Guitar Builds and Mods

Not sure if this topic has been started here before, but if it has, its buried deep enough to make it worth starting a new thread. Building or modifying a guitar? Show off your work!

I'll get the show started! I bought my 1993 Epiphone G-400 brand new and played the hell out of it, including some rock band gigs in college. Being the budget version of the gibson SG, the electronics and other components were never that great in it. That's about to change! Its time to turn this thing into my dream guitar. I'm going to end up spending more than the guitar is worth, but I'll keep it forever, so who cares!

The project begins:

Stripped down to the bare bones:



Tons of stuff on order right now-too much to list. Updates to come as the parts arrive. Now...let's see yours!

 

I did a headstock repair on this Angus SG, straight as an arrow and Jimmy Page wiring/ pickups on the Yamaha Lord Player. The first guitar I ever modded was also an Epiphone SG.

 

Not really building or anything, but I am starting to research some stuff so I can start upgrading my electric. I've played pretty much strictly acoustic for the past 6 or so years (been playing a little under 10) and am starting to get back into it.

I've got a PRS SE and I'm looking to a get a dirty, gritty, southern rock/blues rock sound out of it. I know absolutely nothing about pickups and pots and all that stuff, so I see a lot of research ahead!

 

Nice

I have a Gibson SG , my first real guitar , had it since 1988

 

Time for an update as things have come together (and changed substantially). After ordering all the parts, the price climbed to the point where I began to wonder if it was really worth it to install all this nice stuff on a guitar that might be worth $175 on a good day. As luck would have it, I found a 2014 120th Anniversary Edition Gibson SG Standard body and neck for sale. So, all the new stuff went on that and the Epi got put back together with the stock parts.

The walnut color of the SG looks really nice with the gold hardware I used. All the electronics were custom built by Brown's Custom Shop (highly recommended). Everything else was either factory Gibson parts or Gotoh parts, which are made in Japan and very high quality. The pickups are Seymour Duncan P-Rails with the Triple Shot mounting rings. You can split the coils on these to get humbucker, single coil, or P-90 sounds from them with switches hidden in the mounting rings. After some minor issues with parts not fitting (metric stuff doesn't fit USA Gibsons) and some careful soldering, its in playing condition. I finished the setup yesterday and it plays great. I'm just waiting on the pickguard and tenon cover, which are being custom made by Pickguardian.

After all that, the cost was actually way cheaper than buying a factory SG. I'm into it around $1100 total, and its much better than the stock SG that would have been at least $1500. I'll eventually have Brown's Custom Shop build an electronics kit and modify a roller bridge to fit the old Epi, too. Here it is...

 

I'd highly recommend getting in touch with Brown's Custom Shop for the pots and wiring. They can build you a custom kit for less than $80 with super high quality parts. I'm really digging the versatility of the P-Rails pickups on my new build. If you use the Triple Shot mounting rings with the micro switches built in, you won't have to install any extra switches. They have really good wiring diagrams and customer support on the Seymour Duncan website. Good luck with your build!

 

Looks good! I love the look of a natural finish on Gibsons more than most other makers for some reason. I'm sure it sounds like a beast too.

What kind of music do you play? I'm assuming rock/blues with those pickups?

I'll have to look into them. I'd love some P-Rails but I'm thinking I'll end up with a pair of SD Pearly Gates. But if I could get the electronics for around $80 I'd be happy. I just looked around their website really quick and it looks like they know what they're doing and it's not horribly expensive.. I may have to send them an email soon. I'm also in need of a new/better amp at some point.

Between guitars, cds, and the truck it's really no wonder I'm broke. haha

 

Awesome looking SG

I want to go to some active EMG's in mine

 

You guessed it right. I play some fingerstyle acoustic stuff too. I'm not a big metalhead, but I'm actually challenging myself to learn some shred/legato soloing styles just to build speed and dexterity. Not sure if I can dial in the action on a Gibson low enough to really play that stuff well, though. All the guys who play that stuff seem to use Jackson/ESP/Dean type guitars with Floyd Rose trems.

 

Yea I gotcha. I've been pretty much strictly acoustic for the past six years or so and am trying to get back into the electric lol I play a lot of fingerstyle/fingerpicking blues (mostly pre war stuff) and I'm big into bluegrass so I flatpicking a lot too.

I used to be into the whole metal thing but not so much anymore lol

 

Those are a couple of gorgeous guitars! My next build will be a Strat. I love the natural finish swamp ash bodies-so much character in that wood. I always liked the feel of a Strat, but ended up going with Gibson style guitars and stuck with them. The nice thing about guitars vs. trucks is that you can afford to have multiple brands at the same time!

 

Wow! I had to look at those for a minute before I realized those are actually carved into the wood. That is impressive!