"I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

New strings.
[rimshot]


Really though, I prize variety too much to have the same pickup in two guitars. Well, I do have two neck Phat Cats, but one is a stock neck model and the other is a bridge model with 2 A5s in the neck position. So I think I'm safe there. I've had the same pickup in guitars before (Super Ds and JBs) and I always end up preferring one over the other and swapping the pickup in the other.

I'd like to have push/pull doing something or other in all my bucker guitars, but shaft size (tee hee) and knob thread has got in the way of that.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

Always strap locks. You'd think by now they would come standard on every guitar. If you don't like them, take em off- but too many people list it as a requirement. I generally replace the pots with low friction ones (YJMs lately). I will eventually change the pickups after I know the guitar better. New guitars always get new strings and an extensive cleaning too.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

Diego said:
Never ever had an "incident".
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I was at a local benefit concert at the 5 O'clock Club in Sarasota about 15 years ago, with two Sarasota residents headlining, Dickey Betts and Brian Johnson (they performed separately, and then did a blues song together). Dickey had his LP Burst brought separately in a limo, accompanied by a couple of bodyguards. It didn't have a strap with it, so he borrowed one from someone else playing there. In the middle of a song, the strap slipped off the lower bout and Dickey caught the guitar just before it hit the floor. He had a panicked look on his face.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

If ever I get a guitar with a plastic output jack cover plate I will always swap it out for a metal one. Only had to do it several times, but I cant stand the plastic ones.
Same with plastic dome knobs. Always swap out for the metal ones with the grub screw. They just make a guitar feel cheap, plastic.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

I started a new one - every guitar I get from here on out will go to a reputable luthier for a great setup. Took my old Ibanez Artist in about 6 years ago, then this year I bought two new guitars and they both went in to the same guy. 100% worth it to me. Night and day difference in the way they play. Every guitar I've had since '84 has had some Seymour Duncan in it. First Alnico II, then screamin demon, then blackouts and first guitar I didn't do that to bought this year and will keep EMG's.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

SnakeAces said:
Currently all my guitars have at least 1 humbucker. Every humbucker I have is connected to a push/pull or push/push volume pot and is usually used for coil splitting.

A new "mod" I have done recently is add a no load tone pot to every neck humbucker I own.
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What's the diff? Both in make and function? Im not familiar.. Thanks!

In answer to the orig question.. Every guitar I get, I install straplocks immediately. Usually Dunlop duals, but have a few Schaller sets. (Ive used some diff ones over the years too, but I think all of those have been sold)

On my Floyd loaded guitars, I install a big block as soon as the guitar is paid for and I get the $ saved up. I have 1 that I have to mod yet. But all my regular players. And when I put the big blocks on, I switch the springs to Raw Vintage.

Thats really it for immediate MUST DO mods. But:
I then change pickups to whatever I feel I want in the guitar. IIRC, the only guitar Ive ever left stock pickups in is my old Kramer. JB/Jazz set. This guitar is stock except straplocks and big block on the trem.
I also have been modding other aspects of the trems too. Brass claw, Ti inserts, stainless screws. Done this to my Charvels. Dtuna on some.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

BloodRose said:
What's the diff? Both in make and function? Im not familiar.. Thanks!

In answer to the orig question.. Every guitar I get, I install straplocks immediately. Usually Dunlop duals, but have a few Schaller sets. (Ive used some diff ones over the years too, but I think all of those have been sold)

On my Floyd loaded guitars, I install a big block as soon as the guitar is paid for and I get the $ saved up. I have 1 that I have to mod yet. But all my regular players. And when I put the big blocks on, I switch the springs to Raw Vintage.

Thats really it for immediate MUST DO mods. But:
I then change pickups to whatever I feel I want in the guitar. IIRC, the only guitar Ive ever left stock pickups in is my old Kramer. JB/Jazz set. This guitar is stock except straplocks and big block on the trem.
I also have been modding other aspects of the trems too. Brass claw, Ti inserts, stainless screws. Done this to my Charvels. Dtuna on some.
Click to expand...

With a normal tone pot, there is some load present when turned up to ten. This makes 250k and 500k tone pots sound different even when dimed. A no load tone pot cuts out of the circuit when dimed, allowing for a "purer" signal. You can try it yourself and hear the difference. It's not big for me, but it's enough to make sure that I use a no load tone pot (or make one) for every guitar...

