15 minute guitar mods

[WRGKMC]

If you have a guitar with a Tom and tailpiece, try wrapping the strings over the tail instead of through it. You can then use a straight edge between the saddle and tail of the guitar to get the same breakaway angle a guitar would have if it had a floating tailpiece.

 

For Strats. Many have string trees which are the same height.. If you have the type with the dual rollers, take the one for the E/B string off and grind the bottom down so its 1/2 the height of the G/D tree. You can also buy a set for pennies where the E/B is lower then the G/D.

 

The difference in having two set the same height and having the first two strings lower makes a difference in playability bending strings and sustain. The best string trees are the Graphite. They cost more but there's less binding. I used to be able to buy the T shaped Graphite trees and it was very easy to file the stud down on the first one. The only ones that come close to those are these. https://www.allparts.com/search.asp?...+trees&search= Not cheap but well worth the money especially if you use a vibrato.

 

These are the ones you find around now. its very easy to file and lower the base lower on one of these. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/trees-ferrules/graph-tech-black-tusq-xl-sleek-string-tree?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=COTFrtvvksoCFY I_aQodn9EODA&kwid=productads-plaid^18283950120-sku^H73633000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^46504699467

 

A quick mod for a Tele is to install a 4 way switch so you have the two pickups in series for a Humbucker drive tone. I can solder one in in 15 minutes but electronics is my trade. May take longer for a beginner.

 

Installing metal Baseplates under Strat pickups will refocus the magnetic field and increase its output while boosting the mids and lows. Having it grounded lowers hum levels. http://www.specialtyguitars.com/pickup-accessories.html

 

Lindy has instructions for installing them to prevent microphonics. http://www.fralinpickups.com/bplate.asp

 

 

 

Of course many also know about replacing a strat trem block for a larger brass one to increase sustain and warm string tone up.

Replacing bridge saddles from steel to brass or some other material gives you a quick change in tone too.

 

Converting one of the Strats tone pickups to a master tone then use the other for a number of simple mods is easy. Strats 5 way switches only combine two pickups at once. The pot can be used to turn the 3rd pickup on without rewiring the switch.

It can be used in series with a treble bleed cap so you can dial up how much treble bleed you have. You can also put a .1 cap in series with the signal wire and use the pot to bypass it. This essentially becomes a high pass filter which rolls the bass off so your guitar now has a passive bass control and a treble control. Using both you can dial up that woman tone.

 

Installing active electronics isn't that hard to do. You have to swap the plug to a switching jack so it turns the battery on an off. Artec makes a tone of small active circuits that will fit where a normal pot fits. Or they make some miniature Varitone circuits that are all passive. Very simple to replace. On a strat you can use the second tone to as a variable Varitone pot so when you switch the Varitone on, you can adjust how much of that tone you want.

 

A pushbutton which cuts the volume off used to be a popular one for creating a tremolo effect playing. You could get a similar effect turning the volume off on one pickup then flipping the toggle switch. The pushbutton is just easier for getting the early EVH thing he did on that song You really got me.

 

Again, the electronics part is not that hard depending on your experience levels. The one I like is replacing the 5 way switch with three on/off/on switches. In the center the pickups are off. Flipped one way you turn the pickups on in phase. Flipped the other you have reverse phase. You can get some fantastic out of phase tones this way.

 

Ever try wiring strat pickups in series instead of parallel? Tones are quite different then they are in parallel because the pickup impedances are additive instead of subtractive. If you have a strat that doesn't overdrive very well, series wiring tends to gain up more and take some of the edge off.

 

I can think of hundreds of others I've tried over the years, but other then a few of my guitars having these mods, most of my guitars are stock wiring. You have to realize manufacturers have already incorporated the best options in most instruments and change for change sake is not always better. In fact many things can wind up being worse or at least more complex which makes the instrument more difficult to manage playing under pressure. I keep things simple on the guitar and use pedals for my tones. I can switch tones without having to stop playing the instrument and fudging for knobs and switches.

[WRGKMC]

Just found this site that lists a bunch of simple ones to try.

 

http://www.singlecoil.com/frmset.html

[Hound]

If you have a guitar with a Tom and tailpiece, try wrapping the strings over the tail instead of through it. You can then use a straight edge between the saddle and tail of the guitar to get the same breakaway angle a guitar would have if it had a floating tailpiece.

 

For Strats. Many have string trees which are the same height.. If you have the type with the dual rollers, take the one for the E/B string off and grind the bottom down so its 1/2 the height of the G/D tree. You can also buy a set for pennies where the E/B is lower then the G/D.

