How do you justify spending a lot upgrading a cheap guitar?

[Outrider]

Up until now, most of my justification in my head has been that I'm learning something new: wiring, soldering, circuits, luthiery, setup, fretwork.

 

One of my last projects was an experiment in designing and building a guitar that met my playing style/requirements. I took my favorite bits of strats, teles, and LPs and mixed them up: Pics

 

My last project was justified simply because my 8 y.o. decided I needed a flying V, and I wanted to learn how to paint & refinish: Pics

[Into Nation]

It's all about the neck for me. If it's a good one, I'll upgrade what needs upgrading.

[BG76]

...also i have seen some ladies spending more on personal beauty products than on food ...

 

 

 

I should hope so! Do you want your woman chubby or looking pretty?

[Shenaniganizer]

 

People make the mistake of only seeing value in monetary terms. Value can make many forms.

 

 

^ yes, yes, and yes.

I agree.

AGREE, I DO!

[orourke]

sorry, but stuff like this makes me laugh. i'm sure it's a solid instrument, but if you're saying that you'd put it toe to toe against a mike lull or a lakland...

 

Laugh away. I don't know about Mike Lull or Lakland basses, I've seen them but never played one. I've played plenty of Fender basses though and mine stacks up against them. Especially a 90's USA American Standard P bass that I owned for a while, that was a pile of poop compared to this one.

[djhunt]

I love modding just about everything. I was just reminded why last weekend when I dropped new pickups, and spent a few hours dressing frets and setting up an old Jackson JDR94. I am suprised how good it plays and sounds now. It's been years since I touched it, but now its fun to play it. I think the fun aspect is key.

[caveman]

Yep, another neck man here. If a guitar comes to hand like it was meant to be there, it's worth bringing the rest of it up to personal specs.

 

Unless, of course, it's pointy, ugly or has some other unpardonable physical defect like bird inlays.

[Doctor Morbius]

 

Just thought I would first say that I'm not trying to criticize anyone. I'm just curious. I have a Mexican Strat that I got for $300 back when they were $350 at GC (the good ol days of naming your walk out price!). I bought a SD Screamin Demon humbucker and two hand wound single coils for the neck and middle. It cost me a total of $200 for the pickups. If you add in the $35 I just sent on an upgrade bridge from GFS that's $235 total. I still have not invested the value of the guitar. My question is how do you guys justify spending like $200 to upgrade a $100 Squier? I'm not trying to debate or question anybody on it. I'm just curious as how you justify it? Do you consider it just a practice of skill (soldering, wiring, etc.)? Are you just trying to make the greatest guitar for the cheapest possible? I'm just curious. I guess I ask because I have a $125 Squier I want to freshen up. I spend my money keeping my MIM Strat in tip top shape though. I have trouble justifying to myself spending $135 dollar GFS wired pickguard to put in a $125 Squier. But the catch is that I would like some better pickups then the $35 pre wired pickguards from GFS. Thoughts, comments, experience, anything?

I wouldn't do it unless the upgrades were something I could carry forward to another guitar. That's one of the reasons I love Strats. They are the epitome of parts guitars.

 

For example, you could install a loaded pickguard with Lollars into an Affinity Strat. Then and at some point in the future if you wanted to upgrade your guitar you could remove the wiring harness, put the stock parts back in to sell the Affinity, then drop the harness with Lollars into an American Standard.

 

Other than something like that I wouldn't spend too much extra money on upgrading a cheapo. However, if the frets needed some filing/polishing I would do that but I wouldn't pay to have it done. I'd also put in a graphite nut but that's an expensive item.

[Tambourine Man]

For some of us (non-US residents specifically), it's just drastically cheaper to buy a cheapo and upgrade it.

 

For example, a fender USA strat is about $1500 new for me (Canadian). Even an MIM strat is $700 new.

 

I can take a $100 squier and spend about $150 and upgrade the hardware and electronics from GFS and it will sound and play as good as an MIM strat (standard model). Now I know it won't sound or play like a USA strat, but I'm saving myself over $1000.

 

I don't gig so I dont' need high end gear. I need something that sounds and play pretty good for the cheapest price I can get away with. If I were in a gigging band, I'd be buying higher end models for sure, but it's jsut not worth it for me to buy a Gibson Les Paul.

[lndianScout]

why do people buy cheap cars then put rims, tires and stereo's that are worth 4x what the cars is..

 

for the fun of it..

[Jim85IROC]

I guess it depends on your perspective. To some, spending $200 on a $100 guitar is silly. Your total investment is 3x the price of the guitar itself.

 

On the other hand, some people see spending $200 on a $100 guitar as only needing to spend $300 to have a guitar that plays like one they can't afford.

 

I see it as a case to case basis. Like somebody said above, some cheap guitars are worth the effort, some aren't. Some are turds no matter how much you polish them, some are pieces of coal just waiting to get pressed into a diamond.

