I'd consider the following do's and don'ts: Don't: - Buy parts before you know 100% sure that they will do what you want. Spending $100 on the wrong part will ruin your day. - Mod your guitar in a way that requires extensive woodworking. Dropping in new pickups is one thing, taking a significant chunk of the wood out to fit a Floyd Rose tremolo is another. - Modify a guitar if you don't like how the guitar feels, or if it has build-quality issues. You're not going to compensate for a guitar you can't play comfortably. - Irreversably mod a guitar if you care about its resale value - no matter how good the mod, the resale value will probably go *down*, not up. Do: - Give your guitar a full set-up before deciding whether or not you want to mod it. You'd be surprised how many issues, even sound-wise, can be fixed with a good set-up job - and it'll help you decide if the guitar itself is worth modding if you get it as playable as it will ever be. - If you're fixing an actual issue, do the cheapest mod first. If all you needed was a new nut to fix a tuning issue, you've just saved $79 on a set of tuners. - Mod guitars you already like - it makes them more personal. - Take the opportunity to clean/set-up things you normally don't have access to. If you're taking the strings off anyway, clean the fretboard. If what you're doing takes tension off of your floating bridge, might as well do that height adjustment you've been putting off. - If you're planning to do many mods, do yourself a favor and do as many of them at once as possible so you only have to disassemble your guitar once.
Good advice! That’s why I do pawn shop guitars that are name brands and play well to begin with! I don’t touch my Gibsons or Fenders other than cleaning and set up.
Fantastic advice here - that I regularly seem to forget myself. The Partscaster bug is relentless! I recently noticed that starting from proper setup and ending being critical about 1. the guitar and 2. string gauges that suit the guitar first... Only then modifying small but crucial things one by one in guitars you already have leads to better result. Also to needing LESS guitars! More money to buy amps and speakers and HX and... Phew.
I got one of those very cheap DIY Harley Benton teles as my first guitar. I haven't done any sanding and painting to the body, because I actually like the look of the natural wood. It even came with a few light scratches and the factory sealing is kind of spotty. It's fine, I like al worn look anyways. And Thomann do expect the buyer to do sand the body down and do their own stuff I guess, so it's fine. I really like the neck though. Satin and nicely finished, even the thread edges. I like the whole feel and weight of the guitar. So... what I want to say is that modding this to make 3rd party parts fit better won't make me sad :) Imagining changing every single part to the best ones that I prefer over time except for the body. I might even do some sending and painting for that at some point. But I mean, then it's suddenly a completely different guitar :)
So many people pay for names. I've argued with many of them over that, but could never get through their cognitive dissonance. So, I don't even bother anymore. My budget guitars that I currently own rival nearly ALL of the hyper expensive guitars I've played during my career.
The first demo piece i liked better with the cheap guitar before they fiddled with it, sounded clearer and better. The second demo i liked better with the rebuilt cheap guitar. After the demos at the beginning i said to myself that it isn't neccessarily a worse sound but rather a different sound and that the guys here obviously like the more bassy sound better than the more clearer metallic sound. So it really depends on personal taste what you want to do even with a cheap guitar.
This is why asking if modding a guitar is worth it is such a hard question to answer. Everything about guitar tone is so personal and subjective that one mod could make a guitar someone's favorite instrument while it could make it someone else's nightmare guitar
Nothing can replace the experience of switching out pickups and learning to do a setup. But if you want a high end guitar, buy the real deal. If for nothing else, the resell value. Partcasters basically carry no value, no matter the quality of components.
Depends on how good you are in doing guitar work though...i can get a cheap used squier for 60 bucks...change pretty much everything on it...pickups and electronics,tuners, nut...even install big stainless steel frets on it and keep the original parts in a box....now that guitar is already high end all the way...it has the excellent parts(and actually the parts i want) and the setup i want and saves me several hundred dollars i would pay extra for a company logo. Now if i want the resale value thats easy....i put the original parts back on...keep the excellent parts that iam gonna use in another build anyway and give that guitar so someone else with some improved parts anyway...like ss frets and a good nut...win win for everyone.
Bunch of idiots on FB market place will argue the differ. Because how else would they convince you to trade them your Les Paul Standard GoldTop for their "customs shop quality custom made guitars with the BEST parts available?" What do you mean my Squier affinity neck on warmoth body is not worth 2100? LOL
Buy a squire bullet tele for $170. Get a set of alnico pickups on Amazon for $20. Pay a guitar tech $50 to install the pickups and set the fret board. Then give it a set of $12 Elixer, coated strings. After tax your total comes to about $260, and the guitar will sound a d feel like a $500 fender telecaster.
You can improve the electronic to even find good sound , but the neck, the playability, the feel, will steel be as bad as was in the beginning in a cheap guitar
I know, I'm crazy, but I want to work on the Peavey guitar. It's got a sold basswood body. I want to give it a go. Is it crazy to want to see what it's like? That basswood body. I bet it sounds pretty good as is, but if it's even half good, I can have some control over tone.
Maybe I'm nitpicking here (not attempting to flame you) however, I'd have removed the jackplate and the Tremolo Cover and soldered the wires directly to their source (input jack and Tremolo claw) instead of having overly long wires that only exacerbate 60 cycle Hum and taping of wires which is unprofessional and unnecessary. While your at it... you might want to line the pickup, pot and input jack cavities with copper EMI tape (make sure to solder a small wire between the input jack cavity and the pickup/pot cavities) as well as the underside of the pickguard, if it isn't already... I totaly eliminated the 60 cycle hum in my MIM Fender Strat, this way. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if your going to spend that kind of money on Aftermarket parts to upgrade your guitar... why not take the extra time to do it correctly? I know you're doing it quickly for the sake of the video however, at the very least you should explain the "correct" procedure for installing these upgrades, so that those who have never attempted this and are looking to your video for guidance... know the proper procedures.
So much this! Like LoneWolf said, not to flame....loved the video. I also cringed when I saw the splice for the output jack & trem ground. At the same time, I'll admit this...My last Partscaster build I got lazy and wired the ground that should have gone to EMI tape to the output jack because I didn't have the tape and wanted to get my build done.
hi… i’m wanting to modify a cheap guitar i got for like $100… i want to completely change everything except for the body because it’s pink and i like that about it… i don’t want to get rid of it because it was my first ever electric guitar… do you guys think it would be worth switching the neck, tremolo system, pick-guard, and pickups along with all the electronics?
@@kevinhaggerty8144 It sounds slightly cleaner but tbh it's just a cleaner, deeper, thicker sound. Really tone is kind of preference but pickups are usually based on what style of music you wanna play.
@@crazytrain58 @Logan West I was just saying... We sit here and watch a video over 20 minutes long - watching them upgrade a guitar. It would have done been nice to listen to more than 8 seconds of demo. You said something about we'd have to have the exact gear and sound edits to be able to experience the same demo - or something like that.... Not true! Watch the beginning of this video again... They play a demo of a $1,200 guitar against a $75 guitar. I could hear the difference! They should have played and recorded the $75 guitar for a full minute or two before the upgrades, and then edit that into the end of the video. They can say, "This is the $75 guitar before the upgrades" and play that clip, and then say, "This is the $75 guitar after the upgrades" and play the same minute or two of music they played before the upgrades. Record a "before" and then record an "after" and then play them at the end. That's the demo I'm taking adout. I'm not taking about demoing the true sound quality - only the difference before and after. I could hear a big difference between the $1200 guitar and the $75 guitar. I'd be able to hear the difference between a before and after. If I couldn't hear a difference, I'd get a new device....
UPGRADE YOUR BRIDGE!!!! I hate seeing people upgrade everything but the tremolo. You would be amazed how much it changes the tone when you pit brass or steel block and saddles
The $1200 guitar still sounded better but it sure didn't sound twice as good. The right amp or pedals would fix any differences. Get a decent Classic Vibe or Standard and upgrade that, put the savings into a good amp.
@@b-sideplank tome the 1200 sounded better ... but theres another thing that we have to put in mind ... feel .. the feel ... and i bet that the 1200 feel way better play!!!!!
Start with a decent guitar and then upgrade. In the end it's all about how it plays, not what it's worth. I would spend the extra couple of bucks and invest an additional 5 minutes to shield the cavity before replacing the pups, especially if I'm upgrading a cheap Strat. PEACE
I'm conflicted with shielding. If a guitar is quiet enough, leave it alone. Plus it's not easy to shield the cavities because you have to ground the shielding. Also it can affect the tone. It's definitely not a five minute job.
My opinion, since no one asked. If you are trying to upgrade to be like another guitar, just buy the other guitar. If you are modding to make something unique that no one offers, then go for it. In that case, less expensive guitars like a Squier Affinity can be a great starting point.
whatever you do to a squier,you are going to end up trying to imitate a higher grade fender,you aren't going to reinvent the wheel upgrading a squier so don't even think that way.aside from routing swiss cheese holes directly through the body,gluing random pointless crap on it or whatever unconventional ideas you may have every single upgrade to a low end squier is to make it play like a higher end fender be it a mexican or usa level guitar.thinking otherwise is stupid and wrong,sorry.you aren't making a les paul out of a squier,you arent making a hollow body out of a squier(i guess you could but why bother)making it your own as you say is upgrading it to "fender playable specs" you have false romanticism
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Adding Tuners Locking are my choice and usually a Nut is gonna help out just about every sub $500 Dollar Guitar and it's something just about every Guitarist should be able to do or learn by watching RUclips . Crappy Pickups replacement can get costly and require a more experienced Luthier if your not into doing such things . The Fix for crappy Pickups can be fixed with a 7 or 10 band EQ like the guy below states !
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Damn, way to be a dick about this guy's personal experience and opinion. And you're wrong anyway. The possibilities are endless when it comes to modding electric guitars, Squiers are no exception. Electrical components, wiring schemes, pickup type/magnet/placement, scale lengths, on-board effects, etc! If you put yourself in a box thinking "I can ONLY imitate a high end Fender (or anything else)" that's fine, but maybe other peoples' imaginations aren't as limited as yours.
