Essential Guitar Upgrades

[aleclee]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I add straplocks but I don't consider that an upgrade but just a mod to suit my preference.

Other than that, I don't know that there are any other "essential" upgrades. When I get a PRS Singlecut, I'll tweak the wiring because I like a master volume control. I go both ways when it comes to pickup swaps: sometimes I want to replace the stock ones and sometimes I'm completely happy with them.

Some of the other mods listed (nut, tuners, saddles) are an indication to me that the guitar is more of a project. If I'm doing that, it better be a value-priced instrument because IMO a "good" guitar should have those components right in the first place.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I understand how upgrades can and will be done. But there should be a certain level of satisfaction that comes with buying the guitar in the first place. If your thought process is that so many parts need to be changed or replaced it begs the question as to whether the isntrument being bought is the right choice for the player to begin with.

Only if you believe that these parts are what gives the individual guitar all or nearly all of its sonic character. I know from many years of experience that, assuming solid craftsmanship by the builder, it's the individual piece of wood that makes or breaks a guitar's tone.

Changing the parts can enhance what's already there in a good piece of wood, but it can't make a bad piece of wood sound good. You should be able to pick up a guitar at a store and play it and hear whether the wood is any good. From THERE you make a determination about what pickups or whatever else will bring out its full potential, assuming the stock parts don't do it for you.

But this in turn begs the question for you: If it's just these parts that give the guitar its tone as you seem to be saying, never mind a right choice, how can there be a wrong choice for a player? You just get the parts you want, then buy a used Squier for $50, put the parts in, and it will sound like any Tele or Hamer or Les Paul or Rickenbacker that has the same parts, right?

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I don't really do much to mine other than straplocks.

I like the idiosyncrasies of guitars I buy to reamain. If there is something i am not entirley comfortable with on the guitar, i usually wont buy it. If I do buy it, its because the guitar is great, and i can change to suit it. I dont like to mod my guitars too much, otherwise they tend to lose the original character that I bought them for.

That said, I do upgrade pickups if they aren't my taste.

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I purchaed my first set of Schaller straplocks a couple of weeks ago, only because I couldn't readily find "RUBBERS" (large neoprene washers marketed by Starship guitar player Craig Chaquico <<< did I spell that right?).

For Gibson players, you can get totally spoiled by the addition of a TP-6 factory fine-tuner tailpiece. It makes acheiving crushing/accurate chords a total joy on a properly intonated guitar! Perfect for metal players.

If you play a mass produced instrument like an Epi LP, you may want to take off the jackplate and look for sawdust trapped in the output jack tunnel! A bit of sawdust fell out as I was installing a higher quality Switchcraft 1/4" jack yesterday. A bit of sawdust is all that is needed to screw with the pots. :smack:

I (heart) Switchcraft.

 

[No effects]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

New saddles?

New nut?

New pickups?

New tuners?

Why the **** do you bother to play the guitar at all to evaluate it for purchase when you're going to change so many of the components that make up what it is? For all those changes you should be able to walk into any shop, point to any guitar on the wall and the end result will be the same damned thing!

And if I had a dime for every vintage Les Paul I turned down because some mongoloid mangled the headstock with new tuners because they couldn't figure out how to lube or properly cut a nut I'd have enough to buy a 59'.

Wow, sounds like Skarekrough was in a good mood when he wrote this! In my own “defense”, I have the following to offer:

1. I’m a lead player, play live and break strings a lot. I’ve tried sanding my saddles, even a bit of lubricant, but strings keep popping at the saddle (I play hard also). In come the graphite saddles, problem solved. By the way, that’s about $30.

2. Locking tuners are a good alternative to the graphite saddles, as they allow you to change strings very quickly – again a good stage application. But I don’t find they usually keep you better in tune than the original tuners. Had I known about graphite saddles earlier, I would not have bothered with the Sperzels, which I find are way overpriced.

3. New nut: not for me

4. New pups: yes, some guitars are fine right from the wall, like my G&L Legacy, but I did change the pups in my two Gibsons in favor of Duncans. Not only is this giving me better tone, but the cost is minimal if you buy the Duncans used, install them yourself and sell of the Gibsons.

So I don’t agree that the end result is the same: I get better functionality (for me) and better tone for low cost. And no, I don’t think I could get a guitar that’s perfect for me right off the wall.

