@Jeremya74 a budget guitar is great for beginners...but worn tremelo knife edges and faulty tuners with terrible ratios, and cheap plastic nuts are not what you would want 5 ,10 years down the road ..
I totally agree with this. it makes no sense to mod an expensive guitar. but modding a cheap guitar. adding better pickups, changing lots of parts is satisfying. it feels like you bought a good guitar at a cheap cost. especially if the mods that you added is still cheaper than the guitar equivalent to it.
Absolutely spot on. I’ve found before with some guitars that when I swapped out the stock pickups, even on cheaper guitars, and put “better” ones in, it didn’t always sound better. As I’ve got older I’ve got much more into getting the best out of the guitars that I have and spending time with them for what they are. Although I did put a tusq string tree on my G&L which helped a lot.
Overthinking it. I think it might have something to do with compulsive tendencies. I don't view anything I do as a "mod". I just simply change/improve something when I feel there's a need to do so.That's completely pragmatic. Never regretted any of it.
Some of us really will never be more than bedroom strummers or hobbyists. And that’s ok too. I hope my daughter sells every guitar and funds her hobbies. Or puts a down payment on another house.
As someone who has been modding guitars for well over 10 years now... I agree to a degree. There are mods I find good and necessary, and then there are the mods that are just a nice way to spend your time and tinker, but as you say they suck the life out of the guitar. My Gibson LP Jr.: swapping the non intonated wraparound bridge to a MCB Savvy for perfect intonation: good mod My Strat: rewiring the pots so the closest one to the strings controls the volume on the neck pickup and the middle one is the volume for the bridge pickup: good mod My Telecaster: swapping out the bridge for a Gotoh Modern bridge: bad mod. Killed the twang of the guitar. I believe in getting a good instrument from the get go; then you can fine tune it. If you need invasive mods, then the guitar is not doing what you want it to do. Better to move on and find something that will.
Preach brother man. Sage advice. When most of our guitar heroes were modding their guitars they one had one or two. You'd find one that played the way you liked and modded to make it sound the way you wanted. For me I love telecasters so I have different teles that do different things.
I can only imagine your pain. I have two guitars that I have done only repairs to, with no modifications. I replaced the bridge of one guitar for cosmetic purposes; its gold plating was worn out. I swapped in a straight replacement. The barrel-style output jack on the other axe went bad; you HAVE to replace those. That's it. The guitar with the gold I haven't even done a fret job on. It shows very visible fret wear, but I don't feel it while playing -- I just express myself. It does what I need and want now, so I haven't changed anything. I really should just MEASURE the mofo so I can replicate the setup when I need to, but it's old, stable and -- well, it's the last guitar with any mystery left to it. I think that's the thing that I can relate to with you, because there is a certain mystery that any instrument has while it is not familiar to the player. Learn an axe thoroughly and you gain power over it, but you do lose the mystery -- because the mystery is ignorance, which is now a FILLED vacuum. Anyhow, here, I apply my philosophy yet again. If knowing when to stop is the best part of any art, then a very fine expression of that aesthetic is to know WHEN NOT TO START! I could probably improve that guitar, but I like it as it is so I'm taking no chances of losing that feel. I have other guitars that I've modded till they nearly fell apart, and I'm really proud of them -- but I'm not touching this one. It needs -- and therefore gets -- NOTHING!
I don't mod anything - if the guitar has what I'm looking for, I buy it. If doesn't, I move on. There's enough choices out there now. The only exception is pickups from time to time, and I have a guy that does that for me. But it rarely happens. When I check out a guitar, I spend at least an hour with it at the shop and go over it with a fine tooth comb. That way I don't get a "crush" on it and later find all the complaints it may have. I've had that happen too many times in the past - no more.
Well....okay....then. Mind blown; it's like you were taking about me. I'm rethinking my relationship with guitars, now. Great vid, glad I stumbled upon your channel, dude. I think I'm going to learn a lot from you.
I have a Fender Duo Sonic HS 2022, I bought it used but it was in very good shape...almost new, the guitar had a fastastic Tone, sounds really great, then I decided to remove the original tuners and install locking tunner Ddario the expensive ones (99 usd) that cut the string while its getting adjusted, anyway once I finish the upgrade the bloody guitar sound very different, the tone was weaker, less sustain, less vibrant.... I checked everything to see what was the problem....finally I installed again the fender tunners and the duo sonic sounds great again.... I was shocked how much the tone can be changed just using different tunners... Im still thinking about this experience...im still not having satisfying conclusion about it
Uncomfortable video. I think people in general struggle with this dynamic My thoughts are ideally you want to get *something* foundational out of playing the guitar- skill, ability, songs etc. All the other ‘stuff’ is secondary and along for the ride but can unfortunately become the focus for most people It’s like camera nerds who spend 90% of their time on forums, watching gear videos etc rather than taking pictures I’ve never been happier as a guitarist than when I’ve had specific goals like learn these songs/etudes/techniqies GAS and tinkering can really give you quick dopamine hits but they are shallow and need to be pursued constantly because of withdrawal lol
I just realized one other thing: The guitars I've changed the most I bought specifically to modify -- especially for that purpose. I could only regret modifying them if I destroyed them. That has happened. I would say that such destruction has cost me less than $150 all told. Small losses that taught me something and led the way to buying gear that doesn't need much modding. Well worth it in the end.
I have 27 guitars after buying another one yesterday. They range in price from $119 to $2,600. I’ve had mods done to almost every one of them. Primarily to improve them to my liking. Some merely out of curiosity. I realize the monetary value will likely be lost, but the next owner of say, for example, my Gretsch G5230T, will also benefit from the roller bridge, Grover locking tuners, and Vibramate string spoiler so that the thing stays in tune and string changes are easier. Or the next owner will love the 50’s wiring and Mojotone pickups that I installed in my Les Paul Tribute. I think they make my guitars a little more uniquely mine and it gives me the ability to try out various pickup types and configurations. I just love to see a guitar, regardless of price or the experience level of the player, be the best instrument it can be in terms of sound and playability.
