Squier Bullet upgrade!

 This decent electric guitar is made by Squier and it's a nice Fender strat copy for the money. It's a sunburst "bullet" model and it's hand crafted in China. With a retail price around 105Euros, it's a pretty good starting point for a strat project.
www.thomann.de/gb/fender_squier_bullet_strat_rw_sb.htm?partner_id=73786













And the humbucker version of it (HSS):
http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_squier_bullet_strat_hss_rw_bsb.htm?partner_id=73786

 Many DIYers around the world have modify their Squier bullets and do all shorts of upgrades to them. We'll see some of the easier and most effective mods here!

 This sunburst bullet was bought used for around 75$ and it was in a pretty good shape. The first thing I check when buying a squier bullet is the neck. The body may have a few marks and dents but that's okay. If the neck is warped, broken or cracked, walk away! The frets should also be in good shape as sometimes you have to perform a light fret leveling job( even if the guitar has never been played before...).  Some frets are just misplaced at the factory and maybe they need a bit of tapping with a soft rubber/plastic hammer. Sometimes, the setup is just awful. Also, the tuning keys of some models as just rubbish.
 In this case, the tuners worked just fine, the frets were okay but the nut was worn out and the electronics have seen better days. We decided to upgrade this strat by replacing the stock medium output pickups with a new "Wilkinson / Guitar tech" ceramic singlecoil set.
http://www.jhs.co.uk/wilkinson.html
http://www.jhs.co.uk/guitartechpickups.html

We also replaced the stock pots and the awful plastic pickup selector. I always use Korean-made metallic pickup selectors as they are cheap and they can last forever. The new pots are rated at 250kOhms and they're made by "Alpha":
http://www.alphapotentiometers.net

 The wiring was also modified. I was inspired by the "budget Mega Strat" wiring schematic found here:
http://www.guitartechcraig.com/techwire/diagindx.htm
http://www.guitartechcraig.com/techwire/tech12.jpg

This "Megastrat" wiring setup uses the stock volume-tone controls and pickup selector. Wiring your strat like that will get you the stock 5-way strat tones plus two extra humbucking "series" tones. Your strat will sound almost like an SG or a Les Paul guitar once its single-coils are connected in series. You'll also get a master tone/treble control that affects the bridge pickup as well!
You should definitely try this wiring out! It's really good and it's totally reversible as there are no pickguard holes required for additional switches and stuff like that!

This Squier bullet reached a new level once the electronics were changed and re-wired. The guitar was finally set up with a fresh set of 0,09" strings and it's ready to rock! What a decent guitar and what a price tag! For under 120euros (including all mods), this strat plays and sounds better than much more expensive strat copies I've played.

Check my Bullet fiesta red project here for extra info!
http://guitar-dreamer.blogspot.gr/2013/06/pimp-my-squier-bullet.html

Note: if you're not into single-coil tones, check out the new H-S-S Bullet series with a hot ceramic humbucker at the bridge position or the "rock/metal" oriented bullet H-H with black hardware and two powerful humbuckers:
http://www.music123.com/guitars/squier-bullet-hh-stratocaster-electric-guitar-with-tremolo

If you want to modify your bullet strat a bit more, here are a few suggestions:
1) Upgrade the nut:
A pickboy USA or a Graphtech graphite nut is an affordable part and it's very good for keeping your guitar in tune:
http://www.thomann.de/gr/graph_tech_pt501000_sattel.htm?partner_id=73786

2) Upgrade the Tuners!
The semi-closed type tunes used on most bullets are pretty cheap so any decent tuner set will work! Be careful though, the bullet headstock is drilled for vintage-spec 8.8mm tuner shaft diameter. Most closed type tuners are designed to fit 10mm headstock holes. So, you can either drill the existing tuner holes a bit larger(10mm) or buy a set of vintage (kluson) style tuners that would probably fit in the 8.8mm holes. And remember: measure twice, drill once!
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_parts_guitar_tuners_set.htm?partner_id=73786
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Nickel-Vintage-Fender-Style-MachinesPress-fit-Bushings_p_818.html

3) Change the pickguard altogether:
Check out these pre-wired pickguards that will upgrade the tone and looks of your strat. Only a tiny bit of soldering is required here. Just be sure to check that your guitar has the right body routing and screw arrangement before buying a new pickguard!
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Pre-Wired-Pickguards_c_25.html

Here are a few pictures of the actual Squier Bullet guitar:

 Gone are the old electronics! 

-Thanos
guitardreamer.gr@gmail.com