What's a mod you do to your electric guitars?

[Steel and wood]

Pickups on my Stratocaster (Custom Shop 54's and a Seymour Duncan in the middle position) and a Bigsby on my Telecaster and Samick Greg Bennett Royale semi. (Had to plug up the holes on my Royale using a Gibson "Custom Made" plaque like you see on Gibson ES335's with a Bigsby).

My favourite mod is the Vibramate Bigsby on my Telecaster. (No drilling, looks incredible and works a treat).

[Dru Edwards]

I like experimenting with different pickups and I've put in more than a dozen Seymour Duncans, DiMarzios and Fender pickups into various guitars. One of my favorite discoveries is a SD '59 into a Les Paul.

[pieterh]

The only serious mod I've done was to replace the stock 3-saddle bridge on my MiM Classic 60s Telecaster for Fender's own 6-saddle vintage Telecaster bridge. I didn't really like the intonation issues though following Seymour Duncan's advice, as reported by Jerry Donahue, I could get to a tuning/intonation that I was happy with.

What I didn't like were the actual saddles: the multiple grooves on each meant that the strings would sometimes slip and end up in a parallel groove rather than the one that was best for string spacing etc. Of course many players like the heavier mass of double-string saddles and I was expecting a compromise in sound - in fact, the new bridge gave me a tighter sound and better sustain as well as, naturally, better intonation, and of course string spacing is consistent. Go figure.

My other electrics are pretty much stock, though I am considering different pickups for the Telecaster - I like the sound fine but they are the weakest in output of the 4 electrics I own. It would be nice to have the classic twang but with a bit more output. On the other hand, Radial have brought out the Tonebone Bumper which allows 4 instruments to be connected to one amp and have their load and levels matched so that may be a more cost effective way of solving the problem.

Another thing I did with the Telecaster was install a StewMac neck pocket shim (0.5 degree) which fits very neatly and sorted out the neck angle nicely.

I was also considering changing the pickups on my Strat to get closer to the sound I get from my G&L ASAT - but then I thought, why? Use the G&L, and keep the Strat a Strat!

[pieterh]

I actually know next to nothing about pickup ratings etc and wouldn't know where to start. Dru - if you have any suggestions or recommendations for an interesting Telecaster pickup upgrade then let me know!

[GHS]

I dont play electric a lot, just for some jazz tunes or to fill in behind some vocals with a Tele. sound. I have three electrics and they all sound good to me out of the box. I leave them alone. I figure it this way. they have engineers, no make that teams of engineers with more collective experience than any backyard mechanic. They have figured out what works and what does not. The only time I can see them putting in inferior parts is a cost cutting move from the higher ups. If that has been proven by the users, ( aka us) then replace it. Other than that why not leave it alone?

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by pieterh

I actually know next to nothing about pickup ratings etc and wouldn't know where to start. Dru - if you have any suggestions or recommendations for an interesting Telecaster pickup upgrade then let me know!

Hi Pieterh, you know, I've installed pickups in my Les Pauls, Strats, and various other guitars but never a Tele. Probably because I don't have one. I don't even know where to start with tele pickups but Seymour Duncan is always a great starting point for any pickup.

Lots of Tele love here on the AGF. I keep getting the urge to try one out.

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by pieterh

I actually know next to nothing about pickup ratings etc and wouldn't know where to start. Dru - if you have any suggestions or recommendations for an interesting Telecaster pickup upgrade then let me know!

If you want more "oomph" behind the Tele (as do I), you might want to look at the Lollar Special T or even the J-Street, although the latter crosses closely to P90 territory. Fralin has the Steel Pole series, and I'm thinking about a new Michael Kelly Tele that comes with Steel Pole 43s stock. Another pickup that has caught my ear is the Duncan Quarter Pounder for Tele. I love this video. I know much of it has to do with how his amp is dialed in and how terrific a player he is, but I really love the sound he gets out of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hs4GryqXf0

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Is there a mod you do to most of your electric guitars? I'm not talking about a setup. For example, do you change the pot value on a Les Paul? Do you change pickups on the Strat? Do you change the capacitor value on guitar xyz? How about future purchases?

I'll mod guitars but there isn't one consistent mod I do across the board. Stock is usually great for me although sometimes I like a different flavour pickup.

My electrics are all projects of one sort or another. They're either cheap electrics that I've modded or they're guitars built from parts. The one thing I've done to almost every one though is upgrade the pickups. I'm partial to Klein pickups. If I'm replacing body parts, I like Warmoth. And for hardware I like to stay original where I can.

[hornrocker]

Typically the only mod I do is.... play 'em

[6L6]

On every Strat I've owned since the 60's the first thing I've done is rewire the bottom Tone knob to the Bridge pickup. I then wire the middle Tone knob to control the middle and neck pups.

[dagobert]

This is a can of worms I am resisting to open.....

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

If you want more "oomph" behind the Tele (as do I), you might want to look at the Lollar Special T or even the J-Street, although the latter crosses closely to P90 territory. Fralin has the Steel Pole series, and I'm thinking about a new Michael Kelly Tele that comes with Steel Pole 43s stock. Another pickup that has caught my ear is the Duncan Quarter Pounder for Tele. I love this video. I know much of it has to do with how his amp is dialed in and how terrific a player he is, but I really love the sound he gets out of these:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hs4GryqXf0

Thanks for the tips Mike, I'll check them out! I find my G&L has a degree of P90 character and I don't mind the Tele going that way, especially neck pickup. And Duncan pups are always worth investigating and are on my to-try list if I ever get the chance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hi Pieterh, you know, I've installed pickups in my Les Pauls, Strats, and various other guitars but never a Tele. Probably because I don't have one. I don't even know where to start with tele pickups but Seymour Duncan is always a great starting point for any pickup.



Lots of Tele love here on the AGF. I keep getting the urge to try one out.

You need to get a Tele...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Steel and wood]

I think Wilkinson make some great Telecaster pickups. (I've got a bridge pickup in mine and although it's not as hot as some, I really like it).

[stevo58]

Telecasters get a 4-way switch. Strats get rewired with a 4-level switch that gives me neck/bridge instead of middle, and rewired for 1volume/1tone only. All get shielded. If it's a hollowbody, Bourns type 82 or 95 pots.

steven