@@bluwng I'll explain: 95% of consumers don't give a crap that you've spent $1000 on upgrades, and will never give you the markup you're asking for. They would rather upgrade it themselves instead of settling for YOUR version. It's a personal preference, nothing more.
You do those mods to add value to YOURSELF. Plus to get the experience of working on instruments. Good point, always keep the stock parts handy to add back to sell it as you got it. Pro tip, on an S-style guitar keep the stock electronics (pups/pots etc.) intact on the stock pickguard for easy reversal of upgrades. Just two solder joints (jack and claw) and you're swapped.
@@BadMotivator66 You have to start with a functionally sound guitar. The cheaper of the name brand guitars are guaranteed to be functionally sound, the $100-200 Squiers, Kramers, Ibanez, etc. When you go with the Chinese brand no-name guitars it often is a total waste of money.
@@joeking433 i have a 200 gio ibanez that I'm playing on cold from now and then . I used to play alot but took a break about 2 years ago. A few days ago it came back to me and I'm thinking I'm not goning sell this guitar ever. I'll buy new parts new pickguard maybe in the future new bridge for now new emg pickups I'll keep the guitar.
Really, adding parts to a cheap guitar will never get you what you want for it. Doesn't matter if you spent $500 on it. If I really don't care about the upgrades you installed, I won't give you $700 for a guitar I can get elsewhere for $200 and modify it to my own liking.
I got a Chinese Ace Frehley Les Paul for $319. I put $600 into new wiring, tuners, bridge, stoppiece, knobs, nut, toggle switch, pickups, pots, truss rod cover, Jack plate, etc. I have no intention of selling. Why did I do this? Because, for $900 I learned a ton about guitars, have an amazing sounding guitar, and have exactly what I wanted without spending $5000 for the Epiphone Ace Frehley or $10,000 for the Gibson.
That's exactly my plan. Some of those Chibsons, while not built to the same quality as genuine Gibsons, with the right upgrades can make them look and play just as good if not better and you didn't have to sell your internal organs to get the guitar you always wanted, even if it is psychological.
12 or 13 years ago, I could find Mexican Strats in pawn shops for $250 USD. That was asking price. They would most likely negotiate. I make about the same money as back then and everything is double or more.
Most people that mod cheap guitars aren't looking to sell them. We're just guys on a budget that want to have nice instruments that we can afford and learn how to do mods. All 11 of my guitars are cheap guitars that I made better and I wouldn't dream of selling any of them. Well, my Fender Malibu Player isn't cheap or heavily modded, but I did install locking tuners on it and plan to eventually replace the electronics with the Hyvibe system (gives you effects without an amplifier.)
You can always resell the parts quite easily. Be sure to buy the name brand parts so you can resell them, not the cheap stuff which are throwaways. For example, you can always resell a Gibson or Semour Duncan pickup for what you bought them for used. In fact I bought some used Gibson pickups for $50-60 a year or so ago and resold them for $85 recently.
Most people don't mod their guitars with the intention of selling it. I've done it because I actually liked a guitar and wanted to make it better. If the neck is good and it's made from decent wood you can make it sound as good or better than guitars costing way more.
Just started playing my brand new (NOS) 2011 American Standard Strat. The stock Tremolo is pure crap unless you enjoy all six strings never quite getting back to neutral. Everyone upgrades the Trem to the Vega Trem and that downgrades your wallet almost 3 'C'-notes.😄🤑 I just got a Sawtooth Heritage and I am going to upgrade to Humbuckers. Thanks for this topic as it makes me ponder too.
I have a different and common concern, I am also surprised no one has addressed. I get really good deals on very cool and unique guitars, still bargain but unique. Now they are old and need refret, the refret is twice as expensive as the instrument. I will never be able to,get the same model,and color now but the price of the refret (ss frets) I could just buy a new guitar.
i had a white encore strat refretted! it's a very nice guitar, but the refret did cost a few times the value of the guitar. i'm keeping it and it's to be played, but i'd never get my money back on it
I always listen carefully to the unplugged sound, and will first work on improvements for a better unplugged sound. The very last thing I change (if ever, because often it‘s not necessary) are the pickups and maybe caps that suit better to them. If I can not get a guitar to sound good unplugged, I find it unworthy to change electronics. I‘ll probably don’t sell it and keep it for experiments or as a slide guitar. But till now I was lucky with my 6 cheap guitars😊 Some cheap guitars (even expensive ones) seem to have bad matching wood parts, or something not well build, and therefore not resonant and poor sounding unplugged. 🤷🏻♂️
@@BadMotivator66 That's true, but expensive guitars can be dull, too. You can always find out what is making a guitar dull and change parts. Start with the pickups, I've switched pickups and made great guitars from dull ones by changing pickups. Stick with brand name pickups like Gibson, Dimarzio, or Seymour Duncan and you can always get your money back out of them if you buy them used. If you want a lively guitar go with lighter woods. Heavy hardwood guitars really deaden the sound and all that you hear are the pickups. I've found guitars with lighter woods that there will be more resonance from the woods influencing the sound. Your guitar looks really heavy and you won't get any resonance of the wood.
It’s all my fault that you come to the end with cheap guitars but at least you have a the experience and information to pass on to other people now great video. 👍
Putting $300 pickups on your $150 dollar guitar will get you at least the price you paid for the pickups. Albeit, putting $25 pickups on it will only net you the price of the guitar.
This is true. I have an AliExpress strat made to my spec that I’m currently upgrading. It now has Gotoh tuners & bridge, genuine 1964 3 way switch & capacitor, new CTS pots, and 1994 Antiquity pickups hand wound by Seymour Duncan himself. I bet I could probably get my money back if I resell.
@@TheFakeNewsFrog Sorry for the belated reply. You'll get your money back if the guitar has the same features that a buyer wants. That's the problem with modding a guitar with cherry picked parts; if you're upgrading it for resale, then you probably won't get your money back, but if you're modifying it into your dream guitar, then it will always be priceless to you.
@@kiillabytez No worries, 3 years ain’t that bad!😂 And I completely understand that. The guitar body and neck would’ve been worth probably less than half of what I paid for it, but the parts themselves would’ve kept a good value. In the end, I decided to make it my dream guitar. I ordered a custom body from MJT, and this past year I’ve been waiting for the custom neck to be built here in the UK. It’s going to have mother of pearl, brass, and lapis lazuli inlays. It’s got a 250+ year old Brazilian Rosewood fretboard on a roasted 5A maple neck. I’m about £3600 deep at this point😅
@ Pretty much! Twice if you include the AliExpress one… 😅 But this one is mine, and it’s the only one like it in the world. It has a custom graphic on the body that I had drawn, a hidden picture under the top layer of paint, the custom inlays, an 18k gold bullet truss rod, my own neck shape and taper, mammoth tusk nut… Plus I’ve got another BR fretboard spare for any future projects. To have Fender build it, it’d probably of cost a minimum of £20k tbh.
