Day 71 progress

32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I did a couple of small things over the past few days.

First, I removed the pick guard so I could ship it off and get a replacement. With the variation in production (it is a cheap guitar after all, so there are some inherent quality variations) having a new pick guard made usually requires that the original be used as a template. Well, upon pulling all the screws and removing the pick guard I came to a conclusion: I don't want a new pick guard.

One of the things I love about my '51 is the beautiful finish. Sure, it's a basswood body, and doesn't look anything like a mahogany or ash body, but the sunburst finish is pretty attractive. A lot of the '51 rebuilds that I have seen online always have that awkward '51 Precision pick guard, which covers up a good portion of the wood grain. When I saw the raw guitar body, I couldn't see spending the money on a new pick guard just to cover up the beautiful wood underneath.

I'm adjusting my overall plan based on these considerations. Rather than installing a new pick guard, I am going to fit a chrome pickup ring over the neck pickup. This will give the neck pickup a consistent finish with the humbucker at the bridge, and it will allow me to cover up the neck pickup cavity for a cleaner more finished look.

I will also need to fill the holes left from the original pick guard screws. This is the part that worries me the most, since the finish has dark edges, and a wood grain inner area (see picture from last post). I'm ok with a little bleed over from the dark area into the wood grain, and I think I can match the wood color pretty well where it matters. Sure, it won't be perfect, but in a dimly lit bar or live music venue, no one will ever be able to tell. All that matters is that I am happy with the plan.

I ordered some parts from Stewart-MacDondald today. I order my pickup rings, neck and bridge, both in chrome. I also changed my mind from the Graph Tech Trem-nut, which is intended more for guitars with a tremolo to the Graph Tech Tusq-nut, a compound closer to an authentic bone nut. I also picked up some copper shielding tape. I'm going to line all the pickup cavities with the tape to reduce interference and the hum that can develop from it.

All I need to order now is my control plate kit, two new potentiometers, a five position switch, and new pickups. I also need to pick up some clear lacquer, a small bottle of black paint, a small bottle of maple finish, and some wood filler for the screw holes.