More myth of truth questions...

[wavey63]

Just got through reading an interesting article about strat mods in the Premier Guitar site. A few state that removing paint from the neck pocket, under the bridge, and from any other part that you can get away with. It seem to me like it makes sense, especially if the finish is thick. Anyone ever perform these "miracles" and if so what up with that? Is it worth it? I am not adverse to making a guitar a bit ugly if it helps tone.

[Eagle1]

It only helps to bring out what is there already ,Most guitars with a thick plastic finish aren't redeemable anyway .It only helps to make a great guitar better.

[wavey63]

So eagle, do you say that it does help? I have a few bodies I love and wouldn't mind trying one or more of these mods out if they do what they say.

[EADGBE]

I'd say there's only a 50/50 chance it would help. If a guitar is sort of muddy sounding a thick finish might actually help a guitar sound better by boosting the trebles. And removing some of the finish may cause no perceivable difference whatsoever.

[Rosewood]

I think you could better spend your time tweaking pickups, volume and tone circuits.

[mike80]

If you think it will make a difference, it probably will to your ears.

Myself, I think any difference it would make would be wasted time compared to mods that are known to work and would most likely yield more preferable results.

[Boris Bubbanov]

Creating a better, sounder connection between the body and neck, so that the two can work better together, is a good thing, and this is what getting the finish level on the bottom of the heel is about. And this is what painstakingly cleaning down to level wood in the neck pocket it is about. The neck and body can make good contact with one another. So the strings, nut and bridge work better, and the pickups can in turn do their job better.

IMO, this is one of the crucial things that separates a good custom guitar from a production line Fender or Squier.

The thickness of the body finish is a different subject altogether, which we need not even get to here, and which I prefer not to discuss here.


Bubbanov

[wavey63]

Thanks guys. I am already happy with my tone but was cusrious to see if I could "squeeze" out a bit more. I am aware, however, that you cannot polish a turd, so to speak!!!;)

[Chiba]

If you ask me... messing with a guitar you already are happy with is a recipe for disaster. Just my 2c though.

--chiba

[Eagle1]

Sometimes a neck and a body don't sonicaly suit each other so making them contact better isn't going to help ,in fact the opposite.

[jazzandmetal?]

If you ask me... messing with a guitar you already are happy with is a recipe for disaster. Just my 2c though.

--chiba

:agree

Then when you try to go back on something like removing finish, it won't ever be the same.

[Dana Olsen]

I scraped the finish off the neck pocket of a marginal sounding Strat, and off the bottom of the neck to - no appreciable change, still sounded the same.

It had a thick poly finish, which is probably the main reason it never sounded good in the first place.

My CS Strat has no finish in the neck pocket - I don't remember whether it does or not in the bottom of the neck heel, but it's a nitro finish and sounds much better acoustically then the other one did.

In my admittedly small experience, from a cork-sniffy gear queer like myself, you might note a tiny difference after scraping, very tiny - not near as much difference as say, new strings, or changing to a different brand of strings. Very incremental mod, IMHO.

BTW, if you're gonna try it, MAKE SURE you score the edge of the finish around the neck pocket before scraping - this will keep the finish from chipping on the edge of the neck pocket. I say 'score', but I mean cut through the finish with an exacto knife before you scrape it.

Hope this helps, Dana O.

[Swede]

I have removed the paint that is between the steelblock and the bridgeplate on my Relic Strats.
It's a simple mod that has made them slightly more resonant.
And I always use five springs,I think that it's for the better ;)

[Bob V]

If you ask me... messing with a guitar you already are happy with is a recipe for disaster. Just my 2c though.

--chiba

Yeah, but I can't help it. It's not GAS as much as GMS.

[Boris Bubbanov]

Yeah, but I can't help it. It's not GAS as much as GMS.


+1.

Nothing like figuring out what works for you and what does not; makes the process of finishing, assembling and setting up a partscaster a fantastic and rewarding experience, and it all starts with "honing" and tweaking.

[Bob V]

I'm the first one to admit that I can't play em anywhere near as well as I can fix em up.

[wavey63]

UPDATE:

For any of you who may be interested, I tried the technique on an old Squire body that always did sound good but has been pretty well used(read beat up). I removed most of the paint on the body down to about the primer layer and also all of the paint from the PU cavity and trem cavity. Now, once again, the body always did have a nice airy tone but now the thing sounds almost acoustic/semi hollow. Has a beautiful ring to it and sustains forever. I have had this guitar for more than 20 years so I know what it sounds like and it did improve. I certainly would not recommend it on a vintage or anything you may want to keep pretty but I would say that all in all it was worth it. I also have my theories as to why it works, especially on a strat style body but will save that for another post!!!;)

[wavey63]

Just started doing the same thing to an ALLparts body and am amazed by how thick the finish is.It must be about 1/16 to 1/32 thick to the wood. The burst itself is about as thick as a normal finish should be then there is another layer just as thick of clear amber beneath that. Should that be that thick? Would that effect the tone being like that?

[Bob V]

Please let's not start that again. Guitars don't breathe. Don't worry about it.

[jads57]

I find that if I work on my playing it helps the guitar sound better. This is comming from a certified GAS gearpage member. Disclaimer: If I havent owned I`ve tried it over the last 35years!

[DownByLaw]

IMHO, yes removing excess finish from the pocket, and, in the case of a few of my guitars, paint from where the trem block contacts the trem, yields audibly perceptible results. Won't necessarily change a dog into a dream, but certainly optimizes an already decent guitar.

Patrick

[wavey63]

I agree with downbylaw, sorry if others do not agree. I was just wondering if it is NORMAL to have a thick finish like that. And please do not try to tell me that it does not matter if the finish is too thick, I think that is in finish101. BTW, my guitar did do an audible sigh when I removed that finish so....:Devil:Spank:FM