what to customize first on my guitar?

[Marvinrae]

Hi! I bought a brand new Squier Telecaster last month and now I'm in the process of slowly setting it up. On its own, the stock parts were quite ok; neck PU was a little muddy though. My question is what do I have to customize first? Obviously PU muna (or not?). Tapos anong susunod? Tuners ba? Nut? Bridge? I've already setup the guitar's intonation and action, btw.

Although nabasa ko na mejo hindi masyadong advisable na mag-invest sa pagcustomize ng lower end guitars if I plan on buying a Fender Telecaster later on, but still I would like to get an idea on this. Thanks a lot!

[gijira]

sticker

[cayle]

I've got a Squier standard tele that i've modified. I changed the pickups, electronics, saddles, nut and string trees. I suggest you replace the nut and string trees then have the frets to be set up by a luthier.

[Jaco D]

Dude, no offense meant but I think you're approaching this "modding" thing the wrong way.  You don't mod a component just for the sake of mod-ing.  There has to be a reason(s).  Ikaw lang puwedeng makakasagot niyan.  Sure its a lowly Squier, but that doesn't mean you have to willy-nilly upgrade every component on that axe.  For all you know, swak na siya.  Walang bara-bara, bai!  I suggest give it some time, get to know the quirks of the axe.  But before you do that, I suggest that you have the tele properly setup.  Kung di mo kabisado, have it done by someone who does.  Once that's done, put the tele through its paces and list down what facets you like and what aspects you hate or want to upgrade.  Of course, this assumes na may "baseline" ka to compare that Squier against (doesn't have to be one guitar but a composite of what is ideal for you), otherwise you wouldn't know if you're on-side or off-side.  Only then na magkakalinaw kung ano ang dapat mong i-mod.  Your plan of buying a Fender Tele later on has no bearing here.  For all you know, once that Squier is "in the zone" you wouldn't want to let it go.  Modding for the sake of modding is throwing good money after bad.  

[cayle]

Dude, no offense meant but I think you're approaching this "modding" thing the wrong way.  You don't mod a component just for the sake of mod-ing.  There has to be a reason(s).  Ikaw lang puwedeng makakasagot niyan.  Sure its a lowly Squier, but that doesn't mean you have to willy-nilly upgrade every component on that axe.  For all you know, swak na siya.  Walang bara-bara, bai!  I suggest give it some time, get to know the quirks of the axe.  But before you do that, I suggest that you have the tele properly setup.  Kung di mo kabisado, have it done by someone who does.  Once that's done, put the tele through its paces and list down what facets you like and what aspects you hate or want to upgrade.  Of course, this assumes na may "baseline" ka to compare that Squier, otherwise you wouldn't know if you're on-side or off-side.  Only then na magkakalinaw kung ano ang dapat mong i-mod.  Your plan of buying a Fender Tele later on has no bearing here.  For all you know, once that Squier is "in the zone" you wouldn't want to let it go.  Modding for the sake of modding is throwing good money after bad.  

I agree with this.

If you think the pickups are muddy, try raising or lowering them first.

[Roy Pigdester]

I'd go with the pickups first.  That's just me, because Jaco D also makes a good point.  But I would personally mod the pickups if I had a choice.   

And don't trust any darned luthier, they might end up screwing you over in more ways than one.  If you can't mod your guitar or trust yourself or a close friend or family member to do it, then don't. 

[Marvinrae]

thanks bro! i think it was more of an initial reaction to have it modded asap kasi when i didn't have my own guitar yet, I was borrowing a fender strat from friend. fairly modded; it plays really good and compared to my stock squier tele, i can really tell the difference; tonewise, syempre magkaiba talaga sila pero there's that certain feel that i can't quite describe  . of course may good pointers din yung tele ko, i think its neck feels better and the stock bridge PU is awesome. good pointer though, at least it stopped me from making pointless upgrades.

[maxi_musikero]

Hi! I bought a brand new Squier Telecaster last month and now I'm in the process of slowly setting it up. On its own, the stock parts were quite ok; neck PU was a little muddy though. My question is what do I have to customize first? Obviously PU muna (or not?). Tapos anong susunod? Tuners ba? Nut? Bridge? I've already setup the guitar's intonation and action, btw.

