Are there any mods you guys like to do to your guitars? let me know in the comment section ⬇️! Enjoy! *Please report the @telegram scammers if they show up in the comments section*

Steve Vai: "three and a half necks, a quarter of a pickup and a tamborine"

I'm gonna add dress your fret ends for import guitars often the wood acclimates after assembly so the frets need a touch up on the edges. And before you sink any money, dont skip the usual TLC, tighten your tuner mounts, adjust your tuner tension, change your strings, adjust your truss rod, set your string height, intonate your bridge.

I bought a cheap Squier Bullet Strat for $60 and threw some upgrades at it. Locking tuners, cts pots, brass trem block, some weird named switch fender uses(I can't remember that name starts with B G?) And some $40 hand wound pickups that have very similar specs to the fender CS 60/63. New strings, oiled up the fret board and rounded the frets. It was a lot of work, but this plays incredible for a

Weird and fun mods that I like to do personally: (1) spray-adhesive and tin-foil shielding trick under the pickguard. (2) putting 500k pots in a single-coil for insane highs (3) series/parallel mini-toggle or blending knobs for reverse wire center pickups, to make single-coils play like wide humbuckers (4) rounding fret ends so they don't steakknife my hands.

Another mod I regularly use on all my guitars is the Analysis Plus Qijack output jack. It's a super-heavy-duty jack that provides a much better connection and where the (subtle but audible) before/after differences can be heard on several KZfaq clips. In situations where space does not permit the use of the Qijack, I use the Pure Tone multi-point-contact jack.

Better performance = guitar lessons

Make sure to check the break angle of your B and E strings without the string tree before you buy staggered tuners. Remember that even with staggered tuners, the angle might not be enough. I recommend that you first get a cheap string set, remove the string tree, wind the full length of the B and E string onto the tuner posts. Get them as far down as possible, just a little bit above the nut of the tuner. Then play the string to see if it sounds good and, if so, you can get the staggered tuners. You'd be disappointed if you got staggered tuners and still have to use a string tree. Also be careful if you're sanding your guitar neck. If you go to far, it might ruin the neck.

Great tips! Ine good thing is that on gloss necks, just using some 0000 steel wool or 1200 sandpaper to give it a satin finish doesn't remove all the gloss, it just roughs it up. So In most cases it's totally reversible by using 2k+ sandpaper and then buff/polish.

A proper cut bone nut and a set of graphtec saddles transformed my Les Paul, not only does it play better but the stability is incredible. Other great mod there (that granted my local luthier did on the Gibson) is rolling the edges of the fretboard, absolute night n day feeling, have since done it on most of my other geetars myself. Very rewarding job once done. Good stuff as always sir.

Thank you Darrell, i think you’re a great teacher. Very informative and you explain things so well. Great video!

I recently finished my first project guitar! I bought a squire and replaced the nut, string trees, pickguard for an HSH to put in a humbucker, single, p90 (in humbucker package), as well as replacing all the other hardware. Replaced one of the tone pots with a bypass switch and added a kill switch. It sounds amazing and is so much fun to play!

I somehow missed my first mod: Change the strings! Regarding the PUs: If you have a high resonance frequency (typical with low output PUs) you can put a capacity in parallel to the PU to lower resonance frequency. As there is no mod to heigthen resonance frequency, I always prefer buying guitars with high resonance frequency, and than mod, when needed.

I usually sand the finish off of most of my Maple necks. One time I took a Strat and sanded down the entire back of the guitar, re-shaping it. It feels amazing. I've had people to ask me to do it for them. I used Tung oil while doing it. I've also applied Tung oil to necks I've stripped. I've swapped bridges, too - which makes a real difference sometimes.

There's no need to remove the neck for removing the gloss - just protect the body and the headstock with the masking tape and use some Scotchbrite on the back of the neck. It's completely reversible, too - if you want it glossy again, just polish it up.