You're not going get filet mignon out of hamburger, BUT a hamburger can be absolutely delicious if it's seasoned properly. Doing mods is definitely a way to go if money is an issue or if you just want to go crazy with it. It's worth whatever YOU feel like investing in it. Just don't slap a FENDER logo on a Squier. If you want a real Fender, just save up and get a used MIM Fender. I don't know why people get into swapping decals like that. I guess owning a Squier is embarrassing to them. I'm doing mods to my Squier Bullet Strat and I'm fine with the logo on the headstock.
@@spottedsaint957 Yeah I paid $400 for my Squire totally respectable imo . Other opion's don't concern me . I enjoy modding I do things at my pace and the Guitar gets better with each step !
jack white sucks,he is absolutely the most talent-less hack ever to become popular and he definitely isnt in the top 100,000 guitar players of the lest ten years. he isnt even on the list for top 1,000,000 guitar players of all time.
trillrif axegrindor I hate to be the one to break it to you but he has a massive following for the projects he is involved in, and how can you objectively rate him on a scale with other guitarists? I can completely respect not enjoying a particular artist but to call him talentless is pretty thoughtless
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 dude jack white plays with FEEL. You should watch “death letter live” by white stripes. I will give you that he isn’t the most technically smooth player, but mostly everyone can feel what he’s saying with guitar. He’s the exact opposite of some metal shedder that plays million notes per second. I put him and John frusciante in the same boat. Both are players immediately recognizable when listening...
I liked the video. In my experience, I have taken decent low to mid priced guitars that I thought played good and was good bang for the buck (well built and resonate) and upgraded with pickups of my choice and good components. (Pots, caps, switch jack and in some cases a graphtec nut) In every case I noticed much improvement and could not justify the more expensive counterpart. However, I’m not a pro on the road every night either. But I also enjoy doing the mods.
I think you nailed it. I just play for myself and maybe a few camp trips...... I am fairly new and most of my Guitars are mid to low range. I had so much fun pimping my squire out. well all except for my first dealings with Mr. Floyd Rose ..... anyways spot on!!
You should have shielded the guitar to reduce hum/interference. This can be achieved either using the expensive route of copper tape or the cheaper route of using aluminium tape.
If you want a good sounding guitar, start from where the guitar is getting the amplification. The pickups. EQ pedals are only there to enhance the sound. I wouldn't rely on an EQ pedal for my general tone - you have the amp's EQ knobs for that one.
There's nothing wrong with the "cheap" potentiometers. You'll find the same ones in high end gear where space is a premium. The switch is fine too as long as it works. Just some advice for anyone trying to save some money to spend elsewhere.
This happens every time on these vids. . $500+ upgrade just makes it lose high n mid tone n adds "body". some ppl like it some ppl don't. It's all just subjective honestly. I own a $1000 strat and have owned a few others. I also own a squier n play it almost as much as my expensive one just cuz i love it's jangley highs.
We hope you enjoy the video! It was really fun to make. Check out the original guitar makeover video we made last year: ruclips.net/video/12qmuB3yo7Y/видео.html
the end doesn't justify the means.an affintiy or bullet will never sound or play as good as a quality mexican or usa strat no matter what mods you do but you will pay as much to "TRY" and make it sound and play that good.one solution"classic vibe" or "vintage modified"
Hey! I know your comment is a year old but you sound like me. Also, if someone is on a budget, this month they can maybe upgrade the nut. Next month, maybe get nicer tuners. Maybe ask the Tooth Fairy for new pickups lol
I know it has been just over a year but two things on soldering, 1.) Tin your wires before joining them (Put soldier on them) and you should have taken the 1/8 inch output jack out and soldered the wires directly to the jack and not used the thinner gage wires. This is just my 2 cents! I think the guitar sounded much better and the pick guard made it look better.
Tinning is something I've never had to do. It may make a difference though, haven't tested it. Either way an absolute must is heating up the joint before applying the solder, this is unanimous among people who's opinions actually should be listened and the reason that it helps is because if you don't heat up the joint before heating it'll wick the heat away, whereas if you heat up the joint at worst it won't change the heat and at best the opposite will happen (at least my understanding that is)
I get the reason for using a very cheap guitar for the point of the video but I’ve done something like this with both the Squier Classic Vibe and older MIM standard Fenders I’ve picked up used both were in the $300 range and I probably put another $300-$400 into them and ended up with amazing custom guitars. I have a MIM Strat I prefer to my American made ones.
its not the guitar's price its the fun factor of upgrading the guitar. Thats the thing that those keep on suggesting better to buy an expensive guitar. yeah expensive is better, but where is the fun part of using a "bought" guitar instead of "built" guitar? built not bought!
The way he is flipping guitar up and down every time he is unscrewing each bushing instead unscrewing all of them then flip one time and take off all screw in ONE step is very uncomfortable and waste of time.
One of the main noticable things when it comes to pickups for me, is that cheaper stock pickups dont give you full chords. For instance if you play a standard Major powerchord anywhere on the neck some of the notes will drown each other out and clash together. With good pickups each note in a full 6 string chord will pop out individually. That is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade in my opinion.. it's a small thing but once you notice it's hard to go back.
As mentioned, the magnets in the stock pickups were that cruddy synthetic magnet strip stuff they use in fridge magnets. Switching to a better magnet greatly influences output and response.
The amp also is really important too. I have a cheap valve amp, Laney LC15 with a vintage 30 speaker (upgrade); cheap guitars SX Telecaster and Epiphone Casino (Korea) Fernandes strato R9 (japan vintage). Recently I got the UAFX Dream 65 pedal conected in stereo to a pair of Yamaha DXR10mk2 (I'am singer, I got that speakers already). Result: Amazing sound! I'll never think in buying an expensive valve amp (really expensive in my country). I recognize that I've already have the Yamahas and they are expensive. But the sound is incredible with any of the cheapeast guitars I´ve connected to that pedal. Before that I was thinking in change the mics, eq pedals, etc. Now with a little of tweak in the Dream 65 I get a really good sound imposible to obtain with a cheaper valve amp. Also, I agree with the comments about the feeling that one have with respective guitar you own befor do the upgrades (the SX telecaster and the Casino are really confortable to play). Excellent video!
This vid is right up my alley... 1st response.... the upgraded squire sounds better than the real deal Fender, but I'm not a fan of the 'upgraded' pickups, especially for their price. They're a little dark and lacking clarity. I've heard and played many strat pup sets that sound better for less $. I've done this upgrade routine many times - I have several guitars that started out stupidly cheap and I've upgraded. I also have some top end instruments, and my upgraded cheapos are still quite often the guitars I reach for first. ( I have 4 or 5 guitars now that I purchased for under $150 that now play, feel and sound like pro grade instruments, but are still under $250 invested). 1. There's no need to spend big bucks on pups and wiring. There's some other places you skipped that cheap guitars could use some love - spending too much on pups leaves some loose ends if you want it to play well and reliably like a more expensive instrument. GFS has MANY great pickup choices for well under $100 for a set, and very good wiring harnesses for under $30. Dragonfire pickups are also a great sounding budget choice. The Stratosphere is also a good source... I have a partscaster with a $35 Stratosphere prewired Alnico pickguard and pup set that sounds great. 2. TUSQ nut choice is a great recommendation. I've done this to 2/3 of my guitars. Absolutely essential. 3. Locking tuners?? Yes, they make string changes quicker but if you know how to wind a string properly, they're completely unnecessary. There's plenty of REALLY good tuners available on EBAY or GFS in the $30 per set range. (Wilkinsons) 4. Saddles : A VERY worthy upgrade......again, GFS has some great stainless saddles. (Or Roller bridge if you want to upgrade a guitar with Tune-O-Matic style bridge) 5. Trem Block : you skipped over this.... some money from your overpriced pups would have been better spent on a nice fat brass or solid steel trem block. Better sustain, better tone, better 'ring' 6. Shielding : another spot you skipped....... a $5 roll of copper shielding for the pup cavities is a cheap and essential upgrade on a single coil guitar! 7. FRET LEVEL: I know you did a setup and 'softened' the fret ends, but did you do a fret level?? NO money involved, just patience and time. A good fret leveling, crowning, and polish will make a WORLD of difference! I have yet to see a cheap guitar neck that didn't need at least a partial level and polish. The only guitar I own that didn't need some leveling is my Carvin. The most important thing to making a cheap guitar play well...... make sure you like the "feel" of the neck, and make sure the truss rod works as it should and the neck isn't twisted.......... if those things are in place, your cheap guitar is ready to upgrade. Everything else can be fixed. BTW... you won't get any $ back when you try to sell it, but you'll enjoy the satisfaction of playing a great feeling and sounding guitar without spending a fortune. And no worries if you ding it up while playing the crap out of it! It really is the golden age of the "cheap" guitar.... unless our knuckleheaded leader screws it all up with tariffs (that WE the consumer will pay for) (there will still be the used market).
heres my thing for 800 doallers upgrading a squire i could save 300$ more to get a fender MIM strat... and if i wanna buy a humbucker on it or mod a couple things from there cool, but for me im modding my 75$ chinese strat clone i got when i was 10 as more of a passion project because it has so much sentimental value im keeping all the knicks and dings to the body im just replacing a white sss pickguard with a Hss black pickguard (so its a all black guitar looks so fn cool) sand the Academy headstock decal off i might buy a new neck , i think it was 100$ with a amp 15 years ago? Lol but ill put ernie ball strings on it new pick ups scotch brite the frets polish the body,neck , i think all in all ill be paying 150? if u count the soldering iron 40 for the pickguard, 65 for neck 9$ for strings sandpaper free from work polish i already have and thats good enough for me i dont need it to sound like a fender i just wanna love playing it
My must have factor is playability. Tone is obviously important but post production is a wonderful world to explore and if you know what you’re doing you can dial in almost any tone.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Rosewood on the neck affects the resonance and tonal response conveyed through the strings to the pickups. Swap the neck for a maple neck and you'll hear a difference.