 

[lex666]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I have a minimalist approach. To begin, I try to buy only guitars that I am pleased with from the beginning. That includes pups tuners etc... The only thing I automatically add/change are strap locks and new strings. From there I will change nothing until it needs it. I like to leave the guitar as it is until something breaks, or really needs replacing.


If it ain't broke, don't fix it...

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I'd say pickups and straplocks.

Straplocks for obvious reasons.
Most stock Pickups seem to be nothing more than placeholders for your new set of Duncans. Of Course tis does not apply to all stock pickups, but even higher end guitars tend to have crappy ones in 'em.

 

[Gdntoneguitars]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I only put straplocks on my lower end axes, or things that I am building from the ground up.

As for pickup swaps, I really have only installed them on ones that I've built, or had to entirely rebuild, at least with my own guitars. Every now and then a buddy of mine will bring me a guitar and ask me to put a new pickup on there, or a new wiring setup, so I'll do that, but my guitars have always been fun to mess with when I am putting them together to suit my taste.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Wow, sounds like Skarekrough was in a good mood when he wrote this! In my own “defense”, I have the following to offer:

Heh...I was under-caffienated that day.

1. I’m a lead player, play live and break strings a lot. I’ve tried sanding my saddles, even a bit of lubricant, but strings keep popping at the saddle (I play hard also). In come the graphite saddles, problem solved. By the way, that’s about $30.

I know alot of folks like graphite saddles but for the life of me I've never been able to see why they would appeal more than saddles that are burr-free. The end result is inherently the same; less breakage at the point of contact. Did you try replacing the saddles with non-graphite to see if you just couldn't get the burrs out of the stock ones?

2. Locking tuners are a good alternative to the graphite saddles, as they allow you to change strings very quickly – again a good stage application. But I don’t find they usually keep you better in tune than the original tuners. Had I known about graphite saddles earlier, I would not have bothered with the Sperzels, which I find are way overpriced.

I never bought the whole "good for changing strings quickly on stage" when it's pretty much a given that any guitarist wirth his salt shows up with two axes.

I am assuming that you went with locking tuners BEFORE replacing your saddles BECAUSE you were breaking strings at the bridge?

4. New pups: yes, some guitars are fine right from the wall, like my G&L Legacy, but I did change the pups in my two Gibsons in favor of Duncans. Not only is this giving me better tone, but the cost is minimal if you buy the Duncans used, install them yourself and sell of the Gibsons.

See, this is what puzzles me. I understand the market share for upgrading pickups. But to spend that sort of money on something like a Gibson I'd tend to think that you'd spend the time and find something you loved right out of the box.

To me, not liking the pickups on something more than $500 is pretty much grounds for a no-sell. Once I get over that price point it's a done deal for me; no buy.

 

[PRG]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

You can buy straps from Musicians Friend that lock onto any existing strap button. They're made by Rogue (I know, I know) and work perfectly. I've used them for 5 years and never, ever had a single problem.
I don't trust the wimpy screws on any strap-buttons, though, they're slightly longer than pickup ring screws. Ditch them and get some long, thick wood screws that go into your guitar a few inches.
Any guitar I build/buy gets the same treatment:
Grover tuners, replace both all pickups with Duncans, replace all electronics (switch, CTS pots, caps, Switchcraft jack) and wire it to my specs, replace knobs with witchhat knobs if it's a Gibson/Epi, and I'll set it up to my prefs, adjust pickup height using the 2 coin/1 coin rule and radius poles.

 

[PRG]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Changing pickups on a high-end guitar is no different than buying higher performance tires for your car, getting your windows tinted, or replacing your crappy Delco cassette deck with a nice Pioneer CD player.
Guitar companies, just like car companies, produce guitars as inexpensively as possible to appeal to the most possible consumers and sell in the largest numbers at the highest price. They're going to "what gets the job done" in the guitar. The tuners aren't going to be perfect, but they'll work, the pickups may be OK for all styles of music, but not great for any specific style. It's our job to tailor the guitar to ourselves.
I can't find a guitar on the shelf that fits my tastes (except ones that are many thousands of dollars), so I choose to build my own.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Schaller straplocks are like having insurance baby!

everything else is just for guys who have way too much time on their hands to **** around with those sort of things.