If you have a lower end floyd rose swapping the small steel block for a beefier brass helps with the sustain. I also changed out trees and saddles on my old squier for the tusk ones from graph tech. They even threw in some free tusq picks. I would like to take the gloss off my kramers neck but it is painted mahogany and set so if i mess up i'd be upset.

Great stuff. My daily player is a Squire 60s Vibe Strat in Lake Placid Blue. My wife bought it for me for Fathers Day 2021. I loved it immediately, but over the next few months, decided to do some upgrades: - Gotoh Vintage Locking Tuners - Modern string tree - Highwood vintage Strat saddles with recessed height adjust screws - Big solid brass trem block - Fender Tex-Mex prewired pickguard and pups - Heavy duty input jack - Shorter trem arm with Fender trem spring And throughout these steps I continued to improve all the setup items, I mentioned above. Totaled up, I likely spent about $330 on the upgraded parts, but man was it worth it. My Squire Strat now plays, feels and sounds as great as a $1200 American Fender. It always stays in tune, too. Great stuff.

I have that same Classic Vibe. The only thing left stock is the neck and body. I did new Gotoh tuners, Brandonwound HSS pickups, Mojotone HSS wiring harness, sanded the back of the neck, and added a solid brass block for the trem. I also had the body painted the same color of a 70 Cuda my cousin owns. It's an awesome guitar.

The original strat plus series (1988-2004 ish?) came with roller nut, locking tuners, lace sensors ( which people either love or hate) tbx tone control for more sounds, and was made to Fenders highest standards ( company was in some financial trouble). Strat plus series mostly made by employees who went on to be Master builders with Fender. Just my opinion, strat plus series best strats you can buy

On the strap buttons, I always go with strap locks. I put them on all my guitars

Great video! Something I've started changing is string type, brand, etc. This can make a big difference in playability I think.

For a Squier Stratocaster Classic Vibe 60s I replaced the tremolo for an ABM 5050-M vintage tremolo which fits perfectly and add some nice weight and sustain to the guitar, increases resonance and looks very good. Kluson MLV6LN machine heads which fit almost perfectly but make a great difference compared to those not reliable tuners. I had some DiMarzio Area’s waiting for a place in this world and they found it on this guitar. Wow, what a great guitar. I really love the sweet sound it produces right now and it is my main guitar nowadays. I would definitely get another second hand Classic Vibe and pimp her because it is fun!

Mask off the back of the neck at the headstock and the heel before sanding down the gloss finish. Makes for a neat transition. The back of the headstock is still glossy, and a nice clean line where the new slick sanded finish starts. Looks cool.

Like always Darrell, you never disappoint! Thank you for a great presentation!

Great video Darrell. Thanks so much.

Excellent video! I have been watching for a while and you usually have some good stuff to say. Thank you!

Nice video Darrell! These are all solid mods. 👍

One of the best mods I did to my tele Cv was a tonerider hot classic pup + obsidian four selector switch. Oh Grover tuners. Compensated saddles. It sounds kick ass.

First things I replace on new guitars, from most important to least: - Strings - Graphtech nut - Locking Tuners - Schaller strap locks I replaced the trem system for my American Performer Strat with a Floyd Rose rail tail, per Darrell's suggestion & I'm really happy I did. I installed a "Les Trem II" to my ES-339 without modding the guitar at all, and it was cheaper than a Bigsby. I'd recommend trying that before trying a Bigsby solution on a guitar you care about resale on. Nothing, on either Fender or Gibson style guitars, has improved my tuning stability more than Graphtech nuts. When replacing the nut, use a tiny bit of carpenter's wood glue only - not Gorilla Glue. I got improvement on my tune stability for my Gibson by adding a "String Butler". It's kind of a gimmick, but it does straighten the attack angle of the strings as they descend toward the top of the nut from the tuners. I don't know if improving the string trees will improve things, but I'm trying it anyway. I have some on order, it's $10, what can you lose?

Great video. I would add a disclaimer that performing this such as filing nut-slots can damage the setup if done incorrectly. Replacing saddles is easy enough but requires setting up the intonation after. Things that the budget guitar owner may not be aware of or have the tools to correctly do.

