Incoming NGD... Stratty Content!

ErikH

ErikH

Well-known member
Last evening I ordered a Squire Classic Vibe 60's in Lake Placid Blue and a SKB gig bag from Sweetwater. I'd been going back and forth with changing the pickguard on my old frankenstrat to 3 single-coils or HSS but after my wife saw pics of this Classic Vibe, she said order it. I've read/heard nothing but good about these. It'll primarily be used with the church worship group. Delivery date right now is for Thursday. I was very happy to see they had 4 to choose from when I ordered so I went with the lightest weight one at 7lbs 2oz. The fingerboard is darker too making it look more like rosewood. They use laurel for the fingerboards now. LPB is one of my favorite colors on a Strat. Can't wait to get it. Though I have mostly all humbucker guitars, and have struggled with Fender single-coils over the years with the exception of a few sets, I will make myself work to keep this one SSS. First thing to do when it gets here will be a full setup including smoothing the nut slots, inspecting the frets (level and polish if necessary), and fresh strings that I like.

ISSL20001390-front-xlarge.jpg
 
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Good stuff. Always a good time to get another Strat, and if you wire one of the tone knobs to the bridge pickup, it’ll make dealing with the single coil a lot easier.
 
Thanks. If I need to, moving the middle tone control to the bridge is an option and I'll probably increase the tone cap to .047uf at the same time and leave the middle pickup without a tone control. I've done wiring like that before but with a .1uf tone cap like the Eric Johnson Strat for both tone controls. It's a nice wiring setup actually.

I was pretty shocked when she said order it. I had to make sure it wasn't a trap....LOL.

Though I use 9-42 on my main players, I might put 10-46 on this one. I'll see how I like it with 9's for a bit first.
 
I’d leave the cap at a smaller value. I don’t like them when they get too dark, an like a .022 will make almost the entire range usable.
 
Congrats on the new toy. Those are cool. Just did a complete refit in the electronics on my 94 Washburn Silverado today and used the set up with tone for neck and bridge and open in the middle like it so far.
 
So, according to the specs on the Fender site, the lower tone control is for the bridge and middle pickups so I may not have to change anything there. I like that. There is a very good chance that I'll throw some Gotoh vintage style locking tuners on it though.
 
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That's a great looking strat. Lake Placid Blue is one of my favorite finishes. I have 2 Squires that have the Indian Laurel fretboard and I really like it. Looks and feels like Rosewood. I've been considering picking up this guitar for awhile. I could use another strat in my collection.
 
The guitar has landed. Now, how many of you actually follow the advice that they put on the box to not open it for 24 hours? Temp here is pretty much steady the last few days and temp outside isn't much different from inside the house. It literally came from the truck and in to the house. Our kitten is quite curious about the contents. I think he just wants a new box to play in...LOL. The other 2 cats don't give a crap...LOL.
 
This thing rings like a bell. Wow. Really great work. Fit and finish is excellent. The fret work is really great for an import. The edges are already rolled over. Neck relief is perfect, action I need to lower and get it set up how I like it. I'll polish the frets as well. No dead spots anywhere so they are nice and level. The pots and switch feel nice and sturdy. The tuners are solid, the bridge looks and feels good. I mean, really, for a little more than $400, this is a great value.

Will get pics posted later. Gotta get them uploaded somewhere or resize them before posting.
 
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Demanic said:
What kind of pickups come with it?

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Fender designed Alnico V's. They sound good. Nice and sparkly with lots of quack in 2 and 4. Yup, it definitely sounds like a Strat.

I had thought the tremolo came with a full-size block but it does not. It has the small zinc one. Not a big deal really. I have it decked anyway so no need to upgrade it just yet. If I do, and maybe I will anyway, I'll look at a vintage style 6-screw trem that fits. I've read that the MIM Standard Trems are drop-in replacements for the CV's. It doesn't need a fancy Callaham or anything like that. The tuners feel solid so they are fine for now.

First order of business was lowering the nut slots. They were a tad high. Got them down so there's .011" of clearance at the first fret. Then I removed the strings and polished all the frets with 1000 grit and then 1500 grit (I still can't believe the fret ends came rounded off), and I rounded off the nut sides and edges a little bit. Once restrung, I set the action and intonation. It feels so much better, and it felt good out of the box. Pickups needed height adjustment and I'm still tweaking them a little. The lower tone control is in fact wired to the middle AND the bridge pickups. Nothing to change there.

The photos I took are before I did anything to it.
 
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Congrats, sounds like a quality guitar from what you had to say about it.

You mentioned earlier about struggling to get along with Fender singlecoils in the past. Why is that? 60 cycle hum? Or you're just more a fan of humbucker tones?
 
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