Mods do not add value to a guitar.

[Demanic]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

I don't mod guitars so I can sell them for more than what I paid. I do it to make them better for my purposes. By the same token, if someone wants to buy one of them from me, I'm not going to charge less because I did mod them.

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[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Hey Doctor Nukem, come get some! Would you call the guy who drills the foot long output wiring channel in the oh so expensive King V a different kind of idiot? Or the chap whose job is to drill that tunnel almost throughout an LP Custom's body? What are they supposed to do, go wireless?

When the guitar is being built at the factory, and the control layout requires drilling from the end of the top wing to the pickup cavity and then making a U-turn to the control cavity, that's one thing. As an aftermarket mod, "some guy" with a hand drill dinking 6 holes under the bridge of a finished guitar "to the best of their ability" is insanity.
Besides, this is not something you'd throw onto just any old import with a tuneomatic like a JS series Jackson. That'd be a waste of money IMO. You'd want one of them on a guitar that already had a decent acoustic tone, which you'd want to amplify.

Even if you could find a factory-installed T-bridge, I'd still say it's better to run the wires under the bridge pickup. The wires are covered in metal braid, so they blend with the strings visually, and it's only an extra 1.5" at most added to the distance they have to go. The wires are about 8" long, which was more than enough. I could've wired it to the jack easily.

However, if you're putting one on a Jazz box that only has a neck pickup, or none at all, then I'd definitely take it to someone that knew what they were doing.
You'd trash the resale immediately, but at least it'd be a clean mod. Even then I'd probably look into some sort of decorative tailpiece that went from the rear pin to the bridge, run the wires under that, then sneak them past the jack with a washer on it. If it didn't have a jack to begin with, I'd look into something that could easily accommodate the wires going into the assembly, connecting to the preamp, then right to the jack. Maybe even mount the preamp on a spring-loaded or Liberator-style screw-in block with the actual jack coming off the decorative tailpiece.

Going that far as a custom setup, the only mod would be to the tailpiece itself: attach the preamp to the underside, get one of those magnetic quick release cables and mount the plug in the jack in a recessed football-style indention in the tailpiece, then when you want to go amplified, you just stick the cable to it and it sticks.

That'd actually be awesome. I should totally look into doing that :lol:

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Hey Doctor Nukem, come get some! Would you call the guy who drills the foot long output wiring channel in the oh so expensive King V a different kind of idiot? Or the chap whose job is to drill that tunnel almost throughout an LP Custom's body? What are they supposed to do, go wireless?

haha man classic line right there. It makes me want to pick up my guitar and crank out the megadeth duke nukem theme.

Don't mind the doc he had a recent head injury so he isn't feeling the best.

 

[formula73]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

I don't mod guitars so I can sell them for more than what I paid. I do it to make them better for my purposes. By the same token, if someone wants to buy one of them from me, I'm not going to charge less because I did mod them.

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And that's totally fine. I, however, want to get most of my money back if I have to dump something-and it does happen.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Not really... rims on a tercel is purely form... "upgrading" to a different wiring schematic or changing pickups is quite the opposite. A better analogy would be like stuffing a big V8 into a tercel. Whether that's a good choice or not is in the eye of the beholder. For some that may be worth more and some it may be worth less, but in the end it's up to the buyer to determine what he values and the seller to determine what price he puts on his time and investment.

No, rims can make a real difference in the handling, ride, looks and mpg of the car but don't ultimately change the value the car can be resold for in any significant way. Maybe I should've said rims and tires but still a better experience for the user of the vehicle at an added expense that isn't likely to be recouped.

Dropping a V8 into a Tercel would make it something of a high performance oddity and likely make it a hot commodity for street drags if nothing else. Maybe something closer to putting a high end neck, killer pickups and bridge on MIM Fender.

If the mods you do to your guitar make sense and make it more usable then it adds value you for you, that's it. There are certain guitars that it would probably add some value to. Thinking something along the lines of a '59 conversion on a '53 LP which is like stuffing a V8 in an old AC Cobra.

And btw I am not saying don't mod it. I mod the **** out of almost all my guitars but I know that I'm doing it for me not because of what it will make me down the road.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

And that's totally fine. I, however, want to get most of my money back if I have to dump something-and it does happen.

Then don't mod it.

 

[ItsaBass]

Mods do not add value to a guitar.

It's true in most cases. Very few buyers will see another person's mods as a selling point. It would have to be a very specific set of mods, and just the right buyer. It certainly turns me off when a guitar has been modded, and it turns me off even more when the seller says that they sold the original parts. I will never pay going street value for something if it has original parts missing. If the guitar can't easily be returned to stock at no monetary cost to me, then I reduce what I will pay for it. I place value on originality, with anything, really, not just guitars. I'm the same way with cars, cameras, antiques, etc. Even if I will be using the object modded, the ability to easily and cheaply restore it at any time significantly increases the object's value to me.

