WezV Q1'20 challenge

WezV

Bugger it.   

Not done any proper guitar work in what feels like ages, and still lack a workshop for any proper builds.

So today I ordered one of the new colour Squier Bullet Mustangs.   Competition blue, which is closer to Ice blue to my eyes, will be interested to see how it looks in the flesh



Its going to be used as a modding platform.

Shortly after ordering I remembered I had some unused MOJO mustang pickups I can use, so I ordered a cheap tort plate from china too.   This will mean a bit of woodwork for slider switches, but something I can still easily do without a workshop.

Its also likely I will do something with the bridge, maybe through body stringing... as well as a general fettle


I should be moving soon, so when I do get my workshop I may also do some refinish work... but maybe just a nitro tint overspray and light ageing if I like the body finish as is.

MattNovak

Nice one. Always a fan of your work - I've not posted on here much but have been lurking for years and kept an eye on things, without necessarily being logged in.

I always thought these would make great platforms, if the most basic one comes up around £80 on the 'bay I will nab it and 'backdate' it. Was thinking a Dakota red musicmaster tribute would be cool... 

paulnb57

Great modding platform,  mine has seen various incarnations!...

Roland

Nice to see you back in role Wez

TTony

Welcome back

               

WezV

So my first port of call is to check out how vintage fenders in similar colours have aged, so these pics are reference points for me if I do decide to overspray further down the line.

I'm not expecting to fully strip the squier to do a proper refinish,   i paid extra for one with stripes ... may happen down the line though... First I would want to try a tinted top coat with wear down to the factory colour coat.


https://imgur.com/a/UAim8LX

https://imgur.com/a/jO9WWUT

https://i.imgur.com/tS2SNJI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Y1oTvux.jpg

Sesh

1. Excellent. Missed your builds.
2. Comp stang Mustangs? We're did these spring from! Off to browse I go...

PhilKing

hi Wez, that will look nice with an aged overspray.  Hope you get into your new place soon (he says ready to pounce!).

guitargeek62

Ha - I was eyeing one of these up in CAR to do a similar thing with! Watching your thread with interest Wez 

PeteC

Ooh this is going to be good......watching with interest 

WezV

its here, and i'm quite happy with it




Its certainly a pretty little guitar, playable out of the box... but definitely some room for easy improvements


the board feel quite dry.  This is Indian Laurel rather than rosewood.   easy to solve and will look great once done.  fretwork is fine.  nuts a bit high.   I like the "clay" dots and the finish is super thin which is perfect for me.

The body has a bit of roughness in the cutways and neck join, but nothing that will cause issues.   Finish is good, but with the odd spot in the flake


It has a bit of sitar like buzzing when strummed hard, which i expect to be from light strings and this bridge design.


feels like a student fender model... what more can you ask

johnl

I was literally just re-reading your aged goldtop build. Excited to see how this progresses.

TTony

The colour (it's the important thing, after all!), looks a bit deeper and richer in your photos than the original "catalogue"  shot?

WezV

TTony said:

The colour (it's the important thing, after all!), looks a bit deeper and richer in your photos than the original "catalogue"  shot?

Yeah, i paid extra just for the colour and stripes... I'm happy it's a bit more lively in real light

roberty

Cool mate, I was seriously impressed with your builds when I tried them  

TTony

The stripes means that it'll go play faster.

WezV

Part of me was really tempted to try some staple P-90's in it... But looking at Fender P99 Mustangs has put me off. They don't look great to my eyes.  A bit too blocky, and the spacing looks odd

https://imgur.com/a/fOh1Rsf.jpg


I'm also tempted to see what mini humbuckers would look like.  Could be interesting with the smaller size.  We will see.  I may try a few things on this

WezV

Okay, been playing it a couple of days, time for a work plan:

1) Level, dress and polish frets.   There is no buzzing I have found, but I will will do a quick level to get it where I like it to be, action is still a little high out the box and likely hiding some minor fret inconsistencies.   The ends are not too bad really, but i will tidy up a little before giving them all a good polish.  i will also sort the nut out at the same time and make sure its cut as well as it can be

2) Stain & oil board.   its a bit rough at the moment, mainly because its feeling dry.  I will likely stain first to darken it whilst working on this bit, then rub back with super fine wire wool to make it look a bit more natural than a solid stain, and smooth out the board a bit.  finish up with some oil to get it feeling super sleek

3)  Add some hard foam under the plate.   Not sure if this is needed yet, but there is a little bit of resonance from the plate I want to try and eliminate.  likely a symptom of having a swimming pool route, real mustangs have an extra screw in the middle for a reason.   If this works i may add a solid wood plug in the middle, which will also help with later mods


Fairly sure those 3 little things will make it a great little guitar just for an hour or so working on it.   Then we can start on the actual mods

4) strip neck and tint/oil/wax.   The current finish is super thin, even slightly worn through on one corner already and taking dents easily.   I'm gonna strip it and take the opportunity to soften the contours a bit.   Then tint and refinish in oil and wax for a vintage look with a sleeker feel

5) extend body route  above pickups for slide switches.   Gives proper mustang options for wiring

6) change plate/pickups/wiring.   Option 1 is to go pure mustang.   Option 2 is to try mini humbuckers.    If i go with mustang pickups i will use slide switches above them.  If i go with mini humbuckers i will keep the 3-way switch.   I want to see what a tort guard looks like, but if that doesn't work it will be an aged white one.  

7) Change bridge, I'm tempted by a toronado and through body stringing. Its a nicer shape and will help the fit of aftermarket mustang guards.  Part of me is tempted to go with the full mustang set-up, but I have to remind my self I prefer non-trem guitars.   the bridge on it is fine, but as a minimum i would look to shorten the intonation screws  and maybe change saddles.  

8) finish and relic work - nothing extreme, but a light tint and age may happen further down the line

9) I may change the nut to a nice unbleached bone one, I may change tuners to some kluson style with white buttons... we will see

TTony

Should be done by the end of the weekend then

paulnb57

I used a Toronado bridge on one of mine and as you say it fits the scratchplate cutout perfectly, I cinverted  the bridgeplate to three Wilkinson Compensated Tele saddles and used the original intonation screw holes a s string throughs - theres just enough angle over the saddles. proper Mustang trem could be an issue as the body is thin....

BigMonka

  woo hoo a Wez build thread!!