How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

There are some boutique builders who claim that you can find perfect matches for body and neck by knocking on the raw lumber, but this could be just as useless as any other method unless you have some kind of tests done with compatible vs less compatible wood pieces.

This is where you are wrong. A trained ear can definitely tell the difference in wood with a tap test. I have a client who studied at the academy for violin making here in Cremona (Which is the city that Stradivarius and Guarnieri came from). During our sessions we have spoke about wood and the finding good wood and hes explained to me the methods and what it means and how the woods interact. It is far from useless. The problems now are different. The quality of the lumber has changed finding "good" lumber is much more difficult but that doesnt mean that people cant tell the difference and dont know the difference between them.

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

I think Squier guitars are perfect candidates for modding and they can be made to be real players if you know what you are doing. There are some people who comment how much it costs to upgrade a Squier, but IMO you don't have to spend mega-money to get a Squier to play right. Look for deals on pickups and there are deals for other hardware if needed. If you are paying top dollar for any components, then you're not finding the deals...plain & simple. Every guitar is a bit different but Squiers can be set up to play and feel just as good as a U.S. model if you really put your mind to it. The guitar in my avatar is a '98 American Standard Strat which I love, but I have quite a few Squier Strats ranging from a Standard, Affinities, Bullets & a Korean. I'm modding these guitars and some have a great feel already. I'm doing things like dressing the fret ends, rolling the edges on the fingerboard, making a tighter neck to body fit for improved sound, etc. There are many things you can do to improve a guitar without spending loads of money which some of you think you have to do. And another thing...how is Chinese alder cheap? How does a tree know it's less quality if grown in another country. Are trees only grown in the U.S. higher quality? Has anyone asked an American tree this question?

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

You make some silly assertions. Chinese alder is cheap because its not "alder" as we know it in US. To make things clearer alder is a trade name used for many woods the wood that comes from the tree Alnus Nepalensis is not the same wood thats from Alnus Rubra. Not saying the wood is bad but its not the same wood. Also classically many of the woods used in guitar building have been imported from the tropics and are not part of this whole US vs Asia argument your trying to inject here. Rosewood and Mahogany (real mahogany) dont go on either continent.

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

Personally I think the love for Chinese squires is way overblown. Sure, I like mine a lot, but no way would I put it even close to the same category as a MIA Strat. Not close. Lots of wishful thinking and tonal deafness going on. Everyone wants to get something for nothing, and keep the change. IN my opinion.

DEAD WRONG. You should join the Strat Forum, so all you guys with cheap Strats can reaffirm to each other how you paid 200.00 for a guitar that is as good--no WAIT- BETTER!, than an 1500.00 American Deluxe. I bugged outta' that forum so fast it'd make you head swim. You get what you pay for, mostly in grade/quality of tonewood, next in the extremly important quality of the finish, and certainly by no means lastly, the all important craftsmanship not to mention the extreme difference in quality of the hardware They are two totally diametrically opposite instruments. One is excellent , the other is not, the other is barely playable and the tone is harsh( it can be helped with upgrading though- see my post about my Cheap Squier project).

Love your Squier project and you did a good job on this guitar, but some of your comments are a bit misleading I think and you seem to have this mindset that you can't break out of. You remind me very much of this guy in the video I posted below...maybe you have some more intelligence than him. There's also a magazine that was made for you and I think you should subscribe.

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

You make some silly assertions. Chinese alder is cheap because its not "alder" as we know it in US. To make things clearer alder is a trade name used for many woods the wood that comes from the tree Alnus Nepalensis is not the same wood thats from Alnus Rubra. Not saying the wood is bad but its not the same wood. Also classically many of the woods used in guitar building have been imported from the tropics and are not part of this whole US vs Asia argument your trying to inject here. Rosewood and Mahogany (real mahogany) dont go on either continent.

What tree does carbon fibre grow from since you are a tree expert?

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

What does carbon fiber have anything to do with 2 tree species not being the same? Now your trying to confuse the issue and muddy the water. You asked "why is chinese wood cheap" I answered cause it isnt the same wood that simple. No need to be a yob.

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

What does carbon fiber have anything to do with 2 tree species not being the same? Now your trying to confuse the issue and muddy the water. You asked "why is chinese wood cheap" I answered cause it isnt the same wood that simple. No need to be a yob.

What's wrong? Did I trample your wood theory? I guess you're missing the point my friend. How am I trying to confuse the issue and muddy the waters. I'm just shedding some light on the situation. It goes to show you an instrument can be made of anything and still sound good, depending on the material, of course. The traditional way of making instruments with wood has been around for centuries, but who would have thought carbon fibre could make such a presence. I apologize for putting you in your place...please forgive me.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

Does carbon fiber sound like wood?