Anyone who upgrades a cheap guitar I think doesnt go into it for the money.They do it cause the base platform is worth dropping a $100 into to make a wonderful playing and gigging guitar.I’d rather gig my $130 upgraded Truffle Leo Jaymz Strat then my 83’MIA Strat.The funny thing is,I feel more value cause of its sound then my Fender Strat,So it just gets played at home or at friends gigs if needed.Yet my $130 Strat with GFS pick gaurd and some wilkinson locking tuners and tremelo is a way better tool for sounds. So it gets used heavily. If it breaks I dont mind,I can eat a$130 and swap the parts over.Plus its just fun upgrading guitars to your standards.That Strat copy is a solid base to start with and the truffle color with Maple neck and fret board is awesome.I know a lot of people now that gig with squires upgraded and MIA Strats,yet they want my Leo Jaymz $250 total investment upgraded guitar.I quit buying expensive guitars. I own a few and no more.I have a 79’Lp Custom with Floyd Rose Tremolo,89’Studio Lp,83 Strat MIA,95 MIM Tele,79’Yamaha Acoustic,80’Fanning Acoustic as my name brand expensive guitars.yet I play my Monoprice upgraded Tele,Leo Jaymz Strat upgraded,Grote Semi Hollow Body es335 stock,IVY Les Paul(upgraded with CTS pots,GFS retrotrons)Grote SG with GFS pickups,Wilkinson LP jade locking tuners.I replace my nuts on all of them to bone or tusq,simple fret job and all my acoustics have brass saddle bobbins cause they sound mean.So dont discourage people with selling a modified cheap guitar.Theyre not meant to sell,theyre meant to play and enjoy and if it breaks while gigging,easy and cheap replacement by swspping the parts over.LoudLove Bro.🔊🔊🔊💜💜💜
@Badmotivator Thats true. You usually gotta find the base that is worth the time and effort or the guitar is mos def gonna be no good at all.Yet, a lot of the cheaper guitars from certain companies are solid foundations.Take that Truffle Leo Jaymz Strat I got. It had a rolled fret board,very clean fret work,beautiful body and great neck joint/cavity area.Now the routing was a tad less and the electronics were below cheap.Thanks to a lil elbow grease and a few dollars all that was a cinch to upgrade.It turned into a superb instrument.You know Guitar Fetish has been my go to for almost 10 yrs now.My opinion is their pick ups are probably the best and cheapest on the market right now and so worth the price.I found an old MIJ Strat in the trash for the garbage company I worked for.Someone obviously took care of it for decades and it was a solid Squire Strat.I cleaned it,a lil fret work,changed the Pots(one was no good)and a good set up and wow! I gave it to my mother inlaw as a gift cause she never owned a Strat.Now she had been playing a few expensive Strats she was looking to buy around that $1200 range.She played that MIJ Strat O gave her a lil fixed up and was in love. Now its the guitar she goes to over her Ricks,Guilds,Prs and Gibsons.Thats what I shoot for. Does it inspire? Never more then a $100 bucks and a few hours of simple work. You cant polish a turd and call it a diamond,thats the cold hard truth.I just know there are plenty of solid base’s out there and with a lil love they can be superb and inspirational tools to have in ones arsenal of music.LoudLove🔊🔊🔊💜💜💜
Nowadays as guitar is made by CNCs almost perfectly everytime. So a strat copy that costs 100 and a custom shop strat that costs several thousands are pretty much the same guitar..the difference is the crappy zinc(or plastic) parts that are on the budget one vs the quality ones on the expensive one. So if we are talking about modding a guitar to raise its value i agree that is stupid and if you are of that mindset stop right now...BUT if we are talking about taking a beater and making it play and sound as good as the custom shop that can easily be done...change everything but the wood (including frets) with quality aftermarket parts and keep the originals in a box....now you basically have a free guitar cause 100 dollars give or take is not an investment and the actual quality parts you have that cost decent money you are gonna reuse them in countless guitars(if you want to). So if i take that guitar you are holding, install jescar stainless steel fretwire(the best fretwire you can find),hipshot tuners, kinman prewired pickguard, new nut etc etc etc...the works now that guitar is still that 100 dollar guitar in the eyes of the market but its a custom shop quality instrument as far as playability, sound and reliability is concerned, not to mention it has an anti theft mechanism on the headstock cause everyone reading that logo wont try to steal it anytime soon anyway.... The guy that got the custom shop has the added disadvantage that anything that happens to his overpriced guitar devalues it to the market....a scratch here and chip of the paint there and you ll see him cry bitter tears not to mention avoid to take it anywhere cause he fears something ll happen to it while the modding guy doesnt really care cause how much you can devalue 100 bucks?The aftermarket parts sure as hell wont get damaged easily so...its a win win for him AT ALL TIMES. Icing on the cake..if i want a new guitar i can put most of the original parts back in sell it to someone that ll get a guitar with banging perfect frets,a new nut and the original parts(so a good deal for him too) plus i can easily get another equivalent guitar and drop the expensive parts that already have....presto..my new guitar almost cost nothing....modding inexpensive guitar is the way...if you are doing the work yourself.
@@BadMotivator66 The point is that a cnc made guitar doesnt have structural flaws..now if you prefer a guitar with a thicker neck or wider one that falls under the preference thing and has nothing to do with the quality of the instrument...a budget guitar(and guitar is only the body and the neck by the way not the parts) is made perfectly every time nowadays something that was never the case back in the day. Also its not like inexpensive guitars are made of woods drenched in rivers or something.....i have yet to find guitars made in the last couple of decades that are warped or along those lines.... Iam not talking about partcastering by the way(so no problems with fitting a new neck)..iam talking about keeping the original neck with the original body every time and change everything else...If you give ANY neck quality new frets,new nut and precision tuners..now thats a new neck...and if you bother to roll the fretboard a bit..now its like a custom shop neck....feeling like butter and without paying extra thousands for the logo worshiping....
@@Dreamdancer11 sounds good in theory, but i had 2 epi G400s and both had things routed off centre. one the bridge, the other the tailpiece. and these are close to 300 quid, at least 250 guitars. not bottom of the barrel strat copy stuff
@@BadMotivator66 Never heard of CNC misaligning stuff...thats was true in the era BEFORE automation when things were done by hand and even the iconic strats and teles of old have sloppy neck pockets...that era is long gone and unless you shop from some crazy obscure alibaba type chinese vendor the quality of a solid body electric guitar nowadays is through the roof...everything is automated and perfect every time.....you can debate that the finish is superior on expensive guitars (and it usually is) or that the parts on the guitar(that we are gonna change anyway) but to sit here and tell us that cncs produced misaligned guitars thats simply laughable....
What if I don’t want to sell it, but to keep to play it? Nobody would buy my Indonesia-made, 10+ y.o. cheap Ibanez RG, but I just love to play it and got it to sound the way I like and need.
Depends on what you're asking for it, and I'd probably mod it myself, so to know I'm saving more by buying a pre-modded guitar with parts I like, it would definitely be worth checking out.
Guitar acquisition for Busine$$ reasons is not an Artistic musical decision. The true value of a guitar to a musician really is in its usefulness if not its nostalgic emotional worth. Resale value should be the last thing on my mind when I'm considering buying an instrument but versatility, purpose and utility SHOULD be above all even if it means taking a total loss if it doesn't work out as expected.
changing small pot for CTS pots makes no difference. the better quality pots last longer so the only way you get an advantage from changing pots is if the ones in the guitar are faulty
@@BadMotivator66 tolerance just means how close to 500k it is 5% or 10% is not going to make a differance. But a lot of peolple reccomend changing them as a matter of course when there is no need. if they are scratch or intermitant then it is worh a change
Who builds a parts guitar, puts mediocre electronics and hardware and expects to sell it for more than a real one? This guy............ You can get a warmoth body and neck, and still can't sell it for more than a squier to a guitar store or pawn shop. Who makes a judgement by putting crapping pickups. And even that, just because you like that pickup, your guitar might not. So it will suck. Change the pickups. Not every guitar that doesn't sing unplugged is going to suck. I have several guitars like that and they have a phat tone when plugged in. And usually they have pickups that I would of never thought of using. Your judgement is an ignorant one. I got a chibanez Jem. I literally took the pups with electronics still attached, off my actually jem7v. Along with the gotoh tuners and edge. Put it all on the chibanez and its a beast. I collect Jem's of all models so I got one to see what's the story because people do not give good advice on guitars. People who play it, think it's a real Jem. Because they don't know. I bought it from a guitar store who bought it from someone. And he thought is was a real Jem. The moment I saw it, I knew it was fake. He tried to sell for $1200. I had to bring him my real Jem 7v and show him the differences. So I bought from him for $150. The body is cheap but it's wood. The neck needs some TLC every so often but it will play good all night at a gig and even outside. I use it for my outside gigs actually, especially at the beach. I'm not using my real Jem there. Good video, bad advice though.
