The story thus far: Twenty-some years ago I bought an acoustic Takamine guitar, a Classical C-128, and enrolled in Beginning Folk Guitar at the local college. Armed with an assortment of chords, I amused myself playing Folk, Rock, and New Wave tunes. My picking skills were, and still are, limited. A friend sold me his Hondo II Les Paul copy. My strumming sounded better when produced with the aid of electronics, and the strings required less pressure. But the Hondo would not stay in tune. Every ten minutes I’d have to stop and retune it. And when I wanted to play it I’d have to get out the amplifier, plug in the cord, and find an elusive pick. It was much easier to pick up the Takamine, and I didn’t have to stop to tune it all the time. Well, by friend was going through one of his ‘Baroque Periods’ (he said, punning shamelessly) and sold me his Fender Telecaster. When he bought it he’d assumed that they would in the future only be made in Japan, so he got an American one while he could. I liked this guitar better than the Hondo, but it was still easier to play the Takamine unplugged. A few years later he had some cash, and I sold his guitar back to him for what I paid for it. After a while I began to miss it.
Which brings us to the present. I decided to get a duplicate of that Fender. But there was a catch. Fender no longer offered the ‘Antique White’ (pale yellow) that I wanted. I put the thought away for a few years. After visiting my friend in New Orleans last May and seeing him play his now-Katrina-damaged-and-then-refurbished Tele, I decided to search eBay. And what do you know? There’s the guitar I wanted; an American 1993 Fender Telecaster in Antique White with a rosewood fretboard. It cost twice what I’d paid for the first one, but still less than a new American one that didn’t come in the proper colour. Not long after that I found a Squier (by Fender) Tele that was a near twin of my new acquisition. It had a maple fretboard, but it was Antique White and it was cheap. And that’s where it started…
‘It’, of course, is GAS; ‘Guitar Acquisition Syndrome’. You see, I had to replace the neck with one with a rosewood fretboard. I found one with the Squier name, plus a three-ply Fender pick guard. The illusion was complete. Now, the Squier is a fine cheap guitar for a beginner. It doesn’t sound great, but neither does it sound bad. However next to the Fender I found it unplayable. Why not upgrade it? I found a set of Fender SCN pickups and a nice Fender four-way switch and control panel assembly with upgraded pots (potentiometers) and capacitor. I cackled gleefully. I’d modify my cheapo made-in-some-random-Asian-country Squier and surprise real guitar players who expected to hear a low-quality guitar! Muwahahahahaha! But when it came down to it I noticed that the Squier has a ‘hard-tail’ bridge; the strings did not go through the body as they do on the Fender. Perhaps I should upgrade the Fender instead?
It is a quirk in my nature that I appreciate the mundane. For many things I like them just as they were designed. I found myself loath to alter the originality of the ’93. In any case, I’d be left with an extra set of electronics and an extra neck. The only sensible thing to do would be to build a guitar.
I wanted to paint the body Deep Amethyst Pearl, a Chrysler colour, which is the colour of my Jeep. Dark purple. But I found that it’s impossible to find anyone who could mix that shade in the traditional nitrocellulose lacquer. I found a brand-new 2008 American Fender body in Burgundy. That should do as a base-coat, and I supposed I could just use acrylic lacquer. When the body arrived I decided I liked it just as it is. I used conductive-adhesive-backed copper tape in three widths and applied them to all four cavities as shielding. It’s time to install the electronics. But I didn’t have a soldering iron, and I’m not sure of my skills in any case; so I took the body to the shop to have the pickups and control panel installed. The soft-spoken kid liked my shielding job, and made sure it was grounded when he connected the wiring. That night I shielded the pick guard and put on the vintage-style covered bridge.
There was only one problem: I’d forgotten to buy a neck plate so I couldn’t put the maple Squier neck on and string it up. That was quickly resolved. I managed to break the D string when I was putting the strings on. It wasn’t too tight, so I assume that I was just tightening the string too quickly and not allowing it time to stretch. Good job I’d bought three sets. Plugging the guitar in for the first time, I was pleased at how good it sounded. I played it for an hour or so, tuning it occasionally as the strings stretched.
I took my project back to the shop for setup. The kid set the string height and torqued the neck slightly to take care of some buzzing I’d noticed but forgot to mention to him. I asked him what he thought. He said the tone was ‘buttery’. He seemed to like it. I like it too.
So that’s how I got my Secret Fender/Fake Squier. (The head says ‘Squier’, but that and the tuners are the only Squier parts. The rest is all Fender. I think it’s amusing.)
So about that real Squier… I have a soldering iron now. Surgery is currently under way. 
In any case, that’s a nice tale of trials and tribbilations with a guitar. Keep going!
I looked around for a term for the bridge, but I didn’t come across ‘top-loader’. Filed for future reference!