#31
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All about the sound.
Picked up a Epi Hummingbird coupla weeks ago as I was cruising a local guitar center. I was Stunned by the sound,full,rich and loud. A perfect compliment to my Taylor 314ce so I bought it for $268.00. The hard case was extra but it was worth it. I the took it to my Luthier for a checkup,nothing wrong but he lowered the bridge a bit making barre chording easier for my old hands. I killed the original strings in two weeks of daily playing and replaced them with a set of light Gibson Masterbuilt Premuium {12-53} and this puppy just Sings!. Everything else is original,just a lucky find I guess.
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#32
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#33
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I'm not expecting any miracles, I just want to make my cheap guitar better. If there was a $300 round shoulder guitar with a bone saddle, better bridge pins, etc. in the guitar store I would have bought it. Instead, there was a $200 guitar available and I thought it sounded decent enough to buy and upgrade. Understand that wood, design AND removable pieces all make up the price of a guitar. I bet the biggest difference between a $200 and a $300 guitar isn't the wood or even the design....its the hardware Pieces installed...
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#34
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I must say, scalloping braces takes some talent - good on ya! I would expect that to make a much larger difference than a combination of smaller upgrades. If you really want a different voice, I still would expect to buy a different shape guitar or or buy the same shape with different wood in the body. |
#35
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#36
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the biggest improvement in tone on my cheap guitars came from changing to the right strings. i was surprised how much improvement to a real beater martin silk & steel strings can make, and sometimes not the changes i expected. while they tend to be warm, mellow strings, they made my roque grand concert sound like a yamaha fg730 - go figure! and the other strings that i like on beaters - particularly those with muddy or tinny tone - are DR rare phosphor bronze strings. they add brilliance and sparkle, and tame boomy, muddy bass nicely.
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#37
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I don't believe the OP thinks his guitar will magically turn into a D28 by putting some work into it. But to say it isn't worth upgrading seems like bad advice to me. We all have our opinions.
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I actually have a goatee. .. |
#38
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And of course that holds true for any/all guitar(s): there is no way to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, to turn something of inferior design and materials into something magnificent. I also suggested that you have fun experimenting with these simple swaps, one can learn a lot from doing them. I'm a tinkerer by nature, and love modifying old "beaters" like my Sigma, especially from the inside out: great fun and I learned many things about the sonic attributes of wooden boxes. But in the final analysis, if you desire a "'Gibson' sound I've heard on higher end round shoulder guitars," you'll have to seek one of those out to be truly satisfied. In the meantime, enjoy tinkering and swapping away! |
#39
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You can put "Z" rated Pirelli tires on your Hyundai and it will probably handle better but the cost far outstrips the benefit you can possibly get. |
#40
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My old Volkswagen might only be worth $1000 or so, but it's gonna cost me $300 to put some decent tires on it. I can't afford a new car, but I can afford tires.
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I actually have a goatee. .. |
#41
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I don't think upgrades such as saddles, bridge pins etc hurt anything. Nor do I consider them lipstick-on-a-pig, or wasted time/money. A proper setup rarely hurts the playability of an instrument, but it often makes people want to play more. |
#42
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Simple upgrades for cheap guitars
I keep a lot of "extra" parts around, just for that purpose!!! Now, some might think that's "Lipstick on a Pig" but I prefer to think of it as, allow that pig to fly!
Admittedly I like to purchase my guitars for as little cash as humanly possible. Using that mindset, I have often picked up some pretty nice guitars for under $100 that usually (well, always) need some work. Surface scratches, loose bindings, bridges lifting or off completely, don't bother me a bit. But all to often these guitars require a wee bit extra love, so I might switch out the tuners or install a good quality set of strings. Maybe a decent fret dressing, if necessary. A bone saddle and nut are not that expensive, and even small cracks are easy to fix. A small price to pay to acquire what many would think is a very expensive and high quality instrument...and at least in some cases, they would be right! After the upgrades, I have no trouble finding buyers willing to pay 2 or 3 times (sometimes more) what I invested. They are happy...I'm happy! What could be better? Glen
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Yamaha FG-375S Jumbo Martin DXME/D-35E/DC Aura/000-14 Custom/D-16E Custom/ 000C Nylon/0000-28HE/Concept IV Jumbo/00-16C/D-4132SE Gibson LP Deluxe/ES-347 TD/Chet Atkins CE Fender MIA Deluxe Strat Art & Lutherie 12-string Bellucci Concert Sigma CR-7 Recording King ROS-06 FE3/RPH-05 D'Angelico "New Yorker" New Masters "Esperance SP" Hermosa AH-20 “I never met a guitar I didn't like.” |
#43
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On the other hand, I suppose if I got a Gibson, I'd be asking about how to cure nitro finish/make it hardier, or sanding it down and refinishing it with poly. Still, I'd have to be careful (temperatures go from -35c in the winter to +30c in the summer). In my opinion, that would not be worth the effort. Its important to understand the purpose of a guitar when figuring out whether a mod is worth it or not.... |
#44
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The OP stated that his goal was to get a "certain type of Gibson sound" that he says he has heard on higher end guitars. If you believe that putting a bone saddle and bridgepins on an all-laminate guitar would help him achieve that goal then so be it but I respectfully disagree. |
#45
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Last edited by dablues; 05-20-2013 at 12:25 PM. |