I just started playing last year just as an extra hobby to do at home and am gradually upgrading gear. A few months ago I upgraded my first acoustic (Aria) to a nice Takamine and immediately felt the results of better gear. Way back in 2006 when I bought a Jetta I also received one of the VW/First Act Garage Master guitars which I still have. I had been playing it a bit, got good strings, adjusted it, and it is not a bad guitar (based on my experience, LOL!!), but it just sounded very muddled, especially in the lows and when compared to my other electric (inexpensive Strat clone). I had contemplated getting an inexpensive LP style as an upgrade, but I like to tinker and was not ready to give up on the guitar yet, especially since it was free. I ended up ordering Seymour Duncan pickups, Jazz Model neck and Full Shred bridge, and installed them last night myself. Even though I have never used a soldering iron before in my life it was not too bad. If I can do it you can too!!!! I absolutely love this guitar now, it sounds fantastic even through my little Fender Frontman with the Jensen speaker upgrade. All of the definition I was looking for and great sound when I click on my distortion pedal. I am so glad I went this route instead of purchasing something else. I personally love the unique style and now has great sound to match. If anyone has one of these (especially if you got it for free) I'd recommend a pickup upgrade. Instillation was so easy that I'm considering buying one of the semi-hollow bodies off of Amazon and using that as a base to mod.