I have noticed a certain narrative getting aggressively pushed online (usually by a very vocal subset of players) that if you put enough money into pickups, electronics, and other parts like tuners and bridge components, you will get a guitar that is "just as good if not better" than a good upper mid-tier or even higher end instrument. This sounds nice as a sort of feel-good platitude but unless you start seriously thinking about putting down $500+ for a new neck or $250+ for new pickups and electronics, it is going to be tough to really start getting into that "just as good" category. By the time you have upgraded a cheap Strat to the point where it technically can match a American Stratocaster (or any other high-end take on a Stratocaster), you probably would have been better off saving money and just buying a American Strat used.
What's a neck? Wood with frets. I just got a Squier Affinity Strat and had the neck Plek'd. Best playing guitar I've ever played! It's ALL about the setup, all about level frets and low action. A maple neck is a maple neck. I can't believe they charge $700 for a Fender American neck. That's absurd! But hey, if you're going to charge $2000 for an American Strat then you have to charge at least $700 for the neck, right? Just maple and metal, maple and metal.
This is stupid, you absolutely can get added value from something like high end pickups. But anything used is not going to be the same as new. This is also when people sell to a store. I spent $600 total on a strat that I put together and was offered a grand for it. It depends on what you are doing. Try and route out a tele for a Floyd rose then you will probably not get added value. But locking tuners is added value when you sell (just stick with drop in replacements)
@@BadMotivator66 okay but I don’t really care about selling my guitars and if I’m gonna sell it I’m gonna do it through Reverb or Ebay where I can decide how much it worth
If someone is upgrading inexpensive guitars and increasing resale value is playing ANY part in that decision, you've already made a big mistake. Likewise, upgrading parts on 90% of the sub-$300 guitars, you'll get some improvement but I still find it's just something that's not really worth doing. It's the mid-level guitars where the sweet spot is for doing changes like this. Adding a $175 Callahan tremolo, $230 Fralins, etc to a $100 guitar is like polishing a turd. I know there are MANY people out there who believe a Squire Bullet is just as good as an Fender American Standard. I can understand wanting to think a $150 can compete with a $1200, but just ain't. I've been a guitar tech for 15 years and have seen $300 hardware come in on guitars with particleboard bodies it's just a waste. They'd be far better served taking that money and buying a used MIM Strat. With lower priced Strats, as long as the pickups aren't making your ears bleed, then one of the best upgrades is the Tremolo block. Going to a machined cold rolled steel block on a Strat with one of those thin blocks that seem like they're made from clay is going to give a pretty big improvement. That's not to say that any MIM Strat is going to be great right off the bat, I had one that was heavy and seemed like the polyester finish was an inch thick. I like to deck my tremolo; so it's pulled against them body and only goes down in pitch. 85% of the Strats I handle have them floating, and if mine had been there probably wouldn't have been much of a difference with that heavy body, since the body isn't playing a really big part in the tone at that point. But having three Tremolo flush really has a huge difference in the tone and playing feel, and it just really deaden'd the resonance. At the end of the day; upgrading mid-range guitars CAN make a decent guitar great, but upgrading low end ones really can't make a poor guitar decent.
I think any guitar can be great. but as you pay less the likelihood will decrease. it depends on the guitar, you can always get a bad one or a good one. at this point i've had so many cheap strats i know how good or meh one is pretty much from the start and mostly it's not worth the effort. if it already rings, i'd say it is! but the guitar has to resonate to start with. thanks for watching!
@@BadMotivator66 Well I'd agree most can sound good, in certain applications, I wouldn't say all though. Definitely want it to resonate enough that you can hear it acoustically. One of the easiest and cheapest ways (and probably the MOST overlooked) to give some life to a stale sounding guitars is to change strings. Yes, restringing it regularly helps, but in this instance I'm talking about the type of strings. Most of the time when someone would bring a guitar to me that wasn't a repair or service, it's to some upgrade or modification. The majority of them know exactly what they want done. The other segment are people looking for a particular result, but aren't sure how to get it. The vast majority of the time it revolves around making their modern guitar sound more "vintage." Of these, it's probably Les Paul owners 2 out of 3 times. Of course their first thought is new pickups. But one of the things that costs me the most in work that I DON'T end up doing on it. I've been working with amps far more over the last 7 or 8 years, but when I was strictly working repairing guitars the shop I was out of was a Fralin pickup distributor for a few years, then Lollar. I think most of the people who do this work would agree that if you're going about looking for a certain "quality" to be enhanced in a guitar but aren't sure how to go about it, starting with the easiest, cheapest and least invasive changes first. That in mind, I'd give them a pack of Pure nickel wound strings. Most players think their strings after nickel, because that's what it says on the front, but they're usually nickel plated steel. Even though I'd lose out on the sale and instillation of the pickups, many times the change of strings are enough, for a while at least. I starting using them more out of curiosity than anything else. I had a Strat that had an issue when I played the Low E string up higher than the 12th fret where, (acoustically more then plugged in, but also plugged) it would produce this metallic "klanging" sound, to this day I don't know what the issue had been. Someone mentioned how they went to pure nickel wrapped strings when after that could never go back, so I tried them out. The first thing I noticed was how it affected the acoustic sound. Normally when you strum an electric, it produces that quiet, thin "pinging" tone, the nickel strings made it pretty much sound just like an acoustic guitar, just MUCH quieter. That unplugged thin ping was replaced with an actual musical tone. The second benefit was that it increased the tuning stability MANY times over. I had locking tuners, and whenever I replace strings, I start with the tuners in the same position every time: Low E @ 5:00 position/ A: 4:00/ D: 3:00/G and B:2:00/ and high E at 1:00. Doing this I could tell when the guitar was in tune just looking at it. After it's tuned, I stretch the strings out; tugging upwards lightly at the 12th fret, which results in it going flat, and I just repeat the process until it's stops going flat. With normal strings, this is literally an all day thing, they'll seem like they're done going flat, only to have it happen after a few minutes. The pure nickel, 3 times 95% of the time is all it takes, every once in a while it'll take a 4th, but rarely. I can play for an hour and they stay in tune. Lastly, for whatever reason it made that metallic klanging go away indifferently. Ive been using pure nickel ever since in most guitars with the exception of my semi hollow. I usually ordered my strings with everything else, but when I went to working on amps, I paid less attention to getting them and every once in a while I'd have to get a set at Guitar Center, even I did I usually bought all of the ones I use because most other places didn't carry them. Every once in a while one set wound be a completely different type when gauge that I missed when I grabbed them. At one point I had to put on the standard plated steel strings, and sure as shit, that metallic klang was back. I still don't know what was causing it any why it goes away with nickel strings. That was an unnecessarily long post, forgive me...😏 Moral of the story, if you haven't tried them yet, give nickel a try.
