While the Les Paul kit project became increasingly dragged out, I wanted a guitar to play in the meantime. I decided to pick a guitar that complimented the Les Paul, one that could do the things it couldn't. I wanted a vibrato bridge and single coil pickups, and it needed to be on a budget. I considered many guitars, most prominently Fender Jaguars and Jazzmasters, but the obvious choice was to get a Fender Stratocaster. It is by far the most common style of electric guitar, with millions of budget-minded clones sold over the past 70 years. It has been used to play every genre of guitar music. I could get one much cheaper than almost anything else, so I did. I chose this inexpensive Squier Stratocaster in surf green, one of my favorite colors. I was very lucky that they were currently offering them in that color! I was very impressed with its quality, considering its mere $200 price tag. As to be expected when buying a budget guitar, it needed a bit of setup work. It was here that I learned how to adjust the truss rod, nut slots, and saddles to set the action and intonation. It didn't take much to get it playing well, but there were a few areas that could be improved. The worst part of the guitar was the tuning machines. Having tried many nicer guitars owned by friends or demoing them at shops, I knew what a good set of tuners felt like. These had a pretty coarse gear ratio and a big dead spot when changing directions, making tuning more annoying than it has to be. I put some feelers out, and I was able to trade one of my less-used guitar effects for a set of fender locking tuners. I drilled new alignment holes, and they dropped right in. This immediately solved the biggest problem, and they were definitely worth the investment. The next order of business was the nut. It had a passable plastic nut, but was going out of tune (sharp) when using the tremolo, a sign that the strings are sticking in the slots. For this, I ordered a Graph-Tech Tusq nut, which is supposed to be a self-lubricating synthetic bone. I still added some graphite lubricant for good measure, and the tuning stability has improved. Now that it was playing the way I wanted, it was time for a little dress-up. I am a huge fan of shiny pearloid pickguards with pastel bodies, so I knew I needed to get one for this guitar. To match, I also got pearly knobs for both the tuners and electronics. Transferring the electronics to the new pickguard was easy, but there was a minor snag in installing the pickguard itself: the holes were not countersunk. A few minutes with a drill later, and the holes were all beveled nicely, and lined up perfectly with the original screw holes. The new guard makes a world of difference, and really brings out the beauty of the guitar. I get compliments on it all the time now. From a visual standpoint, I think this guitar is complete. I don't plan on changing the appearance any further for as long as I have it. Overall, I feel great about this purchase and the mods I have done to the guitar. It's been a great, reliable tool for learning to play and learning to work on guitars. I hope to do some more performance mods to it to bring out its full potential.