This is a good way for a musician that doesn't have a lot of money to get a good sounding more dependable instrument But I still dig my Vintage stratocaster
use and play whatever makes you happy..i,personally, cant get what I want off the shelf. ive put diffent pickups and different necks on cheap guitars and been totally happy with them. its all in taste. I have 3 partscasters that I would take over ANY American strat because they have what im looking for
I got a 28 year old beat up Fender for $100. It's a Fender Black label, which is the lowest end Mexican Fender available at the time. Perfect mod platform. So far I stripped all the parts and bought brand new stuff. I'll be starting the new paint job and installing the new nut and tuners this weekend. If I can get it to sound good, I think it will definitely be my new favorite, if for no other reason then I put it together myself.
3:45 You like to work the hard way. And the other guy didn't notice. I could give you lessons in working efficiently. So you're not flipping the guitar 12 time.
I am of the opinion that up-grading a cheap guitar let's you better connect with the instrument, gives it the start of it's mojo. Bought an old Ibanez rg in black ,looks pretty rough,plays like a dream. Nice old guitar for $40 !
Idk if im just a horrible musician or what but cheap guitars sound so good to me. Just goes to show that cheap gear can make good sounds in this day and age. (Pre-upgrade)
Before comparison= Squier is super thin with no depth of tone. After comparison= NO comparison. The Squier sounds great! I am in the same situation ($22 Squier + $24 shpg= SCORE!). For those who don't know, Stew Mac has great how videos and lots of tools. I'm looking at a prewired pickguard from Mojotone. Their stuff sounds killer. And I really like the Graphtech parts, they're top notch! Definitely roll the edges and clean up the frets (No More Sprout!) and be sure to do it BEFORE installing the new pick guard so filings don't stick to the pickups. I would highly suggest changing the entire tremolo block/ bridge/saddles as well. Bladerunner is great. Stays in tune even on deep dives. Thanks for the video Nate!
Stew Mac is great! If you do want clean up frets while pickguard is installed just put a strip of masking tape over the pickup magnets. Works like a charm! The bladerunners look interesting, might need to try it out in the future. Thanks for tuning in and leaving a comment!
I’ve heard guys make a 100$ guitar sing. I’ve heard guys make a 2000$ sound like a 50$ guitar. Bottom line: get a decent guitar 300-500$ and a decent amp 300-500$. 600-1000$ for a decent set up is not that much money. An iPhone can cost more. Besides, It shows a level of commitment and you’ll be more inclined to pick up the guitar and play if it sounds decent. But if you’re a full on dirt merchant. Just buy the best you can afford. 🤘🏻
I bought my son a new Squier Affinity Strat back in 1997. We got it playing OK, but he still moved on to low brass. Fast forward to 2015 - I pulled it out of the closet and took a new look. It turned out that the neck was really smooth and the fretwork was way more than the $149 would seem to provide. The nut cuts were perfect and the tuners were solid, but a bit of work on the existing 6 screw trem with a tension adjustment and new D'addario NY/XL 009's got the tuning, strings, and trem sorted. But, something still wasn't right. Enter Guitar Fetish with a pre-loaded Strat pickguard with new electronics and 3 hot-wound Alnico V pickups for $72 and, voila! A wonderfully playing and sounding Strat for under $220. It plays and sounds better than my American-made '48 with cost more than 10x as much. Even if you don't put $600 into an upgrade, you can definitely have fun upgrading an inexpensive guitar.
You can absolutely do less drastic modifications and end up with a fantastic guitar. For me, the first thing is to always replace the nut on any cheap guitar. After that, it's the pickups, pots and switches. I can't hear a difference from the pot and switch changes, but they feel waaay more quality. I also remove the gloss off the back of the neck if it has any, and roll the fingerboard edges as shown in the video!
The scotch tape on the wires is not good. Heat shrink should be the only thing used. Maybe electrical tape, but if you are spending that much money and time, do it right.
Niiiice. To me sounds better than the Fender Strat. I would recomend not to buy a $75 guitar, since their necks and frets tend to be kinda funny. Rather buy a $250 + mods. I have a Washburn RX50 with steroids. Love that thing....
Replacing a nut is usually way more complex than just popping in a New nut. You gotta file the slots properly, otherwise your Action is gonna be a nightmare. Just to the beginners here.
Galgenvogel Yup. A traditional nut was definitely beyond my skill level. So I installed a Zero Glide nut on my Bullet Strat (bought for $70 used). goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/
Most of our preslotted nuts are made so you only need to do some minor sanding to get them to fit in the slot, and then maybe the height. But you don't need to file or cut our slots :D
I've gone over a dozen nut replacements with GraphTech. I had to shim one up a little, sand a couple down a little, and I only touched the actual slots once because I was stringing it with 12-62 gauge strings.
How did you take the nut off the fret board and is it necessary to use glue to mount the new one, I noticed you did not but I've seen it in other videos. Thanks
Guitars are tools and if a guy can't USE the tool with skill, a bunch of fancy parts doesn't help much. I find it silly that a guy will try to save some money on a guitar and then install some arguably over-priced pickups and parts. A nice set of Alnico pickups can be purchased for 30$-50$. Great tuners can be bought for 40$.…A fantastic trem with a big block can be bought for 20$ Then a guy can build a great gig worthy guitar for under 200$ I've gigged and done session work my whole life. When I was young I was a regional repair station for Hoshino ( Ibanez) C Bruno and SLM. Folks get caught up in chasing tone and spending money to distract them from reality. If I call ya up on stage and you can't strum " Happy Birthday" in B flat, even after I tell ya it is a I, V, I, IV progression, you don't need fancy pickups, you need a reality check and some lessons and perhaps some therapy. Guitars are tools for making music.
I bought a Squier bronco bass. I bought it specifically to mod it into a very playable, versatile and uniquely playable bass. I’ve had a Gibson 60s mudbucker pickup for forty years so that went into neck position. The center position has a Fralin 53 Fender P bass, and in the bridge I have a Lolllar T-bird. Switched like a strat with some extra options. A Badass bridge and Wilkinson tuners. Between parts and Luthery I spent over a grand. But, it can sound like a P bass, or Jack Bruce Cream with the flick of a switch.
Guys, how many guitar players are going to attempt this and ruin their fret boards because you didn't want to tape your demonstration model? Come on man. If you are going to show people to do stuff like this, then show them the right way and don't half ass it.
I like modding guitars to be specific to me but I mod them when I find a cheap guitar with a high quality neck like the SX Vintage series teles or Strats. These are very similar to the classic vibes and can be found for a steal so it’s def worth modding. Plus modding allows you to play and upgrade as u play because everyone doesn’t have $900/$1000 to spend on a guitar as well.
It's great to upgrade a guitar. I understand both sides of the issues. I collect Ibanez Jems and I honestly prefer the jrs. And i don't feel guilty upgrading them. I met Vai and he told me the same thing....true story. I actually have an original 87 floral jem that I swapped the pups and electronics. I'm not getting rid of it and I didn't like the sound of the pafs in that one, so why not. And I totally replaced all the electronics and hardware on my jem7v, I kept the edge on it, of course. And on that one, I dremeled the bottom back horn to fit my hand. I do that to all my Jrs. So I had lots of practice. And I put a magnet underneath the pick guard by the bottom horn so I can put my slide. Ive been doing that way before Paul Gilbert. Been doing mods since I started playing over 25 years ago. Making cheap guitars sound great. If you want to upgrade like this video for fun or just to see, great. Try it, it's fun and you'll find out if it's worth it or not because you speak from experience. But if you like the strat tele styles, and you got anywhere from $450-750 to spend.......get a used charvel. More likely, you won't need to upgrade anything. Unless you like stainless steel frets, that's probably the only you'll do. And maybe the pups if you like certain ones. I love my Jems and I don't like the feel of the strat or tele. That neck and neck pocket though......that's the holy grail. That's the difference in comparing a strat to a suhr and Tom Anderson. The Ibanez az is the equivalent but used they go for over a grand. I got both a strat and tele pro mod. My Jems are probably mad at me.....
Things like the locking tuners and locking strap are not really important to getting the decent sound so it is actually cheaper to get a good sound. Just some good tuners, strings, the nut, bridge and pickups and you got your sound. The rest make it a better guitar but not directly affecting the sound. I think we are lucky now compared to when I was a kid back in the 80's. You could give your guitar a better sound but firstly you had no idea what made the sound unless you knew someone with the upgrade already because there was no RUclips to find what you want. Then, when you did find what you want, it was limited and expensive. It could be done but at great expense. Oh, and the cheap guitars back then were cheap for a reason.
How come you can buy such an awsome Squire for just 75 bucks? In Europe you can forget that. Do you suffer a horrible inflation, lately? Or, who GAVE that Squire away to you? Some of your billion millionairs? Besides, I like the dress this left girl (Randy) is wearing. Is it a long dress? She keeps sitting down.
I got a Grote 335 copy off Amazon for $129 bucks, delivered. I spent $300 bucks on hardware and it plays as well as my Original Gibson 335...and I can drive it like I stole it. The tone is all in the pick ups and wiring. As long as you have a neck you like the feel of, for sure, get a beater and upgrade it.
Honestly that 75 dollar guitar sounded alright 🤷♂️. Obviously a slight tone difference but not much personally. You could account for it with your amp/pedals.
