well this is the handy guide of how to make a cheap electric ( $300 USD or less) play and sound better
1. replace the saddles, most of the guitars in that range use crap saddles wich will wear in months, stainless steel or some quality brass are good enough, sometimes the whole bridge is crap, so you had to replace it
2. shield it, manufacturers understimate shielding, specially on the lower end guitars, even if the guitar has humbuckers noise can go through poorly shielded electronics
3. also electronics tend to be crap in those guitars, some are the exception to the rule, but most times you better rip 'em off
4. the pickups, rip them also, in some guitars the stock p'ups are acceptable, the ones wich uses duncan designed are a good example, you could easily end putting 2 times the value of the guitar in pickups, if they give life to the plank when amplified then they worth it
5. sand the back of the neck and oil finish it, these guitars normally uses uber sticky finishes for their necks, it's actually easy and is the way how some high end, top of the brand guitar necks are finished
6. prooperly setup, this includes fret polish, truss rod, action, intonation, and pickup height
7. if the guitar has a bolt-on neck check the angle, if it isn't right (between 0 to 5°) then shim the union, a piece of paper well folded will do the trick
there you got the 6 steps guide to made cheap guitars awesome (the 7th is kind of optional)
chinese tuners seems to be ok most of the times, since they at least hold tuning a week without falling a part, if they fail replace them, if the thing is beaten, and looks like taken from a junk yard it could still be cool
1. replace the saddles, most of the guitars in that range use crap saddles wich will wear in months, stainless steel or some quality brass are good enough, sometimes the whole bridge is crap, so you had to replace it
2. shield it, manufacturers understimate shielding, specially on the lower end guitars, even if the guitar has humbuckers noise can go through poorly shielded electronics
3. also electronics tend to be crap in those guitars, some are the exception to the rule, but most times you better rip 'em off
4. the pickups, rip them also, in some guitars the stock p'ups are acceptable, the ones wich uses duncan designed are a good example, you could easily end putting 2 times the value of the guitar in pickups, if they give life to the plank when amplified then they worth it
5. sand the back of the neck and oil finish it, these guitars normally uses uber sticky finishes for their necks, it's actually easy and is the way how some high end, top of the brand guitar necks are finished
6. prooperly setup, this includes fret polish, truss rod, action, intonation, and pickup height
7. if the guitar has a bolt-on neck check the angle, if it isn't right (between 0 to 5°) then shim the union, a piece of paper well folded will do the trick
there you got the 6 steps guide to made cheap guitars awesome (the 7th is kind of optional)
chinese tuners seems to be ok most of the times, since they at least hold tuning a week without falling a part, if they fail replace them, if the thing is beaten, and looks like taken from a junk yard it could still be cool
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