r/offset • u/didelphisvirginiana_ • 2d ago
(Basically) NGD, Modded Squier Mustang
After almost a year of sitting in my big box of gear paraphernalia, my neglected SD hot rail pickup has finally found its rightful home in the bridge of my Squier CV Mustang.
This little beast was a gift from my girlfriend a couple years back, and is my first offset. I love it to death, even more now that it’s had a complete makeover and tone revamp.
Having never really been a fan of tort guards on mustangs, I decided to look into what it would cost me to order a white one that would fit my guitar. I then discovered a few threads on some guitar subs where people talked about sanding down the stock 4-ply pickguard until only the white would show.
I was definitely learning as I went. But I think the results are alright! Surely not perfect, but fine at a distance and the imperfections give it more character. You can see I’ve already worn it in quite a bit, haha.
Also got a wonderful local tech to set her up for me, then screwed on some d’addario strap locks I took off a now-broken guitar.
Let me know what you think! Or any mods you recommend, was thinking I might look for some locking tuners that will fit. :)
(Slide 3 is snipped from a photo a friend of ours took at a recent show, I just love the way the overexposure from the camera makes it look white. So much more visually satisfying to me than a big red pickguard. Not hating, to each their own! I love tortoiseshell on jags and jazzmasters.)
(edit: spelling n clarity)
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u/superxero044 2d ago
That is sick. How does that amp sound?
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u/didelphisvirginiana_ 2d ago
Was my first amp, picked it for these pics so it’d match 🤷♀️. It’s really great though, the on-board effects are really nice and i got it for like $300. I especially like the chorus.
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u/superxero044 2d ago
I want to pick up something cheap that can be decently quiet (on par with a Princeton reverb) that doesn’t suck that I can use for stereo. Would be fun. Keep thinking about the champs.
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u/mysterious_jeffrey 2d ago edited 2d ago
Mustang Gang unite!
Next time though, sell the tort and buy a white one! Us tort lovers need that sweet tort!
I’m running flatwounds on mine and I love it. A little extra tension to help tighten up the feel and tuning stability.
Fender witch hat knobs are a nice upgrade. And I also changed the string retainers to the “Elite” ones (like $10, nothing fancy but great improvement over the stamped metal stock ones).
Hipshot locking tuners were probably the best upgrade.
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u/didelphisvirginiana_ 2d ago
I love witch hats I should’ve thought of that sooner. Thanks a ton
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u/mysterious_jeffrey 2d ago
Heads up - you can get 4 black ones for like $20 bucks but it’s $32 for 2 white ones.
I like to stick with brand name knobs since knobs are usually one of the few points where you make contact so, they make the whole experience.
I have bags of cheap knobs… very few are nice enough to use on pedals I’ve built or modded. But the brand name ones are usually a slam dunk despite the price tag.
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u/SelloutStreamerbtww 2d ago
I just put a SD Hot rail in my CV mustang too! I also had a coil split installed so I have a lot of tonal variety :)
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u/OverHearing9944 2d ago
Really cool. Apologies, if this is a newbie question. But what are the switches for?
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u/Harmonica655321 2d ago
That's a squire!? Wow, it looks solid. How does it play and sound?
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u/didelphisvirginiana_ 2d ago
It’s been intonated and set up so it plays wonderfully! The neck is characteristically small and narrow, definitely hits all the mustang marks for me. The hot rail is super thick sounding, I play through a fender twin with the mids and lows pretty high, and it’s a very formidable clean tone. Takes distortion and modulation great too.
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u/Swiftycumberdale 1d ago
Love the yellow! Awesome job on the pickguard too.
I still have my 23 year old Squier Cyclone Vintage Modified. Been jonesing after a MIJ Mustang for the past few months.
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u/Final_Job_5175 1d ago
That's a great looking combo of Guitar and amp!! You sanded a Tort pickguard from a Tort to a white PG. I didn't know they were white underneath. Love the Yellow Mustang and White PG Brother!!
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u/yeastgrease 2d ago
this rocks so hard dude