 

The difference in having two set the same height and having the first two strings lower makes a difference in playability bending strings and sustain. The best string trees are the Graphite. They cost more but there's less binding. I used to be able to buy the T shaped Graphite trees and it was very easy to file the stud down on the first one. The only ones that come close to those are these. https://www.allparts.com/search.asp?...+trees&search= Not cheap but well worth the money especially if you use a vibrato.

 

These are the ones you find around now. its very easy to file and lower the base lower on one of these. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/trees-ferrules/graph-tech-black-tusq-xl-sleek-string-tree?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=COTFrtvvksoCFY I_aQodn9EODA&kwid=productads-plaid^18283950120-sku^H73633000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^46504699467

 

A quick mod for a Tele is to install a 4 way switch so you have the two pickups in series for a Humbucker drive tone. I can solder one in in 15 minutes but electronics is my trade. May take longer for a beginner.

 

Installing metal Baseplates under Strat pickups will refocus the magnetic field and increase its output while boosting the mids and lows. Having it grounded lowers hum levels. http://www.specialtyguitars.com/pickup-accessories.html

 

Lindy has instructions for installing them to prevent microphonics. http://www.fralinpickups.com/bplate.asp

 

 

 

Of course many also know about replacing a strat trem block for a larger brass one to increase sustain and warm string tone up.

Replacing bridge saddles from steel to brass or some other material gives you a quick change in tone too.

 

Converting one of the Strats tone pickups to a master tone then use the other for a number of simple mods is easy. Strats 5 way switches only combine two pickups at once. The pot can be used to turn the 3rd pickup on without rewiring the switch.

It can be used in series with a treble bleed cap so you can dial up how much treble bleed you have. You can also put a .1 cap in series with the signal wire and use the pot to bypass it. This essentially becomes a high pass filter which rolls the bass off so your guitar now has a passive bass control and a treble control. Using both you can dial up that woman tone.

 

Installing active electronics isn't that hard to do. You have to swap the plug to a switching jack so it turns the battery on an off. Artec makes a tone of small active circuits that will fit where a normal pot fits. Or they make some miniature Varitone circuits that are all passive. Very simple to replace. On a strat you can use the second tone to as a variable Varitone pot so when you switch the Varitone on, you can adjust how much of that tone you want.

 

A pushbutton which cuts the volume off used to be a popular one for creating a tremolo effect playing. You could get a similar effect turning the volume off on one pickup then flipping the toggle switch. The pushbutton is just easier for getting the early EVH thing he did on that song You really got me.

 

Again, the electronics part is not that hard depending on your experience levels. The one I like is replacing the 5 way switch with three on/off/on switches. In the center the pickups are off. Flipped one way you turn the pickups on in phase. Flipped the other you have reverse phase. You can get some fantastic out of phase tones this way.

 

Ever try wiring strat pickups in series instead of parallel? Tones are quite different then they are in parallel because the pickup impedances are additive instead of subtractive. If you have a strat that doesn't overdrive very well, series wiring tends to gain up more and take some of the edge off.

 

I can think of hundreds of others I've tried over the years, but other then a few of my guitars having these mods, most of my guitars are stock wiring. You have to realize manufacturers have already incorporated the best options in most instruments and change for change sake is not always better. In fact many things can wind up being worse or at least more complex which makes the instrument more difficult to manage playing under pressure. I keep things simple on the guitar and use pedals for my tones. I can switch tones without having to stop playing the instrument and fudging for knobs and switches.

 

What on earth?

[Mr Temporary]

Shielding comes to mind.

 

Push/Pull pots for phase.

 

The resistor and cap in parallel on the jack ground to limit the damage from shock.

[DeepEnd]

It's possible. The last time I was using the clean channel so I don't think that's the whole story but it could be part of it. Thanks for the thought.

[WRGKMC]

These are all highly simple and common mods. You can find tons of information on all of them with a simple internet search.

[Hound]

You think I read all that? Geez!

[wankdeplank]

You too fast compadre, I like to take a little time to smell the roses.

[hellion_213]

18volt mod for actives - takes about 15min. All you need is three extra 9v clips, a soldering gun/solder, and two nine volts.

EMGs will accept up to 27v, but I've never tried it. There's a Huge difference between 9 and 18, but I hear the difference from 18 to 27 is minimal. Anybody tried it? Curious.

[r0bo01]

always thought mag flip + reverse the pup connection, so that pup is in phase by itself but out of phase when combined with the other?

[gardo]

18volt mod for actives - takes about 15min. All you need is three extra 9v clips, a soldering gun/solder, and two nine volts.

