EASY GUITAR MODS
Total Guitar|August 2023
Get your six-string ready to rock with seven of the most important upgrades
Alex Lynham
EASY GUITAR MODS

Looking to breathe new life into an older axe, or just change things up a bit? Whatever the reason, making modifications and small improvements to your instrument is a common pastime for guitarists, and is usually a far more economical approach than buying a completely new guitar. What's more, there are many mods that can be done quite easily at home. Improvements broadly fall into three categories, to our minds - looks, sound and feel. And if you have an entry-level instrument, providing it plays okay, simple things like shielding or rewiring can improve the basics, while switching pickups can make it punch vastly above its weight.

Making modifications to your guitar can be intimidating at first, and in most instances we'd recommend taking your guitar to a local tech to do the work. Most of the jobs here would be reasonably affordable and you could double up with a full re-string and setup to ensure your pride and joy is playing at its very best.

1. BLOCK YOUR TREM

WHY? Increase sustain, improve tuning stability

If you don't want to use your guitar's tremolo system but also don't wish to switch it for a hardtail unit you can block the trem. This mod in its most simple form involves putting a block between the rear of the trem cavity and the metal trem block, and supposedly leads to increased sustain. The best thing? It only costs as much as the small block of wood. And if a block of wood is too primitive for you, there are devices like the Tremol-no, which do the same job and offer more control so you can lock or unlock your trem more easily.

2. REPLACE YOUR PICKGUARD

WHY? New-look pickguard, noise reduction

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von Total Guitar.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von Total Guitar.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS TOTAL GUITARAlle anzeigen
POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2
Total Guitar

POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2

The sequel to the world's most popular smart guitar amp is here

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE
Total Guitar

JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE

We get low with this fast-playing, all-black modern metal machine

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
GUILD POLARA DELUXE
Total Guitar

GUILD POLARA DELUXE

A’70s staple gets a bit of are-jig, o4 years after it was introduced

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX
Total Guitar

NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX

Neural DSP's second pedal might be the ultimate compact all-in-one rig

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V
Total Guitar

EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V

Prepare to kiss the sky with Epiphone's latest 'Inspired By...' model

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 2024
JIMMY PAGE
Total Guitar

JIMMY PAGE

\"I was using what was really meaty!\"

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
EDDIE VAN HALEN
Total Guitar

EDDIE VAN HALEN

“You either capture the vibe or you don't!”

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST
Total Guitar

MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST

Need to know whether gear is worth your cash? Who you gonna call...

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 2024
JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA
Total Guitar

JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA

Our July 2006 issue featured none other than John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the cover, with a line of text promising discussion of meditation, drugs, Hendrix and some chat about the band’s then-latest album, Stadium Arcadium.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 2024
CHALLENGE CHARLIE
Total Guitar

CHALLENGE CHARLIE

Ata time when TC's staff were getting, frankly, rather silly, one man stood up to take on the daftest of all our challenges...

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024