Hot Mods

CUSTOMISING YOUR GUITAR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM IT FROM A WORKHORSE INTO A THOROUGHBRED. WE ASKED SOME OF THE WORLD’S FINEST CUSTOMISERS TO SHARE THEIR PRO TIPS ON HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR GUITAR’S TONE AND MAXIMISE ITS MOJO…

- Jamie Dickson

Most of us have experienced that rare but special moment in a guitar shop, where you pick up an instrument and instantly connect with it. Something about its tone and the way it plays – and even the way it looks – fits your musical world perfectly. That’s great when it happens, of course, but if you take the right approach to modding, you might not have to wait for that magical moment to occur by chance. If you have a guitar that offers a solid platform for customization and you take a considered, well-informed approach to modify it, it’s possible to make ‘nearly right’ into ‘really right’. That’s why, in the following pages, we invited some of the world’s leading tone tweakers, hardware enhancers and finish fettlers to share their professional tips on how to coax more satisfaction from your guitar.

Some of the ideas they share are completely practical and can form the basis of tone upgrades that you can undertake at home, or commission from a qualified tech. Others might inspire you to personalize the finish and styling of your guitar. With guitars, like food, the first bite is often with the eye – and if a custom finish makes you feel the mojo that bit more, it’s fair game for modding, too, provided you are aware not only of the benefits of undertaking the work but also how to avoid potential pitfalls before you make any changes to your beloved instrument.

So join us as the pros give their seasoned advice on topping up the tone, perfecting playability and burnishing the beauty of your guitar…

WIRED FOR SOUND

SOME OF THE CHEAPEST YET MOST EFFECTIVE MODS YOU CAN MAKE TO YOUR GUITAR INVOLVE RELATIVELY EASY TWEAKS TO ITS ELECTRONICS. TIM MILLS OF BARE KNUCKLE PICKUPS EXPLAINS HOW YOU CAN TAILOR YOUR TONE FOR JUST A FEW POUNDS – AVOIDING THE NEED FOR MORE EXPENSIVE UPGRADES