I'm not a collector, so I don't have or want a bunch of guitars, but the guitars I have are cheap guitars modded to perform specific purposes. There are not alot of guitars (even expensive ones) that are spec'd with everything I want bone stock, so I take cheaper guitars and mod them. Guitars are tools for me, not investments, so resale is irrelevant to me, I just need the guitar to do a specific job. I don't mod a guitar to make it "better" per se - I've played and tinkered enough to find even the cheap no-name guitars nowadays are good enough to play and sound great bone stock with a proper set up. (I find even cheap guitars are rarely unsalvageable) There's no magic in guitars, when I want something specific out of a guitar I know what needs changing to get there.
I had a D'Angelico Ludlow that I gutted and swapped everything. I could not spend away the shittiness of that guitar. But I also threw a Staytrem on my Jazzmaster and it saved me from endless frustration with the original bridge. I don't miss that old bridge. Mods should fix a problem you're having. They have worse results when you're chasing something the guitar isn't.
I haven't gotten into modding but I plan to sometime in the future. It's probably gonna take a lot of self control to not overdo it but my main motivation to mod my guitar would be because a certain part (or several parts) starts to function abnormally or is broken. I currently have three guitars: 1. an Ibanez RG350DXZ (that I've pretty much mistreated because it's my first guitar and I didn't know any better), which has a very rusty trem, rusty pickups, a neck that's in terrible condition and dirty electronics. 2. an Ibanez PGM3 that is technically still in good working condition, though the tremolo is pretty rusted and I'm pretty sure its knife edges are busted. Its pickup screws are also pretty much in-adjustable at the moment (no height change) and its electronics are pretty noisy. 3. a PRS SE 35th Anniversary that I'm still as of now. It's got faulty switches and I would like to replace them. I would also consider upgrading the pickups on my Ibanez guitars because they're honestly don't sound very good (they're old models so they have the Infnity series pickups - RG has the INF3, INFS3, INF4 and the PGM has the INF1, INFS1, INF2) but my SE sounds completely fine.
I didn't know that this is the state of the current modding guitar community. I grew up during the time when players modded midrange guitars to get high end guitar tones. The Made in Mexico Fender guitars is a perfect example of getting high end tone with midrange guitars. I use Schecter basses as platforms to get better tones than Spector basses that cost thousands more.
It’s true. I started out with one guitar, schecter C-1Platinum, and it was used but it felt great, it just had some wiring issue that I easily fixed on my own, and it got the snowball rolling. Before I knew it I was buying $50-$75 cheap guitars and learning how to do setups and wiring and all that great stuff that makes a good guitar a great guitar. But it was about $80-100 of supplies and replacement parts for each guitar. Then I started buying $400-500 guitars and didn’t need to do anything to them, and they played great and sounded great. Literally only a year went by and I found myself owning 19 guitars and half of them are cheap squires or epiphones that I won’t be able to sell for what I put into them, but I gained a ton of experience in a short amount of time, and made every guitar I worked on a better sounding and better playing guitar. I still play all of them but I don’t need all of them. Really only need a Strat with a humbucker in it for most sounds. The more I play, the more I find that a cheap $200 modeler pedal can make just about any type of guitar tone.
I have over40 guitars. A lot are modded. A lot are bone stock. It is on an individual basis and is definitely correlated to the price. The $$$ ones are stock. I mod to improve the function.
Good point but you gotta understand that sometimes you do have some great parts lying around and you do see this cheap guitar that you could make great with the parts
Agreed I bought a Firefly Buckethead Barritone over the summer. The kill switches were janked and cheap, but the guitar is pretty solid. I made plans to mod it. I put a set of D'Addario auto trimming locking tuners on it, and they're fantastic. The biggest dilemma is the holes through the cap for the kill switches are big enough for a glory hole. So I had to use big washers just to hold the pots in place. I ordered a set of Nazgul / Sentient pups, and I'm currently deciding on a wiring harness. I know it'll be awesome when it's done. But I could have found something on reverb already modded for much cheaper. I found a 2021 Epiphone Slash Victoria with hipshot open gears, upgraded pups, and an Obsidian harness for $350 free shipping.
I bought a guitar in mind to swap the pickups, and ordered a set. It's been over a year and the set is still in its case. I might eventually just do it for it's unique voicing, but the stock pickups have been fine.
It all depends on the guitar and what are you going to do with it... I just got an 2024 EBMM Axis, pickups are custom DiMarzios, picked by EVH you can only get with that guitar, top mounted Gotoh bridge that works great... it's perfect no mods needed. I have a RG570 Genesis, phenomenal guitar but didn't like the pickup so I put in DiMarzio Evolution but no other mods. Last MIM Strat though I modded the crap out of it... At the same time I have a 2016 Squier Bullet Strat... paid around $100, still no mods after 8 years because for the price it's special. If you are going to play it at home and just have fun, why mod - just do a good setup, polish the frets etc... If you are going to play it live and you need to control feedback, or you need it to stay in tune perfectly etc... you may need to mod it so that it can handle the duties you are going to use it for long term. I think we are close on thoughts... mod to make it better IF you need but just realize you don't always need to do that. I do get it though... here is a thought or example. I have a Peavey HP2 that is pretty much perfect. I've thought about upgrading the pickups to something hotter and I thought about upgrading the trem to an OFR just in case I whammy it a lot or want to add a D-Tuna because the cheaper Peavey version doesn't have as big of a base plate to sit flush on the body. However I have a US Wolfgang, older MIJ Wolfgang and the Axis with much hotter pickups. The HP2 plays perfectly and with the coil splits means I can have a guitar with the same body shape but in it's current setup will allow me to play that in groups and settings where to hotter pickups wouldn't work or clean up as well. I'm resisting the urge to mod because truly it's perfect and will do exactly what I want it to do... but yea the urge to customize is there... just have to resist at times :) Great video with some really good points!
