Best Guitar Mods?
- CHEEZOR
- Diode Debunker
I was just wondering what has been the best/most useful guitar mods they have ever done. This is all totally subjective, of course.
I'll start it off:
Best mod I have ever done was lower the tone cap to a more usable value. Something like 0.0022uF or 0.0068uF. I use cheap ceramics. With the 0.0068uF you get a hint of cocked wah sound when you turn it down all the way. Cool sound.
I've tried:
Coil tapping: As soon as I engage I wonder where all my tone went. I have never liked this mod on any guitar ever.
Out of Phase: Same as above.
Passive distortion using diode pair instead of the tone cap: Too much volume and treble loss to be useful.
Treble bleed cap on Vol: Interesting. I'll have to do more experimentation, but Im not sure I totally like it.
500k Pots with Active EMGs: Volume boost. Will never go back to 25k's.
Parallel vs Series wiring: Never tried. On the list of things I should try someday.
Note: Sorry if you happen to like one of the mods that I don't, but everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is just mine.
I think its interesting that I like one of the cheapest/simplest mods the most. Any thoughts? What do you like/dislike?
Oh! And Im also a huge fan of putting beefy stereo jacks in guitars and wiring them up for mono. You get a nice solid connection for pretty cheap.
I'll start it off:
Best mod I have ever done was lower the tone cap to a more usable value. Something like 0.0022uF or 0.0068uF. I use cheap ceramics. With the 0.0068uF you get a hint of cocked wah sound when you turn it down all the way. Cool sound.
I've tried:
Coil tapping: As soon as I engage I wonder where all my tone went. I have never liked this mod on any guitar ever.
Out of Phase: Same as above.
Passive distortion using diode pair instead of the tone cap: Too much volume and treble loss to be useful.
Treble bleed cap on Vol: Interesting. I'll have to do more experimentation, but Im not sure I totally like it.
500k Pots with Active EMGs: Volume boost. Will never go back to 25k's.
Parallel vs Series wiring: Never tried. On the list of things I should try someday.
Note: Sorry if you happen to like one of the mods that I don't, but everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is just mine.
I think its interesting that I like one of the cheapest/simplest mods the most. Any thoughts? What do you like/dislike?
Oh! And Im also a huge fan of putting beefy stereo jacks in guitars and wiring them up for mono. You get a nice solid connection for pretty cheap.
- MarcoMike
- Breadboard Brother
the best mod I've ever done to a guitar is changing the standard jazzmaster bridge pickup to a SD phatcat (p90 style)... not a real mod but I will never go back to the standard setup!
regarding coil tapping and out of phase: my other guitar has coil tapping, but also have a boost switch which gives some 3dB... I love the sound of it, but without any boost, it's not gonna work.
regarding coil tapping and out of phase: my other guitar has coil tapping, but also have a boost switch which gives some 3dB... I love the sound of it, but without any boost, it's not gonna work.
- Seiche
- Old Solderhand
not sure i get what that means.CHEEZOR wrote:Oh! And Im also a huge fan of putting beefy stereo jacks in guitars and wiring them up for mono. You get a nice solid connection for pretty cheap.
- sinner
- Old Solderhand
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There is just one mod I'm using with all my guitars since I was shocked
http://singlecoil.com/docs/shock.pdf
I'm using plastic knobs, or at least pots with plastic shafts for the very the same reason
http://singlecoil.com/docs/shock.pdf
I'm using plastic knobs, or at least pots with plastic shafts for the very the same reason
- allesz
- Cap Cooler
[quote="Seiche"]CHEEZOR wrote:
Oh! And Im also a huge fan of putting beefy stereo jacks in guitars and wiring them up for mono. You get a nice solid connection for pretty cheap.
not sure i get what that means.
[quote="CHEEZOR"]
He speaks of a stereo female output jack on the guitar; this way the guitar cord stays firmly plugged in, even if you are a pretty wild guitarist and, sometimes, step on the cables.
the best mod for me is a four way switch on my telecaster, I like the added humbuking option.
Oh! And Im also a huge fan of putting beefy stereo jacks in guitars and wiring them up for mono. You get a nice solid connection for pretty cheap.
not sure i get what that means.
[quote="CHEEZOR"]
He speaks of a stereo female output jack on the guitar; this way the guitar cord stays firmly plugged in, even if you are a pretty wild guitarist and, sometimes, step on the cables.
the best mod for me is a four way switch on my telecaster, I like the added humbuking option.
- CHEEZOR
- Diode Debunker
Yeah, thats what I was talking about.allesz wrote: He speaks of a stereo female output jack on the guitar; this way the guitar cord stays firmly plugged in, even if you are a pretty wild guitarist and, sometimes, step on the cables.
Is that like: Neck <-> Series <-> Parallel <-> Bridge? That sounds like a good one.allesz wrote:the best mod for me is a four way switch on my telecaster, I like the added humbuking option.
- Seiche
- Old Solderhand
ah nice! makes sense!CHEEZOR wrote:Yeah, thats what I was talking about.allesz wrote: He speaks of a stereo female output jack on the guitar; this way the guitar cord stays firmly plugged in, even if you are a pretty wild guitarist and, sometimes, step on the cables.
- allesz
- Cap Cooler
It is bridge, parallel, neck and series (if I recall correctly the two pickups in series give a quasi humbuking sound).CHEEZOR wrote:Is that like: Neck <-> Series <-> Parallel <-> Bridge? That sounds like a good one.
It a very handy option, for a single coil equipped guitar, it gives a stronger and darker signal that really extend the sonic capability of the guitar. I like it so much I added this option on my 3 single coil guitar, disconnecting the middle pickup (being a tele player mostly I always find the middle sounds not very useful).
