YouTuber and guitarist Hunter Engel, who runs the Agufish channel, is known for his guitar upgrade videos. And in his newest one he works his magic on a sharp-looking white Fender Player Series Telecaster, spiffing up the affordably-priced electric with a host of upgrades that bring the Tele to the next level – without breaking the bank.
“Any time a guitar is a keeper and I know I’m not going to sell it, I like doing little modifications – especially on something like this where I love the vibe,” Hunter says about the Tele. “I don’t want to change too much if anything about that. I don’t want to go full Hipshot, Fishman, Evertune…we’re not spending $1,000 to change everything about it. I just want to add some personal touches to improve on what’s already one of my favorite beater guitars.”
And how does he achieve this? With the help of leading guitar and bass hardware and parts supplier Allparts, of course, which supplied Hunter with several small but significant aftermarket upgrades.
With just a $200 budget, Hunter picks up Schaller S-Lock strap locks, Gotoh vintage-style locking tuners and, finally, a brand-new wiring kit, courtesy of Allparts.
Regarding the wiring kit, he says, “I feel like this guitar could use a nice four-way switch to add the option of running the pickups in series as well as parallel. It adds another dimension to the guitar by literally adding 33 percent more tonal options. And it just so happens that Allparts has a four-switch Telecaster wiring kit. Really high quality components, about 50 bucks.”
With that, Hunter gets to modding his Player Series Telecaster. And after all the upgrades are installed it’s time to put the Tele to the test.
“For less than a third of the original cost we’ve made it more stable, more secure and more versatile,” Hunter says.
As for how it sounds and plays? Check out Hunter’s “Cowboy Core” jam to hear and see the results.
And then head to Allparts to find the perfect upgrades for your favorite instrument.
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