If you’re into ‘modding’ your guitar, I recommend purchasing a husk if set neck or just going with a Warmoth ( or something like that ). Simply for the reason of avoiding purchasing one intact unnecessarily. Sure, Warmoth isn’t cheap although they have sales as well and more times than none you’ll have a far better point to start off at. I own a Gibson SG Special which I purchased as a husk and I loaded it with a John Mahn bridge, Antiqueti P90 pickups along with a hand wired harness and it plays and sounds fantastic, no regrets.
I feel you bro. I bought a MIM black label strat last year. Absolutely fell in love with it right away. I have been modding little by little and now the only thing left I’m using is the body 😳. I love the new guitar. But it’s really just an entirely different guitar and I miss the one I love with.
I usually buy guitars for cheaper because they need work done to bring them back to playing condition, just because I enjoy doing the work as a hobby. I have started (last 6 builds) keeping track of (documentation) the total costs of the parts I invested in each guitar. Now (last 2 builds), I see something I want to do as a build project, and I decide the vision for that guitar. I then do a projected costs of everything I need to buy to complete that vision (including shipping costs). Then I decide whether the build could be done as an eventual sellable guitar that I can get my money back out of, or if the projected cost is over what I would be able to get out of it. If the projected costs are above market value, I decide if this is a guitar that I want to keep for myself. Then I decide if I want to invest the amount of money it would take to build it for myself, with the features I envision. If I can't make my money back, or the projected costs are above what I am willing to invest to have it to keep, then I don't do the project.
I buy guitars that have good bones. Then start saving to buy better quality parts. I also make it mine with personal touches. I’ll put mine on the headstock. Along with my own personal funny custom shop decals. If I could afford an American Strat. Then you’re right why mod it. It already comes with kick ass parts. Unless something breaks leave it alone.
My friend, guitar modification is an art, at its core. With any art, it's the responsibility of the artist to see to the art's viability -- to make sure that making the art is worth it, at least to the artist. To me, part of the art of guitar modification is getting as close to what I want as possible while keeping costs comfortable. I find that this philosophy keeps things in the realm of "I can't believe this MONSTER didn't cost me any more than THAT!" Not only that, but careful shopping today can turn up deals on instruments that need little or no modification out of the box -- and still keep the wallet happy. I may change cosmetic things from there, but yeah, that's just looks. I tend to spend the bulk of my time (and preferably my bucks) on improving the playability of the axes as well as their sound; if they don't play well and sound good, they're pretty worthless to me. This sort of thing is what has led me to believe that the best part of any art is knowing when to stop. I'll never wind up with custom shop Fenders or Gibsons like this -- but I'm nearing 67; I don't need them. Just some things to play and/or have fun with. Brand names mean little to me; quality means more. Value is king of all. So I keep it reasonable and focus on acquiring guitars that are pretty close to what I'm after in the first place. Working so far.
Funny thing. I'm gonna swap pickups in a 94" PRS for a burstbuckers. But tbh I don't like a colour at the first place, doesn't deliver clean tones also 🤷
I agree sometimes I build a guitar from scratch means that I source out a good body and a good neck and all the rest top level parts I can say it’s at the custom shop level or better some I have sold most I did not but when I did sell them I never lost money but made minimum money But the process was a lot of fun and I learned so much about what I like on a guitar so I think if you have the cash and the ability go for it
After giving away my Chibson SG I got a 2024 Epiphone SG standard. The Chibby didn’t even compare to the Epi lol! I put some cheap Dragonfire Screamers in my Epi and it sounded amazing! I’ve been really wanting Fishman Fluence Modern pickups so I got a set which costed almost $300! Long story short I guess I got a dud because the first two days it worked perfectly! I absolutely loved the sound of them. Then just yesterday the neck pickup crapped out. The output drastically dropped. I rewired my guitar three times and couldn’t figure it out. Did some research and found out that a bunch of people has has that happen to them! Should’ve just left it alone. Now I gotta send it back. Im not gonna mess with my Epi anymore…nah, fu€k that gonna throw in some SD black winters hahaha
When one looks under the covers of Icons in guitar world with an eye to picking them apart , discarding their deficiencies , keeping their sauce , then they’re going to bust the notion that the market has been playing fair with them ever since the market has been the market . I’ve watched excellent players produce everything anyone would love to hear theirselves playing without setting foot on the gargantuan floyyd rose chunk of hardware and it’s tuning destroying arm . . and couldn’t care less what the body shape was . . except that I’d want it to lean against something without it falling over .
I think modding is fine but you have to be pragmatic about it. If you like the guitar stock leave it. I bought the new squier 12 string jazzmaster. The guitar played well for what it is but the pickups were dreadful. The pickups were dark and muddy. I wasn’t going to get anywhere near a classic 12 string electric sound. A pickup swap cured that problem. The used carvin I picked up needs nothing it will remain stock as will my mij Stratocaster.