[shredtilurded]

 

Just thought I would first say that I'm not trying to criticize anyone. I'm just curious. I have a Mexican Strat that I got for $300 back when they were $350 at GC (the good ol days of naming your walk out price!). I bought a SD Screamin Demon humbucker and two hand wound single coils for the neck and middle. It cost me a total of $200 for the pickups. If you add in the $35 I just sent on an upgrade bridge from GFS that's $235 total. I still have not invested the value of the guitar. My question is how do you guys justify spending like $200 to upgrade a $100 Squier? I'm not trying to debate or question anybody on it. I'm just curious as how you justify it? Do you consider it just a practice of skill (soldering, wiring, etc.)? Are you just trying to make the greatest guitar for the cheapest possible? I'm just curious. I guess I ask because I have a $125 Squier I want to freshen up. I spend my money keeping my MIM Strat in tip top shape though. I have trouble justifying to myself spending $135 dollar GFS wired pickguard to put in a $125 Squier. But the catch is that I would like some better pickups then the $35 pre wired pickguards from GFS. Thoughts, comments, experience, anything?

 

 

I wouldn't spend $800 upgrading a $125 guitar to me that makes no sense.

I'm sure unless it's a boutique brand whatever you're going to upgrade can be bought for less used.That said,I just got a Washburn 333 and put an OFR and maybe I'll put some EMGs in it but other wise it's a $300 guitar so isn't going to get more than that.

[chronicinsomnia]

If you have the money and you personaly can justify the guitar being worth the time and money go for it. Some people won't upgrade or mod any instrument. That is fine by me. However, I have had friends of mine travel from music store to music store searching for the holy grail of amps and guitars.

 

I had one buddy that spent hundreds of dollars in gas, meals and time looking for this mythical perfect Les Paul. He would go to one store and tell me how it played great but sounded dead or this one's sound was awesome but the fret work wasn't perfect. This guy could have spent a little money on new pickups or a fret level and had the guitar of his dreams but he was unwilling to do anything to it. He was by God going to buy a guitar that was perfect from the get go. I don't fault him at all.

 

I would much prefer to buy something playable whether it costs a few grand or is cheap as hell and mod the piss out of it until it plays perfectly for me. I get what I want in the end and I learn alot about being my own tech as well as what my true preferences are. Oh and it is fun too.

 

PeAcE

[cross.bones]

I understand upgrading slowly. A new set of pickups here, different bridge after a bit of time, then tuners etc. What I don't get is when peopel buy one of the cheapo's and then instantly spend $200-$300 on upgrades. Why not just buy $400 of guitar?

 

I love modding and hot rodding, hell the EMG in my epi Les Paul Studio cost more than I paid for the guitar!!

[Busk]

I did some minor mods on expensive guitars as well as some cheapies, but generally I think the used market has enough killer deals out there that I go for something a little nicer than a Squire as a starting point. I like to see guys get great tone out of a cheapie with minimal mods rather than gut the thing to get it where they want it. It is funny when you find that point where stock a guitar simply can't be gigged with, like those $100 Behringer beginner packages guitars. Then there are the $300 Agiles which are gigable stock. I think you could probably play Wembley with a Squire without it blowing up or anything.

[illinismitty]

It's very simple. You get the guitar the way you want it without breaking the bank. When you get a cheap guitar that has a decent body and a neck the feels good in your hands, then it's not big deal to toss out the pups, tuners, nut, etc.

 

Sure you may be putting in parts and labor that cost more than the guitar, but the end product is what counts. Plus it's still way cheaper than building or specking from scratch. Asian labor took care of the grunt work.

[Edward]

For me (especially with the lack of lefty options on most anything non-mainstream), whether I would consider a mod has a lot to do with whether what I would like to buy is available stock or not. Often it isn't - like when I wanted a Strat with lipsticks. I bought a used Squier specifically for this project. The particular guitar I got played particularly well, had a great body and neck, and while it sounded thin compared to my MIA, the tone improved enormously when - as I had already planned to do - I blocked off the trem. Result, the guitar did everything I required of it, is fun to play, and cost me a lot less than a new stock Squier.

 

The money thing is an issue for me insofar as I would be reluctant to throw a lot of money into somewthing when I might otherwise not see it out again if ever I had to sell, and I'm realistic enough to accept that no matter how attached i may be to a particular guitar, there might come the day when I change my mind, or simply need the money more. That plays into the hands of buying a cheaper guitar as a base. Given a good neck and body, upgrading only the bits that need altered on a Squier, say, will always be cheaper than buying and having finished parts from scratch. Sure, a warmoth neck might be objectvely better, but if the Squier fulfills all my needs, what need have I of "better?"