The biggest turn off of all is the seller who believes that you should be paying original retail value for their used mods, on top of an unrealistically high street value for the no-longer-stock guitar.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

But then that's where you as a buyer have to walk away and look for something that isn't modded.

Otherwise it's like trying to get free upgrades that you can sell off to cash in. "I bought this modded guitar that came with all the original parts and sold the SDs the guy put in them and got back half what I paid for the whole project - woohoo!"


When I sold my Les Paul Standard some years ago, I had already replaced the original bridge pickup with a 500T and sold the original 10 years earlier. I had bidders literally accusing me of "holding out" when I told them I didn't have the original pickup, and they wanted a discount equal to the cost of a new 498T. Pfft. If it ain't for you, move on.

I've replaced EMGs in guitars hoping to improve the tone, then sold the guitar when it didn't help. People asked me to include the EMGs, which I had listed separately, and I refused. I offered to put them back in and keep the Duncans, and most said they wanted both sets so they could see which ones they liked best in it. Again I refused and they got pissy, like it was my responsibility to pay for their tonal experiments. I assure you they would have sold either set "to recoup their loss".

That's why I never include the original parts. If anyone's going to make a buck off selling the excess parts, it's me, because I already have the parts, and I'm the one who's out extra money, as well as taking a hit on what I paid for the guitar to begin with.

However, I will say that a hard shell case when the guitar cannot otherwise be purchased with one, even new, is an upgrade that adds value because it's a package deal: Guitar AND case.
Sure, you can find a million of the same model for less, but most of them will not have a hard case. Maybe a gig bag at most. If I lay out $50+ for a hard case, and the similar models without a case are going for $300, you can bet mine's going up for $350.
I don't gig, so my cases don't get beat up. Even when I did gig, my cases didn't get beat up.

 

[formula73]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Then don't mod it.

I buy guitars that don't require the mods yours do. Lolololololol.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

buuuuuuuuuurrrrrrnnnnnnnn :lol:

But since the discussion brought up hypothetical engine swaps, can a V8 fit in a Tercel?

And what about putting a Porsche engine in a Beetle - does it still sell for the cost of a straight-up Hippy Herbie, or does the engine add value as well as power?

 

[formula73]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Depends on the execution.

AND FINDING THAT ONE BUYER. You know, the guy who has a fetish for Tercels but wishes they were faster and more conspicuous...that guy who doesn't know about the internet...that one guy who...

Probably lives 5k miles away from you and doesn't know you're selling your V8 Tercell, or a Porche engined Bug-and I'll admit, that's like, 9 guys vs the 1 Toyota guy.

...how is this a hard concept? This whole reality thing?

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Reality can suck it.

 

[formula73]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Fair enough.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

I had a toyota with a buick motor. :laughing: It was superb after i fixed multiple issues that the previous owner couldn't.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

I had a toyota with a buick motor. :laughing: It was superb after i fixed multiple issues that the previous owner couldn't.

Of course it was superb. It had an American motor in it!

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

built by Canadians and South Americans, and 3 guys from Waukesha :lol:

 

[Wattage]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Who does the mods makes a difference with cars as well as guitars.

You can see sloppy, shoddy mods by an amateur taking away dollar value where as someone like Dan Erlewine doing the mods would be a huge selling point IMO.

Just like with cars - Boyd Coddington or someone like that certainly can command a premium for mods that backyard mechanic will never see.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

Right on dude. Whoever expects the full value of a modification to be paid for by the buyer is either insane or professional.

 

[voggin]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

I always keep the original parts, so I can put it back to "stock" if I sell it.

I had a PRS SE singlecut, that I replaced the stock asian pickups with a JB/Jazz set. I was going to return it to stock when I wanted to sell it, and my buddy, who's better with a soldering iron than I am, was going to swap the pickups back. My plan was to sell the guitar and either keep the SD's, or sell them separately. My feeling was, I would have to find someone who appreciated the new pickups enough to pay a premium for the mod, and my guess was that I wasn't going to any time soon. (I live in a relatively small guitar market).

Funny thing is, my buddy played the guitar before removing the pickups, and loved it! So that was one time when the modded guitar was more desirable than stock.

(although he got the friend discount, so it wasn't as profitable as I had hoped. But then again, he had recently sold me a great amp cheap, so it was a karma thing.)

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Mods do not add value to a guitar.

I always keep the original parts, so I can put it back to "stock" if I sell it.

Great idea!