I don't even have ANY high dollar guitars yet (GASSING for an alpine white Gibby LP) . . . . and I have never had to mess with a single thing. Nuts, pups, nothing! I just plug em in and play em loud!

When your ears are occilating and its so loud that you cant feel your heart beating, your chest is pounding from chugga chugga chugging with the palm muted droped tune . . . . who can give a crap abut graphite nuts?!?!?!?

LOL just get straplocks and to hell with the rest of it. :banned:

 

[No effects]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I know alot of folks like graphite saddles but for the life of me I've never been able to see why they would appeal more than saddles that are burr-free. The end result is inherently the same; less breakage at the point of contact. Did you try replacing the saddles with non-graphite to see if you just couldn't get the burrs out of the stock ones?

No, I had simply tried to sand down the stock ones to avoid breakage – but that was only partly successful, even on new axes.

I never bought the whole "good for changing strings quickly on stage" when it's pretty much a given that any guitarist wirth his salt shows up with two axes.

I’m up to three electrics now, but it was sure nice to have the quick string change Sperzels when that wasn’t the case - especially that strings don’t need to stretch and pretty much stay in tune right away.

I am assuming that you went with locking tuners BEFORE replacing your saddles BECAUSE you were breaking strings at the bridge?

You got it – I only found out about the graphite saddles recently and I’m glad ‘cause I was breaking at least one string per practice or gig. That being said, I still like to have the Sperzels on there, ‘cause changing sets of strings on three guitars is a lot faster.

See, this is what puzzles me. I understand the market share for upgrading pickups. But to spend that sort of money on something like a Gibson I'd tend to think that you'd spend the time and find something you loved right out of the box.

I got my LP used at bargain price ($1000 Canadian) and it had a Duncan Distortion in the bridge and an unknown in the neck. My tone is very clean/vintage, so I had to swap those out for a Jazz/JB combo. My SG had the Gibson 490 set, and I actually kept them for a while. However, I am happier with the ’59s and I do enjoy sprucing up my guitars. On the other hand, my G&L still has the original Alcino V pups - they are fantastic and staying in there. GO SENS GO!

 

[aldu74]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Earvana nut, Seymour Duncan pickups, Sperzel locking tuners, Dunlop Straplocks.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Straplocks are an absolute. Everything else is purely subjective and may not need to be changed..

Pretty much how I feel. I don't think my Hamer *needs* new pups...at least through the amp rig I've decided on. And the strap buttons it came with are quite big (never seen anything like them?), so haven't felt the need to put strap locks on it either, but would if I was playing out often.

I likely will put some BK's in it at some point..just cos I want too, but I don't feel it *needs* them (got some DiMarzios for sale again )

On my past few guitars I've felt the need for new pups at some point or another and straplocks at the least. I don't usually purchase a guitar that would need all that extra stuff. I got rid of a naturally good sounding (stock) Epi Les Paul STD plus, cos I din wanna put another $400 into it with upgraded pickups, straplocks, new nut, new electronics, new stop/TOM, etc.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I recently got an Epi LP used, and cheap. But since I got it, I replaced the knobs, pickguard, straplocks (Dunlop Straplocks) and strings (Ernie Ball 10/52). I am DEFINITELY changing the silly tuners, they're terrible. Snot green does not belong on a black and chrome guitar. But I'll get Grover or Kluson, not sure yet. I'm also chaning the jack assembly out, and probably the tone selector switch plate.

The pups are not being changed though. Neither is the nut or anything like that. I think the stock pups which are on it sound incredible. I mean they're not Duncans, but they are really good for what I paid. At my local guitar store, the owner was tweaking my guitar and started jamming with it at full blast, and it sounded really great.

Long story short, it depends. But new tuners/straplocks/strings are a definite for all of my purchases.

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Wow. Revive'D

Anyway, I think that straplocks/pickups are the most necessary of those upgrades. Neither are essential though. I have used stock guitars for a long time now, and only know I am on here and I am more of a perfectionist do some of those appear to enter the vicinity of 'essential'.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Other than Strap Locks I almost always play a guitar for a few weeks unless there is something glaring that needs attention before I do much to it. Then I get a setup, decide on pups, maybe open the nut up if it was binding a bit.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

Pickups,wiring,and a bone nut or better TUSQ etc...over plastic..

 

[theodie]

Re: Essential Guitar Upgrades

I have to play the guitar first to see what it even needs!