Should i mod this lp copy

[toa]

Hi
I have an lp copy a bought on impulse and it sounds terrible and the higher frets are sticking out slightly I can't see it, but i definatly can feel it. I was thinking about putting seymour duncans in it and i was wondering how to fix the frets and how to more optimize the sounds of the guitar

[Thumpalumpacus]

If you're not used to working on your own guitars, take it to a tech and have him file the frets.

As far as "optimizing the sounds of the guitar", what kind of music do you play? Without knowing that, no optimum can be established.

[toa]

I play jazz, blues, rock, and occasional metal but not much

[Zenzeypher]

What brand is it and where did it come from?

A good place would be the pups for tone, but even then the electrics inside may have to be replaced if theyre crap.

Id get a pro to upgrade and do all the bits if youre not comfortable with it.

[toa]

Its a johnson solara classic

[Zenzeypher]

Originally Posted by toa

Its a johnson solara classic

Never heard of them.

Id look into some pickups in your price range and read reviews on them to get an idea - sites should have sound clips.

if you wanna post a picture of your control cavity we can get a better idea of what were dealing with here.

[toa]

I'll post some pics when I get home

[Thumpalumpacus]

Might look around for pickups that will fill those stylistic needs. The 490s in my SG handle all of those pretty well except for the metal, really, for which they're a little weak.

What I do to get a good jazz tone out of my neck pickup is drop the pickup body quite a ways down and then raise all the pole pieces so that the overall distance between each pole and string is about the same, but the magnets of the pickup are further away. I also have the treble-side poles a little higher than the bass-side, again, to counteract muddiness. This clears up the tone a little while retaining the richness.

For the bridge pickup, I keep the body of the pickup a little higher, with the poles a little lower, in order to have more girth to the tone and keep it from being too wiry. I also keep the treble-side polepieces a little lower than the bass, in order to avoid a brittle tone.

Outside of that, while it's at the tech's getting the fretwork, have him set it up to your tastes (action and intonation). You'll probably want a medium action, to accommodate the different styles you've listed.

[toa]

here are the pics of the controller cavity

[toa]

Here are the pics

[djrussell]

Originally Posted by toa

Hi
I have an lp copy a bought on impulse and it sounds terrible and the higher frets are sticking out slightly I can't see it, but i definatly can feel it. I was thinking about putting seymour duncans in it and i was wondering how to fix the frets and how to more optimize the sounds of the guitar

Is this a joke? So its a shitty guitar and you're asking if you should make it better?...............

Yes?

[toa]

I am trying to decide to sell it for a prs se, 1995 lp standard, or a 2005 cherryburst custom or just mod this guitar

[djrussell]

Theres nothing wrong with hotrodding guitars man, it can be really fun and give you something unique and killer... but you gotta weight up whether its a) worth it (financially) and b) if you're ever gonna sell it... if you can invest $100 into it and make it something you'll love forever then thats awesome, if not then sell it now and be done with it.

Sometimes though its nice to have a brand name guitar, cause you dont have to do as much to it. Its kinda like buying an old beat up car; it COULD look nice, but is it worth your time and money or do you just buy a new one and run it through a service every year lol

[toa]

Thanks for the advice I think I'm gonna be done with it because I really hate it it's either going to be a PRS se or an epiphone les Paul as my next guitar

[JonMan94]

Meh...

First thing, if its your first guitar, dont try to spend too much on it (unless you really want it)

The first thing you should do is have it brought to a good luthier's shop and have it given a full setup treatment (truss rod adjustment, fret crowning, the whole nine yards).

then after that, give it a whirl... often that can help, and also, what kind of amp are you using? Amps can make or break the sound of a guitar. Sure, a man owns a 1959 LP standard, but if he plugs it into a crappy amp, then the guitar sounds crappy.

[Nay]

I've heard of Johnson, but dont know much about them.

I'd definately consider a PRS se if you have GAS.

[Phoenix59]

Johnsons are utterly cheap crap.