Great video Darrell, this video is a must see especially for tuning stability I usually put locking tuners on all my electric guitars and change out the cheap stamped saddles on a strat or tele I love the Highwood saddles for a strat and graphtec for a tele or Les Paul.

changing the sustain block. can make a bid difference in tone. you should do a comparison of the difference between all the block materials. steel, tungsten, titanium, brass, stone. etc

Playing with the tone capacitor values to roll off the treble starting at different frequencies. I currently have .36 rather than .47 in my tele and it sounds much less mushy as there are a few more high mids left in the signal as you roll back. Most capacitors have a +\- 10% accuracy so two pots of the same value can be noticeably different. I took this to an extreme when I added a 12way switch into the tone circuit of a prototype bass guitar with 12 dfferent values soldered to it. While some are no use to me the variety makes it possible to get a bass tone that cuts through the mix without ripping your ears off. Cheers Darrell.

I still absolutely LOVE the purple ish burst kit build you did! Looks amazing, not a high gloss finish fan and prefer black ish hardware . it sounded great , and LOOKED great!

“000” steel wool is perfect for getting rid of the gloss on your neck. Even a painted neck. I’ve done it to every guitar I have that had a gloss neck. Only one I haven’t is my Michael Kelly 12 string acoustic. Just not as big of a deal on that guitar for me. I’ve done everything in this video except the pick guard change. Some got one or two things. Some got all of them lol. Just depends on what I’m starting with.

Cheaper solution I did on my saddles is put petroleum jelly as lubricant. Used to experience string breakages at the saddles, but after putting in the jelly, problem was eliminated. Also felt more vibration of the instrument after putting it. Actually any grease will work, but preferred that since its safe on the skin.

Excellent stuff for playability! The only one that truly changes the tone of your guitar is pickup replacement. You also can knock the gloss off of the neck w/steel wool(or equivalent). I've done this for tons of people since the 70's.

I’ve been subbed for years and just noticed soli Deo Gloria. Love it!!

There are so many things you can do to bring your guitar to a good or better level. First of all, adjustments. A lot of problems are coming from bad adjustments of the height of the pickups or the pole screws, the neck position and the height of the strings, the saddle, the springs with the spring claw and all the ajustable pieces like a two point tremolo system. Also a good cleaning and maintenance of your guitar is important. And how old are the strings on this guitar? Try out some other strings and different types of strings, this also has a massive impact on the tone and playability. If this is all perfect for you, than you have a good starting point to make the next steps. I often see problems also on new guitars or on guitars that don't get the attention they need. Some guitar players don't see the details, they are just "users". I also started this way, but after some time it is necessary to know and to understand what is going on a guitar and where the tones are coming from and what's involved in creating a great sounding instrument. The next point is, is this guitar the right one for you and your style of playing guitar. There are some allrounders on the market, but is this really something you want? There is a reason why so many different types of guitars exist. If you are feeling that your guitar is the right one, what are you missing? If I know what I want, if it is clear, I can change parts that bring me better results. A bigger tremolo block, other electronic parts... this could be an endless journey.

Nearly 40 years ago, I screwed in the spring claw (after a light bulb moment) at the wound string side a little more, so it became angled. That adjustment meant that there was a more even balance at the trem from high E to low E. The result was "no more tuning drift" when string bending. The advent of Graphtech was also great insurance. The problem is recognising all the points of friction, and "equal bridge plate balance" is crucial as the wound strings have more pull. They now make angled spring claws, , ,it was only a matter of time. I also lessen the angle of the string from nut to string tree, by putting an extra spacer under the tree. More height (even with Graphtech) means less friction because the string angle is much gentler. Oh ! and only 2 of my Strats have locking tuners, the rest are standard, and every one of them are rock solid because the set ups are spot on. Knowing the quirks and weaknesses of the Strat helps a whole lot, and when that is understood, you'll have a great instrument in your hands. My string guage is 11 / 52. If you have 6 bridge plate screws, how far do you screw them down ? If you're interested, let me know, because that is also crucial.