I modd guitars because im on a fixed income. I can afford a 300$ high quality base budget model guitar and put between $150 to 200$ a month into it every month until it becomes what I want but what I CAN NOT afford is to drop $900 - $1300 all at once to get the guitar I want so I start cheap and modd every month till I get what I want . And since I don’t plan on selling and my guitars are personal to me it works for me. And even if I did plan to sell them down the road, I can still make money off of them because parts are always gonna be worth what the parts are worth. A fender neck is always gonna go for the price of a fender neck $400 to $650 alone same with all the other fender parts I put on my guitars so It’ll always hold value no matter what. The maker of this you tube video wasn’t wise on the what he decided to upgrade on his starcaster or what he decided to use to do it so of course he had remorse and the guitar wasn’t worth 🍆 in the end what do you expect?? 🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️
The only guitars I'm modding, are my two lower priced signature guitars. My LTD KH 202 Hammett signature, and my desert yellow Jem Jr. I can not afford the real ESP KH-2 or a Jem 777V. They go for $6000 plus. So instead. I'm building them to look and play LIKE their more expensive cousins. The KH-202 will need Gotoh tunners, Floyd Rose Original, and EMG 81/60s to be more inline with the original KH-2 from the mid 90s. The Jem Jr, and original Edge bridge, Dimarzio PAF Pros, and very little cosmetic things to make it like the 777V ( which go for $10,000) These guitars play great as is. Is it necessary. No. My other guitars are bone stock and have been for well over 20 years. But i was too young for the Jem 777V when that originally was released, and now can't afford one. Same with the KH-2. But, i found both of these guitars for dirt cheap. They play great. So the bones are there to make my dream guitars from my youth a reality.
I like buying broken guitars for next to nothing and just make them playable if that means buying cheap locking tuners and cheap pickups i just bought a squier it had broken tuners the bridge is all mangled up just easy fix i paid $80 bucks for. $30 for tuners maybe saddles replaced maybe after a good setup it should a really decent guitar for one of my grandkids
You deserve to be commended. I am a nobody but I have been blessed to live my life as a working musician. The desire to actually learn music and this instrument is rare. It is merely a social outlet for most. You made an old road dog grin. I hope you address your revelation and grow exponentially in your music skills.
Jack is incredible on his Squier. I am a smaller person and find the Squier easier to play. I prefer the Tele version. Unless something breaks leave it alone.
Why would you put a roller nut on a non tremola guitar other than replacing plastic nuts and saddles on acoustic guitars with bone or tusc I don't mod anything replace a defective jack pot or switch and play it or selling it 25 guitars in another I have yet to sell or modify any
Modding an axe is so, so so much easier than learning music or how to actually PLAY the guitar. And then we can spend countless hours TALKING about our modifications and watching more modification videos and buying stuff. You see very, very, very few of us guitars owners can play. We couldn't do a 4 hour bar gig if our life depended on it. We mostly dream and tinker because learning music and guitar is a lot of work.
I disagree with the stop mods mentality. Modding has been built into the DNA of electric guitars from the beginning. Guitarists share the tinker culture of car hot rodding and PC building. Guitars ultimately bear the fingerprints of the musicians that own and play them. Hardware and electronic swaps. Dings and dents. I wanted a Les Paul as an alternative to what I normally play. I didn't want a carved or radiused top variety, so I picked up an inexpensive, flat top Epiphone, and modded it to my liking. As far as monetary concerns go, stop treating guitars like a 401K. Stop treating them as sacred objects imbued with magical properties. The magic is in what you do with the guitar.
Not me I'm the type of guy that will put 200$ pickups in a hundred dollar guitar I like modifying things I do not like passive pickups anymore since I tried active.
If I didnt have the option to mod or customize things to my preferences I would never buy anything, so I don't agree with not modding guitars, there a plenty of people that like off the shelf guitars & keep them that way forever but I am not one of those people & I don't buy very expensive products to mod my guitars up with as long as it does the job I want I look for the best quality for the dollar, like my preference is a Strat style body but I like an ultra hot humbucker in the bridge position and low gain rail single coils in the neck & middle cause I don't like the 60 cycle hum traditional single coils give and the rails give a bit more beed to the sound like a p90 does & that is my mod I do to every Strat type I own but I buy $100 dollar guitars with $100 in mods so for $200 I have a guitar that i enjoy playing more than a $1000 guitar
maybe people should just do what they like with their own property. i love taking a budget guitar and moddig way past high priced gears specs.brand and cost has little to do with quility
I just want the best instrument for the lowest price. If it happens by installing parts on a nothing name brand of guitar to make it sound and play great then that's what I'll do.
Sorry man. I hear you loud and clear, but I’m buying a gold top and throwing a Bigsby on it, then changing the pickus too. Life is short, I’m going to enjoy it
I think your afraid of people buying chibsons and modding them,because we all know it’s perfectly fine to mod your Gibson or epi phone but don’t try to mod a chibson and make it great,I think that’s what’s really bugging you brother,understand that modding becomes a hobby for some,some of us enjoy making cheap guitars sound and look expensive,it’s easier to lose a hundred bucks on $200 guitar than losing 500 on a $2500 dollar guitar.
As I am watching this I am moding one of my 44 guitars and hate myself for it. You have very valid points.
I mod cheap guitars to be better....I would never mod a top teir guitar...its like swapping mufflers on a Ferrari...why?
A cheap guitar can be a good enough guitar is his point
@Jeremya74 a budget guitar is great for beginners...but worn tremelo knife edges and faulty tuners with terrible ratios, and cheap plastic nuts are not what you would want 5 ,10 years down the road ..
Performance...that's why, I'll definitely be throwing full Capristo exhaust on when I pick up my 360 Modena.
I totally agree with this. it makes no sense to mod an expensive guitar. but modding a cheap guitar. adding better pickups, changing lots of parts is satisfying. it feels like you bought a good guitar at a cheap cost. especially if the mods that you added is still cheaper than the guitar equivalent to it.
@@crock2434 I think his point in the video is if you find a guitar that feels like it's meant to be for you,then why mod it?
The problem with moding is the excitement for the "what will it sound like" dopamine hit, and it can become an everlasting pursuit that never ends
Absolutely spot on. I’ve found before with some guitars that when I swapped out the stock pickups, even on cheaper guitars, and put “better” ones in, it didn’t always sound better. As I’ve got older I’ve got much more into getting the best out of the guitars that I have and spending time with them for what they are. Although I did put a tusq string tree on my G&L which helped a lot.
