My Custom $380 Fender Telecaster..
As a musician and semi-professional guitarist, I’ve been contemplating a high-value purchase for a while: the Fender Telecaster. The Fender Squier Telecaster was one of the first electric guitars I ever picked up, and I immediately fell in love with it. Like with any electric guitar, once you fall in love, you want to cherish it and play it to the best of your ability. This was especially true for my Telecaster.
My first Telecaster was passed down to me, and it had its fair share of wear and tear. Over the years, this only worsened as I played it every single day for months on end as a professional guitarist performing shows. However, this August, I realised it was time for a change. I could no longer keep playing a guitar that frankly deserved a break. So, I decided I needed an upgrade.
I soon came across a Fender Squier Telecaster in a black and white variant. It was priced at £130, but after reaching out to my guitar contact, I was able to pick it up for practically nothing. During this process, a bunch of ideas came to mind about how to make it special.
I started with the design. I immediately knew I wanted to replace the Squier neck with a Fender neck. Although the Squier neck was more than capable, I felt it would be a nice upgrade, especially since I also wanted to upgrade to Fender tuners.
Next, I wanted to replace the pickguard and pickups with something unique. It’s every guitarist’s dream to have a custom guitar. I commissioned someone to create a flower pickguard for my Telecaster, which didn’t take too long. However, it was quite an expensive process, but I’d recommend every guitarist experience it at least once.
For the pickups, I chose a Fender Tex-Mex Telecaster set, which set me back only £80 on Amazon—an incredibly good deal considering how great they sound. I was initially hesitant to upgrade the pickups since the Squier pickups pack quite a punch, but I thought it would be interesting to experiment with Fender pickups, hoping to eventually venture into noiseless pickups, which I’ve heard so many good things about.
And well, that’s all there is to say. For the price I paid, I think I got an incredibly good deal. I’m not an expert in guitar modifications, so I had to outsource most of the work, which added extra costs. However, I believe that’s the deciding factor for most guitarists looking to get into the guitar customisation hobby.
If you’re willing to experiment with your guitar, I’d say go for it! However, if you’re hesitant, consider contacting a local guitar custom shop or opt for a pre-built Fender Telecaster—the choice is yours!