I took a 350$ Epiphone les Paul put in Seymour Duncan p rails graph tec parts runners new bridge etc , so for about 900$ I got a 1500$ sounding Epiphone les Paul that’s a 600$ upgrade you did all that work and upgrade for a 200$ difference , you could have just spent the extra 200$ on the 1200$ strat . Sounds great though . My Epiphone won’t get me a 1500$ resale of course but it played like one .
I have been putting strat style parts caster guitars together for over 20 years (I have about thirty) and have learned the hard way to avoid real cheap guitars all together i.e. squire, Mitchell, Glarry, Indio etc... If the body is not alder or ash just forget it, because to my ear and in my opinion it just won't sound or feel right no matter what you do to it. Believe me, I have been down that road and wasted a lot of money trying to make a piece of crap sound decent. Poplar, Basswood, Candlewood etc... are just, and not to be rude or step on anyones toes, crappy wood alternatives. Just get an decent mexican made new or used Fender strat for around 300 to 500 and put what you want in it and it will sing better than it's $1200.00 to $2000.00 counterpart. That is if you use the right parts. For example...I have a used mexican made deluxe with alder body and C neck which I purchased for $300.00 five years ago, that someone dropped in the guitar store. It had a small chunk taken out of it (which with bondo was an easy repair $5.00) I stripped the ugly blue translucent paint off it and re-did it in a beautiful salmon lacquer with a black lacquer under coat and did a nice relic job on it for $60.00 in paint, I already had the sealer and sand paper but it was around $12.00 for both. I then purchased a set of vintage locking tuners from The Stratosphere guitar Company for $19.00 (sweet deal and they work great) then bought a Wilkinson bridge with steel block at Guitarferish for $35.00 and new (better) saddles for $12.00. I then purchased a set of Fender pure vintage 59 guitar pickups for $99.00 (they are $150.00 now) and put them in the existing three ply pick-guard and for and extra $25.00 I went ahead and upgraded the wiring harness including a $3.00 treble bleed I got on ebay. Last but not least I purchased a Tusq. nut from Stewmac for $15.00 with shipping. Total cost after my original $300.00 including Bondo, sealer and sandpaper etc...is... $585.00 It took me a month or so to paint and sand and a day or so to assemble and set up properly. After all that, I have a guitar that is envied by my friends and was recently offered $2700.00 for it and I said NO THANKS. However, I did help my buddy (the guy willing to pay $2700.00) build his own parts caster for roughly the same money. However, he actually got a little carried away and his guitar build was more than mine because he just had to have this EMG DG20 David Gilmore prewired pick-guard set for $329.00. Even after that, he only spent a total of $715.00 for guitar, paint and parts and now he has a fantastic guitar that looks great and wails like he likes on stage. Sorry I prattled on, but hey, I love guitars. Don't waste your money on those high end guitars, because with a little practice you can build your own dream guitar for a lot less. One last thing I want to mention is that Guitarfetish has some decent Slick SL 57 guitars you can upgrade to be your dream guitar. I recently bought one for $259.00 and upgraded it for a few dollars less than the one I mentioned earlier. Peace
SO I have a 94-95 60's reissue, Japanese Fender Jazzmaster... I obviously want a "real" one someday (the million dollar american version)... what about that guitar makes it so cheap?.. I often thought i'd like to slowly, over time, completely overhaul it... until the only thing not "american" is the body. Is that doable?... would new tuners, like locking tuners from hipshot... would that do anything?... or are standard tuners fine?
The good thing these days is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get great electronics. The cheap stuff coming out of China these days is amazing, they've really hammered down the manufacturing process.
Not trying to armchair quarterback, but why not run the new 12 gauge wire all the way to the input jack? Seemed sort of a waste to solder to was described as cheap/crappy wiring. Also, any used guitar. I would recommend removing all covers and looking at what someone probably has tinkered with...You may not like what they have done.
My comment comes three years later, but I just found your video. I actually do this kind of upgrades very often with Harley Benton guitars. They are inexpensive. Some times they must be sent back within the 30 days windows Thomann Germany offers. But most of the axes are cosmetically gorgeous and wooden parts are outstanding. Therefore they become a wonderful mods platform. One can chose from a wide variety of models & finishing mostly under €200. With €300 to €400 modifications, depending if you like or not the quite decent Roswell Pickups and a little work on frets edges (if you dear to), they become unbeatable by any branded €500 to €900 guitar. Only problem to be aware of: Reselling. Indeed, you will never recover even a part of the value of your investment. But if you plan to keep your guitar or make a happy friend or relative, then this is definitely worth.
What we think?. The main idea of this video was to prove the upgrades to a guitar and you played only 8 seconds? 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😂. Yeah sure. Let's spend $600 like that
Cheap guitars all the way. You can mod them to get the sound you want. Everything, including the neck, can be upgraded and improved. If it feels good to you, it IS good. Guitar is about feel and sound. Looks and manufacturer mean nothing. Plus with a cheapie you avoid that "premium paranoia". I own a Gibson that if my 6 year old gets within 10 feet of it when it's on the stand, I start to hyperventilate. I get paranoid about every little thing about it, even when I am playing it. With my cheap Squier that I upgraded..... pppfffttt. I've watched it fall off stands, banged the headstock against the amp while jamming a bit to hard, hell, I slammed the neck in a car door once (by accident of course) and it didn't bother me in the slightest. Tweak a cheap one and save all that extra cash to put into a quality amp..........because that's where the sound quality matters most.
The rolling the frets part was big cringe. I appreciate what you’re doing here, but one of the biggest things you can do to upgrade a cheap guitar outside of parts is to level, crown, and polish the frets the CORRECT way. Which requires at minimum an entry level fret leveling beam, fret crowning file, multiple grits of sandpaper/OOOO steel wool (tape up your pickups before using steel wool), and a deemed with a polish wheel. Honestly, unless you have a handmade guitar, you should do this to every fretboard on every guitar you own. The only guitar I own that I haven’t done this on is my Gibson SG. All my hot rod guitars and mid-level gear had had this treatment at bare minimum.
Bought an Eart strat style new for about $150 + tax. Love it but it needs help. Mostly pickups and maybe better electronics. I haven't looked inside yet.
A plek fret level , crown , and polish, a setup job, a set of cs pickups, done, it will sound as good as it going to get, will play a ton better than most guitars off a factory floor. Fret work and setup is #1 , to make a cheep guitar as good as it will ever get, nasty fretwork will never sound good, no matter how much in parts you throw at it, will be hard to play, will have dead spots, also fret sprout, sharp edges, string rattles, and all the issues with fretwork most all cheep guitars have. That is by far the biggest issue, vrs, and American fender, the nut, and the fret work is better. A plek job can offer a custom shop feel, and no rattles or issues. Locking tuners are not needed, if the nut is cut properly, and most nuts are cut wrong. All my guitars have stamped vintage tuners, they work perfectly. But I know how to properly cut a nut. No pencil led or nut goop needed, if you have tuning issues, its the nut, 99% of the time. Spend money on a custom nut, by someone who knows what they are doing, rather than locking tuners, Just some old fart advice, that’s been doing this guitar stuff, 40 plus years now. Both live and studio work.
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I'd consider the following do's and don'ts:
Don't:
- Buy parts before you know 100% sure that they will do what you want. Spending $100 on the wrong part will ruin your day.
- Mod your guitar in a way that requires extensive woodworking. Dropping in new pickups is one thing, taking a significant chunk of the wood out to fit a Floyd Rose tremolo is another.
- Modify a guitar if you don't like how the guitar feels, or if it has build-quality issues. You're not going to compensate for a guitar you can't play comfortably.
- Irreversably mod a guitar if you care about its resale value - no matter how good the mod, the resale value will probably go *down*, not up.
Do:
- Give your guitar a full set-up before deciding whether or not you want to mod it. You'd be surprised how many issues, even sound-wise, can be fixed with a good set-up job - and it'll help you decide if the guitar itself is worth modding if you get it as playable as it will ever be.
- If you're fixing an actual issue, do the cheapest mod first. If all you needed was a new nut to fix a tuning issue, you've just saved $79 on a set of tuners.
- Mod guitars you already like - it makes them more personal.
- Take the opportunity to clean/set-up things you normally don't have access to. If you're taking the strings off anyway, clean the fretboard. If what you're doing takes tension off of your floating bridge, might as well do that height adjustment you've been putting off.
- If you're planning to do many mods, do yourself a favor and do as many of them at once as possible so you only have to disassemble your guitar once.
I agree. You cant put lipstick on a pig and get bacon.
I wanna cut off a big chunk of wood because its poking in my boob and I dont want to buy a new guitar
Good advice! That’s why I do pawn shop guitars that are name brands and play well to begin with! I don’t touch my Gibsons or Fenders other than cleaning and set up.
Fantastic advice here - that I regularly seem to forget myself. The Partscaster bug is relentless! I recently noticed that starting from proper setup and ending being critical about 1. the guitar and 2. string gauges that suit the guitar first... Only then modifying small but crucial things one by one in guitars you already have leads to better result. Also to needing LESS guitars! More money to buy amps and speakers and HX and... Phew.
I got one of those very cheap DIY Harley Benton teles as my first guitar. I haven't done any sanding and painting to the body, because I actually like the look of the natural wood. It even came with a few light scratches and the factory sealing is kind of spotty. It's fine, I like al worn look anyways. And Thomann do expect the buyer to do sand the body down and do their own stuff I guess, so it's fine. I really like the neck though. Satin and nicely finished, even the thread edges. I like the whole feel and weight of the guitar.
So... what I want to say is that modding this to make 3rd party parts fit better won't make me sad :)
Imagining changing every single part to the best ones that I prefer over time except for the body. I might even do some sending and painting for that at some point. But I mean, then it's suddenly a completely different guitar :)
$75 has my vote.
I was thinking that too. It sounds best haha !
I thought the same! Best sound came out of the original 75 bucks guitar jaja
So many people pay for names. I've argued with many of them over that, but could never get through their cognitive dissonance. So, I don't even bother anymore. My budget guitars that I currently own rival nearly ALL of the hyper expensive guitars I've played during my career.