Overthinking it. I think it might have something to do with compulsive tendencies. I don't view anything I do as a "mod". I just simply change/improve something when I feel there's a need to do so.That's completely pragmatic. Never regretted any of it.
I can't help myself! I have to mod things! 😆
I feel you, and I hate it sometimes
yes this is good advice. I think people would get further ahead with just 4 guitars total and then spend time writing songs
Some of us really will never be more than bedroom strummers or hobbyists. And that’s ok too. I hope my daughter sells every guitar and funds her hobbies. Or puts a down payment on another house.
There are some things I mod, some things I keep factory. Depends on what it is, and what I do or dont like about it to begin with.
As someone who has been modding guitars for well over 10 years now...
I agree to a degree. There are mods I find good and necessary, and then there are the mods that are just a nice way to spend your time and tinker, but as you say they suck the life out of the guitar.
My Gibson LP Jr.: swapping the non intonated wraparound bridge to a MCB Savvy for perfect intonation: good mod
My Strat: rewiring the pots so the closest one to the strings controls the volume on the neck pickup and the middle one is the volume for the bridge pickup: good mod
My Telecaster: swapping out the bridge for a Gotoh Modern bridge: bad mod. Killed the twang of the guitar.
I believe in getting a good instrument from the get go; then you can fine tune it. If you need invasive mods, then the guitar is not doing what you want it to do. Better to move on and find something that will.
Preach brother man. Sage advice. When most of our guitar heroes were modding their guitars they one had one or two. You'd find one that played the way you liked and modded to make it sound the way you wanted. For me I love telecasters so I have different teles that do different things.
I can only imagine your pain. I have two guitars that I have done only repairs to, with no modifications. I replaced the bridge of one guitar for cosmetic purposes; its gold plating was worn out. I swapped in a straight replacement. The barrel-style output jack on the other axe went bad; you HAVE to replace those. That's it. The guitar with the gold I haven't even done a fret job on. It shows very visible fret wear, but I don't feel it while playing -- I just express myself. It does what I need and want now, so I haven't changed anything. I really should just MEASURE the mofo so I can replicate the setup when I need to, but it's old, stable and -- well, it's the last guitar with any mystery left to it. I think that's the thing that I can relate to with you, because there is a certain mystery that any instrument has while it is not familiar to the player. Learn an axe thoroughly and you gain power over it, but you do lose the mystery -- because the mystery is ignorance, which is now a FILLED vacuum. Anyhow, here, I apply my philosophy yet again. If knowing when to stop is the best part of any art, then a very fine expression of that aesthetic is to know WHEN NOT TO START! I could probably improve that guitar, but I like it as it is so I'm taking no chances of losing that feel. I have other guitars that I've modded till they nearly fell apart, and I'm really proud of them -- but I'm not touching this one. It needs -- and therefore gets -- NOTHING!
I don't mod anything - if the guitar has what I'm looking for, I buy it. If doesn't, I move on. There's enough choices out there now. The only exception is pickups from time to time, and I have a guy that does that for me. But it rarely happens. When I check out a guitar, I spend at least an hour with it at the shop and go over it with a fine tooth comb. That way I don't get a "crush" on it and later find all the complaints it may have. I've had that happen too many times in the past - no more.
Well....okay....then. Mind blown; it's like you were taking about me. I'm rethinking my relationship with guitars, now. Great vid, glad I stumbled upon your channel, dude. I think I'm going to learn a lot from you.
I have a Fender Duo Sonic HS 2022, I bought it used but it was in very good shape...almost new, the guitar had a fastastic Tone, sounds really great, then I decided to remove the original tuners and install locking tunner Ddario the expensive ones (99 usd) that cut the string while its getting adjusted, anyway once I finish the upgrade the bloody guitar sound very different, the tone was weaker, less sustain, less vibrant.... I checked everything to see what was the problem....finally I installed again the fender tunners and the duo sonic sounds great again.... I was shocked how much the tone can be changed just using different tunners... Im still thinking about this experience...im still not having satisfying conclusion about it
I hear you - the value is part of the appeal. I think you only upgrade what matters most (tuners, etc).
Uncomfortable video.
I think people in general struggle with this dynamic
My thoughts are ideally you want to get *something* foundational out of playing the guitar- skill, ability, songs etc.
All the other ‘stuff’ is secondary and along for the ride but can unfortunately become the focus for most people
It’s like camera nerds who spend 90% of their time on forums, watching gear videos etc rather than taking pictures
I’ve never been happier as a guitarist than when I’ve had specific goals like learn these songs/etudes/techniqies
GAS and tinkering can really give you quick dopamine hits but they are shallow and need to be pursued constantly because of withdrawal lol
I just realized one other thing: The guitars I've changed the most I bought specifically to modify -- especially for that purpose. I could only regret modifying them if I destroyed them. That has happened. I would say that such destruction has cost me less than $150 all told. Small losses that taught me something and led the way to buying gear that doesn't need much modding. Well worth it in the end.
I have 27 guitars after buying another one yesterday. They range in price from $119 to $2,600. I’ve had mods done to almost every one of them. Primarily to improve them to my liking. Some merely out of curiosity. I realize the monetary value will likely be lost, but the next owner of say, for example, my Gretsch G5230T, will also benefit from the roller bridge, Grover locking tuners, and Vibramate string spoiler so that the thing stays in tune and string changes are easier. Or the next owner will love the 50’s wiring and Mojotone pickups that I installed in my Les Paul Tribute. I think they make my guitars a little more uniquely mine and it gives me the ability to try out various pickup types and configurations. I just love to see a guitar, regardless of price or the experience level of the player, be the best instrument it can be in terms of sound and playability.