I just recently did a Graph Tech nut and string trees and Hipshot locking tuners, made a world of difference!

Just what I needed. I have a G&L tribute that could use some upgrades. I know you did a G&L tribute compare video, but I would love to see a tear down ☺️

you r sooo right ..I did a mod on my Squier Affinity w/ almost all of the changes you spoke of and wow what a difference it made..The Affinity is a gr8 guitar out of the box but now its on a higher level.........

Another great video Darrell

Very helpful video. I'm in search for a Squier CV Strat as a project guitar. I will do all the headstock mods you suggested as well as a pickguard with an Obsidian wiring board. Pickups will be TexMex in middle and bridge and Shawbucker 1 at the bridge. And of course, straplocks.....🎸

My first mod was switching out the humbuckers from a cheap squier telecaster and putting in humbucker-sized p90’s on it. Absolutely changed the sound

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing. It might be worth stating if you're going to sand the neck, which I've done on two guitars, to use very fine sand paper, like 1000 grit or steel wool. You're just trying to dull the the finish, not remove it from the neck.

Some good points in this video. I have an identical CV 50s Strat. The tuners are perfectly fine, no need to change them. Surprisingly, on my guitar the nut is cut well enough that a second string tree isn't necessary, but I have added them to other guitars. I swapped the pickguard for a pearloid one, kept the perfectly good AlNiCo pickups, upgraded the pots and switch, and most importantly, shielded the cavities with aluminium foil. The tremolo's a bit cheap and would benefit from an upgrade. I agree with ditching ceramic pickups. Another excellent mod for Fender-style guitars is to fit inserts in the neck, so instead of woodscrews, the neck's held on with machine screws.

My favorite mods are treble bleed, (must have on every guitar), on my single coils I like to have a series/parallel switch, and I also very much like using a push-pull with different sets of tone capacitors

Four-ought steel wool works well for knocking excess gloss off the neck, while still providing for easy hand movement. Don't actually need to take the neck off to do it, with a bit of care. Great vid, Darrell!

One of my upgrade favorites is changing pickups and p/u config. so i have 2 ,3 even 4 loaded pick guards , i can switch out a pickguard in 10 mins or less and total tone change in your guitar and back at any time.

My first go-to upgrade on cheap guitars Is taking the strings off, work on the fretboard and frets to make them smooth and polished and then think about switching out hardware. Even without professional hardware a professional setup from a Guitar Tech has transformed some Squires and Epiphone into something a lot more high-end to play on.

A little thing to take into account when looking for staggered locking tuners: There are brands that make them with 3 staggered heights (like Sperzel and Hipshot), but some other brands do them with only 2 different heights, and for those you still need a string tree because it doesn't put enough pressure on the nut slot.

Great stuff, thanks so much!

aliexpress makes fenders better than fender.

locking tuners, pickup swaps if needed, saddles, nut if needed. Tone Ninja, Hipshot and Graphtech are the main go tos. Pickups vary between EMG, Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan

Thanks Darrell for your videos

this is really very good and interesting, there are so many choices of stuff on the market these days, the discussion could go on forever, nearly,, well done with this one ,,, really well done ... I love doing this stuff, I just can't help taking things to bits and redesigning it to be better. I recommend trying it with a few cheapy s/h guitars , if you make a mistake ... no biggy

All great ideas. I can personally vouch for bigger strap buttons.

in the netherlands we have a little hack for the strap buttons we have these "Grolsch" brand swing top beer bottles, there's a rubber ring in between the top and the rest of the bottle to keep the seal while it's still closed, the ring is heavily biased one way (wrapped around the top) those rings will fit around your strap buttons on your guitar, and they will help keep your strap on a lot tighter, the bias to 1 side can be used to help push the strap back in a bit. it's not perfect, they will wear out as they dry up after a while, at which point the ring will come popping off, but it's better than the buttons by themselves. ofcourse your milage varies on how big the strap buttons are to begin with, if they're a bit chunkier, chances are they won't pop back out that quickly (at some point the holes in the leather straps will wear down too and they become the culprit) but if you need to replace one, just pop open another beer :D

