Congrats dude you won the random draw! (and your guess of lime green wasn't actually far off haha) reply to this comment and we'll figure out a way to get in touch with you - don't leave any personal details here or give them to any other profile pretending to be me!
I took my first, which is a Squire Affinity Strat and added a loaded Fender pick guard with noiseless pups and S-1 switching. Added a bone nut and Classic Vibe tuners. Plays and sounds really nice. Didn’t cost much because I had a lot of parts from other guitars.
Did something similar to a ‘93 black Strat I picked up to practice with while traveling. The electronics went out and threw in a new PG with Fender parts (it was easier to diagnose that way 🤣🤣). Absolutely a great platform! Plus, the ‘93 is one of the MIM Squiers with Fender body & Neck from Corona CA 👍🏼
@@TheRealxVincent I kept the original unit but changed the tremolo block with a steel unit from guitar fetish and changed the saddles, nut and string retainers with a kit from graphtech (tusq). Works perfectly and doesn’t go out of tune.
@@thelowlifex9437 just one guess, keeps it fair - I'll allow the odd change of mind but since I'm not telling anyone yet you'll be gambling as your first guess might be right 😅🤷
@@Giant_Guitars that would have been nice to know! Lol. Oh well… doesn’t look like I got it anyways 😆 But in case my original Daphne Blue was right, and you didn’t clarify in the video the rule of one guess, I’m sticking to that.
@@Giant_GuitarsCan you also show us the whole repainting process in detail? I wanna learn how to repaint properly so I could use the process to apply in my own if I ever repaint or someone here repaints their guitar, huge thanks!
Love what you did with this Squier! I like the simplicity of single pickup guitars. My guess is Electric Orange!! ‘Tis a Ford colour which was on the cap that Tom had on in “The Pursuit of Tone”, is a fairly rare colour for guitars, is also a colour that Tom likes a lot, and I think it would look awesome on a guitar!!
My guess is Fiesta Red. It’s a beautiful finish that Ford used to frequent. Even if it’s not, I’m sure you picked out a very nice and flashy finish for the next project. Can’t wait to see it!
Update as per 30th July - no one has guessed correctly yet, the competition continues for now but please take a look at the community section and take a vote on how you'd like the competition to proceed. Don't worry though, someone will win no matter what! Thank you all for taking part so far, you're all great!
Really nice video. My first guitar was a Mexican Squire, back when Fender still owed the line. The major difference between it and it's more expensive U.S. cousins were the single ply pick guard, the tuners and the pick-ups. Easy and cheap up-grades, so I basically had an entry level American Strat for about half the price. But no up-grade ever adds value, and selling and trading is a thing.
I think OP means the Fender Squier Series, which is different from the actual Squier guitar, and are the predecessors to the Player series (I think? iirc, they were MIM)
fun fact about the steel wool and vinegar, if you leave it for a couple days it will rust the steel wool leaving fine rusty dust which you can use in thermite :D
I'm going with British Racing Green, and Rosso Corsa (classic ferrari red) maybe too much of a classic color for that type of guitar, but lets go! Happy to watch your vids all the way from Mexico!
Being an automotive color I’d like to guess Miami blue. A color seen on Porsches and it’s very bright similar to graffiti yellow. But I’m also leaning toward a plum crazy purple which is another amazing color.
So the way the ebonizing solution works is the iron acetate interacts with the tannins in the wood to turn black. Not all woods have a lot of tannins, so for a stronger black you can treat the wood with a strong tea first, and THEN the ebonizing mixture. And I'd say you're right to worry about the acids eating away the frets, if you do this again you can take the solution and gently mix baking soda/sodium bicarb into it until it stops fizzing. This neutralizes the acid. The acid is only needed to strip the iron from the steel wool, the solution you apply would ideally be PH neutral.
what brings you to vienna? A great improvement for sound on the squiers is changing the pots, imho I do that even before changing the pickups, cause it's cheaper and the squier single coils are not that bad.
@@Mutombo71 I have family near Brno so we were on a mini road trip through Slovakia-Hungary-Croatia-Slovenia-Austria and decided to stop in Vienna on the way back because I wanted some curry wurst haha. And yes 100% agree with you on the pots, good tip!
Lovely work on the Squier, as always: the fretboard turned out to be really lovely. I'll take a guess at the mistery colour too: Ocean Turquoise! Kind of a wild one, but simply amazing, in my opinion. Keep going with this great videos!
I want it to be Burgundy Mist Metallic, but something like Inca Silver would be more probable.. Also, cool mod. Although the off-white colors like parchment or mint were never my first choice for pickguards, but that's just a minor taste difference.
My color guess is Porsche Racing Yellow. The strat turned out rather nice, I like the pickguard color, a nice vintage vibe. I love working on my guitars, I only have one Strat and 7 Epiphones, the Squire was really cheap, I put new tuners on as you did, the top is nice it just needs the wiring fixed, and the tremolo has a ground hum. Squier Affinity Stratocaster FMT HSS Guitar Maple Neck Black Burst.
You can also route around in your shed/garage for old rusty screws and nails (the rust shows that they don’t have a galvanised coating) and use these instead of buying new steel wool. Some brands of steel wool have a coating on them to stop it rusting quickly, this inhibits the reaction with the vinegar and the production of Iron Acetate (the stuff that we want) so zapping it quickly with a blow torch will burn off that coating. The Iron Acetate reacts with the tannins in the wood - so testing it on a different piece of wood won’t necessarily give an indication of how it will work on the fretboard, just if it will work in general. If left long enough for all the vinegar (I normally let it stand for a week or two) to be used up in the reaction then the solution shouldn’t be acidic, but it can be pretty strong (making pine look like rich mahogany) so it may be better watering it down and using multiple applications. The colour can take a while to develop so it’s a good idea to wait for a while between applying extra layers. Because the harder part of the grain has more tannin than the softer part of the grain, this reacts more and darkens more - which is more natural and the opposite of what you usually get with stains as they soak more into the porous softer areas. If you have some wood with grain or flames it can make them stand out. p.s. potassium permanganate (aka condys crystals) is another thing which will age and darken wood but quicker as it oxidises it directly rather than needing an in between chemical reaction.
