NGD incoming! Mod platform - Ideas?

[Chistopher]

I'm not sure what this means

Music equipment doesn't follow the same buisness strategy as a craftsman's tools.

Investing a lot of money into music equipment doesn't increase value the same way that other tools do because value is not as tangible in the music world.

 

[Top-L]

This falls apart when you consider that guitar pickups don't have the same cost/benefit tradeoffs as something you'd find in a factory

I don't know what it means either.

Unfortunately, with manufacturing in china, and these being easy to copy, with no control over IP theft, I believe you can buy cheap clones of name brand pickups. This technology is 100 years old.

The value of buying name brand pickups is consistency and knowing what you are getting.

 

[Chistopher]

Maybe 3rd times a charm. A tool that cost more is generally better than one that doesn't. Sometimes you pay for brand names sure, but generally a $10k machine is going to be more flexible, yield better results, and last longer than a $5k machine. Sometimes a tool is more expensive purely because it costs more to make than a cheaper one.

Guitar pickups are so cheap to make that they are priced purely based off how much people are willing to pay. No humbucker is better or worse than any other humbucker, they are just different.

Any guitar can perform any guitar song. Some might require a little finagling and the final product might not be 100% what you want it to be, but a skilled guitar player can get the job done within reason. Buying new guitar equipment has value, but it's abstract and subjective.

On the other hand, if my job is to rebuild engines, I can put a pretty accurate number on how much money I've lost because I've been resurfacing the blocks by hand instead of with a milling machine.

I can't put a number on how much money I've lost or gained because I recorded my album with a chinesium humbucker instead of a JB

In short, you can't throw $100m at a band and expect them to be successful.

 

[Top-L]

Maybe 3rd times a charm. A tool that cost more is generally better than one that doesn't. Sometimes you pay for brand names sure, but generally a $10k machine is going to be more flexible, yield better results, and last longer than a $5k machine. Sometimes a tool is more expensive purely because it costs more to make than a cheaper one.

Guitar pickups are so cheap to make that they are priced purely based off how much people are willing to pay. No humbucker is better or worse than any other humbucker, they are just different.

Any guitar can perform any guitar song. Some might require a little finagling and the final product might not be 100% what you want it to be, but a skilled guitar player can get the job done within reason. Buying new guitar equipment has value, but it's abstract and subjective.

On the other hand, if my job is to rebuild engines, I can put a pretty accurate number on how much money I've lost because I've been resurfacing the blocks by hand instead of with a milling machine.

I can't put a number on how much money I've lost or gained because I recorded my album with a chinesium humbucker instead of a JB

In short, you can't throw $100m at a band and expect them to be successful.

There is a book called "Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance".

The author writes about his and a friends motorcycle journey. His friend has an expensive BMW motorcycle, and the handlebars came loose. There was a $100 part from BMW which is a thin metal shim used to make the bar larger so it is not loose in the clamp. His friend happily paid this so that he had the confidence of knowing that the BMW mechanics had worked on it. He felt complete.

The author noted that if it was his bike, he would have used tinsnips on an aluminum can and made the shim for free. The end result would have been the same as if the mechanic had done the work, and he would have saved $100.

However his friend wanted the feeling that came with knowing that it was a BMW branded, $100 piece of aluminum.

I remember that feeling of completeness that I used to get from buying a pickup that some guitar hero had endorsed and that I saw advertized in Guitar Player. After having swapped enough pickups, and gaining age and experience, I realized what was really going on.

 

[marcello252]

I strongly believe the real value of a thing is strictly the value it has for you and you only, being affective, psychological, monetary, the sum of the three and so on.
Market laws don't apply on the single user but they regulate the masses, so it's pretty normal everyone has a different view on topic

 

[ehdwuld]

I strongly believe the real value of a thing is strictly the value it has for you and you only, being affective, psychological, monetary, the sum of the three and so on.
Market laws don't apply on the single user but they regulate the masses, so it's pretty normal everyone has a different view on topic

This is what I'm saying

I think we all, with some exception, are saying the same thing in different ways

If i need a drill for a project around the house
I get a cheap one

If I need something to make aliving with
I can see the benefit of getting a more name brands

The biggest part of say cordless tools is not the tool
But the availability of proprietary batteries

If i get, and I have over the years, a Harbor Freight cordless drill

The drill is fine for decades
What fails.is the battery

Without a resource for replacement the tool.is worthless

Buying another drill

So my thesis is that if it uses consumable items
Printing cartridges
Batteries
Any proprietary consumables
Then get a name brands

If it's a chisel or a hammer
Or a corded tool
WTF whatever is cheapest

 

[jeremy]

ill spend a few extra bucks to get a chisel made from good steel. itll hold an edge better, cut better, last longer, and can be sharpened more precisely. that doesnt mean im gonna spend big $$ on a name/brand, i just want a high quality tool. which in many cases, for hand tools, means finding old stuff. i 100% agree with you on the consumables, batteries, printer cartridges... but thats where they get ya. its almost the same price to buy a new ink jet printer, than to replace all the ink cartridges.