Found an old PRS SE Singlecut on Reverb for cheap a few years ago. Put a Graphtech nut in it and swapped the stock pickups for DiMarzio PAF Masters. A previous owner had installed a kill switch. I don't play metal, so I repurposed the switch as a coil split on both pickups. Only other thing I really want to do is sand the gloss off the back of the neck, just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

I like Graph Tech Ratios tuners. I just purchased a Player series Strat. It has the satin neck already so no speed neck treatment required but I do it on my other guitars. This Strat will get the full meal deal as far as mods go except the pickups for now. I may go with an EMG Crossroads set if I change them out. I ordered a Graph Tech super Charger kit that contains black saddles, string trees and 2 nuts, 1 slotted and 1 nut blank in Tusq XL material with Teflon. The tuners are Graph Tech contemporary locking tuners and for this mod you NEED the Invisiomatch adaptor plates for Fender 2 pin to make it work. This setup will give you perfect tuning stability. Zero Glide nuts can also work but when installing a nut on a guitar with a tremolo system I prefer Graphtech XL for the self lubricating feature. Graph Tech, tusq XL is many times better than bone. Once you use Graph Tech you aint going back. Also try their Tusq picks in the sample pack. I am a believer after trying these picks and YES, those picks do change tone, no joke. I also purchased a Musiclily brass trem block and an AxLabs Tone Claw locking spring claw. I am not using coated trem springs for this reason. Ground problem. The coating will not provide a good ground unless you remove some of the coating. you can insert foam in the same amount of time in standard springs. I will use the Philip McKnight tech tip of inserting foam inside the trem springs to end spring noise issues. You need to hand cut and fit the foam but it does work for the intended purpose. The next thing I did was ordered some Fender tremolo arm springs that go in the place where the trem arm goes to help with the trem arm tension. Make sure to take out the spring and stow it after the gig when you take off the trem arm, very easy to lose the spring so keep a baggie for those springs. Fender sells them in a package so you will have backups if you happen to lose 1. Another mod this guitar will get is a Stainless Steel Neck plate that is much thicker than the stock Fender plate. It is made by Van Dyke-Harms from Reverb and it works quite well for added sustain. Another neck plate I like is made by Greer Amps and it is made of cold rolled steel 1/8 inch thick. It is available in their merch section and I use this on 2 guitars. Great sustain additive. I have seen brass neck plates of the same thickness. The idea is to get more resonance and this will enhance tone and sustain. Another mod that most do not think of but should be doing. Stainless steel frets. If you can afford them, get them. Once you try them you may become addicted to the way they work on your guitar. All these tech tricks are going to require a little time on the bench. Make sure you take you time and do a proper set up after all the installations. If you do all of these things, you may really enjoy the results. Just give your guitar lots of love on the bench and it is going to be a workhorse for you.

Dear Darrell, thank you very much to share your expertise with us. It is realy amazing, what possibilities there are to improve a guitar with low Investment and a little work. The only thing that I missed was some remarks on polishing frets and the fret ends. This missing should not be too complicated or time consuming, therefore it would perfectly fit into your „mod collection“. Again thank you very much for your effort, I‘m looking foreward for your next video! With best regards from Germany! Robert 😉😎👍

Thank you so much for this just wish I had similar guitar to reference ^_^

My go to mods for most modern wired guitars is either 50's wiring or a treble bleed curcuit with an orange drop or paper 'n oil tone capacitor. Good pots and switches are a must.

I instantly change to good quality strings, Tusk or bone nut , and polish the frets , lube the nut & saddles, and sand the back of the neck to a satin finish if needed. Hi-Ratio tuners like 18~1 or 20~1 makes tuning more accurate also, and a good set-up to start. For saddles I prefer titanium compensated for a T-style, graphtech or rollers for other style guitars. Then I will play it for a while to decide on pickups and electronics.