That strat looks amazing! I think it would be funny if you took out the humbucker from the Tom Delong and turn it into a single coil 😆 anyways my guess for the guitar color is Alpine White 😊
I’m too late for the give away guitar. I just wanted to say I have modified a few of my guitars almost exactly like you have yours. The only difference is I used a telecaster body made by Shecter with a Floyd Rose route a bridge mounted trembucker from Duncan, a pawnshop Aria pro neck. Also a Douglas telecaster I modded that is a hard tail like a LP, humbucker in the bridge position as well. A Harmony strat that I put a Squire neck on it and another strat body a friend gave me with an after market neck and bridge position humbucker, strat trem non locking single volume only. And recently I just finished a modified telecaster body guitar with the typical tele appointments. I appreciate what you do as I do the same type of things. It’s fun to modify guitars to what you like and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks about what you enjoy doing. Take care, happy holidays…
I bought a Squier Contemporary a couple of years ago, it had 12 inch radius which was not an option on most of the Fenders. It needed some fixes (deburr the bridge plate to prevent snapping the strings, replace the nut and string trees to improve tuning stability), but it became a very comfortable instrument.
Seriously, how do locking tuners help playing characteristics? If I already string up in a way that locks the string to the post, and only have a couple of wraps (e,a) to four or five at most wraps (d-e) , that seems like it is just a convenience at string change time. The exception I guess would be for gig instruments, anything to speed up changing a broken string would be the smart move to me.
Pretty much what you've said already bud but I don't like lots of wraps on my strings so I'll always preference locking tuners, just a personal thing when you get down to that level I guess
Pretty much what you've said already bud but I don't like lots of wraps on my strings so I'll always preference locking tuners, just a personal thing when you get down to that level I guess
@@nathano148 thank you bud, I still have it! The neck staining has stayed pretty nice but I think a different wood would react better to the solution I made, apparently something to do with the tanins
Do you just bulk order Delonge-style pickguards and Invaders? (I know you don't use an Invader on this build, but you almost always seems to have one...)
I have a butterscotch tele, black pickguard, and has USA pickups, CTS pots, Switchcraft plug, bone nut, cloth wiring and vintage tuners on an aged neck. It has a 4 way switch, too - 3 Tele sounds + both pickups out of phase, so it does twang, Strat, jazz and can get blistering distortion if you want.....just incredible, especially considering it cost me $320!!! It's my "Keef" guitar and so much more.....
These Affinity Strats have a narrow only 40 mm wide neck nut, do you prefer that? In my 2004 Indonesian Affinity Strat I had to make and install in the neck pocket a few mm thick maple shim wedge the size and shape of the pocket to get the action low. Had to also install 3 thick nylon washers under the truss rod nut to be able to tighten it more. The original neck finish is a really nice satin so I didn't have to work on that. Some say the neck and middle pickups make the Strat quack sound and the bridge pickup is redundant. You did the opposite.
Yeah I like the narrow nut, it gives a unique feel over the Fender in my opinion! As for neck shim I had thought I was going to have to use one and had some StewMac 1 and .5 ones sitting ready but managed to get the action perfect with the new bridge thankfully. And yeah I'm a fan of humbucker only so the other pickups had to go!
For your next project maybe you can try applying India Ink to darken/ebonize the fretboard. I used on my AZES and now the light jatoba fretboard looks like ebony. It even covered the dot inlays perfectly. Applied 3 coats after light 120 sanding and finished with boiled linseed oil. Looks like a high end AZ now.
When you use iron acetate to darken your fretboard it's best to soak some strong tea into it beforehand. This increases the tannins in the wood, which in turn reacts better with the acetate.Using his method I've been able to turn a wishy-washy indian laurel fretboard into a more than passable imitation of good quality brazilian rosewood. I then applied one or two passes with high quality furniture wax; works a treat.
Did you keep the nut and jack socket? on my cheap strat the jack socket was so thin and weak I had to replace it. I never saw that method of coloration before not sure what in the steel wood makes the reaction. I thought strats had 3 single coils? How do you get the tone variations without them?. Some people say you need to remove the central tree but you kept it?
So yes I kept the nut, no I replaced the jack socket but in the video after this as I was changing up the wiring. The nut is good in this one, cut nicely and plays nice so I didn't think it was necessary. As far as pickup choice goes when that's entirely up to the user, I like only one pickup on my guitars for a variety of reasons but I also totally see the need for more, if that's what you're in to!
My first guitar is a 90s Affinity squier strat, it's been modded to hell and back and is easily my best playing and sounding guitar. Cts pots all round, American fender switch, seymour Duncan JB in the bridge position and 2 unbranded but good sounding single coils
That guitar turned out amazing! I will always love the way strats look with a single pickup. My guess is it will be Verde Ithaca/Scandal/Mantis or however Lamborghini calls their bright green.
Great video! I just purchased a Squier Affinity Candy Apple Red Strat for $100. I'm gonna do some mods to it. You've given me some ideas about what to do with my guitar!
Hell yeah good job brother. I love the looks of the guitars. Would really like to play one and see if they do plays as well as a Mexican strat? Can’t wait to see your Tom build.
Thanks for the video. I thought the high string tuners were a bit short when you put them on but figured maybe they were supposed to be. I just put a staggered set off a Fender Professional Strat that I got second-hand on my Asian T-style. ;) (Oh, that's not clear - the tuners were second hand, replaced with locking tuners - I didn't get the whole Strat.)
I’m going to take a wild guess but is it British racing green? Love your videos man inspires me to tinker with my guitars a lot more to how I like them love the videos man!!!
Congratulations on the work and thank you for these inspiring videos For the mystery color I vote for copper metalic... These guitars remember me the load sound of Bob Mould's band Sugar and the album Copper blue, even if he plays a classic blue stratocaster
If you want to hear a big difference in your Squire Strat or any Strat for that matter, use the solid saddle pieces with the triangle guides instead of the rolled steel saddles. Unbelievable tonal change. I switched my Squire's bridge for a Wilkinson one and the bent saddles sounded like crap, as soon as I switched the saddles for the solid ones the sustain and feedback ability was sooooooo much better!