@@timwhite5562 interesting story! yeah the guitar has to resonate first. i think string material must make a difference there. i think i tried 'nickel' once and found no difference but i wasn't really paying much attention to them. I may give them a go! thanks for watching :)
@@BadMotivator66 Really? I'm surprised to hear that, I find them to be pretty noticable. Although, when I suggest nickel, MANY people will say that they've tried them, or that they're currently using them. They can be confusing because make many brands will label them as "nickel electric guitar strings," when they're actually nickel plated. I'm not sure if it's Ernie Balls or D'addario that call them nickel when they're just nickel plated. They have to specifically be "pure" nickel wrapped. Another thing that really has a noticeable effect on resonance and sustain, at least with Strats and other floating/ partial-floating" tremolo equipped models, is how you have the tremolo set. On Strats, especially the 6 screw vintage style but many times also on the 2 point knife-edge pivoting type I currently play; having the tremolo decked (pulled flush against the body, only allowing going down in pitch) makes a world of difference in just about every way, from tone to how the whole thing feels and plays. When they're pulled flush, the entire instrument just resonates so much more strongly, that I swear after playing it like that long enough, you'd be able to tell you were out of tune or playing the wrong note even if you want completely deaf. I feel EVERY note, from the lowest fretted note to an open-E running through the guitar. You can feel it in the tips of the fingers on your freezing fretting hand, to the top of your lap of you're sitting, to your ribcage where the body rests against. It gives it a significant increase in that punchy snap of of the pick attack, which will actually make lighter 9 gauge strings behave closer to 11s. While floating the tremolo will soften that attack and snap quite a bit. Neither of these are subjectively "better," per say, but quite different. Actually, not to open this can if worms, but the first time I came to the conclusion that fretboard wood can have an influence in the overall tone is when I did a neck swap. I had a American Standard years ago with a rosewood fretboard. I always liked the maple fretboard look on the American STD that they used for a few years during that iteration of them, so at one point I actually traded my rosewood for someone's maple, they were the same year and model. I fully expected it to just be a difference in look, I had never even heard that it could change the overall tone and feel. When I finally swapped it, I found that it really added to that snap to such a degree, I wasn't really keen on it at the time. The luthier that I eventually learned how to do all the work I later was doing in the shop mentioned the idea of the 2 boards having different qualities, and suggested changing my setup to float the tremolo from the flush that I had been using. It DEFINITELY softened that effect to the point that it sounded closer to how I wanted to it be. Later I decided that I preferred the extra sustain from decking is enough that I went back to it, and compensated the change in other ways. Now I just prefer the snap myself.
Great video! Totally agree with your points. Only worth it to modify a guitar if it's something you enjoy playing, and want to improve it for your own sake.
Bought a Dean Vendetta for $56 and replaced the parts with a roller bridge, locking tuners, Tusq nut, Sealed pickups, and strap-loks. Got it professionally setup last week. Guitar plays like a dream now, and since I spent around $100 in upgrades, I find it has become a dream to play now. Will I ever sell it? Probably not.
I see people buying some of these budget guitars Leaving them completely stock and selling them on various websites reverb Amazon eBay etc. for a lot more $ than they bought them for So I don’t see why you couldn’t get more money for a modified version of these guitars to somebody in the know that is doing their homework ? And some of the styles and finishes on the guitars are limited runs and aren’t available anymore
generally maybe you could get slightly more, if anything, but you won't get the value of the parts 2nd hand on their own- and certainly not their new value!
I've found if the guitar doesn't feel, play, and sound good with cheap stock electronics, it won't be all that great when you mod it up and open it up. I've actually found that changing out wiring, pots, and electronics in a higher end guitar tends to improve the guitar more than if you do the same thing with a squire or cheaper guitar. I've been blown away when I would mod my les paul studio, but I've modded up cheaper guitars and mexican strats and teles and I end up getting rid of them eventually after the mods. It's just the way they're built.
Yeah I agree, I think it’s to do with the wood cut, treatment, and how the pieces are jointed to fit. Amongst many many other things ofc! I have some cheap guitars I really like, I’ve tried expensive guitars I didn’t. For me the common factor was how dull the bad ones felt. Like it was fighting itself to try and resonate, but just couldn’t.
This is not entirely accurate. Se squiers, bullets, and affinities maybe not but ive done it to the indio cali classic a few times and and made double what i had in it by really customizing it in my free time. I upgraded everything and scalloped the frets 12 through 22. I played it a few years, cleaned it up, and sold it for 300 bucks.
I have upgraded Indio and Glarry did fret leveling sold them and made alittle money and i enjoy doing it, you learn alot about guitars and the better sound and easier to play.
Upgrading cheap guitars is a waste of time and money. Cheap wood is cheap wood. A cheap build is a cheap build. If these basic foundations (wood and build) aren’t there in the first place then changing pickups, tuners and bridges isn’t going to make much difference.
Oh, but it does from my experience. Gotta start with something decent to begin with. Can't polish a turd, but if the build is decent from a known, quality manufacturer and not some unknown Chinese toymaker trying out guitar building for the first time, I'd say go for it.
@@BadMotivator66 I agree with that. It's when you start paying an unnecessary premium for "exotic" woods and veneers, (which incidentally cost no more than the paint on the guitar itself) is when I favor normal woods. Is swamp ash worth the extra price? I seriously don't think so.
That is true for any other instrument except solid body electric guitars.Nowadays you get a perfectly fine cnc made instrument either you go for a high end or a cheap one(meaning they are built the same)....the difference is in the quality of the parts and the details...i have handbuilt my own instruments but i have also heavily modded ultra cheap instruments... My squier bullet pink strat that i picked used for 40 bucks has now the best stainless steel frets out there(jescar),scalloped fretboard,new inlays,aluminum nut,gotoh tuners,kinman pickups,brand new electronics....the works....the perfect SS frets along with the scalloping make the playability smoother than any "real" fender strat out there and the kinman pickups are in a league of their own vs the standard fender offerings..... So lets say i get a signature strat brand new and spend way more what would i get?Better playability or better sound? Thats negative in both cases....what i ll get is just ...status....you have a "real" strat so you are accepted amongst your peers kinda thing......well i dont need useless validation i just want the best instrument i can possibly get for the least amount of money.....and i got it....in fact i got 8 of them along the same lines.
if youre upgrading cheap guitars to sell them on then youre upgrading them for the wrong reason. you upgrade them to play the shit out of them and play gigs with them and then not care if it gets damaged
That simply is not true. Upgrading a Mexican standard will increase the value. Upgrading a squier deluxe will also. Just depends on what you upgrade. Remember something's value is what people will pay for it
@@almostliterally593 Aren't those what they use for speakers? Never heard of them being used for pickups. Could you name a brand or two that uses alembic magnets in pickup construction?
I don't think it's ever worth upgrading a guitar that you know you are going to sell. Only keepers are worth upgrading.
yeah i agree. and if you decide to sell one, taking the bits off it again makes the most sense
If you're going to sell a guitar, why on earth would you waste money on parts for it?
@@kiillabytez why not
@@bluwng Well, I guess you get a stupid answer when you ask a stupid question, right?
@@bluwng I'll explain: 95% of consumers don't give a crap that you've spent $1000 on upgrades, and will never give you the markup you're asking for. They would rather upgrade it themselves instead of settling for YOUR version. It's a personal preference, nothing more.
You do those mods to add value to YOURSELF.
Plus to get the experience of working on instruments.
Good point, always keep the stock parts handy to add back to sell it as you got it.
Pro tip, on an S-style guitar keep the stock electronics (pups/pots etc.) intact on the stock pickguard for easy reversal of upgrades. Just two solder joints (jack and claw) and you're swapped.
yep i agree, value may not just be monetary- it's what some values
Who gives a crap about getting your money back from your guitar..... just keep it an play the heck out of it, and enjoy the upgraded parts.
i actually stripped this one back down and sold it haha. it really wasn't that good of a guitar, as i discovered by playing a few more strats
@@BadMotivator66 You have to start with a functionally sound guitar. The cheaper of the name brand guitars are guaranteed to be functionally sound, the $100-200 Squiers, Kramers, Ibanez, etc. When you go with the Chinese brand no-name guitars it often is a total waste of money.
@@joeking433 i have a 200 gio ibanez that I'm playing on cold from now and then . I used to play alot but took a break about 2 years ago. A few days ago it came back to me and I'm thinking I'm not goning sell this guitar ever. I'll buy new parts new pickguard maybe in the future new bridge for now new emg pickups I'll keep the guitar.
Modding a guitar for the sole purpose of reselling it means you're no longer a guitarist. You're just a reseller.
the point of upgrading a cheap guitar is for it to have good playability not to upgrade its resale value..
It’s worth knowing, though
A lot of buyers of modded or partscaster are after the scavenge. You can find some with component parts that's worth more than the asking price...
Exactly. Otherwise, it's just a waste of money and time.