The pickups are certainly less hummy
😂 Exactly
am i the only one that liked how it sounded before the mods? it seemd like the mods just gave it more midrage/bass
The first demo piece i liked better with the cheap guitar before they fiddled with it, sounded clearer and better. The second demo i liked better with the rebuilt cheap guitar. After the demos at the beginning i said to myself that it isn't neccessarily a worse sound but rather a different sound and that the guys here obviously like the more bassy sound better than the more clearer metallic sound. So it really depends on personal taste what you want to do even with a cheap guitar.
This is why asking if modding a guitar is worth it is such a hard question to answer. Everything about guitar tone is so personal and subjective that one mod could make a guitar someone's favorite instrument while it could make it someone else's nightmare guitar
Nothing can replace the experience of switching out pickups and learning to do a setup. But if you want a high end guitar, buy the real deal. If for nothing else, the resell value. Partcasters basically carry no value, no matter the quality of components.
Depends on how good you are in doing guitar work though...i can get a cheap used squier for 60 bucks...change pretty much everything on it...pickups and electronics,tuners, nut...even install big stainless steel frets on it and keep the original parts in a box....now that guitar is already high end all the way...it has the excellent parts(and actually the parts i want) and the setup i want and saves me several hundred dollars i would pay extra for a company logo.
Now if i want the resale value thats easy....i put the original parts back on...keep the excellent parts that iam gonna use in another build anyway and give that guitar so someone else with some improved parts anyway...like ss frets and a good nut...win win for everyone.
Bunch of idiots on FB market place will argue the differ. Because how else would they convince you to trade them your Les Paul Standard GoldTop for their "customs shop quality custom made guitars with the BEST parts available?" What do you mean my Squier affinity neck on warmoth body is not worth 2100? LOL
Buy a squire bullet tele for $170. Get a set of alnico pickups on Amazon for $20. Pay a guitar tech $50 to install the pickups and set the fret board. Then give it a set of $12 Elixer, coated strings. After tax your total comes to about $260, and the guitar will sound a d feel like a $500 fender telecaster.
Biggest difference is for 1200 you will be able to get a guitar with matched wood and nitro cellulose paintjob.
When would I do this?
When my daughter buys me a shit guitar and I still want to play it to make her smile.
before: 1 cat
after: 500 cats meowing
You can improve the electronic to even find good sound , but the neck, the playability, the feel, will steel be as bad as was in the beginning in a cheap guitar
I know, I'm crazy, but I want to work on the Peavey guitar. It's got a sold basswood body. I want to give it a go.
Is it crazy to want to see what it's like? That basswood body.
I bet it sounds pretty good as is, but if it's even half good, I can have some control over tone.
The guitar market as of October 17th, 2022. I watched a Used Fender Player Strat for $449 USD.
Stratocaster is supposed to have a massive, heavy bridge
Maybe I'm nitpicking here (not attempting to flame you) however, I'd have removed the jackplate and the Tremolo Cover and soldered the wires directly to their source (input jack and Tremolo claw) instead of having overly long wires that only exacerbate 60 cycle Hum and taping of wires which is unprofessional and unnecessary. While your at it... you might want to line the pickup, pot and input jack cavities with copper EMI tape (make sure to solder a small wire between the input jack cavity and the pickup/pot cavities) as well as the underside of the pickguard, if it isn't already... I totaly eliminated the 60 cycle hum in my MIM Fender Strat, this way. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if your going to spend that kind of money on Aftermarket parts to upgrade your guitar... why not take the extra time to do it correctly? I know you're doing it quickly for the sake of the video however, at the very least you should explain the "correct" procedure for installing these upgrades, so that those who have never attempted this and are looking to your video for guidance... know the proper procedures.
So much this! Like LoneWolf said, not to flame....loved the video. I also cringed when I saw the splice for the output jack & trem ground. At the same time, I'll admit this...My last Partscaster build I got lazy and wired the ground that should have gone to EMI tape to the output jack because I didn't have the tape and wanted to get my build done.
Lol only Randy knows what he's talking about. Other 2 dudes are like "yeah let's have randy do it"
Wish Randy was doing he talking as well.
i like the original sound more before mods
hi… i’m wanting to modify a cheap guitar i got for like $100… i want to completely change everything except for the body because it’s pink and i like that about it… i don’t want to get rid of it because it was my first ever electric guitar… do you guys think it would be worth switching the neck, tremolo system, pick-guard, and pickups along with all the electronics?
is it just me or stock squier sounds the best and new pickups sound the worst
You do not press on the body with the neck on the harness, way too go to bend the neck 🤦🏻
Almost 21 minutes and $600 in upgrades for an 8 second sound demo. Wow!!!
It doesn't sound $600 better. It's still shit.
@@kevinhaggerty8144 It sounds slightly cleaner but tbh it's just a cleaner, deeper, thicker sound. Really tone is kind of preference but pickups are usually based on what style of music you wanna play.
@@kevinhaggerty8144 The upgraded one sounds way better. Those pickups and whatever hes plugged into sound awesome.
Sound demos really do not matter. You would have to have the exact gear and exact audio edits (if any) to achieve the sound achieved in the demos.
@@crazytrain58 @Logan West I was just saying...
We sit here and watch a video over 20 minutes long - watching them upgrade a guitar. It would have done been nice to listen to more than 8 seconds of demo.
You said something about we'd have to have the exact gear and sound edits to be able to experience the same demo - or something like that....
Not true!
Watch the beginning of this video again... They play a demo of a $1,200 guitar against a $75 guitar. I could hear the difference!
They should have played and recorded the $75 guitar for a full minute or two before the upgrades, and then edit that into the end of the video. They can say, "This is the $75 guitar before the upgrades" and play that clip, and then say, "This is the $75 guitar after the upgrades" and play the same minute or two of music they played before the upgrades.
Record a "before" and then record an "after" and then play them at the end.
That's the demo I'm taking adout. I'm not taking about demoing the true sound quality - only the difference before and after.
I could hear a big difference between the $1200 guitar and the $75 guitar. I'd be able to hear the difference between a before and after. If I couldn't hear a difference, I'd get a new device....
recent hobby for me is getting really pretty but cheap guitars and maxing them out it’s so rewarding
same hahaha
Me fkn too!!! I thought i was alone!
I just modded an Ibanez JS100 and it is beautiful! 🤘
UPGRADE YOUR BRIDGE!!!! I hate seeing people upgrade everything but the tremolo. You would be amazed how much it changes the tone when you pit brass or steel block and saddles
Exactly! I switched my cheap bride for a Wilkinson big block and it sounds
a 100 times better!
The $1200 guitar still sounded better but it sure didn't sound twice as good. The right amp or pedals would fix any differences. Get a decent Classic Vibe or Standard and upgrade that, put the savings into a good amp.
To me the $75 one sounded better than $1200 even before the mod.
@@b-sideplank 1200 sounded best clean, the upgraded the worst. But with distortion i preferred the upgraded followed by 1200 followed by 75
@@b-sideplank tome the 1200 sounded better ... but theres another thing that we have to put in mind ... feel .. the feel ... and i bet that the 1200 feel way better play!!!!!
I thought the exact same thing😊
Start with a decent guitar and then upgrade. In the end it's all about how it plays, not what it's worth. I would spend the extra couple of bucks and invest an additional 5 minutes to shield the cavity before replacing the pups, especially if I'm upgrading a cheap Strat. PEACE
I'm conflicted with shielding. If a guitar is quiet enough, leave it alone. Plus it's not easy to shield the cavities because you have to ground the shielding. Also it can affect the tone. It's definitely not a five minute job.
Those pickups sounded not so good and definitely not worth it. I think fish mans would have been better.
My opinion, since no one asked. If you are trying to upgrade to be like another guitar, just buy the other guitar. If you are modding to make something unique that no one offers, then go for it. In that case, less expensive guitars like a Squier Affinity can be a great starting point.
whatever you do to a squier,you are going to end up trying to imitate a higher grade fender,you aren't going to reinvent the wheel upgrading a squier so don't even think that way.aside from routing swiss cheese holes directly through the body,gluing random pointless crap on it or whatever unconventional ideas you may have every single upgrade to a low end squier is to make it play like a higher end fender be it a mexican or usa level guitar.thinking otherwise is stupid and wrong,sorry.you aren't making a les paul out of a squier,you arent making a hollow body out of a squier(i guess you could but why bother)making it your own as you say is upgrading it to "fender playable specs" you have false romanticism
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Adding Tuners Locking are my choice and usually a Nut is gonna help out just about every sub $500 Dollar Guitar and it's something just about every Guitarist should be able to do or learn by watching RUclips . Crappy Pickups replacement can get costly and require a more experienced Luthier if your not into doing such things . The Fix for crappy Pickups can be fixed with a 7 or 10 band EQ like the guy below states !
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Damn, way to be a dick about this guy's personal experience and opinion. And you're wrong anyway. The possibilities are endless when it comes to modding electric guitars, Squiers are no exception. Electrical components, wiring schemes, pickup type/magnet/placement, scale lengths, on-board effects, etc! If you put yourself in a box thinking "I can ONLY imitate a high end Fender (or anything else)" that's fine, but maybe other peoples' imaginations aren't as limited as yours.
You're not going get filet mignon out of hamburger, BUT a hamburger can be absolutely delicious if it's seasoned properly. Doing mods is definitely a way to go if money is an issue or if you just want to go crazy with it. It's worth whatever YOU feel like investing in it. Just don't slap a FENDER logo on a Squier. If you want a real Fender, just save up and get a used MIM Fender. I don't know why people get into swapping decals like that. I guess owning a Squier is embarrassing to them. I'm doing mods to my Squier Bullet Strat and I'm fine with the logo on the headstock.
