Advice required: the best way to improve my Squier?

To some of you these may be astoudingly naiive questions, but I make no apologies, I'm rediscovering the joys of my guitars having left them gathering dust for about 10 years!

I've got an '88 Korean Squier Tele and I'd like to get the most out of it. Specifically I'm after a fuller tone and more sustain. Playing style is varied but mainly rock/metal. Can't help thinking that the dynamics of my guitar are a little subdued.

Don't know a great deal about customization but I'm a fast learner! I'm toying with the idea of putting in a Seynour Duncan Hot Rails bridge pick up for starters. I'll consider doing anything but it's got to make sense - if it starts to get too expensive I'll just buy another guitar. Be a shame though cos I'm quite attached to it and it has authentic dints and chips on it.

I think the build quality of your guitar will be pretty good, but if it is like my MIJ, the controls were not the best. I would also suggest that the bridge assembly and string saddles make a big difference in tone.

But before I spent any money on mods, I would make sure that the setup was done correctly, and that the pickup heights were checked and adjusted. I know that in my experience, you can make a big change in tone by just adjusting the pickup heights.

And finally, make sure that you have fresh strings of the proper guage and type for your playing. Mine sounds best with the cheap old Fender 150's in the standard .10 - .46 guage. Something about the pure nickel strings work well on my Tele....

Have fun!

cheers,

not had it set up properly to be fair, Got some brand new Dean Markley 10s on it. I'd want to set it up myself to be truthful, so I can learn along with it. ANywhere where I can get info/guide on how to set up all the various bits etc?

<a href = "http://www.mrgearhead.com/faq/stratsetup.html">HERE</a> is a link to the strat setup page at Mr. Gearhead, Fender's tech site.

It will tell you what you need to know AFA measurements. Remember, though, that these are Fender's recommended settings; most people vary a bit from them. They are a good starting point, though.

nice one, cheers Kevin, can feel hours of frustration already on the horizon!

To some of you these may be astoudingly naiive questions, but I make no apologies, I'm rediscovering the joys of my guitars having left them gathering dust for about 10 years!

I've got an '88 Korean Squier Tele and I'd like to get the most out of it. Specifically I'm after a fuller tone and more sustain. Playing style is varied but mainly rock/metal. Can't help thinking that the dynamics of my guitar are a little subdued.

Don't know a great deal about customization but I'm a fast learner! I'm toying with the idea of putting in a Seynour Duncan Hot Rails bridge pick up for starters. I'll consider doing anything but it's got to make sense - if it starts to get too expensive I'll just buy another guitar. Be a shame though cos I'm quite attached to it and it has authentic dints and chips on it.

I have a MIJ squire strat the changes I made were very easy dump the old pickups, put in American Standard strat pups, and change the 5 way switch, then I spent $50.00 on a setup, teh chaanges were so great I could not believe the sounds came out of the same guitar. it even stays in tune now....

Bob P.

THanks, glas I found this forum, so many ways to part with my cash! Was considering changing the pups to a better grade but there is so many options, still toying wiht the idea of putting some type of humbucker in the bridge though to give me the added gain and punch. I guess it's a question of how far way from the true tele do I want to go ,if at all. Still fancy an SG, scuse the blasphemy!

If you want to play anything resembling metal, you're going to need to toss a humbucker in there. My personal preference is the Duncan Little '59.