cheap modding guitar

Still very much a novice in all things guitar.

But the cheap Squire Bullet Mustang is now a base for any messing around.

Bought a G&L which I traded in when I bought an Epiphone Les Paul.

If I hadn't traded in I would have had 3 HH guitars.

Squire has no trade in value so I have swapped the neck pick up with a humbucker size P90.

Took a few goes at getting wiring correct.  Even put back together a couple of times to find a dead pick up. 

Tested at each stage of the reconstruct but the copper braided wire tended to find some new paths when the scratchguard was turned to the right way up to refit. 

Never the less a good learning experience and I now have an HS or at least an HP90 guitar to go with my better HH guitar.

If anyone is thinking about it and is a bit wary I would say have a go. Notthing to lose and you gain by the experience.

Also changed string trees for roller guides but that's just pure cosmetic.

Thanks for reading and post about your first guitar mods

Dave L

Sounds like a nice project Dave, glad it worked out.

Cool!

Dave, nice going! I’ve been modding my guitars for years and it’s the best kept secret to having exactly the quality tone you can have without spending big money on another guitar. I’ve tried to carefully label everything so I can Re do what I may want to undo, but other than that, I’ve upgraded some very middle of the road quality guitars (good deals) and have installed awesome humbuckers and single coils. Hey, don’t be afraid to upgrade machine heads with quality Grover’s or adding switch options for reversing polarity, series/parallel, and more! I’ve routed out pick up holes and have even made my own router pattern for changing pick guards.

I bought a fairly nice tele years ago but because of the good deal I got, color was not an option so I stripped it completely and was able to buy the old school nitrocellulose lacquer and painted it like an original 50s blonde color! But you can paint it any way you want  

 Also the roller guides are very useful with the wammy bar, so don’t short sell that! 

W3

Yes, I see many youtube vids going way further than I have. The G&L I traded had split coil. But it was an ESP Ltd that was always catching my eye and then I decided if I wanted a Les Paul shape then buy the Les Paul with the 4 controls.

I knew the Squire Mustang was a cheap electric starter  to see if I stayed the course but it still seems to get surprising reviews as it stands

It seems to be a regular as a cheap modding guitar as a base for whatever.

Still only a reasonable priced Artec splendor pick up as a first go.

So many pickups and sets costing way more than people would spend on a guitar.

All good fun

Dave L