2008 Daphne Blue Squier Deluxe Stratocaster Upgrade

I'd seen this delightful Indonesian 2008 Daphne Blue Squier Deluxe Stratocaster brand-new in the hands of its very first owner many years ago. I also remember being blown away by the superb fit and finish, playability and totally stratalicious tones it was capable of. Since then it had changed hands a couple times; finally landing at my doorstep in none too good condition. The current owner is a gigging musician, and wanted it upgraded for live use. But first, let's take a look at some specifications:

Neck: Maple/C-shaped profile/satin finish
Fretboard: Maple/25.5" scale/9.5" radius/22 medium frets
Pickups: Three Duncan Designed™ SC101 single-coils
Electronics: Master volume/two tones/five-way switching
Hardware: Two-point synchronized tremolo bridge with block saddles
Noteworthy: Parchment pickguard and aged white control knobs

Cosmetics-wise, the aged white knobs and naturally-aged parchment pickguard were absolutely fine. We did, however, replace the stock "Duncan Designed" pickup covers with StewMac aged white ones. The three SC101 pickups are unique in that the coils are copper-tape shielded and grounded to reduce noise. A cool touch indeed, methinks.

Meanwhile, the control cavity components weren't anything to write home about, and to make matters worse; someone had messed around with the wiring at some point in time. Thus said, I was asked to gut the innards and put in new Alpha A250K pots, a K73-16 0.022uF cap, and NYS229 output jack socket. Gavitt wire was used for this rewiring job. The Strat was strung with 10s, given a final setup; and delivered to the owner.

YouTube Video: Demo by Aduka Sariat

References
Squier Guitars Serial Number Decoder
Music Makers Web