@@spottedsaint957 Yeah I paid $400 for my Squire totally respectable imo . Other opion's don't concern me . I enjoy modding I do things at my pace and the Guitar gets better with each step !
Managed to watch the intro to 1:09 and then skip to 19:12 for the results.
Job done in less then 3 minutes. Go cheap and then customize.
Thanks! I was searching thru the comments just for this!!
Well, i kinda like the dirty ass, harsh sound of the cheapo. Reminds me of something Jack White would play :)
I agree. However, sometimes the lower output of cheap pickups is annoying.
jack white sucks,he is absolutely the most talent-less hack ever to become popular and he definitely isnt in the top 100,000 guitar players of the lest ten years.
he isnt even on the list for top 1,000,000 guitar players of all time.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 and who are you?
trillrif axegrindor I hate to be the one to break it to you but he has a massive following for the projects he is involved in, and how can you objectively rate him on a scale with other guitarists? I can completely respect not enjoying a particular artist but to call him talentless is pretty thoughtless
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 dude jack white plays with FEEL. You should watch “death letter live” by white stripes.
I will give you that he isn’t the most technically smooth player, but mostly everyone can feel what he’s saying with guitar. He’s the exact opposite of some metal shedder that plays million notes per second.
I put him and John frusciante in the same boat.
Both are players immediately recognizable when listening...
I liked the video. In my experience, I have taken decent low to mid priced guitars that I thought played good and was good bang for the buck (well built and resonate) and upgraded with pickups of my choice and good components. (Pots, caps, switch jack and in some cases a graphtec nut) In every case I noticed much improvement and could not justify the more expensive counterpart. However, I’m not a pro on the road every night either. But I also enjoy doing the mods.
I think you nailed it. I just play for myself and maybe a few camp trips...... I am fairly new and most of my Guitars are mid to low range. I had so much fun pimping my squire out. well all except for my first dealings with Mr. Floyd Rose ..... anyways spot on!!
You should have shielded the guitar to reduce hum/interference. This can be achieved either using the expensive route of copper tape or the cheaper route of using aluminium tape.
Good tip Blutaxt Malta.
$75 Squier + EQ pedal = Sound like any strat you choose without changing a thing 👍
I love a EQ pedal as boost too.
Except for the jagged edges of the frets.
If you want a good sounding guitar, start from where the guitar is getting the amplification. The pickups. EQ pedals are only there to enhance the sound. I wouldn't rely on an EQ pedal for my general tone - you have the amp's EQ knobs for that one.
I got a bass amp for my first amp and I got an eq and it made the amp sound 1000 times better
I agree. I have several guitars and have changed pickups in all of them and still think eq is everything.
There's nothing wrong with the "cheap" potentiometers. You'll find the same ones in high end gear where space is a premium. The switch is fine too as long as it works. Just some advice for anyone trying to save some money to spend elsewhere.
That cheap thing had better clarity before the upgrade. Some things are just better left alone.
Clarity isnt all. It was flimsy in my ears. After it had more girth and more pleasant.
Yep
This happens every time on these vids. . $500+ upgrade just makes it lose high n mid tone n adds "body". some ppl like it some ppl don't. It's all just subjective honestly. I own a $1000 strat and have owned a few others. I also own a squier n play it almost as much as my expensive one just cuz i love it's jangley highs.
It was also very empty and hollow sounding with no depth.
sounded better before the upgrades ...
We hope you enjoy the video! It was really fun to make. Check out the original guitar makeover video we made last year: ruclips.net/video/12qmuB3yo7Y/видео.html
Do you have the guitar? If so after some time has passed would you consider it money well spent???
Instablaster...
For me, I would buy a cheap guitar and upgrade it myself. I love to fiddle with all the different mods. 👍🎸
the end doesn't justify the means.an affintiy or bullet will never sound or play as good as a quality mexican or usa strat no matter what mods you do but you will pay as much to "TRY" and make it sound and play that good.one solution"classic vibe" or "vintage modified"
trillrif axegrindor you could get damn near close though
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 You're very wrong
Hey! I know your comment is a year old but you sound like me.
Also, if someone is on a budget, this month they can maybe upgrade the nut. Next month, maybe get nicer tuners. Maybe ask the Tooth Fairy for new pickups lol
@@Cautionary_Tale_Harris Do what makes you happy. 🤘
Honestly would be happy with the "before" if set up correctly. Saves $600.
I know it has been just over a year but two things on soldering, 1.) Tin your wires before joining them (Put soldier on them)
and you should have taken the 1/8 inch output jack out and soldered the wires directly to the jack and not used the thinner gage wires. This is just my 2 cents! I think the guitar sounded much better and the pick guard made it look better.
Tinning is something I've never had to do. It may make a difference though, haven't tested it. Either way an absolute must is heating up the joint before applying the solder, this is unanimous among people who's opinions actually should be listened and the reason that it helps is because if you don't heat up the joint before heating it'll wick the heat away, whereas if you heat up the joint at worst it won't change the heat and at best the opposite will happen (at least my understanding that is)
I get the reason for using a very cheap guitar for the point of the video but I’ve done something like this with both the Squier Classic Vibe and older MIM standard Fenders I’ve picked up used both were in the $300 range and I probably put another $300-$400 into them and ended up with amazing custom guitars. I have a MIM Strat I prefer to my American made ones.
its not the guitar's price its the fun factor of upgrading the guitar. Thats the thing that those keep on suggesting better to buy an expensive guitar. yeah expensive is better, but where is the fun part of using a "bought" guitar instead of "built" guitar? built not bought!
The way he is flipping guitar up and down every time he is unscrewing each bushing instead unscrewing all of them then flip one time and take off all screw in ONE step is very uncomfortable and waste of time.
One of the main noticable things when it comes to pickups for me, is that cheaper stock pickups dont give you full chords. For instance if you play a standard Major powerchord anywhere on the neck some of the notes will drown each other out and clash together. With good pickups each note in a full 6 string chord will pop out individually. That is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade in my opinion.. it's a small thing but once you notice it's hard to go back.
As mentioned, the magnets in the stock pickups were that cruddy synthetic magnet strip stuff they use in fridge magnets. Switching to a better magnet greatly influences output and response.
The amp also is really important too. I have a cheap valve amp, Laney LC15 with a vintage 30 speaker (upgrade); cheap guitars SX Telecaster and Epiphone Casino (Korea) Fernandes strato R9 (japan vintage). Recently I got the UAFX Dream 65 pedal conected in stereo to a pair of Yamaha DXR10mk2 (I'am singer, I got that speakers already). Result: Amazing sound! I'll never think in buying an expensive valve amp (really expensive in my country). I recognize that I've already have the Yamahas and they are expensive. But the sound is incredible with any of the cheapeast guitars I´ve connected to that pedal. Before that I was thinking in change the mics, eq pedals, etc. Now with a little of tweak in the Dream 65 I get a really good sound imposible to obtain with a cheaper valve amp. Also, I agree with the comments about the feeling that one have with respective guitar you own befor do the upgrades (the SX telecaster and the Casino are really confortable to play). Excellent video!
This vid is right up my alley... 1st response.... the upgraded squire sounds better than the real deal Fender, but I'm not a fan of the 'upgraded' pickups, especially for their price. They're a little dark and lacking clarity. I've heard and played many strat pup sets that sound better for less $.
I've done this upgrade routine many times - I have several guitars that started out stupidly cheap and I've upgraded. I also have some top end instruments, and my upgraded cheapos are still quite often the guitars I reach for first. ( I have 4 or 5 guitars now that I purchased for under $150 that now play, feel and sound like pro grade instruments, but are still under $250 invested).
1. There's no need to spend big bucks on pups and wiring. There's some other places you skipped that cheap guitars could use some love - spending too much on pups leaves some loose ends if you want it to play well and reliably like a more expensive instrument. GFS has MANY great pickup choices for well under $100 for a set, and very good wiring harnesses for under $30. Dragonfire pickups are also a great sounding budget choice. The Stratosphere is also a good source... I have a partscaster with a $35 Stratosphere prewired Alnico pickguard and pup set that sounds great.
2. TUSQ nut choice is a great recommendation. I've done this to 2/3 of my guitars. Absolutely essential.
3. Locking tuners?? Yes, they make string changes quicker but if you know how to wind a string properly, they're completely unnecessary. There's plenty of REALLY good tuners available on EBAY or GFS in the $30 per set range. (Wilkinsons)
4. Saddles : A VERY worthy upgrade......again, GFS has some great stainless saddles. (Or Roller bridge if you want to upgrade a guitar with Tune-O-Matic style bridge)
5. Trem Block : you skipped over this.... some money from your overpriced pups would have been better spent on a nice fat brass or solid steel trem block. Better sustain, better tone, better 'ring'
6. Shielding : another spot you skipped....... a $5 roll of copper shielding for the pup cavities is a cheap and essential upgrade on a single coil guitar!
7. FRET LEVEL: I know you did a setup and 'softened' the fret ends, but did you do a fret level?? NO money involved, just patience and time. A good fret leveling, crowning, and polish will make a WORLD of difference! I have yet to see a cheap guitar neck that didn't need at least a partial level and polish. The only guitar I own that didn't need some leveling is my Carvin.
The most important thing to making a cheap guitar play well...... make sure you like the "feel" of the neck, and make sure the truss rod works as it should and the neck isn't twisted.......... if those things are in place, your cheap guitar is ready to upgrade. Everything else can be fixed. BTW... you won't get any $ back when you try to sell it, but you'll enjoy the satisfaction of playing a great feeling and sounding guitar without spending a fortune. And no worries if you ding it up while playing the crap out of it!
It really is the golden age of the "cheap" guitar.... unless our knuckleheaded leader screws it all up with tariffs (that WE the consumer will pay for) (there will still be the used market).
What......No Brass Saddles ???