[USAPatriot]

No offense, but that guitar is a black hole. You could pay a few hundred dollars on a luthier and then another few hundred for pickups and strings and a good setup and that could work just fine up until the day you try to sell it. At best if you've put good pickups in it someone will pay you the fair (or unfair) market value for those. No one will pay you for the luthier work so that would be gone. Really, get a good Epiphone Les Paul - Gibson would be better as an investment as an Epi will not appreciate with time...and start out right. Don't buy one off of ebay or craigslist. With ebay you'll never get to actually handle or play the guitar before your money is gone. Craigslist is a slightly better proposition since you can actually go and handle/play before you buy, but meeting with strangers these days is a little weird. I just sold a 2007 Epi Les Paul on CL, a really nice trans-blue with a flame maple top...and I insisted we meet in a public place and the buyer thought that was a good idea too. We found a place where he could plug in and it all worked out. But that's hardly a relaxed atmosphere. I had places to be, he had places to be. You walk into a shop and whattya know? Everyone concerned wants to be there. That's a good thing. And you're not stuck with an all or nothing proposition. With lots and lots of guitars hanging on the wall, you can play them all if you want. You may pay more but you also have someplace to return it if it turns out there's a problem. -Rod-

[Nay]

Originally Posted by USAPatriot

No offense, but that guitar is a black hole. You could pay a few hundred dollars on a luthier and then another few hundred for pickups and strings and a good setup and that could work just fine up until the day you try to sell it. At best if you've put good pickups in it someone will pay you the fair (or unfair) market value for those. No one will pay you for the luthier work so that would be gone.

Really, get a good Epiphone Les Paul - Gibson would be better as an investment as an Epi will not appreciate with time...

Part 1 - Spot on.

Part 2 - I'm yet to really understand how people say Gibsons appriciate? Sure if you have a unique/rare model or just a very old one. They retain their value really at best. Old ones have this charm about them, if they aren't considered a special model.

As inflation increases, so does cost. A £500 gibson years and years ago would be worth around the cost of a new one today, and a new one today is will depreciate a bit over a long time. I can pay less than Custom Shop prices for a 70's/80's/90's custom shop, and I'm left handed... I highly doubt new Gibsons will ever appriciate in the same way again, unless they close their doors.


Epiphones are good, I have no quables with them. But if your modding a guitar it can run up a cost before you get what you want. TBH, I think people who want to mod guitars should get some of the kits out there and build from them. Otherwise you often find you'll loose even more money when trying to sell. A standard Epi will still pick up more/same money as one with upgraded pickups. So you loose the value of your pickups. The more mods, the more the price drops, the more you loose.

[Tim91]

[strat]

Honestly, unless you really want to I wouldn't. The guitar is cool for some middle school talent show, but unless you what to go crazy and do it because its rained for the past 14 days and you have absolutley nothing else to do don't put the time into it

[AxAxSxS]

if you mod it, just keep all the old parts and put them back when you sell it. that way you get to keep the nice pups or whatever you add to it

[zontar]

I went years without modding my LP copy--but when I did--it was worth it.
I wouldn't have been able to sell it for much, and so I just kept it.
I considered giving it away.

I had changed the machine heads because the old ones broke (Although I didn't buy expensive ones) I made cosmetic changes, and I put in a new strap knob when the original one came loose and went flying never to be found.

Eventually though I got a new nut (Not a big expense) and then new pickups & mini toggles.

The pickups would have cost more than the rest of the guitar if I'd pay full price, but I got both for better than normal prices. The guitar sounds & plays better than it ever has and I am happy I modded it, and wish I'd done it sooner.

However--does that mean everybody else should?

No--it depends--first--how much can you afford to spend on it?
What are you looking for?
Is the guitar being modded a good base for it? (Mine was--the main problem was weak pickups)
Does resale value matter? (It doesn't to me) with the mods you won't get your money back if you sell it--you might be better off selling the pickups separately)
Would a similar guitar that doesn't need to be modded cost you about the same as having the mods done?

So it may or may not worth it.
In my case it was.
But if those guitars as they originally were ever sky rocket in price--well, too bad.
I changed it so it would work for me learning open G & slide and it would sound better--so mission accomplished.

I did consider buying a cheap guitar for that--but it turned out I still would have done mods and spent at least twice, and probably more, buying a different guitar.

Nobody can make the decision but you, however you have lots of advice here--not all of it agrees, but consider it all.