Few mods questions

[inliner]

Hi everybody!
I'm glad I found this forum, a lot of usefull info here.
I'd like to ask a few questions about my Squier Strat. I have Affinity made in China, bought it in 2004 as my very first electric. I didn't know much about guitars at that point, I just walked into the store and bought the cheapest they had, didn't even try any other guitar that day. Now I know much more about guitars, mods, pickups electronic etc., but I'm happy that day I picked STRAT

I haven't been playing for a few years and last year picked it up again. I read through a lot of info and watched a lot of youtube videos. I know my guitar quite well so now it's time to make some investments and upgrade it. I had terrible problems with tuning stability, but after watching some tricks from Frudua and others on Youtube I was able to fix that. I lubricated nut and string trees, set springs tension and that gave some improvements. I set the action as I like and I tuned strings intonation. I don't use whammy a lot so I decided to block it with a piece of wood, now it doesn't move at all. So now it stays in tune for hours.
Anyways here's my list of questions:

1. I want to change the nut to GraphTech. I went to their site and measured my nut, but can't find my measurements there For some reason my nut is smaller than anything they have. Does it mean I have to buy blank one and make slots myself? How do you do that? How smooth should the slots be? Does this TUSQ nut really improve the tone as they promote?

2. The low E string produces too much bass tone (in any pickup position), or maybe it's just too loud. I need to understand what's the root of the problem. Cheap pickups themselves? Incorrect pickup height adjustment? Or maybe it's the amp? But when I hit any note on low E I can hear window glass buzz because of the resonance. I use Daddario Blues/Jazz Rock 11-49 strings. Other five strings sound fine.

3. Every time I put my hands off the strings and then touch them again there's a click in the amp. Is it a grounding problem? Or bad shielding? How do I fix that, so it won't click. It's so annoying. Will this problem be gone with noiseless pickups?

4. After reading a lot of reviews on different pickups brands/models I think I'm going to buy DiMarzio's Areas for neck and mid and maybe ProTrack humb for bridge. Do you think it will make sense in context of cheap Squier body and neck?
Some people say it's nonsense because it's like dressing a junky in Versace. My whole guitar is cheaper than those pickups, but I won't buy anything better in the next few years and I really need to improve my tone. That's why I want to upgrade pickups. So please let me know what you think.

Here's my stuff.


Nothing fancy. Fender Frontman25 amp and Boss ME-25 multi-effect pedal. I'm after multi-effects because I'm not excited to carry 20 lbs in pedalboard plus 8 in guitar. Just need something mobile.

[Teleblooz]

Originally Posted by inliner

1. I want to change the nut to GraphTech. I went to their site and measured my nut, but can't find my measurements there For some reason my nut is smaller than anything they have. Does it mean I have to buy blank one and make slots myself? How do you do that? How smooth should the slots be? Does this TUSQ nut really improve the tone as they promote?

As it happens, I just put a new TUSQ nut on my Telecaster this weekend. It was surprisingly easy, and fit into the existing slot very well. When you say your nut is "smaller", do you mean "thinner" or are you referring to the width or the string spacing? If it's a question of string spacing, you may need to get a blank one and cut the slots yourself, or have someone knowledgeable do it for you. As to thickness, small differences can be adjusted using some 250-400 grit sandpaper (as recommended on the GraphTech packaging). The same is true of width. I had to make fine adjustments to both of those. Just be careful - it's a soft material and a little sanding goes a long way. Don't remove more material than you need.

As for tone, well - the guitar does sound better after the installation, but I'd be hard pressed to say whether that's due to the nut or the brand new strings.

Originally Posted by inliner

2. The low E string produces too much bass tone (in any pickup position), or maybe it's just too loud. I need to understand what's the root of the problem. Cheap pickups themselves? Incorrect pickup height adjustment? Or maybe it's the amp? But when I hit any note on low E I can hear window glass buzz because of the resonance. I use Daddario Blues/Jazz Rock 11-49 strings. Other five strings sound fine.

The first places I'd try adjusting is the bass control on your amp, and the pickup height under the bass strings.

Originally Posted by inliner

3. Every time I put my hands off the strings and then touch them again there's a click in the amp. Is it a grounding problem? Or bad shielding? How do I fix that, so it won't click. It's so annoying. Will this problem be gone with noiseless pickups?

This could be a static discharge. Are you in a carpeted room? Do you routinely get "zapped" when you touch a doorknob?
In any case, I highly recommend reading the information here...
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php and performing the mod.

Originally Posted by inliner

4. After reading a lot of reviews on different pickups brands/models I think I'm going to buy DiMarzio's Areas for neck and mid and maybe ProTrack humb for bridge. Do you think it will make sense in context of cheap Squier body and neck?
Some people say it's nonsense because it's like dressing a junky in Versace. My whole guitar is cheaper than those pickups, but I won't buy anything better in the next few years and I really need to improve my tone. That's why I want to upgrade pickups. So please let me know what you think.

Nonsense! If it's a player, it's worth upgrading to suit your playing style. Life's too short to waste waiting for the "ultimate" guitar. Make it your own! I had an Affinity for a couple of years, and while it wasn't anything fancy, it did the job for me. I've since replaced it with a Bullet that I've modified all over the place.

[Stratatattat]

be careful before u blow money on pups. dimarzio are good, but there are ones that are just as good if not better for less money. talk to d. allen. he's a member on here who makes and sells custom wounds. INCREDIBLE STUFF.