Although nabasa ko na mejo hindi masyadong advisable na mag-invest sa pagcustomize ng lower end guitars if I plan on buying a Fender Telecaster later on, but still I would like to get an idea on this. Thanks a lot!

totally agree with Jaco D.  get to know your axe first and know what you really are looking for in an axe.  i totally disagree that just because it's a Squier, you won't invest on it.  if you're gonna use it, invest on it!

this is purely my take based on what i did/will do to my strat.  remember i don't have the knowledge or capability to do these myself.
1.  upgraded the nut and saddles to Graphtech String Savers and brought it to a luthier for installation and set-up (action + intonation + pickup height)
2.  upgrade electronics (caps and pots)
3.  upgrade pickups

since pickups is the most expensive upgrade, i placed it last.  the reason is if i'm already OK with my strat's tone @ #2, i may not need to upgrade my pickups anymore hence translating to savings.  

[Jaco D]

Yeah, actually you'd be surprised how much the current flock of Squier guitars and basses have improved in terms of quality.  I myself have a Squier fretless bass that I bought pre-owned (in short, tinawad at binarat ng mabuti) a few months back, and so far I've only replaced the bridge (I'm no fan of the bent metal Fender bridges) and the nut (I prefer the grooves deeper for more sustained "Mwahhh").  In it's present state, hindi ko na siya bibitawan.  Funny thing is I bought the Squier to break me into fretless and planned to ugrade to a "better" bass later.  Lo and behold, I've noticed that I've been using it more than my Warmoth and MIK and MIM Fenders.  As long as you have a clear picture of what is ideal and where that Squier is relative to that ideal then your modding path should be clear as well.

[plugzzzz]

play your guitar first know its weak points thats were you start if i bought a guitar and it works for you and it sounds great then dont upgrade...

[Chizdawg]

before modding...do the basics.checking neck relief, string height adjustment, intonation, pickup height adjustment and guitar string replacement.tapos nun pakiramdaman mo na kung di mo talaga trip pickups.start with the bridge pu first..then mod it if you want..(treble bleed mod,blower swtich,killswitch, etc).

[shift015]

ang mahirap lang sa pag-upgrade sa Tele's... the bridge pickup. you'd have to remove the entire bridge assembly (along with the saddles -- unless you could just push them out of the way) just to replace it. tapos pag binalik mo na yung bridge, readjust height and re-intonate. so really, get to know your guitar and it's characteristics before performing any modification. and always research, research, research!

helloooo fellow Squier Tele owner! (nakaka-addik yung neck niya no?)

[Marvinrae]

ang mahirap lang sa pag-upgrade sa Tele's... the bridge pickup. you'd have to remove the entire bridge assembly (along with the saddles -- unless you could just push them out of the way) just to replace it. tapos pag binalik mo na yung bridge, readjust height and re-intonate. so really, get to know your guitar and it's characteristics before performing any modification. and always research, research, research!

helloooo fellow Squier Tele owner! (nakaka-addik yung neck niya no?)

that's right!  para sa akin, ok yung bridge pickup nya, lalo na when i set it on the 1st position, ganda! there's definitely that tele twang that a strat can't match. im currently looking for a better neck PU though; or i might have to set its height first and see if that fixes the "muddiness" of its sound. hehe

[spankyrigor]

Setup first (by a luthier/qualified person), then electronics, then pickups.

In my LIMITED experience  in changing pickups, the muddiness is due the voicing of the pickup itself; height adjustment will not make a big difference.

try to check/replace the pot/cap values first. see if the muddiness goes away.

[bryanarzaga]

i like all the suggestions,

[shift015]

that's right!  para sa akin, ok yung bridge pickup nya, lalo na when i set it on the 1st position, ganda! there's definitely that tele twang that a strat can't match. im currently looking for a better neck PU though; or i might have to set its height first and see if that fixes the "muddiness" of its sound. hehe

yup set the height first, and see if it fits your style. then, kung pickup na talaga (aside from upgrading capacitors and potentiometers), a good starter pickup would be GFS Repro Vintage Alnico -- http://www.guitarfetish.com/Repro-Vintage-Alnico-Tele-Neck-Pickup-Our-Best_p_659.html -- as given to me by my cousin, maxi. ako na rin nag-install, kasama ang isang ECE student na friend ko. hehe.

[cayle]

yup set the height first, and see if it fits your style. then, kung pickup na talaga (aside from upgrading capacitors and potentiometers), a good starter pickup would be GFS Repro Vintage Alnico -- http://www.guitarfetish.com/Repro-Vintage-Alnico-Tele-Neck-Pickup-Our-Best_p_659.html -- as given to me by my cousin, maxi. ako na rin nag-install, kasama ang isang ECE student na friend ko. hehe.

I want to try this one out. I got the Alnico fatbody in my Squier tele.

[shift015]

I want to try this one out. I got the Alnico fatbody in my Squier tele.

ooooh i want to try THAT one out. :p

when used with the "proper settings" on a ShredHead, the neck pickup gets close to RATM's Killing In The Name Of (Live)... which was actually my desired crunch sound.