I'm not a collector, so I don't have or want a bunch of guitars, but the guitars I have are cheap guitars modded to perform specific purposes.
There are not alot of guitars (even expensive ones) that are spec'd with everything I want bone stock, so I take cheaper guitars and mod them.
Guitars are tools for me, not investments, so resale is irrelevant to me, I just need the guitar to do a specific job.
I don't mod a guitar to make it "better" per se - I've played and tinkered enough to find even the cheap no-name guitars nowadays are good enough to play and sound great bone stock with a proper set up. (I find even cheap guitars are rarely unsalvageable)
There's no magic in guitars, when I want something specific out of a guitar I know what needs changing to get there.
I had a D'Angelico Ludlow that I gutted and swapped everything. I could not spend away the shittiness of that guitar. But I also threw a Staytrem on my Jazzmaster and it saved me from endless frustration with the original bridge. I don't miss that old bridge.
Mods should fix a problem you're having. They have worse results when you're chasing something the guitar isn't.
I haven't gotten into modding but I plan to sometime in the future. It's probably gonna take a lot of self control to not overdo it but my main motivation to mod my guitar would be because a certain part (or several parts) starts to function abnormally or is broken.
I currently have three guitars:
1. an Ibanez RG350DXZ (that I've pretty much mistreated because it's my first guitar and I didn't know any better), which has a very rusty trem, rusty pickups, a neck that's in terrible condition and dirty electronics.
2. an Ibanez PGM3 that is technically still in good working condition, though the tremolo is pretty rusted and I'm pretty sure its knife edges are busted. Its pickup screws are also pretty much in-adjustable at the moment (no height change) and its electronics are pretty noisy.
3. a PRS SE 35th Anniversary that I'm still as of now. It's got faulty switches and I would like to replace them.
I would also consider upgrading the pickups on my Ibanez guitars because they're honestly don't sound very good (they're old models so they have the Infnity series pickups - RG has the INF3, INFS3, INF4 and the PGM has the INF1, INFS1, INF2) but my SE sounds completely fine.
I didn't know that this is the state of the current modding guitar community. I grew up during the time when players modded midrange guitars to get high end guitar tones.
The Made in Mexico Fender guitars is a perfect example of getting high end tone with midrange guitars.
I use Schecter basses as platforms to get better tones than Spector basses that cost thousands more.
Bone nut is better than a plactic one.replacement pick ups on some of the ibanez guitars are a must, especially the jazz boxes.
It’s true. I started out with one guitar, schecter C-1Platinum, and it was used but it felt great, it just had some wiring issue that I easily fixed on my own, and it got the snowball rolling. Before I knew it I was buying $50-$75 cheap guitars and learning how to do setups and wiring and all that great stuff that makes a good guitar a great guitar. But it was about $80-100 of supplies and replacement parts for each guitar. Then I started buying $400-500 guitars and didn’t need to do anything to them, and they played great and sounded great. Literally only a year went by and I found myself owning 19 guitars and half of them are cheap squires or epiphones that I won’t be able to sell for what I put into them, but I gained a ton of experience in a short amount of time, and made every guitar I worked on a better sounding and better playing guitar. I still play all of them but I don’t need all of them. Really only need a Strat with a humbucker in it for most sounds. The more I play, the more I find that a cheap $200 modeler pedal can make just about any type of guitar tone.
I have over40 guitars. A lot are modded. A lot are bone stock. It is on an individual basis and is definitely correlated to the price. The $$$ ones are stock. I mod to improve the function.
Good point but you gotta understand that sometimes you do have some great parts lying around and you do see this cheap guitar that you could make great with the parts
Agreed
I bought a Firefly Buckethead Barritone over the summer.
The kill switches were janked and cheap, but the guitar is pretty solid.
I made plans to mod it.
I put a set of D'Addario auto trimming locking tuners on it, and they're fantastic.
The biggest dilemma is the holes through the cap for the kill switches are big enough for a glory hole.
So I had to use big washers just to hold the pots in place.
I ordered a set of Nazgul / Sentient pups, and I'm currently deciding on a wiring harness.
I know it'll be awesome when it's done.
But I could have found something on reverb already modded for much cheaper.
I found a 2021 Epiphone Slash Victoria with hipshot open gears, upgraded pups, and an Obsidian harness for $350 free shipping.
I bought a guitar in mind to swap the pickups, and ordered a set. It's been over a year and the set is still in its case. I might eventually just do it for it's unique voicing, but the stock pickups have been fine.
It all depends on the guitar and what are you going to do with it... I just got an 2024 EBMM Axis, pickups are custom DiMarzios, picked by EVH you can only get with that guitar, top mounted Gotoh bridge that works great... it's perfect no mods needed. I have a RG570 Genesis, phenomenal guitar but didn't like the pickup so I put in DiMarzio Evolution but no other mods. Last MIM Strat though I modded the crap out of it... At the same time I have a 2016 Squier Bullet Strat... paid around $100, still no mods after 8 years because for the price it's special. If you are going to play it at home and just have fun, why mod - just do a good setup, polish the frets etc... If you are going to play it live and you need to control feedback, or you need it to stay in tune perfectly etc... you may need to mod it so that it can handle the duties you are going to use it for long term. I think we are close on thoughts... mod to make it better IF you need but just realize you don't always need to do that.
I do get it though... here is a thought or example. I have a Peavey HP2 that is pretty much perfect. I've thought about upgrading the pickups to something hotter and I thought about upgrading the trem to an OFR just in case I whammy it a lot or want to add a D-Tuna because the cheaper Peavey version doesn't have as big of a base plate to sit flush on the body. However I have a US Wolfgang, older MIJ Wolfgang and the Axis with much hotter pickups. The HP2 plays perfectly and with the coil splits means I can have a guitar with the same body shape but in it's current setup will allow me to play that in groups and settings where to hotter pickups wouldn't work or clean up as well. I'm resisting the urge to mod because truly it's perfect and will do exactly what I want it to do... but yea the urge to customize is there... just have to resist at times :)
Great video with some really good points!
