Written By: Jac Harrison
Guitarist... we are a strange bunch. We search high and low to find a guitar that we fall-in-love with, and then after a few weeks we decide that the guitar that we couldn't live without a few weeks back, is not the best. Kinda sounds like every relationship I have ever been in, but unlike a woman you can modify the guitar to your liking legally. Now there are many ways to "hot rod" your guitar, from pickups and electronics to hardware and accessories -- but when "hot rodding" a vintage guitar there are a few things you want to keep in-mind. To start, I like to stay away from all permanent installation products that modify the original design. If the mod requires a drill, saw or glue just don't do it -- go buy a new guitar.Your vintage guitar is an old lady, so she is suppose to look like and sound like she has some age on her. Some mods are like giving your grandmother a face lift and a boob job -- so ask yourself, who wants a hot grandmother? I don't, my grandmother looks and sounds like a grandmother, like she is supposed to. Now with that in mind, you also want to make sure that your vintage guitar is in full working order before you start your mods.
When modifying a vintage guitar I like to stick to mods that could have been offered from the factory or parts that can be easily removed so the stock parks can be re-installed. For example; when re-potting you should use the same pot(s) that were offered from the factory at the time the guitar was originally made or a reproduction of that particular part -- even if it is not your first choice. This will insure that the guitar will maintain her original characteristics and vintage tone that you originally fell in love with, and insure her resale value. So if you are looking to get a completely different tone out of your vintage guitar, just sell her and buy a new guitar -- but if you are looking to give her new life and increase her tone and sustain the following is how I would go about it.
The guitar used in this rebuild is a 1983 Fender American Stratocaster 1962 reissue. The first thing I wanted to do is make sure that everything
was in 100% working order before I started breaking her down for a good
scrubbing. The only problem I found was that the input jack was cutting in-and-out, so that was the first thing I addressed. It turned out that it was just a
loose ground wire and was an easy FREE fix. So now that she was working I
completely dissembled her, gave her a good scrubbing and soaked her dance floor
with lemon oil. While her neck was soaking I started with my first mod-- a
treble bleed circuit on the volume pot.
A treble bleed circuit (also called treble bypass)
is a mod that I think is a must have on all guitars. This is a fix to the
mud you get as you turn your guitar's volume pot down. With this circuit you
get a smooth clean tone from 10 – 1 with a slight loss of some grit giving the
guitar more dynamics. I use a treble bleed circuit with a parallel
resistor (o.o1 CF cap /100 ohm K resistor).
Treble bleed circuit Install time - 30
minutes/2 beers.
Tools and supplies needed - volt meter, soldering iron,
solder & 2 beers.
Cost - $5 USD + Shipping
Now that I have better control over her voice volume with the treble bleed circuit -- I needed to focus on her depth of tone, clarity of individual notes and sustain. There are two mods that prefer to do to achieve this. The first is a FU-Tone Big Block upgrade. FU-Tone, formerly known as Floyd Upgrades, is the manufacturer of aftermarket high-performance guitar parts designed to optimize a guitar's voice, sustain, playability and tone.
As one of the easiest upgrade for the do-it-yourselfer -- an FU Big Block delivers immediate results that even the untrained ear can hear allowing the player to own a guitar with the character and tonality of the pros. Personally, I believe this is one of the best upgrades you could possibly do to a string through block designed guitar. This product makes such a difference in the guitar's characteristics I encourage anyone I see playing a string through block design guitar such as a Stratocaster to look into getting one.Not only does Adam Reiver (the founder of FU-Tone) produce one of the industry's "must have" products that artists such as Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Phil Collen and many many more use, but he is a down to earth guy. When high-end boutique guitar manufacturers such as C.R. Alsip use FU Big Blocks as part of their stock equipment due to their superior quality over other blocks -- you know this product really delivers.
Read the Local Music Gear review of FU-Tone Big Block -here-
Read more about the FU-Tone products -here-
FU Tone Big Block- 15 minutes/1 beer.
Tools and supplies needed - Small philips head screw driver 1 beer.
Cost - $49.95USD + Shipping
Cost - $49.95USD + Shipping
Even with Graph Tech being one of the largest manufacturers of aftermarket guitar nuts, saddles and accessories -- Joe (my contact at Graph Tech Guitar Labs) was quick to respond to my request and in less than a week I had the saddles for this build.
Read the Local Music Gear review of Tusq -here-
Read more about Tusq at -here-
Saddles install time - 15 minutes/1 beer
Tools and supplies needed - small philips head screw driver & 1 beer.
Cost - $79.95 USD + Shipping
Sound
Cost - $79.95 USD + Shipping
Sound
Amp used:
Bogner Alchemist 2 x 12
Carvin V3M with (2) 1 x 12 extension cabs
Cables used:
Carvin V3M with (2) 1 x 12 extension cabs
Cables used:
Intex
Strings:
Strings:
Dark Horse 10-46
The total was just under $135.00 USD and is well worth the investment for this DIY project. If you do not wish to do the work yourself, you can have a local luthier or tech from your local music store install and setup your guitar. For these three mods with setup and new strings you would be looking at an additional $180- $225 depending on the bench fee.
My advice:
If your old guitar is just collecting dust at the bottom of your closet, or you just picked up a vintage guitar that needs some extra love -- do these mods.
Graph Tech Tusq XL Nut and Saddle Savers in $79.95 USD + Shipping
FU Tone Big Block Upgrade $49.95 USD + Shipping
Total
$134.94
Total with using a luthier $214.94 - $359.94
Total with using a luthier $214.94 - $359.94
Posted 08/2013
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