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Thread: Should I or should I not?

  1. #41
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    I don't think I have a guitar that's stock (my Martin acoustic is stock, but not my electrics). I look for something that suits me well overall then tweak it a bit to my liking. The fewer tweaks the better- sometimes just a small wiring change (like so called '50s wiring). Sometimes its a matter of improving quality, usually of electronic components.

    To be honest, as much gear as I have, I don't have much to mod anymore. I only have one piece of Fender gear- my '66 Vibrolux Reverb and one Gibson (unless you count my '64 Epiphone Olympic and recent ES-335 Pro). The Gibson is my '59 ES-225TD.

    My Tele, Strat, Princeton Reverb, tweed Champ and Deluxe are all really nice clones, mostly built by me and tweaked to my liking. Although you might consider them to be pretty extreme mods, they're pretty close to the originals. Other than the ES-225, my Gibsons have been replaced by Carvins.

    I just do what works best for me (that does not include refinishing guitars).

  2. #42
    Forum Member VibroCount's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    I like this forum. We can disagree, and understand why the other people take their positions and there is no threat to us for having a different outlook.

    The original post asked for opinions on refinishing his guitar, and we have all presented logical alternatives: some yes, some no, and many in between. And no one chose to attack the person with the "other" point of view.

    Glorious!
    Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't. -- Pete Seeger

  3. #43
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sérgio View Post
    I was seriously considering one of those when a used Carvin SH645 showed up used so I bought it. Past experience with Carvins lead me to believe that I'd prefer it- plus it has stainless steel frets. What an awesome guitar! One thing to consider is that these chambered mahogany guitars sound more like a Les Paul than they do an ES-335. More focused, less "woody" or hollow. They can be great guitars.

    I'm still lusting for a really good ES-335!

  4. #44
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by VibroCount View Post
    I like this forum. We can disagree, and understand why the other people take their positions and there is no threat to us for having a different outlook.

    The original post asked for opinions on refinishing his guitar, and we have all presented logical alternatives: some yes, some no, and many in between. And no one chose to attack the person with the "other" point of view.

    Glorious!
    Exactly! Refreshing to be able to have a civil conversation
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

  5. #45
    Forum Member redisburning's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by chuckocaster View Post
    Stock guitars will always be worth more than modded ones, regardless of whether their vintage or not. But, I'm an inveterate modder. A guitar is worth more to me if I like the feel and sound. I couldn't care less if it's stock or not, I'm not a collector. Just my thoughts
    well, always might be a bit much.

    put PAFs in a gibson and it's at least worth what the PAFs are worth.

    but more generally yeah if youre looking to get money out of your guitar it's typically better to leave it alone.

    personally I dont buy into the "Ill keep it forever" mindset just like others dont buy into picking up guitars you may not keep for very long (which is something I've definitely done just to try them out). Im sure there's room in the world for both.

    FWIW I'd rather dump a guitar I dont like than try and make it better. I save the mods for my really good ones (like the PIO caps and Wizz pickups in my lester)

  6. #46
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    When you have guitars that feel right and sound right, no reason you shouldn't have a keep it for life mentality. I LIKED my American Standard Strat and Tele, but with a pup change, they really came to life, and now, I can't imagine wanting any others. So yeah, barring financial ruin, I'll be keeping them for life.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  7. #47
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by redisburning View Post
    put PAFs in a gibson and it's at least worth what the PAFs are worth.
    Ouch!

  8. #48
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by VibroCount View Post
    There are many modifications which can be undone as easily as they are done. Pickguard and other plastics swaps, pickup changes, different strings, strap locks, etc. I think a key is to retain the original parts so if the time comes when the modifier needs to sell or give away the instrument, the recipient can keep the modifications or restore it to as close to stack as possible.

    No one could restore my Strat to stock with original paint, because I have added pinstriping to the body. It would require stripping paint and refinishing it. But everything else could be restored in less than an hour or two's work.

    Here's a thought... if more guitars are modded as the player likes, it drives up the price for the fewer stock guitars which remain.

    Here's another... if you have a 1927 Ford Model T roadster, it may be more collectible if it is stock than if it was made into a hot rod, but it would be far less reliable and impossible to drive on modern freeways. I think I might prefer the one with the OHC V-8 than the original hand crank four. The stock would be nice in a museum, the hotrod be more of a gas to drive. (That's a bit extreme, but what am I if not an extremist?)


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  9. #49
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by redisburning View Post
    well, always might be a bit much.

    put PAFs in a gibson and it's at least worth what the PAFs are worth.

    but more generally yeah if youre looking to get money out of your guitar it's typically better to leave it alone.

    ...

    FWIW I'd rather dump a guitar I dont like than try and make it better. I save the mods for my really good ones (like the PIO caps and Wizz pickups in my lester)
    You're still not going to get your $ out of it, original PAF's or not. I'm not concerned about recouping my money, I work on my guitars for fun.

    And totally agree with your last statement! I tried in the past, but you can't take a crappy guitar and make it sound amazing. I buy guitars I already like, and then tweak them from there. Gotta have a good solid foundation for any work.

    Cheers buddy 👍
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  10. #50
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    I'm late to the discussion but I'll put in my 2¢ anyhow. Good guitar or not, the SG in question is not an expensive or rare one. I'd say do whatever you want w/it. If you do some of the work yourself you might learn something, & if nothing else, you will make the guitar unique & personalized.

  11. #51
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Cogs View Post
    I'm late to the discussion but I'll put in my 2¢ anyhow. Good guitar or not, the SG in question is not an expensive or rare one. I'd say do whatever you want w/it. If you do some of the work yourself you might learn something, & if nothing else, you will make the guitar unique & personalized.
    Hopefully, Sergio is not all thumbs like me. And I once saw the result of a guy like me who had better leave it to the pros. He tried to sand the finish off his Epiphone Les Paul Std. He made huge divots in it. Looked like absolute hell. I tried to make him feel better and told him, "Well, at least it's unique, and it has character." He glowered at me. Ha ha, he was totally hurt that he'd done that to his guitar and couldn't afford one that he wanted.

    If you can do that kind of work, it's great. If you're like me, though, seek a professional.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  12. #52
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    Yes, many imports are finished w/some sort of poly & require great care when stripping because what is strong enough to melt the finish will also melt binding & inlay. I would not use sanding to remove large areas of finish.
    But Gibson USA still uses lacquer so that should be relatively easy to get off. A heat gun is an effective way to remove finish as opposed to chemical strippers

  13. #53
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Should I or should I not?

    After listening carefully to all of you and talking to the luthier in São Paulo, I decided to leave the SG as it is.

    If it wears funny and I don't like how it looks, I'll have the job done.

    Cogs, I don't think I'd risk doing it myself, I'm all thumbs and have no experience at all... Since even these ordinary Gibsons and Fenders are awfully expensive here, I wouldn't risk damaging one of them.

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