Modding your guitar... worth the time/money?

[FortePenance]

For those who have done serious mods to their guitar,not just pup-swapping etc. but more like neck-changing, refrets, repaints or anything else, is it worth the time/money? Or would you be better off just buying a new guitar/getting a pro to do it?

[Peeb]

For those who have done serious mods to their guitar,not just pup-swapping etc. but more like neck-changing, refrets, repaints or anything else, is it worth the time/money? Or would you be better off just buying a new guitar/getting a pro to do it?
Depends.

If the guitar is (or may later) become valuable as a vintage instrument, I would certainly NOT undertake any mods without thinking that thru.

If the guitar is not valuable, but you like it, it might be fun to try. Cost effective? Again, depends. If I put a nice new neck on my $71 epiphone LP Jr., it would cost more (and perhaps several times more) than the purchase price. If I loved the neck, and if the guitar sounded and played better when it was finished, I would be happy.

If the neck didn't fit, or otherwise just didn't work out- I would be extremely frustrated and wish I hadn't tried it.

Depends...

[tdu]

I have done a few mods, but the guitars haven't stayed around long so it hasn't really been worth it in my case.

With new guitars you just have to step back and take a look at what you are going to do and if it's worth it. Like in my case I had a 52' RI Telecaster that I really liked, but wanted a different radius neck. I was thinking of getting a new neck, but then I found another ash bodied Tele with the neck profile I wanted for a great price. So I sold the 52' RI and got the other Tele. I could have sold the neck on the 52' to get a new one, but in the end the Tele would have been worth less if I ever decided to sell it.

Modding can be fun, but in a lot of cases it's more cost effective to just sell or trade for something else. If you mod the guitar and still don't like it, the mods don't ad much to the value of the guitar and you will end up losing more money on resale.

Pickups are the one exception to that rule. You can pretty much always improve on the sound of stock pickups, or get something that suits your taste more.

[FortePenance]

ah yeah, that's kinda what I'm contemplating. Either mod my guitar to make it sound a hundred times better (but also at double the cost) or buy a fresh new guitar at the cost of what it'd mod my guitar.

I'd quite like to mod my guitar though. It sounds fun.

[reissue]

I have several modded guitars, in every case I bought the guitar for much, much less than it was worth so spending money on mods really wasn't a resale issue. I would never spend money modding a guitar unless I absolutely knew I would be able to recoup my investment. Most modders are also adept bargain hounds, that's part of the modder life IMO.

[genereaux]

My thinking is, a decent guitar (even just summing up the parts) is 'worth' $250-$500.

So if I pay 50,60,75 even $100 on a 'fixer-upper' and I put another 50-100 bucks into it, then it's worthwhile.

sg

[Itakesallkinds]

now I guess im just a freak then. Because I have an Epi special 2 that I have put about 400 dollars in. I don't plan on ever selling this guitar.
here is the other thing to consider: Are you planning on keeping the guitar? If not, you can't usually get the money for mods out of them. Customize the guitar to suit your playing style and wants, but don't expect to get extra money out of it if you do some things that most people really don't care about. PM me and I can tell you what I have done to my strat and Epi Special 2.

[FortePenance]

Well folks, looks like I'm not actually going to mod my guitar (which was the implicit reason for making this thread =P) as it as gone to an online buyer for a pretty penny which will get me a spanking new guitar.

I think I'll mod that by sanding down the neck (then tung-oiling) and installing new pickups though. A bit of fun and should be fairly easy I hope.

[Itakesallkinds]

make sure you go to a wet sand before oiling. And wipe it down really good after sanding. Depending on the stock finish and materials used to construct the neck, start with about 600-800 grit. then move to 1000 wet sanding then to 2000 wet. let it dry then just buff it, you wont need oil then.

[FortePenance]

Yeah, I know about sanding n' stuff. We were forced to do tonnes of it in Design and Technology for the past 3 years and then I went away and researched it too. >.>

I'm kinda scared of not having the neck oiled though. My friend's LP neck had no finish and the neck recently warped. It was a guitar center exclusive too and it's costing him around 25 bucks to have it fixed.

[Exothermia]

I just read on Warmoth's website today that about 10% of necks left unfinished come back for repairs due to becoming warped. Not something I'd want, especially if I had some significant work to the neck already.

[Slashfan90210]

I stripped down an Encore Strat copy and did some serious bodge-up jobs to it. An Epiphone humbucker off Mjshailes' LP Special II in the bridge, (£20) new electrics and pickguard (£30) and should hopefully be getting a nice 50s style Strat neck to replace the awful rosewood one that came bolted to it, with tuners. (£30)

So in all, 80 quid on mods. If you manage to get some good stuff, the difference in sound can be huge. So yeah, I reckon they're worth it.

[ModestCargo]

Well as long as you know the mods aren't going to transform an Epiphone into a Gibson, it certainly can be worth the money.

I have an Epiphone LP Custom and I spent quite a few dollars putting pickups in it, good electronics, fret work etc. but it's still just not a great guitar. It's the best Epi LP I've had my hands on but to be honest that's not saying much. Looking back I wish I would have just sold it and bought a better guitar.

HOWEVER. If you do have an Epiphone a set of pickups will go a long way, and if you get them from GFS or Stew Mac (golden age) you won't break the bank. Mine's a three pickup and all three are Seymour Duncans - cost me way too much money for that guitar. The upside is I can put them in another project guitar if I come across one.