I was wondering what I should upgrade first for better sound. Should I definately replace standard lead, and if so, with what?
Also, should I think about new pickups, etc?
Thanks
Improving sound
I have only been teaching myself about 6 months, I have the Fender Squier Strat pack.
I was wondering what I should upgrade first for better sound. Should I definately replace standard lead, and if so, with what?
Also, should I think about new pickups, etc?
Thanks
I was wondering what I should upgrade first for better sound. Should I definately replace standard lead, and if so, with what?
Also, should I think about new pickups, etc?
Thanks
# 1
Based upon everything I have ever heard about the Fender Squire, you would be better off upgrading to another guitar than investing money into improving the sound of the Fender Squire. The Fender Squires that are manufactured today in Korea are quite a bit lower in quality that the Fender Squires which were originally manufactured in Japan. I know people who have bought Squires and really had trouble keeping them in tune. Plus the current Squires aren't made of a solid piece of wood (I believe they currently are made of a laminated form of particle board). Plunking down a lot of money to upgrade, the electronics, and hardware is only going to give you marginal improvement in the overall sound of the guitar.
However, you haven't been playing for all that long. If the Squire stays in tune and doesn't feed back excessively, you should think about taking lessons before upgrading to another guitar. When you get a little more playing experience, you will have a better idea what you want in terms of sound, guitar set up, etc... Plus, your lack of good sound could just be a symptom that you have hit a plateau with self teaching. Taking lessons and learning something new, could make your current set up sound better to you.
However, you haven't been playing for all that long. If the Squire stays in tune and doesn't feed back excessively, you should think about taking lessons before upgrading to another guitar. When you get a little more playing experience, you will have a better idea what you want in terms of sound, guitar set up, etc... Plus, your lack of good sound could just be a symptom that you have hit a plateau with self teaching. Taking lessons and learning something new, could make your current set up sound better to you.
:cool:
# 2
Many guitarists wonder what is the home of sound.
Is it the wood of the guitar? The chords? The amp? Actually it's the fingers.
Someone else picking up your guitar will make it sound different through style, technique, and attack. After six months you still have many sounds to squeeze out of that instrument. I've been playing the same American Strat for 23 years and she suprises me every day I play her.
It may be that, that particular guitar does not suit your hands, style or playing technique.
I'd wait.
The amp may not be able to push enough wind to give you the "breathe" that you wish.
Your chords / connection could be bad. (check them out and upgrade them first)
If you are effecting (adding effects) try a slightly different eq / tone level. Or make sure that their power source whether it be battery or chord is providing the required punch to push the unit as much as you'd wish.
Every guitarist in the world started out with less than a "Custom Shop" guitar, amp, effects loop.
Enjoy the start. Find out everything you can squeeze out of your present setup before you replace it. ( It will help you better understand your next )
And above all enjoy it.
All the best!!!!!!! :cool:
Is it the wood of the guitar? The chords? The amp? Actually it's the fingers.
Someone else picking up your guitar will make it sound different through style, technique, and attack. After six months you still have many sounds to squeeze out of that instrument. I've been playing the same American Strat for 23 years and she suprises me every day I play her.
It may be that, that particular guitar does not suit your hands, style or playing technique.
I'd wait.
The amp may not be able to push enough wind to give you the "breathe" that you wish.
Your chords / connection could be bad. (check them out and upgrade them first)
If you are effecting (adding effects) try a slightly different eq / tone level. Or make sure that their power source whether it be battery or chord is providing the required punch to push the unit as much as you'd wish.
Every guitarist in the world started out with less than a "Custom Shop" guitar, amp, effects loop.
Enjoy the start. Find out everything you can squeeze out of your present setup before you replace it. ( It will help you better understand your next )
And above all enjoy it.
All the best!!!!!!! :cool:
# 3
I would agree with the other guys that you are far better spending your money on learning to play at the moment than expensive equipment. However there are a few things that'll help which wont cost you the earth :
- I would definately buy a new lead asap, the standard lead you get in the Squire set is very very low quality and I would be surprised if it lasts you more than a month or so any way. I've found that when buying leads you get what you pay for, for years I would buy cheap leads which would break after a couple of months. I've now invested in a decent set of the gold plated vacuum sealed ones and they have lasted very very very well, and they didnt really cost that much.
- Invest in a decent set of strings, the ones I got on my Squire years back were pretty awful and getting a new set made a vast difference. I myself prefer Ernie Balls but try some different makes until you find some that suit you.
- Buy a Gelwinder (a device for quickly winding strings). You can buy these in the UK for about £1.50 which is about $1 and save you so much time and sore fingers when you are actually restringing your guitar.
- Try out some different picks as well, I'm pretty sure you only get the standard Fender Medium Gauge picks with the Strat set so you might want to go to your local music shop and try some other shapes/thicknesses/materials to see if there are any others you prefer.
All these bits and pieces shouldnt cost you more than £30 ($25) at the very most.
In my experience Squire guitars range vastly in quality, some can be utter crap (going out of tune instantly etc) however one I've got will stay in tune for weeks despite alot of playing. If you are happy with your Squire then simply buying some low cost but decent pickups (i.e. Kent Armstrong ones etc) will only cost you around the £35 pounds mark and will add a lease of life to your instrument. There are alot of good websites around which will show you how to change pickups (in fact this months issue of Total Guitar has a feature article on how to do it!) Dont feel you have to spend vast amounts on your equipment as long as you feel comfortable playing the guitar and it sounds ok I wouldnt be re-mortgaging your house for the latest stuff!