Your trying to confuse the issue since the issue is squier wood quality what does that have to do with carbon fiber? Nothing no one is the least bit interested in if a carbon guitar sounds good thats a separate issue for a separate thread.

Also I answered your question that you put forth but I guess you dont like the answer that not all wood is the same cause well its not the same wood.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

I apologize for putting you in your place.

You have to make a coherent argument before you can even say you put yourself in place let alone anyone else.

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

Does carbon fiber sound like wood?

Your trying to confuse the issue since the issue is squier wood quality what does that have to do with carbon fiber? Nothing no one is the least bit interested in if a carbon guitar sounds good thats a separate issue for a separate thread.

Also I answered your question that you put forth but I guess you dont like the answer that not all wood is the same cause well its not the same wood.

You have to make a coherent argument before you can even say you put yourself in place let alone anyone else.

Personally buddy, I think you are confusing the issue, not me. Your comprehension of what I'm trying to get at seems to be stuck in neutral. The issue is the quality of Squier wood which I think is just as good, as long as there is no wood rot. And of course I posted that video of that carbon fibre cello which sounded pretty amazing. It goes to show you any instrument can sound good and it doesn't have to be wood. So is there really such a thing as bad tone wood? I think it's all subjective and psychological IMHO. Do you understand now, or are you just trying to come across as some self-glowing expert.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

No its not stuck in neutral I already made clear that not all wood is equal even if the difference is just species. Just cause you can make a cello sound good out of carbon fiber that doesnt mean that the wood in a squier is as good as any other wood. The 2 things arent related unless you make the assertion that material doesnt matter.

If thats your assertion then why dont they make guitars from cardboard or paper? Cause not all materials are suitable or sound good. Now if thats true it stands to reason that there can be differences between any one material and this is certainly true with a material thats as variable as wood. You dont have to be a scientist to figure out that different species of wood sound different. If the species of wood didnt matter and the quality of the wood didnt matter I assure you todays coporate manufacturers would have jumped on this and gone with the cheapest available material. But this isnt the case. You wont find a single luthier that says wood species doesnt matter.

None of this has anything to do with carbon fiber until they start making squiers from carbon which i assure you they wont cause carbon is expensive.

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

No its not stuck in neutral I already made clear that not all wood is equal even if the difference is just species. Just cause you can make a cello sound good out of carbon fiber that doesnt mean that the wood in a squier is as good as any other wood. The 2 things arent related unless you make the assertion that material doesnt matter.

If thats your assertion then why dont they make guitars from cardboard or paper? Cause not all materials are suitable or sound good. Now if thats true it stands to reason that there can be differences between any one material and this is certainly true with a material thats as variable as wood. You dont have to be a scientist to figure out that different species of wood sound different. If the species of wood didnt matter and the quality of the wood didnt matter I assure you todays coporate manufacturers would have jumped on this and gone with the cheapest available material. But this isnt the case. You wont find a single luthier that says wood species doesnt matter.

None of this has anything to do with carbon fiber until they start making squiers from carbon which i assure you they wont cause carbon is expensive.

How about shovels? My friend, you need a good shot of moonshine! And while you're at it, grab that shovel and finish that yardwork you were supposed to get done last week.



I hope you understand Russian.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

How about shovels? My friend, you need a good shot of moonshine! And while you're at it, grab that shovel and finish that yardwork you were supposed to get done last week.

Well cool... BUT and again since when were we talking about shovels? This has been about wood... what part of wood do you not understand? Or you trying to tell me there is no difference between wood, carbon fiber and metal?

[RorySquier]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

Well cool... BUT and again since when were we talking about shovels? This has been about wood... what part of wood do you not understand? Or you trying to tell me there is no difference between wood, carbon fiber and metal?

What is the handle made of on a shovel? The answer my friend is WOOD! So now you are telling me a shovel is not good enough to be made into a guitar. Where do you get off saying that? The metal adds resonance to the handle creating a tight tonal response with accented mids and not too harsh highs. Don't you know this? It's common knowledge...just ask a farmer, FFS. BTW, here's a diagram of a shovel to prove to you there is wood. It looks like Chinese alder from this angle.



And here's a successful shovel-pass attempt. This is a maneuver you can teach your grandkids.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: How to make your cheap Squier Strat play and sound better

I gotcha dude its ok. I really dont expect you to answer questions that you have no answer for. But it was fun seeing you juggle the stupid stick and watch it smack you in the head... repeatedly.