Two Squiers

Learning to build guitars in the garage

[mmguitarbar]

My good friends the Squiers build offsets, and this is one that I worked on before. They dropped in a Staytrem bridge (great unit) some Antiquity 1s (great pickups) and with some wiring wizardry, BOTH pickups are now selectable in the rhythm circuit, which is something that I may do to my Jazzmaster in the coming months. SO USEFUL! #guitar #custom #jazzmaster #fender #squier #notthatsquier #handmade #seymourduncan #antiquity (at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar)

[mmguitarbar]

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MOAR BTB 4U LOL. BTB is soloed initially, then rolling up the main pickup volume. Jazzmaster -> Hot Cake -> Excelsior #guitar #jazzmaster #custom #fender #seattle #deepseadiver (at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar)

[squierpa]

Our first completed Jazzmaster and Jaguar, from summer and winter 2013, respectively.

[squierpa]

Finished this one up on July 3rd. Was very happy with how well the neck played.

[squierpa]

This blue changes so much with the light.

[squierpa]

Hi. I am doing a guitar project this summer. It's a telecaster. I was wondering what is the best way to paint it a solid colour. With a gloss finish. And is there any good cheap pickups and pots or any hardware that you could recommend. It's a budget project so I am trying to get a good guitar for not too much money. I look forward to your reply. Thanks.

Hey, thanks for the question! Telecasters do have fewer (and cheaper) parts to worry about purchasing than some other Fender guitars, so I bet you can pull it off on a budget.

I’ve always heard good things about Reranch (http://reranch.com/) solid color nitro lacquer spray cans. They offer a healthy selection of Fender and Gibson custom colors in 16 fl. oz. cans, as well as the clear coats you will probably want to finish with. I have to think they are your best bet for thrifty painting. (I have only ever used Deltron urethane paint systems for solid color guitars, but I lament the limited selection of Fender colors and the expensive base and clear coats, catalysts, hardeners, reducers, etc.) As far as the gloss goes, you can buff out the clear coat with something like Meguiar’s Show Car Glaze.

If you’re looking to source electronics and hardware to match actual Fender guitars closely, I’d recommend an internet search for “Telecaster service diagrams” like this one: (http://support.fender.com/service_diagrams/telecaster/010-0202C_SISD.pdf). Angela Instruments is usually your best bet for finding items with part numbers exactly matching those of Fender instruments. They have a page dedicated to Tele parts (http://www.angela.com/fendertelecasterparts.aspx) which I would encourage you to spend some time perusing. You can probably get away with using Fender Tele bridges even in the $20-30 dollar range, though I’ve seen mmguitarbar (definitely follow them if you aren’t already) praise the Joe Barden Tele bridge for more like $60.

I wouldn’t really skimp on the electronics at all. The difference between cheap potentiometers, capacitors, and wire and the best stuff is not much monetarily, but if you spring for the cheaper ones, you may find your sound lacking clarity. I always go for full-size CTS or Bourns potentiometers, and I usually get them from Angela Instruments, Stewart MacDonald, or eBay sources. You’ll probably want to devote the largest share of your budget to your pickups. The most recent Tele we made used the Fender Pure Vintage ‘58 pickups ($97/set) and they sound pretty solid to my ears. I’ve heard that pickups from Fender’s recent Pure Vintage guitar line are improvements over those from the older AVRI line. You have so many options for pickups, though. I couldn’t presume to steer you any one way. I would guess that the folks on the TDPRI Telecaster forums would have some useful opinions for you, maybe even with pickup sound clips? (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/)

I hope this gives you a start! Write back if you would like clarification or have any further questions.

[squierpa]

We finished the body of this guitar two summers ago and set it up with a Squier neck. It was a blast to circle back around to the project this year and build a neck to go along with it. I feel like this one’s complete now.

[squierpa]

RGB.

[squierpa]

'62 - '64 Jazzmaster decal applied.

[squierpa]

Finally got around to replacing the Squier neck on this Jazzmaster with one of our own. Color matched the headstock to the body this weekend (trust me, it's much closer than it looks in the pics). Still deciding whether or not to apply a decal.

[mmguitarbar]

In “HOLY SHIT LOOK WHAT ELSE WE GOT!” news, this near-perfect 1976 Fender Starcaster just arrived and we’re gonna list it ASAP. Incredibly enough, it includes its original case in excellent shape, and the original Fender strap too!!!! Zoinks! #guitar #vintage #vintageguitar #fender #starcaster #1970s #1976 #wow #sunburst #johnnygreenwood #WRHB #perfect #omg (at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar)

[squierpa]

Love your work. Are you ever going to make custom pick guards? I'm waiting for my jazzmaster to arrive so I can swap out some parts.

We’ll cut pickguards for our guitars sometimes if we have the templates. More often than not we’re working on guitars that are standard enough models that the guards are commercially available. We probably will do more of our own stuff in the future, though. From what I hear, vendors like Pickguardian and WD Music offer an impressive range of customization options.

[squierpa]

Toronado, Sherwood Green Metallic.

[totaltone]

[squierpa]

Fender Starcaster, carved top, alder body. Lake Placid Blue.

[squierpa]

Fender Jaguar build, big leaf maple over mahogany. Red and black nitrocellulose lacquer tints. Staytrem bridge and Duncan Antiquity II pickups.

[squierpa]

I believe that credit for this diagram should go to OSG forumite k o y l. My recollection is that this was the diagram I used to wire my Jazzmasters to have neck, bridge, and both pickups fully toggle switch selectable when using the rhythm circuit.