EMGs will accept up to 27v, but I've never tried it. There's a Huge difference between 9 and 18, but I hear the difference from 18 to 27 is minimal. Anybody tried it? Curious.

I've never used EMG's but this is quite interesting. and you say it's safe ? If I had some I would try this for sure.

[hellion_213]

I've never used EMG's but this is quite interesting. and you say it's safe ? If I had some I would try this for sure.

 

Yeah man, perfectly. I've been running mine @ 18 for six or seven years. I forget sometimes on 'recommend a pickup' threads that 81s are slightly harsh and bright at 9v. 18 warms them, not dark but warm, increases response, and dynamics - opens them up. (Also magnifies poor technique and pick control, almost forces one to do better, lol)

[gardo]

Playing acoustic also forces me to do better

[gardo]

I never changed the wires or mags. Just took the whole pickup and spun it around. I think the mag flip you are referring to is with P90's to reduce hum

[hellion_213]

Right on man. I don't own one anymore, but it seemed like I was flying on the electric after a stint on the acoustic.

[RaVenCAD]

I did, and found it very interesting.

[TheForkWigger]

Relic

[DeepEnd]

My issue is sorta the opposite. Since I'm mainly an acoustic player I tend to have too heavy a hand when playing electric.

[mikesr1963]

THis is on the EMG website too. I was checking out the ZW set and saw it.

 

I've never used EMG's but this is quite interesting. and you say it's safe ? If I had some I would try this for sure.

 

[thatsbunk]

Here's a couple of upgrades I just did this week which qualify as 15 minute mods;

 

1) Changed the tuners on my Blacktop Jaguar to Fender locking tuners... Simple drop in replacement that took about 10 minutes;

 

 

2) Installed a Bigsby & a Vibramate on the same guitar... 6 screws & about 15 minutes;

 

 

Took longer to re string the guitar than to actually do the mods...

[Zoobiedood]

Pickup rotation without re-wiring does nothing to the tone, only to the looks.

[Zoobiedood]

I'd probably work on sight reading or theory for 15 minutes. As far as the guitar itself goes, you can tweak the pickup height- there is a place where the notes just blooms. I start with the bridge pickup, find that place, then adjust the neck pickup to balance.

[GAS Man]

TELECASTER CONTROL PLATE FLIP - Take the long oval metal control plate off and flip it around 180 degrees. Before screwing it back down, flip the pickup selector switch around 180 (reinstall) and (most importantly) swap the positions of the volume and tone knob.

What you end up with is the volume knob in the perfect spot to work on your pinky volume swells. The trade off is your p'up switch is now a bit of a further reach.

 

[MORE EXTREME] HUMBUCKER POLE PIECE ADJUSTMENT.: You have to do this largely by ear, and I've done this on guitars that are less expensive where the stock p'ups are a bit on the muddy side. I raise up the pole pieces significantly more than the usual tweaking that's done to balance the output between strings, I raise them enough until I get more clarity, and as I move the pole pieces up, I back the entire pickup down by about the same amount. When I've done this, some of the pole piece screw heads are a bit above the level of the p'up cover. I will still adjust the screws so that the output from each string is fairly well balanced, but I'm listening to a fading out of the muddy humbucker tone, to a bit of a single coil tone that's created by having one coil's magnetic field closer to the strings. It sort of mimics the uneven wound characteristics of the better vintage reissue p'ups but without the "pure bliss vibe". It's definitely cheaper, easier and much quicker than replacing p'ups on a guitar that might not really be worth putting another couple hundred bucks into them. I still usually use a standard distance from bottom of string to top of the pole piece screw at approximately 3/32" for the neck p'up and 1/16" for the bridge p'up, (that's with holding the strings down at the highest pitch fret, e.g. 22nd or 24th) but use your ears to fine tune for output and tone, and with the rest of the p'up now lowered, you still get the humbucking, but add some clarity. Plus, flip the neck p'up around 180 to increase the amount of treble vibe if you like.

[DeepEnd]

As I mentioned in another thread, I just put new strings on my Schecter and tweaked the setup. Among other things, I adjusted the pickup height. The bridge and neck pickups are now much better balanced and the neck pickup, instead of being "meh," has a nice Bluesy sound. When I switch between the two pickups, they're at pretty much the same volume level except the bridge pickup has more presence. The bridge is good for modern praise stuff and the neck is a good fit for hymns and such.

[gardo]

Not true. , I suppose you think that mounting a pickup in the bridge or mid posistion won't change the sound either