Project: Super Squier

[AncientNoob]

First post on TB. Been lurking for a while, recently signed up. Thought I’d share this with the community and see what kind of feedback you all have for me. Never modded a bass before, but it looks like fun and hopefully I’ll learn a few things in the process. So my starting point is a 2020 Indonesia Squier PJ. Fairly certain this is from the beginner pack that comes with a gig bag and Rumble15. Purchased from the used listings at GC for dirt cheap. Looks like it has never been played. Neck is straight and feels good, frets are actually pretty darn good as well. Set up is awful, but I’ll get around to that.

 

[AncientNoob]

Here’s the lipstick I’ll be applying to the pig.

 

[Deleted member 365158]

I love modding,
Looks like you got some good stuff there.... the pickups will be a big improvement... lots of love for the Geezers here!!
Have fun with it, im on my 5th or so modding project in the last few years, its pretty fun to take a cheap bass, throw a few $$$ in upgrades and have a player that you can appreciate more than an off the shelf bass.

 

[BassNugget]

These are fun to mod. They are pretty well built for what you pay. Make sure to send us updates! Cheers!

 

[AncientNoob]

These are fun to mod. They are pretty well built for what you pay. Make sure to send us updates! Cheers!

Will do! So I pulled out all the stock electronics last night. Also swapped out the stock bridge for the Hipshot. Did a little scraping on the bottom of the Hipshot to make sure i get a good ground. Also did a test fit of the tort guard. Screw holes (shockingly) line up, but I’m definitely going to have to trim out the pick up route. It’s a little small and ever so slightly off kilter. Nothing some careful filing won’t fix. I’ll post a couple pictures later.

 

[AncientNoob]

The black pickguard is the original. With it laying on top of the tort guard you can barely see where it’s off. We’re taking off by literal hairs here, but it’s enough to make a difference.

 

[BassNugget]

Worry not, tort looks awesome on that model. Very interested to see how the black hardware will look.

 

[sloppy_phil]

Nice, mate, have some fun with the project!

I did something sorta similar with a CV Squier earlier this year. New pickups (Lindy Fralin), a Hipshot bridge, and a little bit of fresh cosmetic trim. Final piece of the puzzle will be adding a push/pull pot to allow me to run the p'ups in series.

If you get the right core materials from a "budget" bass, and the neck plays/stays straight, the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do with them! I'm more into this little budget Squier bass far more than any of my friends' more expensive Fender counterparts, and have got it for a fraction of the cost!

 

[C Stone]

Looks like you got a good bead on things, great hardware choices (IMO). I'm a fan of tort, but I am a bigger fan of black pg's on burst basses but either way it's gonna look killer with the black hardware and it will surely sound killer after the Geezers install...

Enjoy your mods and welcome to talkbass, lots of good stuff here.

 

[AncientNoob]

Update:Headstock hardware done!
Pretty stoked with how this came together. I had the briefest of thoughts to leave the chrome ferrules in, but as you can see…
The plates on the Wilkinson tuning machines have a substantially larger footprint than the stock Squier units. Had to drill new holes for all the screws, but the plates actually cover all the original holes so i didn’t bother filling them. Really like the way this is starting to look.
Question: Any recommendations for lubing the new tuners? Dry lube? Mouse milk? Leave ‘em alone?

 

[C Stone]

Well done they looks great, as far as lube for tuners I don't use it on the reg but if I have a slight hang-up or a little rough spot a little Vaseline works really well.

 

[AncientNoob]

So I did quite a bit today. About 80% done. Mostly just a few little cosmetic things and a few fit and finish items. I was going to convert it to a front plate output, but had an issue with fit, so that’s gonna be an “I’ll deal with it later” thing. Really happy with the progress to this point. The geezers sound outstanding! Cavity is now fully shielded too. Not sure it was necessary, but i did it anyway, and i get zero hum. Going to my friendly neighborhood luthier tomorrow to let him fine tune my ball park set up and install a bone nut.

 

[BassNugget]

Looks good. And yes, you would have to route out that little shelf where the p pickup grounds if you want to get a jack in there.

 

[Yahboy]

Hopefully those heavy Wilkinson tuning machines set won't make your super squier join to neck-dive-club.

 

[AncientNoob]

I did so some rudimentary (dremel) routing but didn’t quite take out enough material. I’ll revisit it another day. Already drilled the pickguard accordingly. For now there’s copper tape over the hole on the underside.

 

[AncientNoob]

Hopefully those heavy Wilkinson tuning machines set won't make your super squier join to neck-dive-club.

With the Hipshot at the other end, it actually balances really well on a strap.

 

[BassNugget]

The shelf in question. For mine, I had to Dremel out the bottom area of the control cavity because the CTS pots are huge compared to the mini pots that come stock.

 

[AncientNoob]

View attachment 4469681
The shelf in question. For mine, I had to Dremel out the bottom area of the control cavity because the CTS pots are huge compared to the mini pots that come stock.

Yup. That’s pretty much exactly what I ran into.

 

[BassNugget]

It looks like your bass is two tone sunburst, while mine is 3TS. Is it the light or is it 2 tone?

 

[AncientNoob]

I also want to do a little more filing on the J route, and i will probably fill the screw holes and redrill. They are far from straight. I’m probably the only one that will ever notice, but until i fix it, I’ll always notice.