 

I do recognise that with a Fender style, which can be easily dismantled into parts (as compared to, say, an Epi LP), there is the advantage that whatever you spend, by parting the guitar out on eBay you can recoup a much greater chunk of your outlay than by selling it whole. Actually, a while back I sold a no-name Strat copy I was moving on by parting it out - still have some of the bits left and yet I made nearly what it cost me new by selling the neck, body, and pups/etc on the guard. About double what I suspect I would have made had I sold it whole. The Squier I refer to aove I bought for less than folks routinely pay for a Squier neck on eBay UK - especially if it has had a fender decal applied to it by the seller. Funny old world.

 

Where parting out is not an option.... sometimes, even though it may seem counter intuitive, you're still standing to "lose" less by upgrading a cheaper guitar than a pricey one. As a for instance, assuming you want to make the same mods, you'll lose a lot less on resale as a proportion of original purchase price on an Epi than on the equivalent Gibson. Maybe not the case if you're upgrading the pups on the Epi to try and make it closer to the stock Gibson, though if done right you're still looking at losing less in real terms, even if not as a proportion of the outlay, in my experience. If you can do the work yourself, this makes a big difference too. In fact, if you can do it yourself, all you need to do is retain the original bits and then you can return it to stock for resale, should that become an issue....

 

That all said, I personally would prefer to be able to buy stock wherever possible, but as I say sometimes that just isn't an option.

[walleyealx]

 

For me (especially with the lack of lefty options on most anything non-mainstream), whether I would consider a mod has a lot to do with whether what I would like to buy is available stock or not. Often it isn't .

 

 

 

Exactly

[JasonA]

 

I wouldn't do it unless the upgrades were something I could carry forward to another guitar. That's one of the reasons I love Strats. They are the epitome of parts guitars.

 

 

I agree!

 

I spent about $180 on a pickguard/pups/electronics that I was going to put in an $80 Bullet. Seems silly based on cost, but I figured it's portable. The Bullet showed up with issues and it's going back.

 

So I sprung for a Xaviere strat-clone with the recent profanity discount and the upgrades will go in there as long as the body and neck are good. If not, it goes back and I'll find a used MIM or something. Easy.

[Electric Blues]

You buy a cheap guitar (whatever

[DeathTongue]

For me, it's all about the learning experience. I bought a cheapie Bullet from a guy at work and learned how to level frets, replace electronics and replace a nut from it. I bought it specifically as a way to learn the ins and outs of servicing an Electric Guitar.

 

Do I like it? You bet. Now that I've worked on the cheapie partscaster I'd feel more comfortable working on another guitar that costs a bit more. And I have a guitar that's got parts that I like. It's not just a Squier Bullet anymore, it's *mine*.

[Frets99]

If you are buying a guitar that you will eventually sell, you will never recoup the value of mods you put into it because most guitar players couldn't tell a good guitar if it bit them in the ass. They're looking for a headstock.

 

The value of modding a guitar to taste is mostly personal to the modder.

 

I've always appreciated folks who modded their guitars, then sold them. It's provided me with inexpensive guitars that sound and play great.

[cratz2]

Well, the obvious answer is, if you have a vision of what you want, or what you think you want, it should be easier to justify upgrading an existing guitar that plays great, but needs some help rather than an entirely new instrument.

 

I mean, if you have a Squier and you want a guitar that has Texas Specials, put some Texas Specials into the Squier rather than buying an SRV.

 

If you are strarting out with nothing, sometimes budget dictates that you get a certain model. Again, if you want the Texas Specials, the cheapest you can get them is the Roadhouse strat which is about $600 new. You can probably easily find a MIM standard for $250... get it and play it for a while then when budget allows, throw the Texas Specials in.

 

There's absolutely no difference in justification or rationalization between putting $200 in mods into a American Standard or a Bullet. Plus, if it's a strat, all those mods involving rewiring, pickups etc, can go directly into another higher end guitar when you make that purchase. In the example of the Squier Bullet, if you upgrade the trem, and pickups and perhaps an added wiring option, that's only $35 that couldn't be transferred to any other strat.

[shredtilurded]

I wouldn't spend $800 upgrading a $125 guitar to me that makes no sense. I'm sure unless it's a boutique brand whatever you're going to upgrade can be bought for less used.That said,I just got a Washburn 333 and put an OFR and maybe I'll put some EMGs in it but other wise it's a $300 guitar so isn't going to get more than that.

 

Oh yeah and it plays {censored}ing great

Basswood body,bound and set maple neck,Grovers....all it needed was a decent trem and a setup which I did myself.

[Op: MindCrime]

I would only do an upgrade on a cheapie if it was a good guitar aside from a few little things. Most of the time its pickups or electronics. I have an Ibanez RG350 that i love, but the stock pickups were complete {censored}. I replaced them with an X2N, Blue Velvet and Breed, and now its an awesome guitar. Dont be afraid of upgrading a guitar of lesser value, it can yield great results.