Do these guts look modded?

[wtfg89]

MIK Squier by fender bullet E5 serial.

just wondering if theres anything in there that doesn't look stock.

 

 

thanks.

[Doctor Morbius]

I'd bet it's most definitely modded. The bridge pickup looks out of place as do the 5-way switch and the 2nd tone control.

[wtfg89]

yeah I definitely noticed the bridge pickup and the wiring looks really "fresh".

 

The 5 way switch wasn't stock? The knobs are volume/tone.

 

I got the guitar from a passed away relative so I'm just trying to figure it out.

[milosch]

That jack looks like a cheapie, definitely not Switchcraft afaict. Not sure if that's stock, though.

[pixelchemist]

bridge pickup isnt stock... tone cap isnt stock... switch isn't stock... and as far as i know they don't come stock with full size pots...

[cratz2]

Hrmm... I have an older Japanese Bullet that is the squished strat type with the jack in place of the second tone knob, and I have a 1994 NK*** s/n Korean Bullet, but it's a standard strat shape with two tone knobs. I've taken a lot of other Korean E series strats apart, but none of them were Korean Bullets with the one volume and one tone.

 

Anyway, I've seen full size switches though many more were the inline import types. I've seen about half and half full size pots vs mini pots but those do look like pretty cheap full size pots so I'd guess they are original. I've don't think I've ever seen exactly that type of cap in a Korean strat. They've either been the full size green caps or the cheapie discs. The pickups not matching is obvious. Most of my Japanese guitars came with Alnicos like your bridge, but I'm pretty sure that every single Korean Squier I've ever seen came with ceramics like the ones in your neck and middle.

 

My official guess is the only thing that was changed was the bridge pickup.

 

What do the solder blobs on the pots look like, esp with regards to the cap?

[wtfg89]

 

I'll get some pics in a little of the guts up close.....got any pics of the insides of your strats you've mentioned?

[cratz2]

I don't think so. I usually upgrade them and though I love to take nice shots of the completed project, I rarely take gut shots.

[cratz2]

I take that back... here's my 94 Bullet with the stock pickguard (ceramics) and the guard I replaced it with.

 

Sorry the pots were covered, I think I took the pics when we had a thread where a guy was asking how he could tell if pickups were ceramic or alnico.

 

For the record, on the pic with the guts facing the camera, the guard on the right is the stock unit from the Bullet. It definitely had small pots and the ceramic disc cap, but it had a full size switch. The guard on the left in that pic is the stock guard from my 83 JV series Japanese Squier, other than the bridge pickup. Notice that the neck and middle pickups don't exactly match though they are both Alnico. On the neck pickup, it is built like a modern American pickup with the plastic surrounding the baseplate. On the middle pickup, it is built like most higher end pickups and older pickups and the bottom is truly flat. Many Japanese guitars were like that, but I've never seen a Korean Squier with mismatched pickups out of the 10 or 12 that I've had apart.