[inliner]

Thanks for the answers so far. Hope more are coming

The first places I'd try adjusting is the bass control on your amp

Yeah, I forgot to say that low E is loud at any tone knobs position on the amp even if I put all three knobs all the way down it's still loud.

When you say your nut is "smaller", do you mean "thinner" or are you referring to the width or the string spacing?

Right, I mean the length and E to E spacing. I have 41/33 mm, but their smallest is 41.98/35.25. Do you think this one will work? Or maybe just get the blank one and make string slots myself?

This could be a static discharge. Are you in a carpeted room?

I am, but this happens in any other place, non-carpeted too.
Thanks for the link! That site seems very helpful. I also read on shock hazards and I think I got the idea why those clicks happen, but still not sure if shielding will fix it. I'll give it a try.

talk to d. allen. he's a member on here who makes and sells custom wounds. INCREDIBLE STUFF.

Checked his site and listened to audio samples. It really sounds great. But I'm on the other side of the world and shipping here can double the price. And I believe those are not noiseless, are they?

[slotrod65]

I recently rehabbed my Nephew's Affinity Strat. We changed his tuners, and swapped in a pre-wired pickguard from GFS. The guitar sounds 100 times better, and he just loves it.

With the Affinitys, as long as you have a good straight neck, that feels good to you, the rest of the guitar can be modded to your tastes. That being said, I would not pay big bucks for brand name pickups. Yes, they sound great, but GFS pickups sound great too, and cost a lot less.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/

The tuners are often suspect on Affinitys, and the GFS Gotoh style drop right in.

As for the nut: If you are not sure, it is worth the $ or so to take it to a qualified guitar tech to have a graph tech nut installed properly. My local "pro" guitar shop will install one for $40, and that includes the nut. I have done many mods on many guitars over the years, but I know my own limits, and to me it is worth a measly $40 to have a new nut installed by someone who really knows what they are doing. Since you will have the guitar in the shop, I would suggest also paying for a pro setup, since even a Custom Shop Strat will play like grabage if not setup correctly. Of course, if you pay for a setup, you really do not want to disassemble the guitar again, so I would do all of my other mods before getting the nut replaced and the setup.

Phred

[YeahDoIt]

Originally Posted by inliner

2. The low E string produces too much bass tone (in any pickup position), or maybe it's just too loud. I use Daddario Blues/Jazz Rock 11-49 strings. Other five strings sound fine.

3. Every time I put my hands off the strings and then touch them again there's a click in the amp. Is it a grounding problem? Or bad shielding? How do I fix that, so it won't click.

4. Some people say it's nonsense because it's like dressing a junky in Versace. My whole guitar is cheaper than those pickups,

Nothing fancy. Fender Frontman25 amp and Boss ME-25 multi-effect pedal. I'm after multi-effects because I'm not excited to carry 20 lbs in pedalboard plus 8 in guitar. Just need something mobile.

Hi Inliner. Welcome to the forum.

My low E string is 42 (I use Ernie Ball Super Slinky) yours is 49. Maybe that is an important difference. The thicker the string the louder the signal.

I get noise if I am close to my computer. Sometimes my recordings are noisy because I use the computer to record. If I stay minimum 2 meters away from my computer I'm OK, there is a little buzz sometimes, depends on the room.

I met a guy once he had a guitar I never heard of the brand before. It looked a cheap guitar. I played Gibson Les Paul Standard with an Ampeg amp. This guy sounded 10 X better than me. He said he modified the guitar, new pickups, tuners, wiring, potentiometers. Modifications can improve sound, although some guitars seem to have good sounding stock pickups. I suspect about 90 % of the sound of the guitar is the sound of the pickup. You might replace one pickup, if you like the sound then replace the others.

I have similar rig, Affinity Strat and Fender Frontman 15G amp. Very mobile and I like lightweight, easy to carry equipment.

[BillStickers]

...ah... you are in the Ukraine... finally I can recommend this fantastic place:
http://axetec.co.uk/index.htm
They deliver alllllllll over Europe! They are the sole distributors of IronGear Pickups which are fantastic pickups as they have gorgeous sound and stupendously low prices... only D. Allen's Pickups compete in terms of quality and prices... but you can't really compare the two seeming as his are lovingly handmade and the IronGears are in mass produced category.

Anyway, you can get a Graphite nut from them. Don't worry about the spacing, Affinities have narrower string spacing... to their downfall IMHO... just make sure it's straight and in line.

You can get a fantastic set of Pig Iron PUPs for just under £50 along with a great wiring kit for about £15.

Oh and WELCOME!
HOPE THIS PLACE FEELS LIKE A VIRTUAL REALITY HOME... but without the angry evil computer robots demanding bloody murder for the interloper whilst their minions adorn very snazzy sunglasses and scowls...

[inliner]

Thank you guys for all welcoming words!

slotrod65
Thank you for the Guitarfetish direction. I heard of them but never checked them out. Maybe because I was chasing some expensive stuff and never thought there could be something of equal quality for a fraction of the price))
I think I'm going to order a set of discounted pups 1960's Repro Premium Alnico Strat Pickup Set just for $38 and staggered locking tuners. Seems like a good deal for a first upgrade.

BillStickers
Thanks for recommendation, I checked their site, good stuff there and closer to me than US. But I'll give Guitarfetish a first try.