Started playing guitar July 4th, of this year. A neighbor shared his older Cort electric with me. That got me hooked. July 24th, I got my first Stratocaster! A gently used Sonic Blue beauty. Just learning riffs and scales. Noodling, as they say. My guess is Dakota Red!!
I'll be frank, here--I'm not generally a person who loves Fender-style guitars. That being said, I own a Vintage Modified Telecaster II from Squier. The previous owner dropped a set of Lollar P-90's in there, popped in some locking tuners, and did a great job sanding and refinishing the neck. It might have been made in Indonesia, but with the upgrades I can honestly say it's one of the best sounding guitars I own.
Thanks dude, the fretboard has kept pretty nice but I'd definitely go with wood dye next time I think! And the competition has ended now bud but good guess! The answer was Manilla Green
I always have a jar of steelwool vinegar mixture ready for various woodworking projects, but never thought of using it on a fretboard. Definitely going to try it on an Ibanez I bought last year, because I'm not a huge fan of the light Jatoba on it.
Awesome mate, let me know how it goes. I got told here that rosewood lacks the tanins required for it to work properly so other materials are better. I have some oak I'm going to use it on next, see how that goes!
@@Giant_Guitars So I did 5 coats. Only the first one really did anything and the difference was really minor. Then I tried adding some tea, which granted another minor improvement. Next time I'll add multiple coats of tea to build up the tanins in the wood first and then add the steel wool mix. Didn't really get the results I wanted, but it wasn't too much work, so maybe it was worth it... Also, I didn't cover the frets, I just scrubbed them with a cloth as soon as the wood had absorbed it all. They did get a bit cloudy, so I polished them properly after, but it wasn't too bad.
honestly, i would just use fret conditioner on the fret board up and file the frets. Squires always have sharp ass frets... Im really thinking about getting a 22 fret mighty might neck for mine and swapping the pickups out. But your guitar looks sick i would definitely play that thing
That was a nice watch, definitely glad I stumbled upon your channel. I'd love to see the guitar in a dark lambo finish, I believe they call it Verde Ermes
@6:22 The "full thickness body" question is important if you're planning on fitting some aftermarket tremolos. Unless you enjoy having the trem block stick out the back of the guitar and into your belly. Ask me how I know......
If you take about 1 tsp of Potassium Permanganate to 7-8 tsp of water, that solution works really well for darkening and dying fretboards. I took a Paul ferro board on a MIM strat and made it look like this sick, dark, vintage rosewood. Wipe it on, let it dry. Will only take a few min. Then buff off, lightly hit with steel wool, and then oil with your preferred oil. I found that chasing the solution with Montypresso brings the grain out after dying quite a bit. Can lighten up prior to oil with extra fine steel wool. I’m currently working on a friends squire neck today too 😅
That's a great job! I did something similar with an Epiphone Special II really cheap, basic, and low-end guitar. I got it in 2010 and since then I have been doing mods for it. Wilkinson's Pickups and Guitar Bridge, the circuit was remade with fender pots and components, Grover head tuners, an internal copper Faraday shield, real bone nut, and custom body paint... I simply love that guitar.
I did the same with my Epiphone Special II Goth Edition! I also installed a B5 Bigsby vibrato, it plays and sound very nice and it stands everytime I show to little jams with my friends.
Im a lifelong ibanez, esp, jackson, charvel player who NEVER owned a fender. I recently picked up a highly modified Squier SONIC ! I was enticed by the overwound Alnico 2’s and the price…$180 to my door. Granted this Sonic had all hardware pups and electronics upgraded, frets crowned leveled and polished, but it is one of the nicest playing and sweetest tone of any guitar ive had in over 30 years. I definitely see value in modding these entry level guitars. Honestly sounds and plays as good, if not better than guitars 3-4x the price.
I replaced the cheap zinc tremolo block of a Squier Affinity Strat with a Guitar Fetish heavy, brass tremolo block. The change in sustain and tone was amazing. Leo Fender got it right the first time in 1954.
I use furniture polish spray to clean up all the dirt on thw fretboard. Because it is specifically made for wood, i assume it is safe on my fretboard because all the dirt were easily removed and my fretboard is clean as new.
Good choice going with the plain white pickguard instead of the pearl. I think it better suits the esthetic of the guitar. I recently took out my first electric, which is an Epiphone Fat 210 and I'm planning to get it going again. I will upgrade the tuners, replace the saddles and do a full setup. It cleaned up nicely and is still a blast to play.
Ah so nice to stumble on this video. About to do pretty much the same for my red Squier Affinity Strat (except I want humbucker bridge + single coil neck). As for my guess, I'm going with a fav of mine. It has some form of automotive in the name. Taxi Cab Yellow!
Most times they are grest without modifications. I hsve a 2015 Clasdic Vibe Strat. I woll replace the dime sized pots when they go out. Thats all. Lol. I did shield it, so I guess I did modify it.
To paint fingerboard u can always use usual hairdye from nearest store. Cheapest and absolutley best way. Affects no binding or frets, totally harmless for wood. Takes ltrly 30 mins and stays for years. also u can obiously choose any color plannin to get) I painted everything with 1 or 1+ color. It looks like true black or darkest ebony. No eye could see difference)
i always only playd bullets . i swap in grovers and dirty finger thn call it day . usually always sprayin it all black. its all i ever used . i wanted to get one thm gibson flyin v necks on it but never could figure how to make it fit or where to get a custom fender v neck for it
@@Giant_Guitars it was a guitar sum 41 playd in i think fat lip or in too deep . he had i thiiink was gibson with not a flyin v body but had v neck. i wanted tht on my bullet but i totally bet tht be custome neck cause i never seen a fender strat with tht neck . but be honest it be rad . i gave up tho cause i think if i did figure it out thn the nevk would be more expensive thn the entire guitar. if i hit the lotto i wont tell anyone buuut they be signs 😎 v neck
Just had to drill the one screw hole off to the side for the Gotohs yeah but you can't see that there were different tuners there previously and the Gotohs are a good fit
Thank you for this great video Just recently got into screwing around and moddin them up, so these videos are a great starting point for developing a deeper understanding of what's going on IN the guitar So thank you, sir! Ah by the way... My guess for the colour would be 'Construction Yellow' ;) You surely brought that sweety to live again
This is actually a super good idea. I've tinkered around with the idea of modding a cheapo strat to make it something great. Kind of did with a yamaha, years and years ago haha
I’ve been using squier necks, on gfs bodies and using better pickups bridges and bigsbys with excellent results. Recently I purchased a squier 60’s vibe jag only upgraded the tremolo and tuners to lockers. One of my favorites right now
Nice - my friend has a red Squier from around 2005 so probably from the same factory - and he also put a black pickguard on it! I have a video about it on my channel. I have my own Squier from the early 90s which is pretty decent - it has a nice fat trem-block, Fender saddles and a "full thickness" body - just cheap electronics. I have some Vintera pickups to go in and will replace the switch at the same time (at least).
