"Modifications can be as simple as wiring a pickup out of phase or replacing the pickup compliment to obtain that unique sound".

I’ll try to list a number of modifications that crop up regularly and are both useful and successful, also note: I try to make all modifications non-invasive whenever possible, it’s amazing how many vintage guitars come across my bench that have been devalued by bad modifications.

New pickups for Fender and Gibson. -  The choice is staggering, in the 70’s there was Dimarzio, one of the first companies to go into aftermarket replacement pickups, now you can’t move with the variety of manufacturers and styles. Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, Bare Knuckle you name em, they all probably make a pickup suitable for you but how do you choose which model? the websites of these guys are very descriptive but it’s like reading a wine tasters bible, what do they mean by “Full bodied and strong with classic mid range detail”. Wow! a minefield. I’m here to help and guide you through the choices.

Check this one out – the Gibson Charlie Christian pickup is a rare beast and is generally only available on pre-war Gibsons. An old favourite of many jazz players it has never been available as a replacement pickup until now. Andy Mackenzie an accomplished local player came to me with a replacement pickup by CC Pickups, he wanted to put the pickup onto a fairly low cost archtop just to check out the sonic capabilities of the new pickup, the results were pretty impressive, well balanced, fat authentic Charlie Christian tone. Take a look at the CC Pickups website in our links section.

Acoustic saddles for that acoustic sound out of your favourite Tele or Les Paul – Quite a few models of guitar are now equipped as standard with a piezo output to plug into the PA  and get that acoustic spread, you don’t need to change your guitar you need to change your bridge saddles and get some electronics added to control it. Normally it's possible to add just a stereo output jack that will deliver the magnetic and piezo output into a stereo splitter lead, and maybe lose a tone control to alter the level or blend of the sound. Fishman and Graphtec Ghost pickups come in quite a variety – Ghost saddles even come with an option to add a Roland 13 pin output card to drive a midi convertor or Roland synth, the piezo element giving better tracking than a Roland magnetic type - check out their websites in the links section.
 

Coil tap/split/boost switches – In the seventies guitars were often fitted with those easy to break mini toggle switches, things have moved on! no longer do we need to drill holes to fit extra control switches. Volume and tone controls can be replaced with controls fitted with push pull and push-push switches and make it easy to fit phase reversal and coils taps, they simply replace the existing vol or tone pot and work as before but the up down movement gives you an extra level of control. 

Replacing worn out bridge saddles -  Most old Gibson’s and Fenders can benefit from a new set of saddles. over the years they become corroded with sweat and dead skin from your hands, it’s a guitar tech’s nightmare trying to free some of these old bridges, luckily there are replacements available whether in the style of the old metal or plastic saddles or Graphtech replacements. Graphtec saddles come in many varieties but you will find they are kinder on the strings and often add a clarity all of their own to the instrument..

Replacement tuners –Fender and Gibson have used various tuners over the years, some good some bad, you are not going to get that guitar in tune and stable without having accurate tuners fitted. There are many replacement tuners for new and vintage guitars, I have my favourites but get in touch if you want discuss what is best for you.

These are Gotoh 510 tuners with an incredibly accurate 18:1 ratio and subtle violet chrome finish.

Mid or level boost circuits- Now that single channel amps are coming back in fashion it’s nice to get a bit of boost from the guitar itself without resorting to pedals on the floor. There are a variety of active circuits that can be added to boost the level or midrange of you guitar during performance.

The example here is a new Gibson Firebird having the front pickup, tone pot replaced with an EMG SPC mid boost circuit. It is wired after the pickup selector switch so it operates on the total output of the instrument - instant thickening and subtle overdrive. 

Archtop compensated bridge -  most archtops come straight from the factory fitted with a tunamatic type bridge (Gibson L5 in the pictures), when these are fitted they intonate reasonably well however, most jazz players prefer the response and tone of a hardwood bridge (Rosewood or Ebony) the only way to do this accurately is to make the bridge on the guitar - carving the intonation points into each string position on the bridge checking as you go with the players choice of string and guage. The difference this can make to the intonation of an instrument is immense - even better you can add a compensated Buzz Feiten type nut and intonate the bridge with Buzz Feiten offsets - archtops don't usually sound as sweet and stable as in this combination.

Neck camber adjustment - Older and some reissue Fenders have a 7.25'' neck camber, originally designed for comfortable fretting with fairly heavy string gauges including a wound third. Modern bending techniques were not thought of back in the 50's when the 7.25'' radius was chosen, the result is choking out when bending beyond about the 8-10th fret. A solution to the problem is adding a compound radius to the upper frets, in effect the frets are skimmed flatter in the middle towards the body end of the neck.

Bigtone pickups - for Selmer / Macafferri type guitars. These are the pickups of choice for the gypsy jazz fraternity. High output - no preamp needed, high headroom and an authentic gypsy sound. If you can't get to me in person I can supply the pickup element to fit yourself at £65 each (note it's not that straightforward and might be best left to your luthie).