There the warmth is!

[Sheepdog1969]

Like a warm hug on a cold January day, my 2023 Squier Sonic Stratocaster SSS HT is finally producing rich tones. Everything that it had been lacking tonally, with it's factory ceramic single coils and electronics, has been brought to life with some careful guitar surgery. Only weeks after it had been put on the "Transplant List", a suitable donor organ was found. A new 2019 vintage Fender SSS Stratocaster "Loaded Pickguard", with Tex-Mex single coils and Fender electronics, was rushed to my OR for today's procedure. Thankfully, the transplant "took", and the pre-implantation detail work ensured said success.

I had read reviews about the Squier Sonics Strat's ceramic pickups sounding "cold", even before buying mine. And, after playing mine, I agreed. I literally wrote off the bridge pickup, and only played using the neck and/or the middle, prior to the surgery. There was no height, tone, or volume adjustment that would make the bridge p/u even sound bearable.  The neck and the middle were decent, or so I thought. Ignorance IS bliss, and I had no idea of the tonal landscape I was missing.

Oh happy day! I have been enlightened by the solid tonal output the Tex-Mex single coils produce. There simply is NO comparison, and words cannot fully describe how much better they sound.  The only thing that comes to mind is, "They sound like how a Fender Stratocaster is supposed to sound."

I assumed correctly that my Squire would have no shielding, so I used some Buzz Kill copper foil tape to line the pickup and control cavities. I also used some of it to enhance the skimpy shielding on the new Fender pickguard. I also placed a strip of it under the hard-tail bridge to ensure solid contact between the ground wire and the bridge/strings. (see pic below)  It is quiet as a mouse now. 

I was torn between the easy playing "9's" it came strung with, or "10's" for a bit fatter sound. Luckily, Ernie Ball makes Primo Slinky custom gauge nickel wound strings in 9.5. ( 9.5, 12, 16, 24, 34 ,44)  Ernie Ball Primo Slinky, for the indecisive Strat player! They really play great and seem to actually provide the best of both worlds.

I am so relieved that the surgery went well, and how quickly the patient went from recovery to playing. I really like the 3 ply guard, (wbw) and the off white knobs/pickups, on the graffiti yellow. For less than $300, this Strat is defiantly a bada$$ now!!

 

Edited January 10 by Sheepdog1969

[sparquelito]

Fantastic job, Doctor Sheepdog.

Great to hear that the patient is doing well, and that she sounds terrific.

I'm not sure she's out of the woods quite yet though.
Patient presents as very quiet now, and she looks a bit yellow to my eye.

Both of those point to jaundice and liver problems.
I would order a liver function series blood test, stat!

🤔

[saturn]

Nice.  Did you get the loaded pickguard from Guitar Fetish?  

[Sheepdog1969]

52 minutes ago, saturn said:

Nice.  Did you get the loaded pickguard from Guitar Fetish?  

No. I got it from Arkansas Music Works through eBay. Paid $160.49 including tax and shipping. They have super fast shipping, btw.

[Murph]

So now we can call you "Sawbones"....

[Sheepdog1969]

I finally had some time to set my Blackstar Fly3 up in my backroom. It's a small room and the size of the 2 cab Blackstar allowed me to place it on a shelf so it wouldn't take up floor space. This seemed like a great time to quality control the shielding job I did on my Squier Strat because I have a bunch of Neon signs in the room. The Large Old Style neon is from the early '70's and has a huge old school transformer, which generates a nasty magnetic field. The rest of them are newer and smaller, so they may be less "dirty".

I must have done something right with the shielding install because there was NO hum or buzz or unwanted noise! (No difference with the neons on or off.) 

The Blackstar Fly3 cabs are on the bottom shelf of the TV stand in the pic below.