ceejbot : My husband’s made-in-Korea Squier Strat is a frustrating instrument. It’s never been set up. That’s easily remedied at home, or by our local shop if we want. But worse, the Strat doesn’t function properly. Using the trem, even just a little bit, puts the guitar out of tune instantly. The pickups hum, far more than one would expect single-coils to hum. They hum even when two are on in humbucking mode. The hum vanishes when the player puts a hand on the strings, which implies that the guitar is not grounded properly. Also, the control cavity is completely unshielded.

In short, MIK Strats are cheap pieces of crap. I was stuck at home recovering from surgery, and decided to find out just how much I could improve the guitar by replacing parts. Because I’m a nervous novice, I documented the whole thing. I figure it might help some other nervous novice some day.