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Writer's pictureNate Savage

Picky About Tone? Guitar Modifications


Hi Guitar Fam,


Do you like to modify your guitars, or do you prefer to leave them stock and just buy new guitars? I used to be into modifying my electric guitars until I was about 30 years old (11 years ago). I believe I just got tired of fiddling around with guitars and opted to start buying other guitars that would get the sound I was looking for with their stock setups.

That changed when I recently picked up a 2017 PRS CE24 on Craig's List. I loved the way this guitar felt so much that I just had to modify it to suit my tonal tastes. I ended up changing the original bridge with steel saddles for a Mann Made bridge with brass saddles. I also switch the 8515 pickups out for some Suhr Thornbuckers.

Another great little mod was an awesome little gadget called a V-Treb. It's a variable treble bleed circuit that allows you to choose how much high end roll off you want as you back off on your volume knob.

I wouldn't say that I "like" modifying guitars, but I do like the results that modifying a guitar can bring. I haven't loved a guitar this much since my 97 California Series Telecaster, so it was worth it to me.


So do you prefer to have a lot of guitars to cover your tonal needs, or do you prefer to mod just a couple of guitars to customize them to your liking? In a perfect world, I would love to just have the guitar be perfect right out of the box, but I've yet to find that magical guitar yet. For now, my PRS and my Tele, with their modifications, are exactly what I love!


Later, Nate

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4 Comments


Jean Allard
Jul 13, 2021

Hello all,

I am a big fan of modifying, I have had two of my guitars fitted with Bare Knuckle pickups and yes it makes quite the difference. This week I ordered a "Justin Sandercoe's" set

from Radioshop I can not say enough good things about the owner. As the electronic seems to be the big contributing factor to the sound of a guitar it stands to reason that better pickups makes for a better guitar, just my opinion.

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Unknown member
Jul 21, 2021
Replying to

Oh cool. I didn't know Justin had a signature set! Bareknuckles were my runner up choice. It mainly came down to price.

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David Lieder
David Lieder
Jul 01, 2021

I’m not into modifying. Very happy with sound from my newest additions.

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Unknown member
Jul 13, 2021
Replying to

Yeah, you've got a pretty unique new addition!

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