Guitarist’s Guide: Easy Upgrades for Your Fender Stratocaster Guitar

Ford vs. Chevy, Coke or Pepsi, Fender or Gibson. These debates have raged for decades. When it comes to the great guitar argument one thing is for sure, no other guitar is as easily upgraded or customized as a Fender. This is particularly true of the Stratocaster variety.

Thanks to this ease in customization you can make significant changes to these Fender models with relative ease. If you are tired of living with guitar decisions you made years ago or if you want to add a breath of fresh air you can do so with these simple upgrades.

Start from the neck down

A great place to start is with the neck. Since re-fretting is well beyond that of the beginner consider worn fretwork as a reason for replacing the whole neck. Also consider if you would prefer the neck were a little straighter or perhaps it’s a little to bulky. Maybe you bought the guitar with a rosewood fret board and later realized you prefer maple. If any of these are the case then, you are in luck. Fender has made it very easy to replace the entire neck. Just four screws in fact hold the neck to the body. This replacement couldn’t be easier. Just unscrew the old and replace it with the new. Luckily there are also a multitude of necks for strats and teles. You can find very nice replacement necks from manufacturers such as Mighty Mite, All Parts, and Warmoth. These makers offer licensed replacement parts however, if you want the Fender logo on your axe then will have to purchase a good used original. A great place to find these are of course E-bay and Craigslist.

A nice body is important

Your guitar’s body is very important. Although it has little to do with ‘playability” like the neck, it is crucial to your axes sound and looks. Most Strats are either made of ash or alder. We could probably write a whole other article on which is better but for now rest assured that if you choose to switch bodies it’s a fairly easy task. This also might be a great way to change the look of your axe in a relatively simple way. If you like the neck you’ve been using but want to change the look of your axe a little, buying a new body sure beats the heck out of trying to paint it yourself. From the same manufacturers mentioned before you can get Fender licensed replacement bodies for much less than it would cost to buy a whole new guitar. You can get these pre-routed and ready to bolt on your old neck and put your electronics in place.

It’s all about the sound

Of course the most important aspect of your guitar is the sound. Changing pickups can dramatically alter how your guitar is received by the ears. Although this is probably the trickiest of all the upgrades in this article, it can be easily handled by a novice. The most difficult piece is learning how to solder correctly. Once you get that down it’s just a matter of following the schematics and soldering the right wires together in the correct places on the pre-existing pick assembly. A simple google search for your model’s pickup assembly schematics will result in numerous road maps for you to follow..

Even an inexpensive guitar can sound like a million bucks when fitted with some upgraded pickups. Again, E-bay is a great source for your project. For instance, I was able to upgrade all three of my strat’s single coils from Made in Mexico standards to Fender USA standards for around $50.00. That’s a big improvement for just a little bit of money.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to not be afraid of tinkering. Unless you have a true antique on your hands don’t hesitate to mess around with your guitar a little. Once you pop the hood you may find all kinds of inexpensive ways to come up with a new style or sound all your own. It sure beats buying a new guitar.