If you happen to be a keen guitar player and treasure your particular
axe of choice, you'll no doubt at some stage have contemplated the most
effective way to offer your guitar a performance upgrade. So what
possibilities may be out there that won't involve butchering the guitar
and are comparatively straightforward to undertake? Needless to say, if
your guitar is a costly model there is every probability that it sported
top of the range components, but let us assume for the sake of this
particular article, that it is a mid-price to budget model.
The most clear and audible improvement can be had in the pickup area.
The materials and the production process of some stock pickups may be
less than great, which is reflected by the sound. Some really great
replacement humbucking pickups and single coil pickups are available
from the big-name companies and additionally some smaller boutique
pickup makers. Replacement pickups are generally produced with a more
hands-on approach and bespoke versions are offered by several of them.
In my opinion, another early port of call are the original machine heads
or tuners. Often the stock tuners are not that great and are
maufactured with less good materials. If your guitar is struggling to
keep in tune then this is a must (check that your pickups are not too
close to the strings as the magnets can occasionally cause tuning
issues). You might also just fancy the quality feel and functionality of
a top of the range set of tuners. Schaller are an organization who make
superb examples for the many various kinds of guitar around.
n case your guitar arrived with a plastic nut then this could also
benefit massively from an upgrade. You can buy a new ready-made nut in
many different materials such as brass or graphite, or if you are handy
with a file you may be confident enough to cut and file a new nut out of
bone. This is not the most simple upgrade and the procedure is beyond
the scope of this article. Search on line for additional information on
this upgrade.