Really, adding parts to a cheap guitar will never get you what you want for it. Doesn't matter if you spent $500 on it. If I really don't care about the upgrades you installed, I won't give you $700 for a guitar I can get elsewhere for $200 and modify it to my own liking.
I got a Chinese Ace Frehley Les Paul for $319. I put $600 into new wiring, tuners, bridge, stoppiece, knobs, nut, toggle switch, pickups, pots, truss rod cover, Jack plate, etc. I have no intention of selling. Why did I do this? Because, for $900 I learned a ton about guitars, have an amazing sounding guitar, and have exactly what I wanted without spending $5000 for the Epiphone Ace Frehley or $10,000 for the Gibson.
that's the spirit!
That's exactly my plan. Some of those Chibsons, while not built to the same quality as genuine Gibsons, with the right upgrades can make them look and play just as good if not better and you didn't have to sell your internal organs to get the guitar you always wanted, even if it is psychological.
12 or 13 years ago, I could find Mexican Strats in pawn shops for $250 USD. That was asking price. They would most likely negotiate. I make about the same money as back then and everything is double or more.
Most people that mod cheap guitars aren't looking to sell them. We're just guys on a budget that want to have nice instruments that we can afford and learn how to do mods. All 11 of my guitars are cheap guitars that I made better and I wouldn't dream of selling any of them. Well, my Fender Malibu Player isn't cheap or heavily modded, but I did install locking tuners on it and plan to eventually replace the electronics with the Hyvibe system (gives you effects without an amplifier.)
You can always resell the parts quite easily. Be sure to buy the name brand parts so you can resell them, not the cheap stuff which are throwaways. For example, you can always resell a Gibson or Semour Duncan pickup for what you bought them for used. In fact I bought some used Gibson pickups for $50-60 a year or so ago and resold them for $85 recently.
nice! yeah that's the sweetspot. used name brand gear
Most people don't mod their guitars with the intention of selling it. I've done it because I actually liked a guitar and wanted to make it better.
If the neck is good and it's made from decent wood you can make it sound as good or better than guitars costing way more.
if all wood is different, doesn't that depend on the guitar?
Just started playing my brand new (NOS) 2011 American Standard Strat. The stock Tremolo is pure crap unless you enjoy all six strings never quite getting back to neutral. Everyone upgrades the Trem to the Vega Trem and that downgrades your wallet almost 3 'C'-notes.😄🤑 I just got a Sawtooth Heritage and I am going to upgrade to Humbuckers. Thanks for this topic as it makes me ponder too.
And that strat your holding is beautiful
she was a looker! but it was very heavy and sadly pretty dull and dead as a guitar
I have a different and common concern, I am also surprised no one has addressed. I get really good deals on very cool and unique guitars, still bargain but unique. Now they are old and need refret, the refret is twice as expensive as the instrument. I will never be able to,get the same model,and color now but the price of the refret (ss frets) I could just buy a new guitar.
i had a white encore strat refretted! it's a very nice guitar, but the refret did cost a few times the value of the guitar. i'm keeping it and it's to be played, but i'd never get my money back on it
I always listen carefully to the unplugged sound, and will first work on improvements for a better unplugged sound. The very last thing I change (if ever, because often it‘s not necessary) are the pickups and maybe caps that suit better to them.
If I can not get a guitar to sound good unplugged, I find it unworthy to change electronics. I‘ll probably don’t sell it and keep it for experiments or as a slide guitar. But till now I was lucky with my 6 cheap guitars😊
Some cheap guitars (even expensive ones) seem to have bad matching wood parts, or something not well build, and therefore not resonant and poor sounding unplugged. 🤷🏻♂️
Expensive guitars never live up to expectations while modded Squiers always surprise you how good they are!
i wish it was always... a dull guitar always will be dull, i think...
@@BadMotivator66 That's true, but expensive guitars can be dull, too. You can always find out what is making a guitar dull and change parts. Start with the pickups, I've switched pickups and made great guitars from dull ones by changing pickups. Stick with brand name pickups like Gibson, Dimarzio, or Seymour Duncan and you can always get your money back out of them if you buy them used.
If you want a lively guitar go with lighter woods. Heavy hardwood guitars really deaden the sound and all that you hear are the pickups. I've found guitars with lighter woods that there will be more resonance from the woods influencing the sound. Your guitar looks really heavy and you won't get any resonance of the wood.
@@joeking433 yep, i'm convinced it's partly luck and witchcraft
@@BadMotivator66Coz you suck
It’s all my fault that you come to the end with cheap guitars but at least you have a the experience and information to pass on to other people now great video. 👍
Putting $300 pickups on your $150 dollar guitar will get you at least the price you paid for the pickups.
Albeit, putting $25 pickups on it will only net you the price of the guitar.
This is true. I have an AliExpress strat made to my spec that I’m currently upgrading.
It now has Gotoh tuners & bridge, genuine 1964 3 way switch & capacitor, new CTS pots, and 1994 Antiquity pickups hand wound by Seymour Duncan himself. I bet I could probably get my money back if I resell.
@@TheFakeNewsFrog Sorry for the belated reply.
You'll get your money back if the guitar has the same features that a buyer wants. That's the problem with modding a guitar with cherry picked parts; if you're upgrading it for resale, then you probably won't get your money back, but if you're modifying it into your dream guitar, then it will always be priceless to you.
@@kiillabytez No worries, 3 years ain’t that bad!😂
And I completely understand that. The guitar body and neck would’ve been worth probably less than half of what I paid for it, but the parts themselves would’ve kept a good value.
In the end, I decided to make it my dream guitar. I ordered a custom body from MJT, and this past year I’ve been waiting for the custom neck to be built here in the UK. It’s going to have mother of pearl, brass, and lapis lazuli inlays. It’s got a 250+ year old Brazilian Rosewood fretboard on a roasted 5A maple neck.
I’m about £3600 deep at this point😅
@@TheFakeNewsFrog So, you've essentially paid somebody to build you a guitar?
@ Pretty much! Twice if you include the AliExpress one… 😅
But this one is mine, and it’s the only one like it in the world. It has a custom graphic on the body that I had drawn, a hidden picture under the top layer of paint, the custom inlays, an 18k gold bullet truss rod, my own neck shape and taper, mammoth tusk nut… Plus I’ve got another BR fretboard spare for any future projects.
To have Fender build it, it’d probably of cost a minimum of £20k tbh.