- lolbou
- Old Solderhand
On my Applause Strat, I did:
- wire the tone pot for the bridge pickup too.
- add a switch that activates both the neck and bridge pickups. You then can have all three pickups when using any intermediate position on the 5-way selector. It's a nice feature. I think the magnetic polarities are all the same, but I should check. It may sound different if not...
- wire the tone pot for the bridge pickup too.
- add a switch that activates both the neck and bridge pickups. You then can have all three pickups when using any intermediate position on the 5-way selector. It's a nice feature. I think the magnetic polarities are all the same, but I should check. It may sound different if not...
- Are you a mod or a rocker?
- Uh, no, I'm a mocker.
- Uh, no, I'm a mocker.
- sinner
- Old Solderhand
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lolbou wrote:On my Applause Strat, I did:
- wire the tone pot for the bridge pickup too.
- add a switch that activates both the neck and bridge pickups. You then can have all three pickups when using any intermediate position on the 5-way selector. It's a nice feature. I think the magnetic polarities are all the same, but I should check. It may sound different if not...
Try G&L s-500 wiring, I had this, and loved it. Strat and tele in one
- mictester
- Old Solderhand
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My favourite mods (to my guitars): a built-in rechargeable battery pack and a UHF radio transmitter for fully cordless operation:
In 1977 I fell into an orchestra pit during a rehearsal because I tripped over a guitar lead, and played that night's gig with a broken wrist - unbelievably painful! After that, I swore that I'd ALWAYS use a cordless rig, so went for wireless guitars, a worn radio mic, and wireless in-ear monitoring!!!
The other, "best" mods include upgrading pickups, adding an active VCA-based mixer stage inside the guitar body (so any scratchy pots don't affect the audio), active tone controls, balanced outputs.....
In 1977 I fell into an orchestra pit during a rehearsal because I tripped over a guitar lead, and played that night's gig with a broken wrist - unbelievably painful! After that, I swore that I'd ALWAYS use a cordless rig, so went for wireless guitars, a worn radio mic, and wireless in-ear monitoring!!!
The other, "best" mods include upgrading pickups, adding an active VCA-based mixer stage inside the guitar body (so any scratchy pots don't affect the audio), active tone controls, balanced outputs.....
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"
- sinner
- Old Solderhand
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mictester wrote:active VCA-based mixer stage inside the guitar body (so any scratchy pots don't affect the audio)
Chris, could I have more info about that?
- Ihunda
- Breadboard Brother
Not sure if active counts but the best mods I've done and actually do on all my guitar is either a fetzver valve from ROG http://www.runoffgroove.com/fetzervalve.html (An always on second harmonic boost, not much of a volume boost, maybe 20-30% more volume) or replacing a tone control with an onboard treble boost like the catalinbread naga viper.
This one transistor treble boost actually consumes less than 150 uA so I don't even need to think about batteries draining for a very long time (years), it's very useful on an all mahogany guitar like a les paul, it replaces a tube screamer and using a push push pot, it's the only effect in my chain sometimes Push for less mud in the bass and/or some djent The pot controls bass, volume and gain are fixed with trimpots.
This one transistor treble boost actually consumes less than 150 uA so I don't even need to think about batteries draining for a very long time (years), it's very useful on an all mahogany guitar like a les paul, it replaces a tube screamer and using a push push pot, it's the only effect in my chain sometimes Push for less mud in the bass and/or some djent The pot controls bass, volume and gain are fixed with trimpots.
- Ben N
- Cap Cooler
+1. Did this on my son's Tele clone with Bill Lawrence noiseless pups--sounds awesome. I think maybe one tends to set the treble a touch higher for the noiseless pickups, which creates a nice space for the series position.allesz wrote:the best mod for me is a four way switch on my telecaster, I like the added humbuking option.
- GuitarlCarl
- Cap Cooler
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- my favorite amplifier: anything tube
- Completed builds: Ds-1 mods, SD-1 mods, Small Clone mods, Muff build, Axis build, various other transistor booster builds... I can build a badaxe harmonic perc, but I can't get a fuzzface to sound worth a crap!
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Stacked pots on my partscaster...standard 3 way switching and a mid blender, split tone too.
The SteamPunk LP has a standard 3 way and Vol/tone wiring for two pickups, with a micro switch that throws the mid pup from rhythm to lead... both schemes pretty versatile.
I want it to sound like bees buzzing around in a 55 gallon drum...
- MarcoMike
- Breadboard Brother
yes, two separate switches, but they are usually switched at the same time, for that volume drop reason.CHEEZOR wrote:Good idea with the boost. Do you have it all wired to the same switch or 2 separate switches?
- DrNomis
- Old Solderhand
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The most useful mod I've done to a guitar recently is to replace a stock Stratocaster vintage-style Trem Bridge with a Super Vee Double-Locking Trem Bridge, it made it alot easier to keep my Mexican Fender Standard Stratocaster in tune.....
Next mod is to replace the stock pickups with some Fender Vintage Noiseless types....
Next mod is to replace the stock pickups with some Fender Vintage Noiseless types....
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Genius is not all about 99% perspiration, and 1% inspiration - sometimes the solution is staring you right in the face.-Frequencycentral.
- phibes
- Transistor Tuner
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Treble bleed caps. Once you use em, you don't go back.
Changing volume pot values is a big plus. If you go by what the recommendation is for your pick-ups, you can really miss out.
BIGSBY VIBRATO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Changing volume pot values is a big plus. If you go by what the recommendation is for your pick-ups, you can really miss out.
BIGSBY VIBRATO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GuitarlCarl - "TGP = The Gear Polishers"
Ken
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