If you’re into ‘modding’ your guitar, I recommend purchasing a husk if set neck or just going with a Warmoth ( or something like that ). Simply for the reason of avoiding purchasing one intact unnecessarily. Sure, Warmoth isn’t cheap although they have sales as well and more times than none you’ll have a far better point to start off at.
I own a Gibson SG Special which I purchased as a husk and I loaded it with a John Mahn bridge, Antiqueti P90 pickups along with a hand wired harness and it plays and sounds fantastic, no regrets.
I feel you bro. I bought a MIM black label strat last year. Absolutely fell in love with it right away. I have been modding little by little and now the only thing left I’m using is the body 😳. I love the new guitar. But it’s really just an entirely different guitar and I miss the one I love with.
I usually buy guitars for cheaper because they need work done to bring them back to playing condition, just because I enjoy doing the work as a hobby. I have started (last 6 builds) keeping track of (documentation) the total costs of the parts I invested in each guitar. Now (last 2 builds), I see something I want to do as a build project, and I decide the vision for that guitar. I then do a projected costs of everything I need to buy to complete that vision (including shipping costs). Then I decide whether the build could be done as an eventual sellable guitar that I can get my money back out of, or if the projected cost is over what I would be able to get out of it. If the projected costs are above market value, I decide if this is a guitar that I want to keep for myself. Then I decide if I want to invest the amount of money it would take to build it for myself, with the features I envision. If I can't make my money back, or the projected costs are above what I am willing to invest to have it to keep, then I don't do the project.
I buy guitars that have good bones. Then start saving to buy better quality parts. I also make it mine with personal touches. I’ll put mine on the headstock. Along with my own personal funny custom shop decals. If I could afford an American Strat. Then you’re right why mod it. It already comes with kick ass parts. Unless something breaks leave it alone.
My friend, guitar modification is an art, at its core. With any art, it's the responsibility of the artist to see to the art's viability -- to make sure that making the art is worth it, at least to the artist. To me, part of the art of guitar modification is getting as close to what I want as possible while keeping costs comfortable. I find that this philosophy keeps things in the realm of "I can't believe this MONSTER didn't cost me any more than THAT!" Not only that, but careful shopping today can turn up deals on instruments that need little or no modification out of the box -- and still keep the wallet happy. I may change cosmetic things from there, but yeah, that's just looks. I tend to spend the bulk of my time (and preferably my bucks) on improving the playability of the axes as well as their sound; if they don't play well and sound good, they're pretty worthless to me. This sort of thing is what has led me to believe that the best part of any art is knowing when to stop. I'll never wind up with custom shop Fenders or Gibsons like this -- but I'm nearing 67; I don't need them. Just some things to play and/or have fun with. Brand names mean little to me; quality means more. Value is king of all. So I keep it reasonable and focus on acquiring guitars that are pretty close to what I'm after in the first place. Working so far.
Me also about the plastic.
Funny thing. I'm gonna swap pickups in a 94" PRS for a burstbuckers. But tbh I don't like a colour at the first place, doesn't deliver clean tones also 🤷
I agree sometimes I build a guitar from scratch means that I source out a good body and a good neck and all the rest top level parts I can say it’s at the custom shop level or better some I have sold most I did not but when I did sell them I never lost money but made minimum money
But the process was a lot of fun and I learned so much about what I like on a guitar so I think if you have the cash and the ability go for it
After giving away my Chibson SG I got a 2024 Epiphone SG standard. The Chibby didn’t even compare to the Epi lol! I put some cheap Dragonfire Screamers in my Epi and it sounded amazing! I’ve been really wanting Fishman Fluence Modern pickups so I got a set which costed almost $300! Long story short I guess I got a dud because the first two days it worked perfectly! I absolutely loved the sound of them. Then just yesterday the neck pickup crapped out. The output drastically dropped. I rewired my guitar three times and couldn’t figure it out. Did some research and found out that a bunch of people has has that happen to them! Should’ve just left it alone. Now I gotta send it back. Im not gonna mess with my Epi anymore…nah, fu€k that gonna throw in some SD black winters hahaha
With all the DIY kits out there, buying a guitar just to modify, does not make much sense.
I really enjoy these videos. Good things to think about.
As a guy who spent 400 on guitar parts and 150 on micro transactions recently, lets just say... I'm going to keep buying guitar parts.
When one looks under the covers of Icons in guitar world with an eye to picking them apart , discarding their deficiencies , keeping their sauce , then they’re going to bust the notion that the market has been playing fair with them ever since the market has been the market . I’ve watched excellent players produce everything anyone would love to hear theirselves playing without setting foot on the gargantuan floyyd rose chunk of hardware and it’s tuning destroying arm . . and couldn’t care less what the body shape was . . except that I’d want it to lean against something without it falling over .
I think modding is fine but you have to be pragmatic about it. If you like the guitar stock leave it. I bought the new squier 12 string jazzmaster. The guitar played well for what it is but the pickups were dreadful. The pickups were dark and muddy. I wasn’t going to get anywhere near a classic 12 string electric sound. A pickup swap cured that problem. The used carvin I picked up needs nothing it will remain stock as will my mij Stratocaster.
I need treble bleeds in my les pauls ;)
You always buy a moded guitar that someone else spec'd out at some point...
Never! Mod all guitars!