Yeah, that answers the original question, too! My guitars MUST have a tone pot, AND it must be a no-load one.


http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/pots.htm
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

blueman335 said:
I was at a local benefit concert at the 5 O'clock Club in Sarasota about 15 years ago, with two Sarasota residents headlining, Dickey Betts and Brian Johnson (they performed separately, and then did a blues song together). Dickey had his LP Burst brought separately in a limo, accompanied by a couple of bodyguards. It didn't have a strap with it, so he borrowed one from someone else playing there. In the middle of a song, the strap slipped off the lower bout and Dickey caught the guitar just before it hit the floor. He had a panicked look on his face.
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That's why I always use my straps!
I agree it's a better idea to use a "permanent" straplock by means of a washer, if you (me, in this situation) don't like straplocks for whatever reason.
I've never given the DiMarzio straplocks a test and everyone seems to like those. Maybe next month.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

BloodRose said:
What's the diff? Both in make and function? Im not familiar.. Thanks!
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Archer250 nailed it. The no load tone pot allows the signal to bypass the capacitor so it's like having a tone pot that goes to 11 when the pot is turned all the way up to 10. Then, from 0-9 on the tone pot the circuit includes the capacitor for your normal range of adjustment. They are awesome and they only cost about $6 each so it's a cheap and easy mod. I really like it for neck humbuckers. The best part? You wire them up just the same as any normal pot.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

SnakeAces said:
Archer250 nailed it. The no load tone pot allows the signal to bypass the capacitor so it's like having a tone pot that goes to 11 when the pot is turned all the way up to 10. Then, from 0-9 on the tone pot the circuit includes the capacitor for your normal range of adjustment. They are awesome and they only cost about $6 each so it's a cheap and easy mod. I really like it for neck humbuckers. The best part? You wire them up just the same as any normal pot.
Click to expand...

Or you can mod one from a normal pot yourself ;)

That's what I do.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

13 of my 15 guitars have some kind of humbucker or stacked single in the bridge & most of them did not come that way? The ones that did come stock with humbuckers in the bridge have all been changed to something different and Duncan??? I've got one TRUE Telecaster, S/S, with a Quarter Pound Lead for Tele in the bridge and a Phat Cat in the neck & my G&L Legacy is all stock making it my only true S/S/S Stratocaster, I've modded my other 6 Strat's so now I've got one with just about every pickup configuration you can imagine? The Legacy sounds great as is & modding them is a PIA, the pickguards are expensive and hard to find so when I want "the Strat quack" using the bridge and middle pickups together that's my go to guitar....
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

SnakeAces said:
Archer250 nailed it. The no load tone pot allows the signal to bypass the capacitor so it's like having a tone pot that goes to 11 when the pot is turned all the way up to 10. Then, from 0-9 on the tone pot the circuit includes the capacitor for your normal range of adjustment. They are awesome and they only cost about $6 each so it's a cheap and easy mod. I really like it for neck humbuckers. The best part? You wire them up just the same as any normal pot.
Click to expand...

very cool! Have the benefit of using a tone pot and the benefit of bypassing.. Do you buy them? if so, where?

Archer250,
Thank you for the info and the link!
 
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Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

BloodRose said:
very cool! Have the benefit of using a tone pot and the benefit of bypassing.. Do you buy them? if so, where?

Archer250,
Thank you for the info and the link!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I buy them. A lot of guys make them but I have found this seller to be reliable, quick to ship and actually selling what they say they are selling: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CTS-500k-NO-LOAD-Potentiometer-Split-Shaft-Tone-Pot-NEW-/291316144292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d3cb98a4

I recently ordered 2 from them and they are great in the guitars I have them in!
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

SnakeAces said:
Yeah, I buy them. A lot of guys make them but I have found this seller to be reliable, quick to ship and actually selling what they say they are selling: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CTS-500k-NO-LOAD-Potentiometer-Split-Shaft-Tone-Pot-NEW-/291316144292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d3cb98a4

I recently ordered 2 from them and they are great in the guitars I have them in!
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Cool and they are CTS too! Yeah, Id be too afraid Id bust em tearing them apart to mod them.. Thank you!!
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

BloodRose said:
Cool and they are CTS too! Yeah, Id be too afraid Id bust em tearing them apart to mod them.. Thank you!!
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No problem, you're welcome man! I was afraid of jamming a screwdriver through one of my fingers so I just decided to buy them. They are slick.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

BloodRose said:
very cool! Have the benefit of using a tone pot and the benefit of bypassing.. Do you buy them? if so, where?

