Upgrades & Modifications: How have you "personalized" your guitars?

[jhale667]

It's pretty well-known around here that all my guitars are custom-built parts mutts. But what has everyone else done to their once "stock" off-the-rack guitars to make them more unique, more functional for your specific needs, or to alter the tone to get closer to what you're looking for in your ideal instrument?



For the newbs, mine take the standard EVH-inspired Super-Strat concept and give 'em that extra push over the cliff...wider necks, compound-radius fretboards (for lower action and wider string-bends...like 2 1/2 steps..) jumbo frets...anything with a "single-coil" pickup is actually a stacked version so they're dead-quiet. I also put Brass and Titanium Floyd Upgrades Big-Blocks and stainless steel hardware on all of them that have Floyd Rose bridges; I also use the FU Brass claws on those and my standard trems as well, so there's no shitty metal anywhere impeding maximum string-vibration transference. Anything w/o a Floyd gets locking tuners to improve tuning stability.

I also like to add functional modification/upgrades as well - for example, Trem-stoppers for ease of set-ups, intonation, re-strings...cuts the time it takes down by like 2/3....!



I also like Noiseless Springs for recording - not into my springs howling unless I specifically want them to...



And my latest experiment involved putting a swapping out the R5 (1 3/4") locking nut on my new build for an R4 (1 11/16" - you can go down a size with locking nuts, but unfortunately not the reverse) one; the neck on this one is one of my vintage Charvel Strat necks that is not compound radius, and I find the slightly-narrower string spacing to be waaaaaay comfortable. Don't think I'd do it on my newer necks, but I love it on this one. I'm also going to try magnet-swaps in my pickups soon, but I seem to space on grabbing a blow-dryer to melt the wax every time I'm at department store or pharmacy shopping for non-guitar related items...lol.


What, if anything has anyone else done around here to alter their "stock" instrument to suit their discerning personal tastes? I'm not talking cosmetic alterations, but changing pickups, different fret-wire, adding locking tuners, things of that nature - anyone?

[GAR]

Pickups: changed, rewound, de-wound, wound with exotic alloys, magnet-flipped, magnet-swapped, thicker leads added, bigger-screws added (larger mag-field area theory tested.. [X] FAIL), bobbins of different models swapped, bobbins of unequal resistance swapped, metal plates added beneath magnet (weaker mag-field density theory tested.. [X] GOOD), removed/added/swapped all types of covers, removed legs, changed legs, changed plates from brass to steel / vice versa.

Fretwire: tried 5 different wire, had jumbos, jumbo's filed down to nothingness (Fretless Wonder Black Beauty trick [X] GOOD), kept coming back to preferring plain-old Medium wire with slight scalloping.

Tuners: Liked Schaller M6 mini's with the small button until discovering the Gotoh's in '83. Don't like the chink Pings that come on modern cheap electrics that clone the look of the Gotoh but not the feel, and Pings are extreme shit for durability.. the gear body is potmetal or zinc, and the buttonshaft attach screw is mild steel not stainless steel so they shear off when bumped [X] FAIL

I have had 3 different type locking tuner: first was the mid-80s Gibson (Grover Lokmatic) with the then - little pointy lock, not good. Then the Sperzel, which was and still is excellent but I don't like the weight. Then another set that wound up in the box was the Fender 50th anniversary.. also too bulky.

To me the nut crafting is more important than the machine-heads: if the slot is of correct width, angled properly to the tuner wrap-side, and with enough back-relief cut into it there shouldn't be a tuning problem requiring a locking-tuner solution. And to this point, see the D'addario tutorial "how to change strings" which shows proper string installation.. this helps believe it or not to holding tunings.

I think INTONATION is important: to check this, hit each open string, then hit 12th fret harmonic and then fret it at the 12th fret. The notes should show precisely identical on the chromatic tuner, without wavering a cent. If you're out of intonation, move the string saddle forward or backward while checking the tuner until you DO hit it perfect. That's the cheapest modification you can do to yield best results.

Another thing I most enjoy doing is taking a pair of pliers into Guitar Center and loosening the jack nut a full turn on every guitar I try out, and if I can steal the switch tip of the Ibanez because Jap guitars belong in the trash, so said the Buddah.

[VAiN]

Damn J, that's some serious shit... my biggest mod to date is converting my Seafoam Wolfgang Standard to have 2 separate volume knobs instead of volume/tone and having stainless steel frets installed..

