Whats mods should I do?

[imtheking]

CHances are 7/10 that I'm getting a strat for CHristmas. I am so excited because strats are my favorite guitars in the world. It is a sunburst rosewood fretboard standard. But the main reason I love them so much is because you can really personalize them to make them yours, and I want to do a **** load of mods. But I just can't decide what. What did/would you guys do to mod your strat? PIcs?

 

[jazzandmetal?]

First thing I would do is yank the bridge pup and put in a SC size HB. Then I would remove the top tone knob and put the volume knob in its place and rewire it.

 

[K-Line]

Strip it and repaint it, put in new frets, re radius the board, yank out all the electronics. Trust me you will not be sorry. Get only titanium parts with an onboard tuning system. Drill a big hole in the back and install a mini-amp system and video camera. Just kidding......I would get it and play the hell out of it. It will tell you what it needs if anything!

 

[marsos52]

i agree with mr k-line, first set her up and play her for a long time. then you can tell what you like and dont.

i strongly suggest raw vintage trem springs, 20 dollars and worth much more, because they really improve your guitar in every way

 

[rooster]

Just play it. If you haven't played for too many years (I'm taking a guess), and if you end up with a nice guitar for christmas, just play and practice. I grew up in the 80s, and I won't go into the details of some of the mods that I and others did. Suffice it to say that what seems like a good idea may eventually lead to a "whatindahell was I thinking?" moment down the line when you wish you had that guitar your parents (or whoever) bought you because they loved you so much, but you ended up modding/tinkering/destroying it.

Just get a nice setup from a good tech, a good amp, and play the crap out of it. 20 years from now you can tell your kids how much someone cared about you that they bought you a nice instrument.

rooster.

 

[Gtowngearhead]

Maybe look into shielding the cavities and pickguard when you get it to reduce noise... possibly buy a baseplate or a blender pot or mess with the wiring if you have an electrical/soldering skills.

 

[epluribus]

I'm with the play-it-for-a-while crowd. I have an Am Std that's still bone stock. My personal favorite mod for any three-holer is a bridge-on switch though, with a series-parallel switch a close second.

Shielding...I wouldn't, personally. Too many capacitance issues that you can hear and that can take some of the Strat-iness out. (Ditto slugs under the magnets for hotter signal.) If noise is a major issue, a Suhr BPSSC is a wonderful device that doesn't require permanent changes, and it doesn't cost you tone...but it's kinda pricey.

One mo' thang...I would recommend checking to see what the trem block is made of. I'm a staunch covert to getting the zinc ones out and replacing them with steel.

--Ray

 

[imtheking]

Just play it. If you haven't played for too many years (I'm taking a guess), and if you end up with a nice guitar for christmas, just play and practice. I grew up in the 80s, and I won't go into the details of some of the mods that I and others did. Suffice it to say that what seems like a good idea may eventually lead to a "whatindahell was I thinking?" moment down the line when you wish you had that guitar your parents (or whoever) bought you because they loved you so much, but you ended up modding/tinkering/destroying it.

Just get a nice setup from a good tech, a good amp, and play the crap out of it. 20 years from now you can tell your kids how much someone cared about you that they bought you a nice instrument.

rooster.

Haha thanks. Will do. PS I have been playing for 8 years (im 15)

And really the only mods I was going to do at first was get Texas Specials, and aged plastic parts.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend....m-Shop-Texas-Special-Strat-Pickups?sku=301616

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Stratocaster-Accessory-Kit?sku=420543

But if you guys say just play, then I guess that's what I should do

 

[epluribus]

...PS I have been playing for 8 years (im 15)...

Wow, that 's as cool as it gets. I actually let my folks discourage me till I was about seventeen.

OT, but a good place to ask the question...How did you start? What sort of guitar and what kinds of things did they teach you to do? So tough to start kids out on guitar because their hands aren't real strong yet. Some teachers even say that eight is too young--I find that notion puzzling.

--Ray

 

[imtheking]

Haha. Well, actually, the person that got me into guitar was actually Keith Urban. I know, I know. But about 2 years later I started listening to Bon JOvi, and Richie Sambora impacted my life in such a way that it inspired me more to play. And that led me into BB King, Hendrix, Winter, etc. But another thing is, I never a day of lessons. I kind of really just learned through trial and error. Haha

 

[epluribus]

Nothin' quite like a burnin' itch to do something...

 

[Gtowngearhead]

You could also get a Callahm aluminum pickguard shield to take out a lot of the noise. The Suhr system sounds nice in theory, but $300 for noiseless SCs? That's as much as a set of Kinmans. Then you have to pay for good pups on top of that, cuz who want's to use a $300 toy with MIM strat pups?

 

[jmiller475]

I agree with everyone else about just play it first and then figure out what you want to change. For me I've always changed the pickups. In my opinion I'd get something other than Texas Specials there's better pickups that do the same thing as Texas Specials but better. I would check into Van Zandt pickups. KBR on here sales them at a reasonable price.

 

[BPSUL]

Cool thread - good luck bud.

 

[Oso]

Aluminum backplates on pickguards do remove some high end as well.

 

[Gtowngearhead]

So would an aluminum shield and a baseplate just kill the bridge pup?

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

Enjoy your Strat.

Try a couple different types of amplifiers. A whole lot of seat-time with your Strat, using what you find stock on the guitar as a baseline, will get you familiar with the design much faster than if you change the pickups and get all wrapped up in the nuances of that BEFORE you are fluent with the guitar design - and its strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Oso]

So would an aluminum shield and a baseplate just kill the bridge pup?

The Aluminum knocks off some highs in addition to shielding whihc can leave you with the impression it is doing a superior shielding job, copper does not have this effect.
A Baseplate adds inductance and some bass but it really works best when coupled to a tele Steel bridge plate. I have never been a fan of what the baseplates do to a strat pickup, kind of chokes the response to my ears

 

[dspellman]

OT, but a good place to ask the question...How did you start? What sort of guitar and what kinds of things did they teach you to do? So tough to start kids out on guitar because their hands aren't real strong yet. Some teachers even say that eight is too young--I find that notion puzzling.

It's silly. I was playing professionally (piano and Hammond) at 11 years old Wedding receptions -- 3-4 hours. I'd been playing since I was six. Piano requires a lot more finger strength than guitar.

If you're going to start a kid out on guitar and you've got questions about his hand strength, start him out on a 3/4 size electric with a good setup, skinny strings and low action. Don't start him out on one of those pasteboard Cheapass(TM) acoustics with the action a half-inch off the frets.

 

[dspellman]

Aluminum backplates on pickguards do remove some high end as well.

Really? I've done copper tape shielding all over the back of pickguards and throughout the rout areas and there's been no loss of sound at all, other than that from RF interference. Why would aluminum be a problem?