Texas Specials in a Fender body and then in cheapo Squire body how much variation?

[cratz2]

I've had plenty of cheap guitars in my day... Still have quite a few. And I've had some very nice guitars.

 

The thing to keep in mind, other than the few boutique makers that hand select the woods, there's going to be plenty of variation from one model from one year to the exact same model the next year. From the same factory making guitars for the same company. A 97 American Standard strat is likely to sound noticably different than a 98 American Standard strat.

 

Will there be a difference between an alder American Fender and a plywood Chinese Squier? More than likely, yes. With the same set of pickups. Is the difference worth $900? That's up to the owner. Could a guy do a great job using the plywood Squier in an SRV tribute band if it had Texas Specials and the guitar was properly setup?

 

Sure.

[elsupermanny14]

 

It depends. Will you be playing the guitar or listening to it? For myself, I find that I play a lot better on a well made, high quality guitar. This makes me sound better plus it makes the experience of playing a lot more enjoyable. I would bet that if someone posted clips of each many would not be able to tell the difference, but I would guess that if you were to pick up each instrument you would feel a difference.

 

 

As for the comparison, just hearing. I already know the Am Standard would FEEL a million times better. For the most part a higher quality higher priced instrument feels better then a cheap (most of the time!). My MIM Strat puts my Squier to shame in terms of FEEL.

 

At the moment this is purely a hypothetical question that deals only with the tone of the guitar.

[elsupermanny14]

 

I have a Squier Strat which I have done some work on. I had actually done a refin and stripped down the original finish to the wood. It was awhile back, but I can remember that it was a bunch of pieces! After gutting the electronics and putting in a set of Tex Mex pickups, Alpha full size pots, and Switchcraft jacks and switches, it definitely did sound better. Nicer than a MIM I'd say. Compared to my US G&L Legacy, definitely not.

 

 

Hey thanks for the comment. So essentially what you're saying is you can definitely upgrade a Squier to sound better then an MIM Strat with the same pickups (since Tex-Mex come in MIM guitars)? Was this mainly because you totally redid the electronics in the Squier? Or was there anything else that you did that may have affected the quality of tone?

 

Also from what you're telling me, it's safe to say that while you can improve a Squier above MIM status, you're still not going to make miracles and get up to say MIA status? haha. Thanks for the response!