Nice video :-) You have to wait until the steel wool has completely dissolved. This takes at least 2 weeks, depending on how coarse your wool was. Give it a shake occasionally. The liquid then turns completely brown and the steel wool is no longer visible. I have colored many guitar necks with it.
40 seconds in and I'm already a bit confused, I thought Squiers were Chinese made at the time, mine is 2010 and from China, I thought Indonesian ones came sometime after that to the current day. Were they making them in both countries in 2005?
Yeah as far as I know China came first and then they began production in Indonesia but kept it going in China too. I'd need to double check that and what years but this is definitely an Indonesian strat.
Iron oxide works best in woods with high tannin content, like white oak. If it’s a low tannin wood you can wash it with tea. It will increase the effectiveness.
My brother in law took his Squier body and made a killer parts caster out of it with the help of a luthier in NYC. It now plays better than any off the shelf Fender.
My guess for the guitar color is zenith blue, the iconic color from Gulf livery race cars (adding details in tangerine orange) keep playing! You do a great job!
I just paint my pickguards because the color selection is pretty slim. Rustoleum 2x paint works well. Clean, spray a light coat or two, its all you need. Spray horizontal to you don't get a run. Endless color options available.
Lime green for sure🫡
Congrats dude you won the random draw! (and your guess of lime green wasn't actually far off haha) reply to this comment and we'll figure out a way to get in touch with you - don't leave any personal details here or give them to any other profile pretending to be me!
@@Giant_Guitars Hi!!! Can we do it from Instagram?
@@Giant_Guitarsdamn man i never won anything lmao I'm shaking rn
@@jqojsi3529 yes, message @giantguitars on insta and I'll get you to confirm you're this account 👌
@@jqojsi3529 well you have tonight, congrats
I took my first, which is a Squire Affinity Strat and added a loaded Fender pick guard with noiseless pups and S-1 switching. Added a bone nut and Classic Vibe tuners. Plays and sounds really nice. Didn’t cost much because I had a lot of parts from other guitars.
Did something similar to a ‘93 black Strat I picked up to practice with while traveling. The electronics went out and threw in a new PG with Fender parts (it was easier to diagnose that way 🤣🤣). Absolutely a great platform!
Plus, the ‘93 is one of the MIM Squiers with Fender body & Neck from Corona CA 👍🏼
Affinitys are great to upgrade and inexpensive.
@@vayabroder729 any recommendations for bridge replacements?
@@TheRealxVincent I kept the original unit but changed the tremolo block with a steel unit from guitar fetish and changed the saddles, nut and string retainers with a kit from graphtech (tusq). Works perfectly and doesn’t go out of tune.
@@vayabroder729 mine actually stays in tune and has decent sustain as is, I just don't like the screw in arms much
Loving all the guesses, keep them coming! Don't forget to watch out for scams in the comments, please don't fall for any 🙏
Can we keep guessing or do we just have one chance ? :(
@@thelowlifex9437 just one guess, keeps it fair - I'll allow the odd change of mind but since I'm not telling anyone yet you'll be gambling as your first guess might be right 😅🤷
And obviously changing your guess voids your first one
@@Giant_Guitars that would have been nice to know! Lol. Oh well… doesn’t look like I got it anyways 😆
But in case my original Daphne Blue was right, and you didn’t clarify in the video the rule of one guess, I’m sticking to that.
@@Giant_GuitarsCan you also show us the whole repainting process in detail? I wanna learn how to repaint properly so I could use the process to apply in my own if I ever repaint or someone here repaints their guitar, huge thanks!
** COMPETITION IS OVER - NO ONE GUESSED IT **
Live stream to pick a random winner will be on 6th August 2023 - timings to be announced later..
What was the colour? My guess was Ford Sky Blue
Hot rod red
BUT ITS ROBIN'S EGG
Lake placid blue
My guess would've been firemist green 🍏
Love what you did with this Squier! I like the simplicity of single pickup guitars.
My guess is Electric Orange!!
‘Tis a Ford colour which was on the cap that Tom had on in “The Pursuit of Tone”, is a fairly rare colour for guitars, is also a colour that Tom likes a lot, and I think it would look awesome on a guitar!!
My guess is Fiesta Red. It’s a beautiful finish that Ford used to frequent. Even if it’s not, I’m sure you picked out a very nice and flashy finish for the next project. Can’t wait to see it!
Update as per 30th July - no one has guessed correctly yet, the competition continues for now but please take a look at the community section and take a vote on how you'd like the competition to proceed. Don't worry though, someone will win no matter what! Thank you all for taking part so far, you're all great!
Royal Purple 💜
slime green
SHELL PINK
Laguna Seca Blue
Surf Green or Verdigris Green,vermillion color or Daphne Blue or graffiti black color!!!!!
Really nice video. My first guitar was a Mexican Squire, back when Fender still owed the line. The major difference between it and it's more expensive U.S. cousins were the single ply pick guard, the tuners and the pick-ups. Easy and cheap up-grades, so I basically had an entry level American Strat for about half the price. But no up-grade ever adds value, and selling and trading is a thing.
