Top Five Guitars to Mod
Here is an article for choices to hot rod. The Strat is always a good option, it seems that a good share of the off-the-shelf replacement part are for this Fender main stay. I am also posting this on Facebook Pawn Shop Puppy Rescue Guitars, please like and share my business page. As always, Stay Tuned
published Jun 24, 2014 by James M. Brill on Reverb.com under Tips and How-To's
I heard Paul Gilbert say in an interview once, "As a guitar player, you must tweak." This is true: no other musicians, save for synth players, revel in the amount of knobs, switches and micro adjustments to be made than the electric guitarist. The 1980s gave us the "hot rod" and "Super Strat" era, and heroes like Van Halen inspired not only with chops but with mods as well.
With so many options in the pickup and replacement part world readily available these days, let’s look at five less expensive guitars that, with some new parts and passion, can become your most versatile instrument.
The rules: guitar must be a standard run and go for less than $600 on the used market.
1. The Super Vintage Strat
Here we can take a readily available guitar, the Made in Mexico Fender Stratocaster. On the used market you can pick these up for around the $350 mark, which is a steal for such a serviceable ax. The first new addition would be pickups. There are likely a million options, but for the vintage vibe we can go with "Custom Shop Fat Fifties". Next, with a bit of routing help, upgrade the tremolo to a Vintage reissue. Next, throw on some vintage style locking tuners, now you have a vintage tremolo system that actually works, but still looks like it belongs in the ‘50s. Finally, throw on the pickguard and knobs of your choosing, and you have a vintage Strat for less than the price of a Custom Shop Case.
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Here we can take a readily available guitar, the Made in Mexico Fender Stratocaster. On the used market you can pick these up for around the $350 mark, which is a steal for such a serviceable ax. The first new addition would be pickups. There are likely a million options, but for the vintage vibe we can go with "Custom Shop Fat Fifties". Next, with a bit of routing help, upgrade the tremolo to a Vintage reissue. Next, throw on some vintage style locking tuners, now you have a vintage tremolo system that actually works, but still looks like it belongs in the ‘50s. Finally, throw on the pickguard and knobs of your choosing, and you have a vintage Strat for less than the price of a Custom Shop Case.
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2. The Super Les Paul A La Jimmy Page
As a Led Zeppelin nerd, this is one that I've always wanted to do and not have to take out a car loan to make it happen. A nice candidate is the Schecter Solo 6 series or the Ibanez ARZ series. The real magic for this one will depend on your soldering iron. Once you swap in the pickups, Seymour Duncan’s Whole Lotta Humbucker or Bare Knuckle’s Black Dog sets are prime options, and buy a push-pull for every pot, you are good to go. Wire in a coil-tap and a series parallel switch and you are ready to send your playing "over the hills and far away" (couldn't resist).
As a Led Zeppelin nerd, this is one that I've always wanted to do and not have to take out a car loan to make it happen. A nice candidate is the Schecter Solo 6 series or the Ibanez ARZ series. The real magic for this one will depend on your soldering iron. Once you swap in the pickups, Seymour Duncan’s Whole Lotta Humbucker or Bare Knuckle’s Black Dog sets are prime options, and buy a push-pull for every pot, you are good to go. Wire in a coil-tap and a series parallel switch and you are ready to send your playing "over the hills and far away" (couldn't resist).
3. The Blues and Twang Machine
Many semi-hollow guitars are aimed at blues or rockabilly sounds, but with some work both can be covered well without dropping a fortune. A great model to use as a platform is the Epiphone Dot. These can be had on the used market for $350. Throw on a Gibson 490R and 498T, which are readily available and usually affordable on the used market.
Many semi-hollow guitars are aimed at blues or rockabilly sounds, but with some work both can be covered well without dropping a fortune. A great model to use as a platform is the Epiphone Dot. These can be had on the used market for $350. Throw on a Gibson 490R and 498T, which are readily available and usually affordable on the used market.
4. The Shredder
There are many directions you can go to make the perfect shred machine. Nothing beats theJackson Dinky. These come in all pickup combinations, so choose a configuration that fits you best. For my taste, I like the true Super Strat HSS pickup combination. Here I would go with EMGs for maximum shred power and clarity. The EMG sa/sa/85 set is perfect, and can be cobbled together very cheaply, along with the other EMG components. For extreme performance, upgrading the Floyd Rose to a higher end model will add stability, and adding a big block will add sustain.
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There are many directions you can go to make the perfect shred machine. Nothing beats theJackson Dinky. These come in all pickup combinations, so choose a configuration that fits you best. For my taste, I like the true Super Strat HSS pickup combination. Here I would go with EMGs for maximum shred power and clarity. The EMG sa/sa/85 set is perfect, and can be cobbled together very cheaply, along with the other EMG components. For extreme performance, upgrading the Floyd Rose to a higher end model will add stability, and adding a big block will add sustain.
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5. The All-In-One Tele-style
I own a Godin SD series guitar, and these are great Tele style guitars, and can be had at great prices, usually in the $300 or less neighborhood. Tons of options here due to the HSH pickup format. For all-out versatility swapping the stock humbuckers for Seymour Duncan P-Rails gives endless tonal options. Also Duncan’s website gives wiring options for getting all three sounds of the pickups with just two push-pull pots, so no crazy routing needed. For the middle single coil, a stock Strat pickup will yield great results, and is a cheap replacement. Throw on some locking tuners, and you have an all in one tone machine. There's also the three-pickup Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster that allows for easy, versatile pickup swapping.
Any guitar can be a great guitar. With a few after market pieces and some soldering skills, you can take a cheap ax and make it your signature model.
I own a Godin SD series guitar, and these are great Tele style guitars, and can be had at great prices, usually in the $300 or less neighborhood. Tons of options here due to the HSH pickup format. For all-out versatility swapping the stock humbuckers for Seymour Duncan P-Rails gives endless tonal options. Also Duncan’s website gives wiring options for getting all three sounds of the pickups with just two push-pull pots, so no crazy routing needed. For the middle single coil, a stock Strat pickup will yield great results, and is a cheap replacement. Throw on some locking tuners, and you have an all in one tone machine. There's also the three-pickup Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster that allows for easy, versatile pickup swapping.
Any guitar can be a great guitar. With a few after market pieces and some soldering skills, you can take a cheap ax and make it your signature model.
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