Anyone who upgrades a cheap guitar I think doesnt go into it for the money.They do it cause the base platform is worth dropping a $100 into to make a wonderful playing and gigging guitar.I’d rather gig my $130 upgraded Truffle Leo Jaymz Strat then my 83’MIA Strat.The funny thing is,I feel more value cause of its sound then my Fender Strat,So it just gets played at home or at friends gigs if needed.Yet my $130 Strat with GFS pick gaurd and some wilkinson locking tuners and tremelo is a way better tool for sounds. So it gets used heavily. If it breaks I dont mind,I can eat a$130 and swap the parts over.Plus its just fun upgrading guitars to your standards.That Strat copy is a solid base to start with and the truffle color with Maple neck and fret board is awesome.I know a lot of people now that gig with squires upgraded and MIA Strats,yet they want my Leo Jaymz $250 total investment upgraded guitar.I quit buying expensive guitars. I own a few and no more.I have a 79’Lp Custom with Floyd Rose Tremolo,89’Studio Lp,83 Strat MIA,95 MIM Tele,79’Yamaha Acoustic,80’Fanning Acoustic as my name brand expensive guitars.yet I play my Monoprice upgraded Tele,Leo Jaymz Strat upgraded,Grote Semi Hollow Body es335 stock,IVY Les Paul(upgraded with CTS pots,GFS retrotrons)Grote SG with GFS pickups,Wilkinson LP jade locking tuners.I replace my nuts on all of them to bone or tusq,simple fret job and all my acoustics have brass saddle bobbins cause they sound mean.So dont discourage people with selling a modified cheap guitar.Theyre not meant to sell,theyre meant to play and enjoy and if it breaks while gigging,easy and cheap replacement by swspping the parts over.LoudLove Bro.🔊🔊🔊💜💜💜
I agree! But the base guitar has to be liked to begin with, you can’t save a dull guitar with parts, it will still be dull
@Badmotivator Thats true. You usually gotta find the base that is worth the time and effort or the guitar is mos def gonna be no good at all.Yet, a lot of the cheaper guitars from certain companies are solid foundations.Take that Truffle Leo Jaymz Strat I got. It had a rolled fret board,very clean fret work,beautiful body and great neck joint/cavity area.Now the routing was a tad less and the electronics were below cheap.Thanks to a lil elbow grease and a few dollars all that was a cinch to upgrade.It turned into a superb instrument.You know Guitar Fetish has been my go to for almost 10 yrs now.My opinion is their pick ups are probably the best and cheapest on the market right now and so worth the price.I found an old MIJ Strat in the trash for the garbage company I worked for.Someone obviously took care of it for decades and it was a solid Squire Strat.I cleaned it,a lil fret work,changed the Pots(one was no good)and a good set up and wow! I gave it to my mother inlaw as a gift cause she never owned a Strat.Now she had been playing a few expensive Strats she was looking to buy around that $1200 range.She played that MIJ Strat O gave her a lil fixed up and was in love. Now its the guitar she goes to over her Ricks,Guilds,Prs and Gibsons.Thats what I shoot for. Does it inspire? Never more then a $100 bucks and a few hours of simple work. You cant polish a turd and call it a diamond,thats the cold hard truth.I just know there are plenty of solid base’s out there and with a lil love they can be superb and inspirational tools to have in ones arsenal of music.LoudLove🔊🔊🔊💜💜💜
Yeah, expensive guitars never live up to expectations while modded Squiers always surprise you how good they are!
Thank you for the information. That Aiersi looks really good!
Nowadays as guitar is made by CNCs almost perfectly everytime. So a strat copy that costs 100 and a custom shop strat that costs several thousands are pretty much the same guitar..the difference is the crappy zinc(or plastic) parts that are on the budget one vs the quality ones on the expensive one.
So if we are talking about modding a guitar to raise its value i agree that is stupid and if you are of that mindset stop right now...BUT if we are talking about taking a beater and making it play and sound as good as the custom shop that can easily be done...change everything but the wood (including frets) with quality aftermarket parts and keep the originals in a box....now you basically have a free guitar cause 100 dollars give or take is not an investment and the actual quality parts you have that cost decent money you are gonna reuse them in countless guitars(if you want to).
So if i take that guitar you are holding, install jescar stainless steel fretwire(the best fretwire you can find),hipshot tuners, kinman prewired pickguard, new nut etc etc etc...the works now that guitar is still that 100 dollar guitar in the eyes of the market but its a custom shop quality instrument as far as playability, sound and reliability is concerned, not to mention it has an anti theft mechanism on the headstock cause everyone reading that logo wont try to steal it anytime soon anyway....
The guy that got the custom shop has the added disadvantage that anything that happens to his overpriced guitar devalues it to the market....a scratch here and chip of the paint there and you ll see him cry bitter tears not to mention avoid to take it anywhere cause he fears something ll happen to it while the modding guy doesnt really care cause how much you can devalue 100 bucks?The aftermarket parts sure as hell wont get damaged easily so...its a win win for him AT ALL TIMES.
Icing on the cake..if i want a new guitar i can put most of the original parts back in sell it to someone that ll get a guitar with banging perfect frets,a new nut and the original parts(so a good deal for him too) plus i can easily get another equivalent guitar and drop the expensive parts that already have....presto..my new guitar almost cost nothing....modding inexpensive guitar is the way...if you are doing the work yourself.
you can cnc bodies, but neck and neck pocket measurements aren't exact and wood also moves, so that's where you can get problems arising
@@BadMotivator66 The point is that a cnc made guitar doesnt have structural flaws..now if you prefer a guitar with a thicker neck or wider one that falls under the preference thing and has nothing to do with the quality of the instrument...a budget guitar(and guitar is only the body and the neck by the way not the parts) is made perfectly every time nowadays something that was never the case back in the day.
Also its not like inexpensive guitars are made of woods drenched in rivers or something.....i have yet to find guitars made in the last couple of decades that are warped or along those lines....
Iam not talking about partcastering by the way(so no problems with fitting a new neck)..iam talking about keeping the original neck with the original body every time and change everything else...If you give ANY neck quality new frets,new nut and precision tuners..now thats a new neck...and if you bother to roll the fretboard a bit..now its like a custom shop neck....feeling like butter and without paying extra thousands for the logo worshiping....
@@Dreamdancer11 sounds good in theory, but i had 2 epi G400s and both had things routed off centre. one the bridge, the other the tailpiece. and these are close to 300 quid, at least 250 guitars. not bottom of the barrel strat copy stuff
@@BadMotivator66 Never heard of CNC misaligning stuff...thats was true in the era BEFORE automation when things were done by hand and even the iconic strats and teles of old have sloppy neck pockets...that era is long gone and unless you shop from some crazy obscure alibaba type chinese vendor the quality of a solid body electric guitar nowadays is through the roof...everything is automated and perfect every time.....you can debate that the finish is superior on expensive guitars (and it usually is) or that the parts on the guitar(that we are gonna change anyway) but to sit here and tell us that cncs produced misaligned guitars thats simply laughable....
@@Dreamdancer11 my ones were post 2009. however they were made then, they were hit and miss
What if I don’t want to sell it, but to keep to play it? Nobody would buy my Indonesia-made, 10+ y.o. cheap Ibanez RG, but I just love to play it and got it to sound the way I like and need.
i actually have one of those RGs hahaha
Depends on what you're asking for it, and I'd probably mod it myself, so to know I'm saving more by buying a pre-modded guitar with parts I like, it would definitely be worth checking out.
What do you mean "If you don't want to sell it?"
Then don't sell it?
What are you asking?
I've upgraded many guitars and aims them for more.
thanks for watching :)
I call them money pits. I’ve done a couple but yes you won’t get your money back on resale. Nice vid mate!
I’m bout to put fishman and hipshot on a Chinese schecter
Guitar acquisition for Busine$$ reasons is not an Artistic musical decision. The true value of a guitar to a musician really is in its usefulness if not its nostalgic emotional worth. Resale value should be the last thing on my mind when I'm considering buying an instrument but versatility, purpose and utility SHOULD be above all even if it means taking a total loss if it doesn't work out as expected.
Yeah the goal of upgrading shouldn’t be to increase the resale value. The goal should be to make it sound better or play better.
changing small pot for CTS pots makes no difference. the better quality pots last longer so the only way you get an advantage from changing pots is if the ones in the guitar are faulty
and also the tolerance on the rating!
@@BadMotivator66 tolerance just means how close to 500k it is 5% or 10% is not going to make a differance. But a lot of peolple reccomend changing them as a matter of course when there is no need. if they are scratch or intermitant then it is worh a change
@@phililpb i changed 250s for 250s in my SL and it made a difference, definitely...
Who builds a parts guitar, puts mediocre electronics and hardware and expects to sell it for more than a real one?
This guy............
You can get a warmoth body and neck, and still can't sell it for more than a squier to a guitar store or pawn shop.
Who makes a judgement by putting crapping pickups. And even that, just because you like that pickup, your guitar might not. So it will suck. Change the pickups. Not every guitar that doesn't sing unplugged is going to suck. I have several guitars like that and they have a phat tone when plugged in. And usually they have pickups that I would of never thought of using.
Your judgement is an ignorant one.
I got a chibanez Jem. I literally took the pups with electronics still attached, off my actually jem7v. Along with the gotoh tuners and edge. Put it all on the chibanez and its a beast. I collect Jem's of all models so I got one to see what's the story because people do not give good advice on guitars.