For S style the PTB system (a la G&L) opens tones up hugely.

nice man!!!! thank you for sharing.

About bridge improvement I would underline the tremblock, to a stainless steel full size. This is both for thin Squier and for zinc full size pertaining to MiM.

More of an advanced mod if you don’t have soldering skills, adding in a push-pull or push-push pot to an S-type to give a neck-on switch. Unlocks neck-bridge, and all three tones. Similarly, putting a 4-way switch in a T-type for neck-bridge in series or in parallel. If you can find it, they also make string trees that are just a bar, so there’s no edge (Reverend uses types of these that also extend to the 3rd string.) Best guitar maintenance investment is either Guitar Grease applied with a plastic toothpick (wood might lose a sliver that’s now stuck in your nut), or Big Bends Nut Lube. Big Bends is great because it’s in a syringe with a long bent tip to get into small spaces. I use it at the nut, under string trees and on bridge saddles. Stops any pinging and really helps with tuning stability.

Is it weird that I play the drums but this is my favorite KZfaq channel? This dude has made me so interested in the guitar. I might even buy one some day😂.

Important if using nut files: file at the same angle as the string from the nut to the tuners

Fret leveling job number one, then pickups, then tuners, nut, bridge, and finally pots, switches and jack.

So the one thing I have to add to this is the graphite thing. It’s a great tip depending on your climate, if you live in a place that can get humid then don’t do it because the graphite is likely to clump up in the slot and cause the same problem as before. The solution to that is nut lube (yes I know). That stuff works the best all around. But as always a great video!

Rotary switch or a five position blade switch for adding 5 capacitor choices, and a mini toggle switch DPDT or push/pull pots to select which pickup to phase shift, and for choice of series or parallal. A no load tone blend pot mod like Jay Leonard J channel video, or Six Strings Supplies channel video. Use only 500k pots with .022 capacitors for more range, as seen in video of Dylan Talks Tone channel. Floyd rose tremolo. Enlarge the body cavity for more space for components and wiring, then purchase sheet of pickguard material to make your own pickguard.

Hi from France and bravo for your vids. I want to talk about the trems. I bought a G&L in the early 90"s. (the day I heard about the death of Leo the great, I wanted to have one of the last guitars made under his supervision) I had, I mean I HAD to change the string tree, because everytime i bent a note, the tree would not allow the string to go back in place, and I had to push the string above the tree to come back to normal. Imagine that during a solo... So I replaced the tree for a roller one. Good. But then I realise it was not enough, and I looked at the trem. Nothing wrong to say about it, good and strong and heavy, but it was set to sit on the table when not used. That is how they are all set in the factory. Nobody seems to remember that those trem-systems were invented to be kinda floating. So I released the screws in the back to get it kinda floating again like it should, of course I also had to adjust the saddles to their right intonation point, but finally, all my bending problems were gone, and I gain a lot of playing comfort, a warmer sound, and an ability to vibrate my notes with the palm of my right hand without using the trem bar. Since then, I did it to all my strat-like guitars with great satisfaction. Morality : use the tools within their initial purpose is not always the worst idea. (Pardon me if my english is not so f...ing good, but i'm sure you will excuse my french...)

I'm wondering what strap buttons you suggest? Also, great video, I'm looking forward to souping up my Squire Tele!

If you have a cheap Strat, can also change the Tremolo Block for a brass one. That's easy to do.

Thanks again, Darrell. Where do the Riot tuners fit into you tuner upgrade considerations? I’m thinking about them for a project guitar.

Sometimes you don't need to add better saddles, you just need to raise the tailpiece a tiny bit to eliminate friction over the "tuna matic".

For budget guitars, I highly recommend swapping tuners for something with a higher ratio. My daily guitars all have 18:1, whereas most of my cheaper guitars came with 15:1 or even 12:1! The 18:1 allows for finer tuning and a stronger hold. If you’re breaking strings near the tuners, check for burrs. If you’re breaking them near the nut, check for burrs or replace. If you’re breaking strings near the bridge, check the saddles. Roller saddles are a great mod.