Fender still owns squier
I think OP means the Fender Squier Series, which is different from the actual Squier guitar, and are the predecessors to the Player series (I think? iirc, they were MIM)
fun fact about the steel wool and vinegar, if you leave it for a couple days it will rust the steel wool leaving fine rusty dust which you can use in thermite :D
If I respond positively to this comment will I end up on a watch list somewhere? 😜
@@Giant_Guitars possibly ;)
Crazy how well preserved the body of this guitar was. I’m a huge fan of the EVH 10s strings. My guess is shell pink
Great strings! Yeah, owned by my family from new probably helped 😁
I'm going with British Racing Green, and Rosso Corsa (classic ferrari red) maybe too much of a classic color for that type of guitar, but lets go! Happy to watch your vids all the way from Mexico!
Cheers Matias 😄 last winner was Mexico too!
Being an automotive color I’d like to guess Miami blue. A color seen on Porsches and it’s very bright similar to graffiti yellow. But I’m also leaning toward a plum crazy purple which is another amazing color.
I'm building a tele deluxe in Porsche Miami Blue - such a cool colour!
@@shiftystylin sounds sweet!
Love the look of the squier! For the guitar, I would have to guess Sherwood Green. Love the look of that color on a guitar!
So the way the ebonizing solution works is the iron acetate interacts with the tannins in the wood to turn black. Not all woods have a lot of tannins, so for a stronger black you can treat the wood with a strong tea first, and THEN the ebonizing mixture. And I'd say you're right to worry about the acids eating away the frets, if you do this again you can take the solution and gently mix baking soda/sodium bicarb into it until it stops fizzing. This neutralizes the acid. The acid is only needed to strip the iron from the steel wool, the solution you apply would ideally be PH neutral.
Thank you for this 🙏 wish I'd known beforehand haha but at least now I do
what brings you to vienna?
A great improvement for sound on the squiers is changing the pots, imho
I do that even before changing the pickups, cause it's cheaper and the squier single coils are not that bad.
@@Mutombo71 I have family near Brno so we were on a mini road trip through Slovakia-Hungary-Croatia-Slovenia-Austria and decided to stop in Vienna on the way back because I wanted some curry wurst haha.
And yes 100% agree with you on the pots, good tip!
Lovely work on the Squier, as always: the fretboard turned out to be really lovely.
I'll take a guess at the mistery colour too: Ocean Turquoise! Kind of a wild one, but simply amazing, in my opinion.
Keep going with this great videos!
Thank you dude I appreciate it 😁
I want it to be Burgundy Mist Metallic, but something like Inca Silver would be more probable..
Also, cool mod. Although the off-white colors like parchment or mint were never my first choice for pickguards, but that's just a minor taste difference.
My color guess is Porsche Racing Yellow. The strat turned out rather nice, I like the pickguard color, a nice vintage vibe. I love working on my guitars, I only have one Strat and 7 Epiphones, the Squire was really cheap, I put new tuners on as you did, the top is nice it just needs the wiring fixed, and the tremolo has a ground hum. Squier Affinity Stratocaster FMT HSS Guitar Maple Neck Black Burst.
Sounds like an awesome collection anyway bud!!
You can also route around in your shed/garage for old rusty screws and nails (the rust shows that they don’t have a galvanised coating) and use these instead of buying new steel wool. Some brands of steel wool have a coating on them to stop it rusting quickly, this inhibits the reaction with the vinegar and the production of Iron Acetate (the stuff that we want) so zapping it quickly with a blow torch will burn off that coating.
The Iron Acetate reacts with the tannins in the wood - so testing it on a different piece of wood won’t necessarily give an indication of how it will work on the fretboard, just if it will work in general. If left long enough for all the vinegar (I normally let it stand for a week or two) to be used up in the reaction then the solution shouldn’t be acidic, but it can be pretty strong (making pine look like rich mahogany) so it may be better watering it down and using multiple applications. The colour can take a while to develop so it’s a good idea to wait for a while between applying extra layers.
Because the harder part of the grain has more tannin than the softer part of the grain, this reacts more and darkens more - which is more natural and the opposite of what you usually get with stains as they soak more into the porous softer areas. If you have some wood with grain or flames it can make them stand out.
p.s. potassium permanganate (aka condys crystals) is another thing which will age and darken wood but quicker as it oxidises it directly rather than needing an in between chemical reaction.
Huge info here mate thank you very much
I am currently modifying a Mini Strat. Full size CTS pots, Wilkinson Vintage Voice pickups, etc.
I am looking for a bridge. Theyre tiny.
Hard tail or trem?
That strat looks amazing! I think it would be funny if you took out the humbucker from the Tom Delong and turn it into a single coil 😆 anyways my guess for the guitar color is Alpine White 😊
Gotta go with a matte purple colour, with black hardware. that would look absolutely beautiful in my opinion. Good luck everyone else 👍🏻🫡
Burgundy and copper
I’m too late for the give away guitar. I just wanted to say I have modified a few of my guitars almost exactly like you have yours. The only difference is I used a telecaster body made by Shecter with a Floyd Rose route a bridge mounted trembucker from Duncan, a pawnshop Aria pro neck. Also a Douglas telecaster I modded that is a hard tail like a LP, humbucker in the bridge position as well. A Harmony strat that I put a Squire neck on it and another strat body a friend gave me with an after market neck and bridge position humbucker, strat trem non locking single volume only. And recently I just finished a modified telecaster body guitar with the typical tele appointments. I appreciate what you do as I do the same type of things. It’s fun to modify guitars to what you like and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks about what you enjoy doing. Take care, happy holidays…
Amazing video.
😮😮 Dude thank you so much 🙏 I appreciate you more than you know! 😁
Graffiti Yellow 😂
I’d laugh my ass off if that’s what it was.
That would be hilarious
@@Giant_Guitars You clearly said not Graffiti Yellow in the video, so this isn’t an official guess, ha ha. Just making a funny 😋
@@WTF-Cubing 😅😅 it did give me a laugh in fairness
My guess is TV Yellow!
I bought a Squier Contemporary a couple of years ago, it had 12 inch radius which was not an option on most of the Fenders. It needed some fixes (deburr the bridge plate to prevent snapping the strings, replace the nut and string trees to improve tuning stability), but it became a very comfortable instrument.