I modd guitars because im on a fixed income. I can afford a 300$ high quality base budget model guitar and put between $150 to 200$ a month into it every month until it becomes what I want but what I CAN NOT afford is to drop $900 - $1300 all at once to get the guitar I want so I start cheap and modd every month till I get what I want . And since I don’t plan on selling and my guitars are personal to me it works for me. And even if I did plan to sell them down the road, I can still make money off of them because parts are always gonna be worth what the parts are worth. A fender neck is always gonna go for the price of a fender neck $400 to $650 alone same with all the other fender parts I put on my guitars so It’ll always hold value no matter what. The maker of this you tube video wasn’t wise on the what he decided to upgrade on his starcaster or what he decided to use to do it so of course he had remorse and the guitar wasn’t worth 🍆 in the end what do you expect?? 🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️
i don't take the plastic protection off of anything either 💀 gg
I'm building a les paul kit to 59 material specs with cheap components. But if I had a real LP I wouldn't touch it, or so I think...
bro that long list of mods at the start had my dyin laughing
The only guitars I'm modding, are my two lower priced signature guitars. My LTD KH 202 Hammett signature, and my desert yellow Jem Jr. I can not afford the real ESP KH-2 or a Jem 777V. They go for $6000 plus. So instead. I'm building them to look and play LIKE their more expensive cousins.
The KH-202 will need Gotoh tunners, Floyd Rose Original, and EMG 81/60s to be more inline with the original KH-2 from the mid 90s.
The Jem Jr, and original Edge bridge, Dimarzio PAF Pros, and very little cosmetic things to make it like the 777V ( which go for $10,000)
These guitars play great as is. Is it necessary. No. My other guitars are bone stock and have been for well over 20 years. But i was too young for the Jem 777V when that originally was released, and now can't afford one. Same with the KH-2. But, i found both of these guitars for dirt cheap. They play great. So the bones are there to make my dream guitars from my youth a reality.
I like buying broken guitars for next to nothing and just make them playable if that means buying cheap locking tuners and cheap pickups i just bought a squier it had broken tuners the bridge is all mangled up just easy fix i paid $80 bucks for. $30 for tuners maybe saddles replaced maybe after a good setup it should a really decent guitar for one of my grandkids
Every time I see Jack Pearson playing a stock Squire Bullet I think I just need to be a better guitar player.
You deserve to be commended.
I am a nobody but I have been blessed to live my life as a working musician.
The desire to actually learn music and this instrument is rare.
It is merely a social outlet for most.
You made an old road dog grin. I hope you address your revelation and grow exponentially in your music skills.
Jack is incredible on his Squier. I am a smaller person and find the Squier easier to play. I prefer the Tele version. Unless something breaks leave it alone.
Why would you put a roller nut on a non tremola guitar other than replacing plastic nuts and saddles on acoustic guitars with bone or tusc I don't mod anything replace a defective jack pot or switch and play it or selling it 25 guitars in another I have yet to sell or modify any
I'd rather mod my guitars than relic my guitars.
Modding an axe is so, so so much easier than learning music or how to actually PLAY the guitar.
And then we can spend countless hours TALKING about our modifications and watching more modification videos and buying stuff.
You see very, very, very few of us guitars owners can play.
We couldn't do a 4 hour bar gig if our life depended on it.
We mostly dream and tinker because learning music and guitar is a lot of work.
I disagree with the stop mods mentality. Modding has been built into the DNA of electric guitars from the beginning. Guitarists share the tinker culture of car hot rodding and PC building. Guitars ultimately bear the fingerprints of the musicians that own and play them. Hardware and electronic swaps. Dings and dents. I wanted a Les Paul as an alternative to what I normally play. I didn't want a carved or radiused top variety, so I picked up an inexpensive, flat top Epiphone, and modded it to my liking. As far as monetary concerns go, stop treating guitars like a 401K. Stop treating them as sacred objects imbued with magical properties. The magic is in what you do with the guitar.
Not me I'm the type of guy that will put 200$ pickups in a hundred dollar guitar I like modifying things I do not like passive pickups anymore since I tried active.
If I didnt have the option to mod or customize things to my preferences I would never buy anything, so I don't agree with not modding guitars, there a plenty of people that like off the shelf guitars & keep them that way forever but I am not one of those people & I don't buy very expensive products to mod my guitars up with as long as it does the job I want I look for the best quality for the dollar, like my preference is a Strat style body but I like an ultra hot humbucker in the bridge position and low gain rail single coils in the neck & middle cause I don't like the 60 cycle hum traditional single coils give and the rails give a bit more beed to the sound like a p90 does & that is my mod I do to every Strat type I own but I buy $100 dollar guitars with $100 in mods so for $200 I have a guitar that i enjoy playing more than a $1000 guitar
Nah... keep modding. Keep trying things until you don't like it then revert. No biggy.
Almost all of my guitars are modded. They are mine, I will do as I please with them.
maybe people should just do what they like with their own property.
i love taking a budget guitar and moddig way past high priced gears specs.brand and cost has little to do with quility
What if modding IS the hobby?
I just want the best instrument for the lowest price. If it happens by installing parts on a nothing name brand of guitar to make it sound and play great then that's what I'll do.
For better or worse Santa Monica ain't Tijuana nor that other problematic place at New Mexico. Namastè.
First
Regret... wow
No.
Sorry man. I hear you loud and clear, but I’m buying a gold top and throwing a Bigsby on it, then changing the pickus too. Life is short, I’m going to enjoy it
no
I think your afraid of people buying chibsons and modding them,because we all know it’s perfectly fine to mod your Gibson or epi phone but don’t try to mod a chibson and make it great,I think that’s what’s really bugging you brother,understand that modding becomes a hobby for some,some of us enjoy making cheap guitars sound and look expensive,it’s easier to lose a hundred bucks on $200 guitar than losing 500 on a $2500 dollar guitar.
Mod your guitar