First "real" Upgrade
 

Truss rod adjusted: check. Elixir PB's or Pearse PB's: check. So. What would be an appropriate upgrade for my GAD 30? Bridge pins, saddle and/or nut?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

i'd say overtime try out different strings. maybe get a professional set up done if needed. maybe try some good capos that's been discussed on the forum.

other than that, upgrade your playing:)

I guess I shouldv'e mentioned that I've actually gone through several sets of strings at this point. To name a few, I've tried, Pearse PBs, D'Addario EJ's, DR Rares, Markley PBs, Martin SPs and Nanos.

Ha, I figured that upgrading my playing was implied!!!

80/20's ? sometimes the change can make a difference over PB's -their worth a try -i did the bone saddle and ebony pins and it made a big difference on my D-25 - also tried 80/20 exp's -their alot brighter over the PB's -havent made up my mind if i like them better, but they are different in a good way .I also recently put a set of Elixar lights 80/20 on my Martin OM28v -I like them , just wish i could have another of the same guitar with the pbs on it -I like them both in their own way ! thou the 80/20's are fun !

You might want to determine in what respects you consider the guitar to be lacking. Then, you can figure out which (and whether) varous upgrades would address those specific shortcomings. In my limited experience, sometimes I've gotten more bang for my buck by getting a good quality electronic tuner or a metronome (just to give a couple of examples) than upgrading components on an instrument. It's fun to get new stuff. The advantage of stuff that isn't on the guitar itself is that you get to keep it when you move from one guitar to another. If someone puts new tuning machines, nut, saddle, and bridge pins on a guitar, it's pretty tough to recoup the cost. If those things really enhance the playing experience, of course, it's money well spent. But if the change is strictly cosmetic or barely noticeable acoustically, I wonder if that money might have been put to better use. I say this having gone down both paths at various times.

The GAD 30 comes with a bone nut and saddle, so unless you want to spend a lot of money for little to no improvement, there is no need to change those. You could change the bridge pins, but that is really IMO about 99.8% cosmetic.

Is there something specifically you feel is lacking, or do you just have an urge to spend money?

I guess I was hoping on some feedback regarding bridge pins and or a new saddle material. I had forgotten however, that I already had a bone saddle and based on the above posts a bridge pin upgrade would be mostly cosmetic.

And no, I'm an undergrad down at the University of Alabama: I'm much more interested in saving money than spending it. :D

+ 1

It's like taking supplements, you won't know what works or makes a difference if you take them all at one time.

Do things bit by bit and try to notice any subtle changes by recording each sound.

1. Play the guitar stock for a few days and record
2. Add something different and record
3. etc.

Quickest 'upgrade' IMO is strings and picks