Seriously, how do locking tuners help playing characteristics? If I already string up in a way that locks the string to the post, and only have a couple of wraps (e,a) to four or five at most wraps (d-e) , that seems like it is just a convenience at string change time. The exception I guess would be for gig instruments, anything to speed up changing a broken string would be the smart move to me.
Pretty much what you've said already bud but I don't like lots of wraps on my strings so I'll always preference locking tuners, just a personal thing when you get down to that level I guess
Pretty much what you've said already bud but I don't like lots of wraps on my strings so I'll always preference locking tuners, just a personal thing when you get down to that level I guess
Awesome video what are your thoughts on the neck staining if you still have it. Guitar sounds great 👍. Thank you for the video
@@nathano148 thank you bud, I still have it! The neck staining has stayed pretty nice but I think a different wood would react better to the solution I made, apparently something to do with the tanins
I have used stain on fretboards to darken them. It works really well.
I will do this next time lol
Do you just bulk order Delonge-style pickguards and Invaders? (I know you don't use an Invader on this build, but you almost always seems to have one...)
Haha not quite bulk order but yeah a lot of them
I have a butterscotch tele, black pickguard, and has USA pickups, CTS pots, Switchcraft plug, bone nut, cloth wiring and vintage tuners on an aged neck. It has a 4 way switch, too - 3 Tele sounds + both pickups out of phase, so it does twang, Strat, jazz and can get blistering distortion if you want.....just incredible, especially considering it cost me $320!!! It's my "Keef" guitar and so much more.....
These Affinity Strats have a narrow only 40 mm wide neck nut, do you prefer that? In my 2004 Indonesian Affinity Strat I had to make and install in the neck pocket a few mm thick maple shim wedge the size and shape of the pocket to get the action low. Had to also install 3 thick nylon washers under the truss rod nut to be able to tighten it more. The original neck finish is a really nice satin so I didn't have to work on that. Some say the neck and middle pickups make the Strat quack sound and the bridge pickup is redundant. You did the opposite.
Yeah I like the narrow nut, it gives a unique feel over the Fender in my opinion! As for neck shim I had thought I was going to have to use one and had some StewMac 1 and .5 ones sitting ready but managed to get the action perfect with the new bridge thankfully. And yeah I'm a fan of humbucker only so the other pickups had to go!
@@Giant_Guitars I have the original trem bridge flush to the body now, so it moves in one direction. I'd prefer this nut a bit wider.
For your next project maybe you can try applying India Ink to darken/ebonize the fretboard. I used on my AZES and now the light jatoba fretboard looks like ebony. It even covered the dot inlays perfectly. Applied 3 coats after light 120 sanding and finished with boiled linseed oil. Looks like a high end AZ now.
Sounds awesome, I'll definitely save this for later mate thank you
When you use iron acetate to darken your fretboard it's best to soak some strong tea into it beforehand. This increases the tannins in the wood, which in turn reacts better with the acetate.Using his method I've been able to turn a wishy-washy indian laurel fretboard into a more than passable imitation of good quality brazilian rosewood. I then applied one or two passes with high quality furniture wax; works a treat.
Thanks for this bud 🙏
Did you keep the nut and jack socket? on my cheap strat the jack socket was so thin and weak I had to replace it. I never saw that method of coloration before not sure what in the steel wood makes the reaction. I thought strats had 3 single coils? How do you get the tone variations without them?. Some people say you need to remove the central tree but you kept it?
So yes I kept the nut, no I replaced the jack socket but in the video after this as I was changing up the wiring. The nut is good in this one, cut nicely and plays nice so I didn't think it was necessary. As far as pickup choice goes when that's entirely up to the user, I like only one pickup on my guitars for a variety of reasons but I also totally see the need for more, if that's what you're in to!
Also I see no need to remove the second string tree, if it wasn't there I wouldn't add a second tree but I definitely wouldn't bother removing it
My first guitar is a 90s Affinity squier strat, it's been modded to hell and back and is easily my best playing and sounding guitar. Cts pots all round, American fender switch, seymour Duncan JB in the bridge position and 2 unbranded but good sounding single coils
Sounds really awesome mate 😄
That guitar turned out amazing! I will always love the way strats look with a single pickup.
My guess is it will be Verde Ithaca/Scandal/Mantis or however Lamborghini calls their bright green.
For thed fretboard, use a dark furniture polish next time. It maintains the moisture and does not look like aged wood like the vinegar mixture.
For sure what I'll do haha cheers
NAVY BLUE NAVY BLUE!!
(also sick guitar video dude, keep the work up)
Great video! I just purchased a Squier Affinity Candy Apple Red Strat for $100. I'm gonna do some mods to it. You've given me some ideas about what to do with my guitar!
Love to hear it mate thank you 😁 I just bought another black one for £75 haha
Hell yeah good job brother. I love the looks of the guitars. Would really like to play one and see if they do plays as well as a Mexican strat?
Can’t wait to see your Tom build.
Thanks for the video. I thought the high string tuners were a bit short when you put them on but figured maybe they were supposed to be.
I just put a staggered set off a Fender Professional Strat that I got second-hand on my Asian T-style. ;)
(Oh, that's not clear - the tuners were second hand, replaced with locking tuners - I didn't get the whole Strat.)
Yeah I messed up in the video lol, didn't notice they were staggered until later and they were all mixed up haha woops
Giant Guitars, I think the spray paint colour is Crimson Red. Subscribed now to after seeing how much work was put into the video, great job!!!
Thanks bud and good luck
Thank you
Sea Foam Green is my guess, anyways i subscribed . Cool overhaul on the red guitar. Looks way better after you upgraded it.
Thank you bud 🙏🙏
I’m going to take a wild guess but is it British racing green? Love your videos man inspires me to tinker with my guitars a lot more to how I like them love the videos man!!!
Congratulations on the work and thank you for these inspiring videos
For the mystery color I vote for copper metalic...
