> Paul O. <oplholik@gmail.com> wrote:

> Bought a cheap Strat Squire at Sam Ash a year or two ago. I like this
> guitar, however never was quite satified with the s/u it had out of the box,
> but found strings I liked and tried to mess with it. I didn't help it any
> and finally gave in and gave it to a neighbor and buddy of mine. He is a
> luthier and volunteer at Fender Muesuem in Corona, Ca. He repairs all the
> guitars Fender gives the schools in the area. So now I am waiting to get it
> back and am anxious to try it. I've tried his guitars and really like the
> way he sets them up. So hopefully get it back this weekend and then make
> some noise.

Well if he's any good (and from what you infer then he is)
that bolt on Strat will feel like a new guitar (depending on
how much effort he wants to put into it).

A Squier Strat can be tweaked and coaxed into a great playing guitar.
Couple of things usually need to be done (but not always)

1. Nut. Many times a properly cut and installed nut can make all the difference.
2. Bridge alignment or neck alignment (if the high or low string sit right
at the edge of the fretboard practically off the frets and it is not because
of a poorly cut nut then it might be the bridge was not centered properly on
the guitar body or the neck is askew. This is something that can be fixed
but usually is beyond any sort of regular setup issue)
3. Fret ends are sticking out (sharp fret ends on the edges of the neck - it might
only be one or two or lots of them or none). These can be filed down to make
a really smooth feeling neck edge. You shouldn't have to feel any frets sticking out.
4. Tuners. Most modern Squiers have decent tuners - although there should not
be any 'slap back' or tuners that allow any slippage or tuners that you turn
and there is enough slop in them so that the tuner doesn't actually turn
until it first slips a little. Things like this will have your guitar hard
to stay in tune for extended playing. Tuners are not expensive and they
are quick and easy to replace. You might need upgraded tuners or they might
be perfecty ok. You never can tell until they start to slip or backlash.
5. Frets -- sometimes just a simple fret leveling and fret dressing/ polishing can
make the guitar much easier to set up and get nicer action. Just one fret
that is higher than the others means you have to adjust all the strings higher
away from the fretboard to clear this fret so there is no 'buzzing'.
Hopefully he will check to see if the frets are level and dressed properly.
6. Neck adjustment (truss rod adjust for neck relief if needed)
7. And of course if all the above are working well then the final step
is to setup the intonation and action (string height).

Make sure he sets it all up with the string gauge(s) you like to play.
This way the setup will hold up rather well each time you change strings
as long as the string set is the same size(s) as what you had it set up with.

I hope he does a great job and you'll really feel the difference.
Kinda like a rough running car going into repair with a master mechanic.

good luck with it.