People who play it, think it's a real Jem. Because they don't know. I bought it from a guitar store who bought it from someone. And he thought is was a real Jem. The moment I saw it, I knew it was fake. He tried to sell for $1200. I had to bring him my real Jem 7v and show him the differences. So I bought from him for $150.
The body is cheap but it's wood. The neck needs some TLC every so often but it will play good all night at a gig and even outside. I use it for my outside gigs actually, especially at the beach. I'm not using my real Jem there.
Good video, bad advice though.
till the only original part is the truss rod Allen wrench?
and possibly the paint!
I have noticed a certain narrative getting aggressively pushed online (usually by a very vocal subset of players) that if you put enough money into pickups, electronics, and other parts like tuners and bridge components, you will get a guitar that is "just as good if not better" than a good upper mid-tier or even higher end instrument. This sounds nice as a sort of feel-good platitude but unless you start seriously thinking about putting down $500+ for a new neck or $250+ for new pickups and electronics, it is going to be tough to really start getting into that "just as good" category. By the time you have upgraded a cheap Strat to the point where it technically can match a American Stratocaster (or any other high-end take on a Stratocaster), you probably would have been better off saving money and just buying a American Strat used.
and the end product won't be anything like a US strat either!
What's a neck? Wood with frets. I just got a Squier Affinity Strat and had the neck Plek'd. Best playing guitar I've ever played! It's ALL about the setup, all about level frets and low action. A maple neck is a maple neck. I can't believe they charge $700 for a Fender American neck. That's absurd! But hey, if you're going to charge $2000 for an American Strat then you have to charge at least $700 for the neck, right? Just maple and metal, maple and metal.
This is stupid, you absolutely can get added value from something like high end pickups. But anything used is not going to be the same as new. This is also when people sell to a store. I spent $600 total on a strat that I put together and was offered a grand for it. It depends on what you are doing. Try and route out a tele for a Floyd rose then you will probably not get added value. But locking tuners is added value when you sell (just stick with drop in replacements)
I can just keep the upgrades till you find the right one to put them on
yep or sell the cheap guitar as bits. either or :)
It depends on your definition of " upgrade".
ie- buy aftermarket parts for
If you love the body of the guitar, paying more than it's worth in upgrades is worth every penny.
as long as the neck joint is right!
I don’t upgrade cheap guitar because I wanna sell it. I upgrade cheap guitars because it can be cheaper then buying a high end guitar
but you don't get the money back like you would selling a stock expensive guitar
@@BadMotivator66 okay but I don’t really care about selling my guitars and if I’m gonna sell it I’m gonna do it through Reverb or Ebay where I can decide how much it worth
Where did you buy the string trees?
If someone is upgrading inexpensive guitars and increasing resale value is playing ANY part in that decision, you've already made a big mistake. Likewise, upgrading parts on 90% of the sub-$300 guitars, you'll get some improvement but I still find it's just something that's not really worth doing.
It's the mid-level guitars where the sweet spot is for doing changes like this. Adding a $175 Callahan tremolo, $230 Fralins, etc to a $100 guitar is like polishing a turd. I know there are MANY people out there who believe a Squire Bullet is just as good as an Fender American Standard. I can understand wanting to think a $150 can compete with a $1200, but just ain't.
I've been a guitar tech for 15 years and have seen $300 hardware come in on guitars with particleboard bodies it's just a waste. They'd be far better served taking that money and buying a used MIM Strat. With lower priced Strats, as long as the pickups aren't making your ears bleed, then one of the best upgrades is the Tremolo block. Going to a machined cold rolled steel block on a Strat with one of those thin blocks that seem like they're made from clay is going to give a pretty big improvement.
That's not to say that any MIM Strat is going to be great right off the bat, I had one that was heavy and seemed like the polyester finish was an inch thick. I like to deck my tremolo; so it's pulled against them body and only goes down in pitch. 85% of the Strats I handle have them floating, and if mine had been there probably wouldn't have been much of a difference with that heavy body, since the body isn't playing a really big part in the tone at that point. But having three Tremolo flush really has a huge difference in the tone and playing feel, and it just really deaden'd the resonance.
At the end of the day; upgrading mid-range guitars CAN make a decent guitar great, but upgrading low end ones really can't make a poor guitar decent.
I think any guitar can be great. but as you pay less the likelihood will decrease. it depends on the guitar, you can always get a bad one or a good one. at this point i've had so many cheap strats i know how good or meh one is pretty much from the start and mostly it's not worth the effort. if it already rings, i'd say it is! but the guitar has to resonate to start with. thanks for watching!
@@BadMotivator66 Well I'd agree most can sound good, in certain applications, I wouldn't say all though. Definitely want it to resonate enough that you can hear it acoustically. One of the easiest and cheapest ways (and probably the MOST overlooked) to give some life to a stale sounding guitars is to change strings. Yes, restringing it regularly helps, but in this instance I'm talking about the type of strings.
Most of the time when someone would bring a guitar to me that wasn't a repair or service, it's to some upgrade or modification. The majority of them know exactly what they want done. The other segment are people looking for a particular result, but aren't sure how to get it.
The vast majority of the time it revolves around making their modern guitar sound more "vintage." Of these, it's probably Les Paul owners 2 out of 3 times. Of course their first thought is new pickups. But one of the things that costs me the most in work that I DON'T end up doing on it.
I've been working with amps far more over the last 7 or 8 years, but when I was strictly working repairing guitars the shop I was out of was a Fralin pickup distributor for a few years, then Lollar. I think most of the people who do this work would agree that if you're going about looking for a certain "quality" to be enhanced in a guitar but aren't sure how to go about it, starting with the easiest, cheapest and least invasive changes first. That in mind, I'd give them a pack of Pure nickel wound strings. Most players think their strings after nickel, because that's what it says on the front, but they're usually nickel plated steel. Even though I'd lose out on the sale and instillation of the pickups, many times the change of strings are enough, for a while at least.
I starting using them more out of curiosity than anything else. I had a Strat that had an issue when I played the Low E string up higher than the 12th fret where, (acoustically more then plugged in, but also plugged) it would produce this metallic "klanging" sound, to this day I don't know what the issue had been.
Someone mentioned how they went to pure nickel wrapped strings when after that could never go back, so I tried them out.
The first thing I noticed was how it affected the acoustic sound. Normally when you strum an electric, it produces that quiet, thin "pinging" tone, the nickel strings made it pretty much sound just like an acoustic guitar, just MUCH quieter. That unplugged thin ping was replaced with an actual musical tone.
The second benefit was that it increased the tuning stability MANY times over. I had locking tuners, and whenever I replace strings, I start with the tuners in the same position every time: Low E @ 5:00 position/ A: 4:00/ D: 3:00/G and B:2:00/ and high E at 1:00. Doing this I could tell when the guitar was in tune just looking at it. After it's tuned, I stretch the strings out; tugging upwards lightly at the 12th fret, which results in it going flat, and I just repeat the process until it's stops going flat. With normal strings, this is literally an all day thing, they'll seem like they're done going flat, only to have it happen after a few minutes.
The pure nickel, 3 times 95% of the time is all it takes, every once in a while it'll take a 4th, but rarely. I can play for an hour and they stay in tune. Lastly, for whatever reason it made that metallic klanging go away indifferently. Ive been using pure nickel ever since in most guitars with the exception of my semi hollow. I usually ordered my strings with everything else, but when I went to working on amps, I paid less attention to getting them and every once in a while I'd have to get a set at Guitar Center, even I did I usually bought all of the ones I use because most other places didn't carry them. Every once in a while one set wound be a completely different type when gauge that I missed when I grabbed them. At one point I had to put on the standard plated steel strings, and sure as shit, that metallic klang was back. I still don't know what was causing it any why it goes away with nickel strings.
That was an unnecessarily long post, forgive me...😏
Moral of the story, if you haven't tried them yet, give nickel a try.