...These are great tips! I play high end Epiphones because they are so affordable, & they are GREAT FOR WHAT THEY ARE. However their hardware tends to be total junk in my experience. I'm looking now to change out ALL my electronics, & hardware because it's now after a couple years starting to Crack, crackle, or fail. So this gave me some great places to start with overhauling my guitars.

12:24 Personaly ive never had an issue with straplocks. i have a set on my Epiphone Thrunderbird Bass, and i planning to put them on my newly aquired Ibanes GRX 40.

Great video 👍😊. Can you show how to polish swivels scratches on the body 😃.

Every time i watch Darrell. I want to go pick up my guitar and play.. you came a long way,, i am happy for you....🎸🎸

I hate locking tuners, but love vintage Fender/Kluson style ;)

I bought a cheap knock-around guitar off Craigslist last week. Added chonky strings and intonated it at D Standard. Just put a Graph Tech nut on it a few hours ago and it might get a Killswitch this weekend.

Thx Darrell

Shielding pickup cavities with foil tape is a good mod as well.

The tuners upgrade is a MUST, specially in Squiers (my experience)

Great video.

Thank you Darrell for this video.... I have an old 2008 Affinity Strat with scratchy pots, crappy tuners and I will assume based on the year it has a plastic nut AND the previous owner snapped off the tremolo arm to where I cannot remove the piece to get it out to replace it so since I'm not so interested in replacing a trem system I would do better with just a better hardtail bridge altogether. Thing is I really like the neck and they don't offer the cobalt blue color anymore so I want to keep the guitar but it never stays in tune. After watching this video I will look for some locking tuners, a bone nut and a new bridge. Really like the idea of that Obsidian drop in "no solder" pot piece too.... Also considering one of those pick guards that already has new pickups and pots/switches pre-wired... Your thoughts about those ? Anyway, I so appreciate this video as it took some of the sting out of modding a very inexpensive old Affinity. I only paid $100 for it so spending another $200 or so would still be keeping things affordable for this retiree ! Thanks again ! 👍

I have staggered locking tuners on my strat but I put on 2 roller string trees because I think they look cool 😂

4/0 steel wool works great to tame that sticky neck and you don't have to worry about sanding through your paint. I even done an entire black sg that was beat up a bit and I wish I could post a pic here to show how well 4/0 steel wool works. Just don't use any courser wool than 4/0, you will have scratches.

As I have somewhere mentioned, there may be difficulties in replacing the switch on Squiers Bullet models, for example. There is no space for a classic Fender switch in a thinned Bullet body. I discovered this inconvenience 15 years ago with my first Harley Benton - they are the same thickness with the Bullet ...

Great video Darrell!! (as always...) One of the first things I address is the "cheese grater" fret ends! notorious in the budget low end models I can afford. I just got an Ibanez soprano guitar frets were horrible!! they are schWEEet now. Have you checked out the IYV guitar line from Vietnam...?? cnc made, super cheap, had to buy one! $175. for a PRS wantabe. Cheers!!

New sub! Liked 😮✌️

Love that mods

You can get roller bridges for Gibson-style bridges in general, not just for the Bigsby trems. As for strap locks, I prefer those rubber Fender washer blocks. Any shop which sells Fender/Squier has packs of two pairs for $5, and you can get them in black, red, or sea foam green, so you can match them to your strap. My personal favourite is sea foam green because I use the Fender "Ugly Christmas Sweater" strap. Anyway, they do everything I need them to do. I don't do those metal-style throwing the guitar around my body (such as the Kutless video, "Your Touch"), so I don't need the full-on mechanical Schaller locks. Rubber washer blocks are good enough for me.

Love the channel! For the solderless kits - which would you recommend for an Epiphone es-333? I checked the Obsidian link but wasn't sure which one would be best for my guitar.