Hope thats useful
Neal
- I would definately buy a new lead asap, the standard lead you get in the Squire set is very very low quality and I would be surprised if it lasts you more than a month or so any way. I've found that when buying leads you get what you pay for, for years I would buy cheap leads which would break after a couple of months. I've now invested in a decent set of the gold plated vacuum sealed ones and they have lasted very very very well, and they didnt really cost that much.
- Invest in a decent set of strings, the ones I got on my Squire years back were pretty awful and getting a new set made a vast difference. I myself prefer Ernie Balls but try some different makes until you find some that suit you.
- Buy a Gelwinder (a device for quickly winding strings). You can buy these in the UK for about £1.50 which is about $1 and save you so much time and sore fingers when you are actually restringing your guitar.
- Try out some different picks as well, I'm pretty sure you only get the standard Fender Medium Gauge picks with the Strat set so you might want to go to your local music shop and try some other shapes/thicknesses/materials to see if there are any others you prefer.
All these bits and pieces shouldnt cost you more than £30 ($25) at the very most.
In my experience Squire guitars range vastly in quality, some can be utter crap (going out of tune instantly etc) however one I've got will stay in tune for weeks despite alot of playing. If you are happy with your Squire then simply buying some low cost but decent pickups (i.e. Kent Armstrong ones etc) will only cost you around the £35 pounds mark and will add a lease of life to your instrument. There are alot of good websites around which will show you how to change pickups (in fact this months issue of Total Guitar has a feature article on how to do it!) Dont feel you have to spend vast amounts on your equipment as long as you feel comfortable playing the guitar and it sounds ok I wouldnt be re-mortgaging your house for the latest stuff!
Hope thats useful
Neal
# 4
Hey DiscoSamurai, I have the latest issue of TG with the pickup reviews and fitting section. I like th sound of the Seymour Duncan JB Jnr, but it says some widening of the Squires pickup slot is required, is that hard to do? Can I buy just one to replace one pickup on my Squire or do I need a set. If just one, which one? Also, what lead would you suggest?
Thanks
Thanks
# 5
I'd disagree with everyone here. If you can afford to buy yourself another guitar I'd go for it. For about £200 you should be able to get yourself a nice guitar that's easy to play and stays in tune. You can easily sell your squire on e-bay or try trading it in at the shop you buy yer next guitar from. Don't upgrade your squire. It ain't gonna ever cut it as a main axe once you've got better. I started playing on a real piece of crap Aria ProII strat shape. I'm pretty sure it was made of chipboard and it played and sounded terrible. Once I got my new guitar ( a Les Paul copy) my playing got much better as a> Iwas in tune and B> it had a much better action.
# 6
Hi Amadeus
Well in my case I wanted a bassier humbucker sound on my bridge pickup so I decided only to swap the bridge pickup and just leave the other ones as standard for now since I'm just going to be using that one. I managed to get the Kent Armstrong one from Total Guitar on ebay for about £20. It depends on what sound you want. In the case if the seymour duncan one you might just have so sand round the edges of the pickup hole to let the pickup fit in properly. If you want to buy some cheap bits and pieces you could try http://www.highlystrung.co.uk I've recently bought some new knobs and switch covers for a couple of my guitars and they offered a good service.
I'd have to disagree with hrckid about spending £200+ on a new guitar straight away. Even if you go and buy a decent guitar right away it will still sound pretty lame being played though a low cost fender practise amp. So then your going to have to buy a better amp which is going to cost more money. In my opinion as long as Amadeus feels happy playing the squire and it feels right and stays in tune I think he would be better keeping it for now. In my opinion its always good to keep a low cost guitar like this for experimenting with. I own a couple of expensive guitars (including a JS90HAM, JS1000 special edition) and I know I'd think twice about experimenting with swapping pickups etc on something worth so much money. Plus I know from experience that if you try and get sell a Squire guitar your going to lose so much money its better just to keep it!
But thats just my opinion :)
Disco
Well in my case I wanted a bassier humbucker sound on my bridge pickup so I decided only to swap the bridge pickup and just leave the other ones as standard for now since I'm just going to be using that one. I managed to get the Kent Armstrong one from Total Guitar on ebay for about £20. It depends on what sound you want. In the case if the seymour duncan one you might just have so sand round the edges of the pickup hole to let the pickup fit in properly. If you want to buy some cheap bits and pieces you could try http://www.highlystrung.co.uk I've recently bought some new knobs and switch covers for a couple of my guitars and they offered a good service.
I'd have to disagree with hrckid about spending £200+ on a new guitar straight away. Even if you go and buy a decent guitar right away it will still sound pretty lame being played though a low cost fender practise amp. So then your going to have to buy a better amp which is going to cost more money. In my opinion as long as Amadeus feels happy playing the squire and it feels right and stays in tune I think he would be better keeping it for now. In my opinion its always good to keep a low cost guitar like this for experimenting with. I own a couple of expensive guitars (including a JS90HAM, JS1000 special edition) and I know I'd think twice about experimenting with swapping pickups etc on something worth so much money. Plus I know from experience that if you try and get sell a Squire guitar your going to lose so much money its better just to keep it!
But thats just my opinion :)
Disco
# 7
