getting spooky, 9 posts about a strat and no Ancient1

craigcharlie · 10-07-2006 4:20pm

yah, that might be a good idea alright, just doing a bottom mounted input jack. I suppose it's a little more like to get bashed than a top mounted one, but I have no idea how the finish on the guitar will react if I try to rout/dremel it... I'd hate to see a bunch of spiderweb cracks form. at least if it were on the bottom it wouldn't be that visible.

yeah, as far as the guitar quality goes, it seems to play really well. the only issue is a hum that disappears when I touch the strings, clear indication of a grounding/interference problem. it'll be a different guitar when I get new electronics for it and shield the body cavity. Can't wait!

craigcharlie · 11-07-2006 1:21pm

ok, so I have a pic...

I pulled off the pickguard last night and had a look under there... not a pretty sight. The only thing that's routed is a small space for the one volume knob and input jack, and a small space for the one humbucker. No routing for the other pickups.

I really think I'm gonna give it a go though, if I can find a pickguard with electronics. Does anyone have any experience doing this?

Or a router I can borrow

Ancient1 · 11-07-2006 1:31pm

I'm here, Doc!

I just wanted to see how long I can hold off posting on a strat-related thread without the world coming to an end.

Craigcharlie, that's an interesting and unusual guitar you have there....if I were you I wouldn't change a damned thing, except maybe upgrade the pup.

The hint is stratcollector.com

Why change something that is quite collectable (is that even a word?) - if you want an SSS or HSH strat save up a bit of cash and get one, coz you can't ever have enough Fender related things.

Doctor J · 11-07-2006 1:36pm

Wow, that is rare. I'm with Ancient1, they made that guitar like that for a reason, I'd leave it as is, myself.

Sweet

craigcharlie · 11-07-2006 2:11pm

wow really? I was just thinking of it as a low-budget squier, the way it only has one pickup.

I checked out stratcollector.com, I don't see that much about squiers on there.

Did you see the pickup on that? Here's the reason why it's half-black/half-white: back before I knew anything about anything (after all, I bought this when I was about 19) I replaced/rewired half of the pickup with a pickup from a gibson ephiphone, if I remember correctly. The pickup had just stopped working for some reason. Even though it's a bit hodge-podge, the current setup has a pretty nice sound, though, at least to my ears.

not sure what to do now. I thought it might make sense to have the versatility of 3 pickups and a five way switch now that I've started playing again. Maybe I'll pop into musician inc or musicmaker and try out a few strats to see whether or not it makes a big difference to me....

thanks for da replies guys...

Doctor J · 11-07-2006 2:35pm

Yeah, Squier is Fender's budget brand but the initial Japanese guitars were very decent instruments in their own right. IIRC a couple of lines were rebadged as proper Fenders without any changes apart from the logo on the headstock. If it sounds good to you and plays good, then don't worry about what's on the headstock

Ancient1 · 11-07-2006 2:43pm

craigcharlie wrote:

wow really? I was just thinking of it as a low-budget squier, the way it only has one pickup.

The number of pickups doesn't relate to budget / quality. There are many high-end guitars with only one pickup - it's down to what the player wants and needs.
Oh and Tom DeLonge doesn't qualify as a guitar slinger in my mind.

craigcharlie wrote:

Even though it's a bit hodge-podge, the current setup has a pretty nice sound, though, at least to my ears.

That's all that matters - playing guitar is all about idiosyncracies.

craigcharlie wrote:

I thought it might make sense to have the versatility of 3 pickups and a five way switch now that I've started playing again.

Sure it makes sense, but your guitar wasn't built for 3 pups. Of course you can make it into one, but I wouldn't advise it. Like I said, your guitar was built for a specific tone (bucker in the bridge) and I'd leave it like that. Get another strat if you want more tonal options. In my opinion it would be a pity to mess it up.

Doctor J · 11-07-2006 2:50pm

These links ain't modem friendly

http://www.squierjv.info/domesticjv.htm

http://www.strat-central.com/japan.htm

Man, it's practically vintage now, it was meant to be the way it is

Ancient1 · 11-07-2006 2:52pm

Dammit, Doc, we need to implement an advance warning system!!!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS

craigcharlie · 11-07-2006 3:49pm

thanks for all the advice! yeah, if it sounds good and plays good, why knock it, right?

it didn't occur to me to think that the guitar was built that way for a reason... now I'm thinking that maybe the fact that it isn't routed for the other pickups might be the reason it's got good sustain... so taking away a load of wood might really mess it up. so what you're saying makes a lot of sense to me...

hey, do you guys know of a good source for shielded wire to use inside guitars? Maplins or a specialty guitar shop? Basically, the input jack wire is hanging on by a few strands, and I'm not sure there's enough slack there to resolder, I might have to get more wire...

one thing I do plan to do to get rid of a bit of the hum that's there is this:

http://www.kinman.com/html/toneWorkshop/perfectGuitar.htm#shieldingOlder

I'm gonna use the method for vintage guitars, just some adhesive with aluminum foil....

Ancient1 · 11-07-2006 4:24pm

You'll find more shielding tips on www.guitarnuts.com

I was buying some stuff from www.monteallums.com and was going to pick up a pickguard shield as well, but Doc said you can get that adhesive copper foil over here cheaper (imagine that).

craigcharlie · 11-07-2006 5:53pm

cheers for that, yeah the guitarnuts site has a great explanation, I think I'm gonna pass on doing that 'star-grounding' technique, I read on a few sites that the sheilding is the important thing, and that the gains are minimal from star grounding, e.g. http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&topic_number=507604
So if the gains are minimal I don't see the point in going through the trouble of all that rewiring.

hey doctor j, what's your source for the copper? if it's pretty cheap i might do that, I was just going to go the aluminum foil route, as I mentioned before my guitar hardly has any holes in it anyway

Ancient1 · 12-07-2006 10:44am

But you shouldn't be getting that much hum with a humbucker anyways.

Have you checked if the pickup and the controls are properly soldered?

craigcharlie · 14-07-2006 1:36pm

sorry, wasn't around yesterday.

yeah, I suspect that one of two things is wrong...

- when I rewired the humbucker, I didn't know what the heck I was doing...
- that maybe when I did the rewiring I might have rewired the input jack backwards (it's over 10 years ago, so I don't remember if I had unsoldered the jack or not)

I'm gonna look at it this weekend... I'm gonna do some of the multimeter tests at http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electrical/trouble/strat.php
and see how I get on.

Currently, here are the symptoms - if I touch the metal shield of the input cable, hum gets quieter.

If I let go of that, and touch the strings, hum gets louder. So I think I've deffo mixed up wires somewhere. Anyway, I'm going to make sure the wiring does something like this:

http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUH0101

If anyone has any hints about what's wrong, feel free to let me know!

Guitar question

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