These guitars remember me the load sound of Bob Mould's band Sugar and the album Copper blue, even if he plays a classic blue stratocaster
If you want to hear a big difference in your Squire Strat or any Strat for that matter, use the solid saddle pieces with the triangle guides instead of the rolled steel saddles. Unbelievable tonal change. I switched my Squire's bridge for a Wilkinson one and the bent saddles sounded like crap, as soon as I switched the saddles for the solid ones the sustain and feedback ability was sooooooo much better!
Awesome mate, have you ever tried the Graph Tech String Saver saddles? I got the same sort of thing from using them on builds a few times!
@@Giant_Guitars Not yet but I've got Graphtechs ratio locking tuners on my Les Paul and really like them.
I’m curious is that a solid wood body or plywood? My 95 is plywood!
I honestly don't remember, I think it's solid wood. I'm pretty sure I'd have remembered if it was plywood!
Started playing guitar July 4th, of this year. A neighbor shared his older Cort electric with me. That got me hooked. July 24th, I got my first Stratocaster! A gently used Sonic Blue beauty. Just learning riffs and scales. Noodling, as they say.
My guess is Dakota Red!!
Amazing mate keep at it 👌
I'll be frank, here--I'm not generally a person who loves Fender-style guitars. That being said, I own a Vintage Modified Telecaster II from Squier. The previous owner dropped a set of Lollar P-90's in there, popped in some locking tuners, and did a great job sanding and refinishing the neck. It might have been made in Indonesia, but with the upgrades I can honestly say it's one of the best sounding guitars I own.
Great Video, interesting seeing what happened with the fretboard dye experiment. I'll have a guess at Competition Orange.
Thanks dude, the fretboard has kept pretty nice but I'd definitely go with wood dye next time I think!
And the competition has ended now bud but good guess! The answer was Manilla Green
I always have a jar of steelwool vinegar mixture ready for various woodworking projects, but never thought of using it on a fretboard. Definitely going to try it on an Ibanez I bought last year, because I'm not a huge fan of the light Jatoba on it.
Awesome mate, let me know how it goes. I got told here that rosewood lacks the tanins required for it to work properly so other materials are better. I have some oak I'm going to use it on next, see how that goes!
@@Giant_Guitars So I did 5 coats. Only the first one really did anything and the difference was really minor. Then I tried adding some tea, which granted another minor improvement. Next time I'll add multiple coats of tea to build up the tanins in the wood first and then add the steel wool mix.
Didn't really get the results I wanted, but it wasn't too much work, so maybe it was worth it...
Also, I didn't cover the frets, I just scrubbed them with a cloth as soon as the wood had absorbed it all. They did get a bit cloudy, so I polished them properly after, but it wasn't too bad.
@@mzza great info mate, thanks for this 🙏
honestly, i would just use fret conditioner on the fret board up and file the frets. Squires always have sharp ass frets... Im really thinking about getting a 22 fret mighty might neck for mine and swapping the pickups out.
But your guitar looks sick i would definitely play that thing
That was a nice watch, definitely glad I stumbled upon your channel. I'd love to see the guitar in a dark lambo finish, I believe they call it Verde Ermes
@6:22 The "full thickness body" question is important if you're planning on fitting some aftermarket tremolos. Unless you enjoy having the trem block stick out the back of the guitar and into your belly. Ask me how I know......
Haha, how do you know? 😜.
And yeah someone else also educated me of this in the comments, I hadn't considered it, thanks 🙏
did you screw lock tight the 6 screws of the bridge so the bridge wont move?
No but I did add 5 springs so it won't, or at least not easily. I don't use the trem!
All the guitars are looking great, What was the name of the song you played towards the end of the video?
Also i'm guessing Lotus solar yellow
That's Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria. Thanks bud and good luck!
@@Giant_Guitars Thank you! take it easy.
If you take about 1 tsp of Potassium Permanganate to 7-8 tsp of water, that solution works really well for darkening and dying fretboards. I took a Paul ferro board on a MIM strat and made it look like this sick, dark, vintage rosewood.
Wipe it on, let it dry. Will only take a few min. Then buff off, lightly hit with steel wool, and then oil with your preferred oil. I found that chasing the solution with Montypresso brings the grain out after dying quite a bit.
Can lighten up prior to oil with extra fine steel wool.
I’m currently working on a friends squire neck today too 😅
That's a great job! I did something similar with an Epiphone Special II really cheap, basic, and low-end guitar. I got it in 2010 and since then I have been doing mods for it. Wilkinson's Pickups and Guitar Bridge, the circuit was remade with fender pots and components, Grover head tuners, an internal copper Faraday shield, real bone nut, and custom body paint... I simply love that guitar.
Sounds like an amazing Epiphone dude, love it hear it!!
I did the same with my Epiphone Special II Goth Edition! I also installed a B5 Bigsby vibrato, it plays and sound very nice and it stands everytime I show to little jams with my friends.
Im a lifelong ibanez, esp, jackson, charvel player who NEVER owned a fender. I recently picked up a highly modified Squier SONIC ! I was enticed by the overwound Alnico 2’s and the price…$180 to my door. Granted this Sonic had all hardware pups and electronics upgraded, frets crowned leveled and polished, but it is one of the nicest playing and sweetest tone of any guitar ive had in over 30 years. I definitely see value in modding these entry level guitars. Honestly sounds and plays as good, if not better than guitars 3-4x the price.
I replaced the cheap zinc tremolo block of a Squier Affinity Strat with a Guitar Fetish heavy, brass tremolo block. The change in sustain and tone was amazing. Leo Fender got it right the first time in 1954.
Awesome mate 👌 he sure did
I use furniture polish spray to clean up all the dirt on thw fretboard. Because it is specifically made for wood, i assume it is safe on my fretboard because all the dirt were easily removed and my fretboard is clean as new.
Interesting! I will have to try it
Good choice going with the plain white pickguard instead of the pearl. I think it better suits the esthetic of the guitar.
I recently took out my first electric, which is an Epiphone Fat 210 and I'm planning to get it going again. I will upgrade the tuners, replace the saddles and do a full setup. It cleaned up nicely and is still a blast to play.
Moonstone Grey. If I win... I would like to give the guitar to a local busker that plays the guitar near you.