I didn't know the dictionary word "used" was replaced by "relic'd up". I was not sent en email, telegram, sms, nothing...
heres my thing for 800 doallers upgrading a squire i could save 300$ more to get a fender MIM strat... and if i wanna buy a humbucker on it or mod a couple things from there cool, but for me im modding my 75$ chinese strat clone i got when i was 10 as more of a passion project because it has so much sentimental value im keeping all the knicks and dings to the body im just replacing a white sss pickguard with a Hss black pickguard (so its a all black guitar looks so fn cool) sand the Academy headstock decal off i might buy a new neck , i think it was 100$ with a amp 15 years ago? Lol but ill put ernie ball strings on it new pick ups scotch brite the frets polish the body,neck , i think all in all ill be paying 150? if u count the soldering iron 40 for the pickguard, 65 for neck 9$ for strings sandpaper free from work polish i already have and thats good enough for me i dont need it to sound like a fender i just wanna love playing it
My must have factor is playability. Tone is obviously important but post production is a wonderful world to explore and if you know what you’re doing you can dial in almost any tone.
Those pickups sound so good! I prefer the sound of the modified squier and the rosewood board but prefer the look and neck of the Fender 60th
rosewood boards do not make sound on an electric guitar friend.pickups only transfer magnetic signal.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 and then amps amplifie that magnetic signal, ok got it.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 Rosewood on the neck affects the resonance and tonal response conveyed through the strings to the pickups. Swap the neck for a maple neck and you'll hear a difference.
This is like watching people who don't know anything about electronics talk about electronics.
This is a good way for a musician that doesn't have a lot of money to get a good sounding more dependable instrument But I still dig my Vintage stratocaster
So surprised im not the only one checking neck relief like that. No kapo or ruler, girly stuffs etc
use and play whatever makes you happy..i,personally, cant get what I want off the shelf. ive put diffent pickups and different necks on cheap guitars and been totally happy with them. its all in taste. I have 3 partscasters that I would take over ANY American strat because they have what im looking for
I got a 28 year old beat up Fender for $100. It's a Fender Black label, which is the lowest end Mexican Fender available at the time. Perfect mod platform. So far I stripped all the parts and bought brand new stuff. I'll be starting the new paint job and installing the new nut and tuners this weekend. If I can get it to sound good, I think it will definitely be my new favorite, if for no other reason then I put it together myself.
3:45 You like to work the hard way. And the other guy didn't notice. I could give you lessons in working efficiently. So you're not flipping the guitar 12 time.
I am of the opinion that up-grading a cheap guitar let's you better connect with the instrument, gives it the start of it's mojo. Bought an old Ibanez rg in black ,looks pretty rough,plays like a dream. Nice old guitar for $40 !
Idk if im just a horrible musician or what but cheap guitars sound so good to me. Just goes to show that cheap gear can make good sounds in this day and age.
(Pre-upgrade)
Swfty I agree the squire sounded way better without any upgrades. Was very clear and had a better tone in my opinion
@@leobeats2255 I agree. It just had a lower output.
i upgrade cheap guitars but i leave my expensive ones alone. enjoyed the video.
Before comparison= Squier is super thin with no depth of tone. After comparison= NO comparison. The Squier sounds great! I am in the same situation ($22 Squier + $24 shpg= SCORE!). For those who don't know, Stew Mac has great how videos and lots of tools. I'm looking at a prewired pickguard from Mojotone. Their stuff sounds killer. And I really like the Graphtech parts, they're top notch! Definitely roll the edges and clean up the frets (No More Sprout!) and be sure to do it BEFORE installing the new pick guard so filings don't stick to the pickups. I would highly suggest changing the entire tremolo block/ bridge/saddles as well. Bladerunner is great. Stays in tune even on deep dives. Thanks for the video Nate!
Stew Mac is great! If you do want clean up frets while pickguard is installed just put a strip of masking tape over the pickup magnets. Works like a charm!
The bladerunners look interesting, might need to try it out in the future.
Thanks for tuning in and leaving a comment!
First Strat that I have ever seen with a tremolo that's using 5 springs.
It's a little upsetting that I sat through a 20 minute video just to hear a 20 second comparison.
Damn..
Macaulay Culkin and Tom Hanks Ladies and Gentleman!
Squire sounded way better than $1200
Guys I wanna put emg pickups in a epiphone es 335 to make it more metal, does anyone has any recommentations to make it more metal?
Trade it in on a solid body.
I’ve heard guys make a 100$ guitar sing.
I’ve heard guys make a 2000$ sound like a 50$ guitar. Bottom line: get a decent guitar 300-500$ and a decent amp 300-500$. 600-1000$ for a decent set up is not that much money. An iPhone can cost more. Besides, It shows a level of commitment and you’ll be more inclined to pick up the guitar and play if it sounds decent. But if you’re a full on dirt merchant. Just buy the best you can afford. 🤘🏻
Whats messed up is that i like the sound how it was before.
"SE or Affinity, or something like that" hehehehehe
I bought my son a new Squier Affinity Strat back in 1997. We got it playing OK, but he still moved on to low brass.
Fast forward to 2015 - I pulled it out of the closet and took a new look. It turned out that the neck was really smooth and the fretwork was way more than the $149 would seem to provide. The nut cuts were perfect and the tuners were solid, but a bit of work on the existing 6 screw trem with a tension adjustment and new D'addario NY/XL 009's got the tuning, strings, and trem sorted.
But, something still wasn't right. Enter Guitar Fetish with a pre-loaded Strat pickguard with new electronics and 3 hot-wound Alnico V pickups for $72 and, voila! A wonderfully playing and sounding Strat for under $220. It plays and sounds better than my American-made '48 with cost more than 10x as much.
Even if you don't put $600 into an upgrade, you can definitely have fun upgrading an inexpensive guitar.
You can absolutely do less drastic modifications and end up with a fantastic guitar. For me, the first thing is to always replace the nut on any cheap guitar. After that, it's the pickups, pots and switches. I can't hear a difference from the pot and switch changes, but they feel waaay more quality.
I also remove the gloss off the back of the neck if it has any, and roll the fingerboard edges as shown in the video!
Ok now see how much ull get for it at guitar center
Well the 60 bucks one sounds the best, wtf🤣
The scotch tape on the wires is not good. Heat shrink should be the only thing used. Maybe electrical tape, but if you are spending that much money and time, do it right.
Niiiice. To me sounds better than the Fender Strat. I would recomend not to buy a $75 guitar, since their necks and frets tend to be kinda funny. Rather buy a $250 + mods. I have a Washburn RX50 with steroids. Love that thing....
Replacing a nut is usually way more complex than just popping in a New nut. You gotta file the slots properly, otherwise your Action is gonna be a nightmare. Just to the beginners here.
Galgenvogel Yup. A traditional nut was definitely beyond my skill level. So I installed a Zero Glide nut on my Bullet Strat (bought for $70 used). goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/
Most of our preslotted nuts are made so you only need to do some minor sanding to get them to fit in the slot, and then maybe the height. But you don't need to file or cut our slots :D
honestly it's really easy just watch a youtube tutorial. did it as my first guitar mod on a shitty guitar went fine. beginners can do it
@@GraphTechGuitarLabs bought a TUSQ XL from y'all years ago and yup it was easy to fit into my old guitar
I've gone over a dozen nut replacements with GraphTech. I had to shim one up a little, sand a couple down a little, and I only touched the actual slots once because I was stringing it with 12-62 gauge strings.
How is this compared with a 600$ guitar?
How did you take the nut off the fret board and is it necessary to use glue to mount the new one, I noticed you did not but I've seen it in other videos. Thanks
Randy should just make the videos
cheap wood is cheap wood no matter what you do
Thank you. A lot of good tips for set up and comparison.
Guitars are tools and if a guy can't USE the tool with skill, a bunch of fancy parts doesn't help much.
I find it silly that a guy will try to save some money on a guitar and then install some arguably over-priced pickups and parts.
A nice set of Alnico pickups can be purchased for 30$-50$. Great tuners can be bought for 40$.…A fantastic trem with a big block can be bought for 20$
Then a guy can build a great gig worthy guitar for under 200$
I've gigged and done session work my whole life. When I was young I was a regional repair station for Hoshino ( Ibanez) C Bruno and SLM.
Folks get caught up in chasing tone and spending money to distract them from reality.
If I call ya up on stage and you can't strum " Happy Birthday" in B flat, even after I tell ya it is a I, V, I, IV progression, you don't need fancy pickups, you need a reality check and some lessons and perhaps some therapy.
Guitars are tools for making music.
I bought a Squier bronco bass. I bought it specifically to mod it into a very playable, versatile and uniquely playable bass. I’ve had a Gibson 60s mudbucker pickup for forty years so that went into neck position. The center position has a Fralin 53 Fender P bass, and in the bridge I have a Lolllar T-bird. Switched like a strat with some extra options. A Badass bridge and Wilkinson tuners. Between parts and Luthery I spent over a grand. But, it can sound like a P bass, or Jack Bruce Cream with the flick of a switch.
Def. Not worth it it going more noisy.
Guys, how many guitar players are going to attempt this and ruin their fret boards because you didn't want to tape your demonstration model? Come on man. If you are going to show people to do stuff like this, then show them the right way and don't half ass it.
I like modding guitars to be specific to me but I mod them when I find a cheap guitar with a high quality neck like the SX Vintage series teles or Strats. These are very similar to the classic vibes and can be found for a steal so it’s def worth modding. Plus modding allows you to play and upgrade as u play because everyone doesn’t have $900/$1000 to spend on a guitar as well.
It's great to upgrade a guitar. I understand both sides of the issues. I collect Ibanez Jems and I honestly prefer the jrs. And i don't feel guilty upgrading them. I met Vai and he told me the same thing....true story.