@@timwhite5562 interesting story! yeah the guitar has to resonate first. i think string material must make a difference there. i think i tried 'nickel' once and found no difference but i wasn't really paying much attention to them. I may give them a go! thanks for watching :)
@@BadMotivator66 Really? I'm surprised to hear that, I find them to be pretty noticable. Although, when I suggest nickel, MANY people will say that they've tried them, or that they're currently using them. They can be confusing because make many brands will label them as "nickel electric guitar strings," when they're actually nickel plated. I'm not sure if it's Ernie Balls or D'addario that call them nickel when they're just nickel plated. They have to specifically be "pure" nickel wrapped.
Another thing that really has a noticeable effect on resonance and sustain, at least with Strats and other floating/ partial-floating" tremolo equipped models, is how you have the tremolo set. On Strats, especially the 6 screw vintage style but many times also on the 2 point knife-edge pivoting type I currently play; having the tremolo decked (pulled flush against the body, only allowing going down in pitch) makes a world of difference in just about every way, from tone to how the whole thing feels and plays.
When they're pulled flush, the entire instrument just resonates so much more strongly, that I swear after playing it like that long enough, you'd be able to tell you were out of tune or playing the wrong note even if you want completely deaf.
I feel EVERY note, from the lowest fretted note to an open-E running through the guitar. You can feel it in the tips of the fingers on your freezing fretting hand, to the top of your lap of you're sitting, to your ribcage where the body rests against. It gives it a significant increase in that punchy snap of of the pick attack, which will actually make lighter 9 gauge strings behave closer to 11s. While floating the tremolo will soften that attack and snap quite a bit.
Neither of these are subjectively "better," per say, but quite different.
Actually, not to open this can if worms, but the first time I came to the conclusion that fretboard wood can have an influence in the overall tone is when I did a neck swap. I had a American Standard years ago with a rosewood fretboard. I always liked the maple fretboard look on the American STD that they used for a few years during that iteration of them, so at one point I actually traded my rosewood for someone's maple, they were the same year and model. I fully expected it to just be a difference in look, I had never even heard that it could change the overall tone and feel. When I finally swapped it, I found that it really added to that snap to such a degree, I wasn't really keen on it at the time.
The luthier that I eventually learned how to do all the work I later was doing in the shop mentioned the idea of the 2 boards having different qualities, and suggested changing my setup to float the tremolo from the flush that I had been using. It DEFINITELY softened that effect to the point that it sounded closer to how I wanted to it be. Later I decided that I preferred the extra sustain from decking is enough that I went back to it, and compensated the change in other ways. Now I just prefer the snap myself.
@@timwhite5562 i'm sure it must all make a difference due to physics :)
Great video! Totally agree with your points. Only worth it to modify a guitar if it's something you enjoy playing, and want to improve it for your own sake.
yep, totally agree!
Bought a Dean Vendetta for $56 and replaced the parts with a roller bridge, locking tuners, Tusq nut, Sealed pickups, and strap-loks. Got it professionally setup last week.
Guitar plays like a dream now, and since I spent around $100 in upgrades, I find it has become a dream to play now.
Will I ever sell it? Probably not.
Well..I've got 4 or 5 of the cheap and nasty Encore Guitars that with a correct set up ARE better than a Squire ..
the indian made ones aren't nasty at all! I've had 3 of em!
I see people buying some of these budget guitars Leaving them completely stock and selling them on various websites reverb Amazon eBay etc. for a lot more $ than they bought them for
So I don’t see why you couldn’t get more money for a modified version of these guitars to somebody in the know that is doing their homework ? And some of the styles and finishes on the guitars are limited runs and aren’t available anymore
generally maybe you could get slightly more, if anything, but you won't get the value of the parts 2nd hand on their own- and certainly not their new value!
I've found if the guitar doesn't feel, play, and sound good with cheap stock electronics, it won't be all that great when you mod it up and open it up. I've actually found that changing out wiring, pots, and electronics in a higher end guitar tends to improve the guitar more than if you do the same thing with a squire or cheaper guitar. I've been blown away when I would mod my les paul studio, but I've modded up cheaper guitars and mexican strats and teles and I end up getting rid of them eventually after the mods. It's just the way they're built.
Yeah I agree, I think it’s to do with the wood cut, treatment, and how the pieces are jointed to fit. Amongst many many other things ofc! I have some cheap guitars I really like, I’ve tried expensive guitars I didn’t. For me the common factor was how dull the bad ones felt. Like it was fighting itself to try and resonate, but just couldn’t.
@@BadMotivator66 Exactly. Dull or Ice-picky. You end up with a modded up, opened-up, articulate turd. LOL
I've played great Squier Strats and crap American Strats. So I call bullshit.
This is not entirely accurate. Se squiers, bullets, and affinities maybe not but ive done it to the indio cali classic a few times and and made double what i had in it by really customizing it in my free time. I upgraded everything and scalloped the frets 12 through 22. I played it a few years, cleaned it up, and sold it for 300 bucks.
in my experience squier necks are infinitely nicer than off-brand strat necks. far lighter too. just in my experience!
I have upgraded Indio and Glarry did fret leveling sold them and made alittle money and i enjoy doing it, you learn alot about guitars and the better sound and easier to play.
You can put hours of work and hundreds of dollars in these cheap guitars and they will still be worth the cheap price you paid for them.
and it may also not be much better!
Upgrading cheap guitars is a waste of time and money. Cheap wood is cheap wood. A cheap build is a cheap build. If these basic foundations (wood and build) aren’t there in the first place then changing pickups, tuners and bridges isn’t going to make much difference.
'Cheap wood is cheap wood.' no i'd say 'wood is wood, but each piece is different'. a lot depends how you cut it and dry it
Oh, but it does from my experience. Gotta start with something decent to begin with. Can't polish a turd, but if the build is decent from a known, quality manufacturer and not some unknown Chinese toymaker trying out guitar building for the first time, I'd say go for it.
@@BadMotivator66 I agree with that. It's when you start paying an unnecessary premium for "exotic" woods and veneers, (which incidentally cost no more than the paint on the guitar itself) is when I favor normal woods. Is swamp ash worth the extra price? I seriously don't think so.
That is true for any other instrument except solid body electric guitars.Nowadays you get a perfectly fine cnc made instrument either you go for a high end or a cheap one(meaning they are built the same)....the difference is in the quality of the parts and the details...i have handbuilt my own instruments but i have also heavily modded ultra cheap instruments...
My squier bullet pink strat that i picked used for 40 bucks has now the best stainless steel frets out there(jescar),scalloped fretboard,new inlays,aluminum nut,gotoh tuners,kinman pickups,brand new electronics....the works....the perfect SS frets along with the scalloping make the playability smoother than any "real" fender strat out there and the kinman pickups are in a league of their own vs the standard fender offerings.....
So lets say i get a signature strat brand new and spend way more what would i get?Better playability or better sound? Thats negative in both cases....what i ll get is just ...status....you have a "real" strat so you are accepted amongst your peers kinda thing......well i dont need useless validation i just want the best instrument i can possibly get for the least amount of money.....and i got it....in fact i got 8 of them along the same lines.
cool
if youre upgrading cheap guitars to sell them on then youre upgrading them for the wrong reason. you upgrade them to play the shit out of them and play gigs with them and then not care if it gets damaged
yep i agree!
That simply is not true. Upgrading a Mexican standard will increase the value. Upgrading a squier deluxe will also. Just depends on what you upgrade. Remember something's value is what people will pay for it
but you will always lose out on the value of the parts
Put ALEMBIC pickups in a bass or guitar and the value will skyrocket.
@@almostliterally593 i don't think i've heard of them!
@@BadMotivator66 they make thousand dollar pickups
@@almostliterally593 Aren't those what they use for speakers? Never heard of them being used for pickups. Could you name a brand or two that uses alembic magnets in pickup construction?