Archer250,
Thank you for the info and the link!
Click to expand...

If you like the idea of "no load" pots, check out the Fender TBX control, it's basically a futuristic "no load" pot. The problem with a basic no load pot is that the guitar goes from "load" to "no load" instantly, which can mean "not bright at all" to "too bright", and the "9.9" position on the dial (that approximates a typical tone control at 10) can be hard to get at because the dial will be tempted to slip into the detent at 10. IIRC the Fender brand "no load" doesn't even have a detent at 10 which is terrible. Personally I think half the people who install no load pots simply don't like tone controls at all, and use it as a way to eliminate the control while keeping their guitar nearly stock.

What the Fender TBX does to remedy those shortcomings is that it puts a center detent a "5" on the dial, and that's supposed to represent a standard tone control at "10" in terms of load and brightness, and everything between 0 and 5 is typical tone control, but between 5 and 10, the load gradually decreases until the resistant maxes out around 1250K ohms, which is a value so high that it's essentially the same as "no load" in terms of tone and brightness, especially with low to medium output pickups. So what you get is usable access to that range from "load" to "no load" that doesn't exist in a old style no load pot. Here's an article on them http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/The_Fender_TBX_Tone_Control_Part_1
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

DreX said:
Personally I think half the people who install no load pots simply don't like tone controls at all, and use it as a way to eliminate the control while keeping their guitar nearly stock.
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What? In a HH guitar with 2 volume and 2 tone pots a no load tone pot on the neck humbucker is like manna from heaven. I also use push-push volume pots for coil splits. So, if I am playing on my neck humbucker alone, let's say for a song with cleans or heavy gain the tone pot is up to 10. If I am playing in split coil mode on just the neck, let's say cleans, I usually have to turn the pot down to the 6 to 8 range. If I am using fuzz with split coil it usually goes back up to 10. If I am playing in the middle position and I want more sparkle, I usually turn the neck tone pot down to the 5-7 range. If I want more oompf and bass, I usually turn the neck tone back up to 10 and roll back on the bridge tone pot.

I also usually use a .010μf cap on my neck humbuckers and a .022μf on my bridge. I never use a no-load tone pot on my bridge humbuckers but I always use one on my neck humbuckers.

Without being rude, I completely disagree with your statement.
 
Re: "I perform this mod on every guitar I own..."

SnakeAces said:
What? In a HH guitar with 2 volume and 2 tone pots a no load tone pot on the neck humbucker is like manna from heaven. I also use push-push volume pots for coil splits. So, if I am playing on my neck humbucker alone, let's say for a song with cleans or heavy gain the tone pot is up to 10. If I am playing in split coil mode on just the neck, let's say cleans, I usually have to turn the pot down to the 6 to 8 range. If I am using fuzz with split coil it usually goes back up to 10. If I am playing in the middle position and I want more sparkle, I usually turn the neck tone pot down to the 5-7 range. If I want more oompf and bass, I usually turn the neck tone back up to 10 and roll back on the bridge tone pot.

I also usually use a .010μf cap on my neck humbuckers and a .022μf on my bridge. I never use a no-load tone pot on my bridge humbuckers but I always use one on my neck humbuckers.

Without being rude, I completely disagree with your statement.
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I like the tone afforded by no load pots also, I just prefer having access to the entire available palette of tones. You use the no load pots in a way that side steps it's shortcomings, which is to say you either have it on "no load" or between 5 and 8 on the dial. You don't miss the 9 - 9.9 range, or the potential range of tones between 9.9 and "no load". The Fender TBX gives you all that back. The only downside is that what was 0-9 is now 0-5 (0-7 more realistically), so it can be more touch sensitive, that's the primary trade off. I installed a TBX in one of my Les Pauls, it fit fine even though it was intended for Strats. It actually makes a lot more sense in a Les Paul since making as Strat go from bright to brighter isn't a popular proposition.
 
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