[VanHalenFan5150]

I'm thinking about purchasing and installing a Duncan JB in my Kramer XL. That, a '59, or the actual EVH pickup. I'll be purchasing locking tuners too.

[jhale667]

Damn J, that's some serious shit... my biggest mod to date is converting my Seafoam Wolfgang Standard to have 2 separate volume knobs instead of volume/tone and having stainless steel frets installed..

Thanks! That's a cool mod too.

On my two "standard" mutt Strats I've also done the Eric Johnson tone mod, whereby the middle pickup is bypassed in the tone circuit, which opens up this whole new world of "quack" in the notch-positions. Sounds killer - way more versatile! It also helps if you select a brighter middle pickup - in mine I'm using the (now discontinued) Dimarzio Virtual Vintage '54 bridge models in that slot - not super high-output, but definitely wound to be brighter. I love 'em.

I'd like to try stainless steel frets on the next neck I purchase - I hear they're a bitch to work with, but once properly leveled and dressed they last forever!


Oh, and for the record, correcting a mis-statement -someone's- earlier post - setting the intonation should be part of every standard set-up, it's not considered a "modification", FFS - you shouldn't have to modify your guitar to get it to play in tune.

[GAR]

Intonation-setting is the cheapest mod one can learn how to do to their guitar.

When you change string gauge - guess what happens to that factory intonation point?

Yup, it's moved because the arc-dimension from the new string diameter changes.

Every guitarist who plays electric must learn

[jhale667]

Duh. While I agree everyone should learn how it's done - it's part of any and every competent set-up, not a modification.

Feel free to start a "set-up" thread, otherwise, stay on topic.

[jhale667]

I'm thinking about purchasing and installing a Duncan JB in my Kramer XL. That, a '59, or the actual EVH pickup. I'll be purchasing locking tuners too.

Shaller and Gotoh make locking tuners that are indistinguishable from their standard models from the front view; Sperzels kinda look funky.

http://www.warmoth.com/Schaller-Mini-Locking-Tuners-C726.aspx

Later on down the line I want to try making a hybrid pickup...for example, a screw-coil from a Duncan Custom and the slug-coil from a '59....

[Reverberator]

The only guitar I ever loved the look of was Alex Lifesons ' the strat' . Candy apple red mirror scratchplate , bill lawrence etc ..... my fave guitar , tried to get the same effect with a chrome red one and it's not the same at all.

[VanHalenFan5150]

Planet Waves makes a very nice set of six-in-a-row multi functional locking tuners. First of all they lock (obviously), they tune (again, obviously) and they even cut the excess string off when the guitar is in tune! Pretty neat. But for now i'm adamant on getting Schallers... They're tried and true, locking tuners

[twonabomber]

all i've done is take the EMG's out of my Hamer Steve Stevens and replaced the bridge PU with a Duncan JB. haven't gotten around to buying the other two yet.

[jhale667]

Planet Waves makes a very nice set of six-in-a-row multi functional locking tuners. First of all they lock (obviously), they tune (again, obviously) and they even cut the excess string off when the guitar is in tune! Pretty neat. But for now i'm adamant on getting Schallers... They're tried and true, locking tuners

Almost mentioned the Planet Waves ones too. Never tried 'em but have had much success with the Schallers...

[GAR]

I also have played leapfrog with trem springs.. for example, I thought I heard a difference between the original Floyd kit springs vs the stock Fenders.. because the Floyd-supplied ones are really spongey and do not ring very well when plucked compared to stock ones. I tried mixing them, now I just do not use the Floyds at all.

I like the stiff springs and I like them to howl and be alive, controlling the muting of them by leaving the plate off.. due to seeing Uli Jon Roth and Kurt James go whacko with the whammy like that.

If one feels their springs are uncontrollable, I would suggest raising the mounting-point of the two claw screws upward a 1/16th or something, so holding the guitar against your body makes contact to mute 'em. I would never recommend coated springs.

[twonabomber]

Shaller and Gotoh make locking tuners that are indistinguishable from their standard models from the front view; Sperzels kinda look funky.

Sperzels are made in Cleveland. Buy 'merican.

[GAR]

The last time I met the old Sperzel guy, he had hurt his hand real bad on his overhead mill, he was all bandaged mess.. those things are still a handcrafted commodity no doubt about it.