 

[ehdwuld]

On my cordless tools I have been bit by brand names as well

My older dewalt and craftsman drills need an adapter to use the newer 20volt batteries

But you can find the adapter

The Central Electric and Drillmaster ones are nowhere to be found

 

[Rex_Rocker]

It's finally here!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

First impressions: Plays amazing. Not just for the money. I'm sure the setup the store gave it has something to do with it. The neck is super smooth, the frets are great with no sharp edges or buzzy high spots. Just overall great. The neck profile is pretty good. It's not as thin as my Gibson 60's, but it's not as thick as my Gibson 50's. It's verry middle-of-the-road. It feels all around different, though. Probably because of the rounder board.

The acoustic tone is promising. It's loud. It's bright and snappy. Sounds like it has the potential to sound great.

The look... well, the board looks healthy. Doesn't look gray or pale like many of the lower end guitars can. It does look like a simple cheapie beginner guitar, but I'm sure I can fix some of that with the mods I'm giving it.

The tuners aren't attrocious, like I was expecting, so maybe they will do for now.

The stock pickup is horrible, LOL. It's low output, it's scooped, kinda shrill, but still kinda muddy somehow. But that's not a big deal as it was always the plan to change it anyway.

*EDIT* just measured the pickup. It's 8.2K and the specs say it's ceramic.

 

[Top-L]

First impressions: Plays amazing. Not just for the money. I'm sure the setup the store gave it has something to do with it. The neck is super smooth, the frets are great with no sharp edges or buzzy high spots. Just overall great. The neck profile is pretty good. It's not as thin as my Gibson 60's, but it's not as thick as my Gibson 50's. It's verry middle-of-the-road. It feels all around different, though. Probably because of the rounder board.

The acoustic tone is promising. It's loud. It's bright and snappy. Sounds like it has the potential to sound great.

The look... well, the board looks healthy. Doesn't look gray or pale like many of the lower end guitars can. It does look like a simple cheapie beginner guitar, but I'm sure I can fix some of that with the mods I'm giving it.

The tuners aren't attrocious, like I was expecting, so maybe they will do for now.

The stock pickup is horrible, LOL. It's low output, it's scooped, but it's still muddy somehow. Ugh. Lucky I already have options there.

Looks great. Does it need a neck adjustment? The treble strings look really close to the edge.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Looks great. Does it need a neck adjustment? The treble strings look really close to the edge.

Thank you.

The pic makes it look worse than it is. I don't have issues with playability. I'll try to take the neck off and see what I can do when I change the pickup and pickguard, but even as is, I don't find it an issue. My old Ibanez Prestige was like that when I first got it too, LOL.

 

[Top-L]

Thank you.

The pic makes it look worse than it is. I don't have issues with playability. I'll try to take the neck off and see what I can do when I change the pickup and pickguard, but even as is, I don't find it an issue. My old Ibanez Prestige was like that when I first got it too, LOL.

Usually just takes a minor adjustment.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Usually just takes a minor adjustment.

Probably. I'll give it a go tomorrow when I change the pickup, pickguard, and saddles.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I was checking, and it seems to be an issue with the saddles rather than the neck. The saddles aren't tight against each other, so they have some play, and were leaning a bit more towards the treble side.

 

[Mincer]

What a fun instrument! I think something like that would be a great platform for many, many players.

 

[ehdwuld]

I was checking, and it seems to be an issue with the saddles rather than the neck. The saddles aren't tight against each other, so they have some play, and were leaning a bit more towards the treble side.

Oh that speaks badly of the stores setup

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Oh that speaks badly of the stores setup

Maybe. But it plays so good, honestly. And it was not an issue. At least for me.

 

[ehdwuld]

Maybe. But it plays so good, honestly. And it was not an issue. At least for me.

I would bring it up to them as something they should have tended to.

I point out these smaller things just as feedback not so much to wrestle a discount

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So I've been working on it today. Few pics to go with my anecdote.

First thing I did was change the saddles to brass.


Then I wired up the cream pickguard with a JB and a DiMarzio 500K volume pot.




But oh oh, the pickguard didn't fit becasue the hardtail bridge is wider than a standard Strat trem.


So I went back to the stock pickguard, whic doesn't look too bad anyways. And I just transferred everything up.


I roughly set the saddle heigh and intonation, but that still needs adjustment. I'll set it up well tomorrow.

So far, it's been a really fun project, and that's kinda what I go the guitar for.