I actually have an original 87 floral jem that I swapped the pups and electronics. I'm not getting rid of it and I didn't like the sound of the pafs in that one, so why not. And I totally replaced all the electronics and hardware on my jem7v, I kept the edge on it, of course.
And on that one, I dremeled the bottom back horn to fit my hand. I do that to all my Jrs. So I had lots of practice. And I put a magnet underneath the pick guard by the bottom horn so I can put my slide. Ive been doing that way before Paul Gilbert.
Been doing mods since I started playing over 25 years ago. Making cheap guitars sound great.
If you want to upgrade like this video for fun or just to see, great. Try it, it's fun and you'll find out if it's worth it or not because you speak from experience.
But if you like the strat tele styles, and you got anywhere from $450-750 to spend.......get a used charvel. More likely, you won't need to upgrade anything. Unless you like stainless steel frets, that's probably the only you'll do. And maybe the pups if you like certain ones.
I love my Jems and I don't like the feel of the strat or tele. That neck and neck pocket though......that's the holy grail. That's the difference in comparing a strat to a suhr and Tom Anderson. The Ibanez az is the equivalent but used they go for over a grand.
I got both a strat and tele pro mod.
My Jems are probably mad at me.....
Things like the locking tuners and locking strap are not really important to getting the decent sound so it is actually cheaper to get a good sound. Just some good tuners, strings, the nut, bridge and pickups and you got your sound. The rest make it a better guitar but not directly affecting the sound.
I think we are lucky now compared to when I was a kid back in the 80's. You could give your guitar a better sound but firstly you had no idea what made the sound unless you knew someone with the upgrade already because there was no RUclips to find what you want. Then, when you did find what you want, it was limited and expensive. It could be done but at great expense.
Oh, and the cheap guitars back then were cheap for a reason.
How come you can buy such an awsome Squire for just 75 bucks? In Europe you can forget that. Do you suffer a horrible inflation, lately? Or, who GAVE that Squire away to you? Some of your billion millionairs?
Besides, I like the dress this left girl (Randy) is wearing. Is it a long dress? She keeps sitting down.
I got a Grote 335 copy off Amazon for $129 bucks, delivered. I spent $300 bucks on hardware and it plays as well as my Original Gibson 335...and I can drive it like I stole it. The tone is all in the pick ups and wiring. As long as you have a neck you like the feel of, for sure, get a beater and upgrade it.
Honestly that 75 dollar guitar sounded alright 🤷♂️.
Obviously a slight tone difference but not much personally. You could account for it with your amp/pedals.
I took a 350$ Epiphone les Paul put in Seymour Duncan p rails graph tec parts runners new bridge etc , so for about 900$ I got a 1500$ sounding Epiphone les Paul that’s a 600$ upgrade you did all that work and upgrade for a 200$ difference , you could have just spent the extra 200$ on the 1200$ strat . Sounds great though . My Epiphone won’t get me a 1500$ resale of course but it played like one .
I have been putting strat style parts caster guitars together for over 20 years (I have about thirty) and have learned the hard way to avoid real cheap guitars all together i.e. squire, Mitchell, Glarry, Indio etc... If the body is not alder or ash just forget it, because to my ear and in my opinion it just won't sound or feel right no matter what you do to it. Believe me, I have been down that road and wasted a lot of money trying to make a piece of crap sound decent.
Poplar, Basswood, Candlewood etc... are just, and not to be rude or step on anyones toes, crappy wood alternatives. Just get an decent mexican made new or used Fender strat for around 300 to 500 and put what you want in it and it will sing better than it's $1200.00 to $2000.00 counterpart. That is if you use the right parts.
For example...I have a used mexican made deluxe with alder body and C neck which I purchased for $300.00 five years ago, that someone dropped in the guitar store. It had a small chunk taken out of it (which with bondo was an easy repair $5.00) I stripped the ugly blue translucent paint off it and re-did it in a beautiful salmon lacquer with a black lacquer under coat and did a nice relic job on it for $60.00 in paint, I already had the sealer and sand paper but it was around $12.00 for both.
I then purchased a set of vintage locking tuners from The Stratosphere guitar Company for $19.00 (sweet deal and they work great) then bought a Wilkinson bridge with steel block at Guitarferish for $35.00 and new (better) saddles for $12.00. I then purchased a set of Fender pure vintage 59 guitar pickups for $99.00 (they are $150.00 now) and put them in the existing three ply pick-guard and for and extra $25.00 I went ahead and upgraded the wiring harness including a $3.00 treble bleed I got on ebay. Last but not least I purchased a Tusq. nut from Stewmac for $15.00 with shipping. Total cost after my original $300.00 including Bondo, sealer and sandpaper etc...is... $585.00
It took me a month or so to paint and sand and a day or so to assemble and set up properly. After all that, I have a guitar that is envied by my friends and was recently offered $2700.00 for it and I said NO THANKS. However, I did help my buddy (the guy willing to pay $2700.00) build his own parts caster for roughly the same money. However, he actually got a little carried away and his guitar build was more than mine because he just had to have this EMG DG20 David Gilmore prewired pick-guard set for $329.00. Even after that, he only spent a total of $715.00 for guitar, paint and parts and now he has a fantastic guitar that looks great and wails like he likes on stage.
Sorry I prattled on, but hey, I love guitars. Don't waste your money on those high end guitars, because with a little practice you can build your own dream guitar for a lot less. One last thing I want to mention is that Guitarfetish has some decent Slick SL 57 guitars you can upgrade to be your dream guitar. I recently bought one for $259.00 and upgraded it for a few dollars less than the one I mentioned earlier. Peace
SO I have a 94-95 60's reissue, Japanese Fender Jazzmaster... I obviously want a "real" one someday (the million dollar american version)... what about that guitar makes it so cheap?.. I often thought i'd like to slowly, over time, completely overhaul it... until the only thing not "american" is the body. Is that doable?... would new tuners, like locking tuners from hipshot... would that do anything?... or are standard tuners fine?
The good thing these days is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get great electronics. The cheap stuff coming out of China these days is amazing, they've really hammered down the manufacturing process.
Not trying to armchair quarterback, but why not run the new 12 gauge wire all the way to the input jack? Seemed sort of a waste to solder to was described as cheap/crappy wiring. Also, any used guitar. I would recommend removing all covers and looking at what someone probably has tinkered with...You may not like what they have done.
My comment comes three years later, but I just found your video. I actually do this kind of upgrades very often with Harley Benton guitars. They are inexpensive. Some times they must be sent back within the 30 days windows Thomann Germany offers. But most of the axes are cosmetically gorgeous and wooden parts are outstanding. Therefore they become a wonderful mods platform. One can chose from a wide variety of models & finishing mostly under €200. With €300 to €400 modifications, depending if you like or not the quite decent Roswell Pickups and a little work on frets edges (if you dear to), they become unbeatable by any branded €500 to €900 guitar. Only problem to be aware of: Reselling. Indeed, you will never recover even a part of the value of your investment. But if you plan to keep your guitar or make a happy friend or relative, then this is definitely worth.
I can tell that the dude in the black shirt doesn’t own a dog house
Upon closer inspection the dude with the glasses doesn’t either 🤔
What we think?. The main idea of this video was to prove the upgrades to a guitar and you played only 8 seconds? 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😂. Yeah sure.
Let's spend $600 like that
Cheap guitars all the way. You can mod them to get the sound you want. Everything, including the neck, can be upgraded and improved. If it feels good to you, it IS good. Guitar is about feel and sound. Looks and manufacturer mean nothing.
Plus with a cheapie you avoid that "premium paranoia". I own a Gibson that if my 6 year old gets within 10 feet of it when it's on the stand, I start to hyperventilate. I get paranoid about every little thing about it, even when I am playing it. With my cheap Squier that I upgraded..... pppfffttt. I've watched it fall off stands, banged the headstock against the amp while jamming a bit to hard, hell, I slammed the neck in a car door once (by accident of course) and it didn't bother me in the slightest.
Tweak a cheap one and save all that extra cash to put into a quality amp..........because that's where the sound quality matters most.
The rolling the frets part was big cringe. I appreciate what you’re doing here, but one of the biggest things you can do to upgrade a cheap guitar outside of parts is to level, crown, and polish the frets the CORRECT way. Which requires at minimum an entry level fret leveling beam, fret crowning file, multiple grits of sandpaper/OOOO steel wool (tape up your pickups before using steel wool), and a deemed with a polish wheel. Honestly, unless you have a handmade guitar, you should do this to every fretboard on every guitar you own. The only guitar I own that I haven’t done this on is my Gibson SG. All my hot rod guitars and mid-level gear had had this treatment at bare minimum.
Bought an Eart strat style new for about $150 + tax. Love it but it needs help. Mostly pickups and maybe better electronics. I haven't looked inside yet.
A plek fret level , crown , and polish, a setup job, a set of cs pickups, done, it will sound as good as it going to get, will play a ton better than most guitars off a factory floor. Fret work and setup is #1 , to make a cheep guitar as good as it will ever get, nasty fretwork will never sound good, no matter how much in parts you throw at it, will be hard to play, will have dead spots, also fret sprout, sharp edges, string rattles, and all the issues with fretwork most all cheep guitars have. That is by far the biggest issue, vrs, and American fender, the nut, and the fret work is better. A plek job can offer a custom shop feel, and no rattles or issues.
Locking tuners are not needed, if the nut is cut properly, and most nuts are cut wrong. All my guitars have stamped vintage tuners, they work perfectly. But I know how to properly cut a nut. No pencil led or nut goop needed, if you have tuning issues, its the nut, 99% of the time. Spend money on a custom nut, by someone who knows what they are doing, rather than locking tuners, Just some old fart advice, that’s been doing this guitar stuff, 40 plus years now. Both live and studio work.
I don't like the sound of the upgraded pickups at all....am I alone here? $1200 guitar sounds great but the upgraded Squire sounds bad to my ears.