That's amazing mate
Ah so nice to stumble on this video. About to do pretty much the same for my red Squier Affinity Strat (except I want humbucker bridge + single coil neck).
As for my guess, I'm going with a fav of mine. It has some form of automotive in the name. Taxi Cab Yellow!
Most times they are grest without modifications.
I hsve a 2015 Clasdic Vibe Strat. I woll replace the dime sized pots when they go out.
Thats all. Lol.
I did shield it, so I guess I did modify it.
Agreed bud 👌
To paint fingerboard u can always use usual hairdye from nearest store. Cheapest and absolutley best way. Affects no binding or frets, totally harmless for wood. Takes ltrly 30 mins and stays for years. also u can obiously choose any color plannin to get)
I painted everything with 1 or 1+ color. It looks like true black or darkest ebony. No eye could see difference)
Awesome suggestion, I'll steal Mrs G's hair dye and try this lol
i always only playd bullets . i swap in grovers and dirty finger thn call it day . usually always sprayin it all black. its all i ever used . i wanted to get one thm gibson flyin v necks on it but never could figure how to make it fit or where to get a custom fender v neck for it
That could be a challenge especially when the Vs generally have a different scale length!
@@Giant_Guitars it was a guitar sum 41 playd in i think fat lip or in too deep . he had i thiiink was gibson with not a flyin v body but had v neck. i wanted tht on my bullet but i totally bet tht be custome neck cause i never seen a fender strat with tht neck . but be honest it be rad . i gave up tho cause i think if i did figure it out thn the nevk would be more expensive thn the entire guitar. if i hit the lotto i wont tell anyone buuut they be signs 😎 v neck
The tunners, did you drill new holes? Biggest problem with squiers they use the 2 peg diff than fender.
Just had to drill the one screw hole off to the side for the Gotohs yeah but you can't see that there were different tuners there previously and the Gotohs are a good fit
My guess would be Sapphire blue, it goes well with a white or pearloid pickguard and is used on various cars such as porsches, chevrolets etc.
She’s actually incredible! Sweet as build 🙏🏻😊
Thank you for this great video
Just recently got into screwing around and moddin them up, so these videos are a great starting point for developing a deeper understanding of what's going on IN the guitar
So thank you, sir!
Ah by the way...
My guess for the colour would be 'Construction Yellow' ;)
You surely brought that sweety to live again
Thanks mate and good luck in the comp! 🙂
This is actually a super good idea. I've tinkered around with the idea of modding a cheapo strat to make it something great. Kind of did with a yamaha, years and years ago haha
Thanks bud, definitely mod something of your own!!
Is it gonna be royal blue?
Props for playing welcome home it’s a pretty underrated song
I agree 🙏 thanks
I’ve been using squier necks, on gfs bodies and using better pickups bridges and bigsbys with excellent results.
Recently I purchased a squier 60’s vibe jag only upgraded the tremolo and tuners to lockers. One of my favorites right now
Awesome dude, some of the squier jags and Jazzmasters are insanely good too
Nice - my friend has a red Squier from around 2005 so probably from the same factory - and he also put a black pickguard on it! I have a video about it on my channel. I have my own Squier from the early 90s which is pretty decent - it has a nice fat trem-block, Fender saddles and a "full thickness" body - just cheap electronics. I have some Vintera pickups to go in and will replace the switch at the same time (at least).
I’m guessing sunburst so is that golden yellow and brown/black around the edges?
Nice video :-)
You have to wait until the steel wool has completely dissolved. This takes at least 2 weeks, depending on how coarse your wool was. Give it a shake occasionally. The liquid then turns completely brown and the steel wool is no longer visible. I have colored many guitar necks with it.
Burnt orange would be a great color for a strat. Maybe like a metallic burnt orange. It'd look great for anything from blues to metal.
Not long joined the channel and I`m loving it great work! Is it canary Yellow?
40 seconds in and I'm already a bit confused, I thought Squiers were Chinese made at the time, mine is 2010 and from China, I thought Indonesian ones came sometime after that to the current day. Were they making them in both countries in 2005?
Yeah as far as I know China came first and then they began production in Indonesia but kept it going in China too. I'd need to double check that and what years but this is definitely an Indonesian strat.
@@Giant_Guitars Huh, very interesting. Good to know
My guess is Traffic Yellow thanks for the video
He was talking about graffiti yellow. That just sounds awesome but I’m feeling green on that guitar.!! Keep doing what you’re doing my man !!
Yeah I had wanted to do graffiti yellow but an old photo changed my mind haha
know the competition is over, but was it miami blue?
No 🙂
i think olympic white look beautiful on that guitar, i can't wait for the final color.
Is it sparkly Purple color? 😁
Iron oxide works best in woods with high tannin content, like white oak. If it’s a low tannin wood you can wash it with tea. It will increase the effectiveness.
My color pick is Lake Placid Blue
Cheers Dale for the tea tip! I didn't know that 🙂
My brother in law took his Squier body and made a killer parts caster out of it with the help of a luthier in NYC. It now plays better than any off the shelf Fender.
Amazing, that's what I love to hear
sweet build! I'm gunna have to bust out my old squier and try out these mods.
color im gunna have to go with ford's sonic blue pearl
Is a pint the official currency in where you are living
@@Morgcha well I don't want to stereotype too hard but it is Ireland.. you want to pay me in pints of Guinness, I'll not complain.
Love that pickguard on the red!
My guess is Burgundy Mist!
My guess for the guitar color is zenith blue, the iconic color from Gulf livery race cars (adding details in tangerine orange) keep playing! You do a great job!
Great video! I’m thinking about getting a Squier and modding it up as well. As for my guess on the color I’m gonna have to say gun metal gray.
I just paint my pickguards because the color selection is pretty slim. Rustoleum 2x paint works well. Clean, spray a light coat or two, its all you need. Spray horizontal to you don't get a run. Endless color options available.
Considering you’re not going with Graffiti Yellow I’d go for Honda Indy Yellow. I think it would look amazing on a Strat with black hardware.
i did thaty vinagar thing and my stuff was totally black after a day..black black..
My fav guitar at the moment is a Squire Affinity Tele. I replaced the pickups with Tex Mex and It's great.