In the first episode of this small series we dealt with modding applied to a not very high-end instrument, a Stratocaster Made in Mexico which, despite having a satisfactory standard equipment, needed a series of works, to make the instrument, not excellent. as sound, reliable, stable and durable over time and performance.
Now, however, the question is decidedly different, because we are going to deal with an instrument of a much higher range, equipment and price: in this case, therefore, modding does not serve to improve the instrument, but to give it the voice and behavior that most respond to the needs of the musician.
These modding actions can also be performed on cheaper instruments, but which cannot be improved as lutherie unless you change fundamental pieces, such as body and neck for example.
I took as a basis one of the guitars I'm using at the moment and which I have already talked about in this blog: the Ibanez RG1070.
The modding, in this case, will be carried out mainly on the electronic part, for very simple reasons:
- the steel keys are well made, in my opinion replacing them would be too high a cost and a decidedly heavy work, not useful before a few years of use;
- the bridge Edge pro II it does its job well, it has a good sustain and the tuning always holds well, so it makes no sense to change it, you just need to periodically carry out a good maintenance;
- the instrument is equipped with self-locking Gotoh mechanics: as mentioned for the bridge, I do not find a replacement sensible except in case of breakage or malfunction.
Having said this, I proceed to list the various works done on this instrument.
Pickup change
This is an overkill, without mincing words: a similar choice means having a very precise idea of magnets to obtain a particular voice, because saying that a set of Di Marzio not great as a starting point is really a free nastiness.
My choice fell on a truly luxury item: I opted for a pair of Humbuckers Raw Standards of Zead Pickups, hand-built magnets to customer specifications and with winding created according to the instrument. Wanting to make a comparison with the world of fashion, it is like choosing a tailored suit, sewn on, and you can hardly want better.
In this case, however, the work presented some drawbacks, largely due to my lack of manual skill in welding, but also due to a problem with the hooking of the metal base of the pickup to the burglary of the RG 1070, since this is shaped like a Crescent moon.
I then turned to Pasquale Lodato di Praised Guitars, who promptly solved the problem and mounted both pickups without any difficulty.
The result obtained is obviously a decidedly different voice, in my case more dynamic, slightly more open and with a more emphasized warmth and roundness. This has objectively made the tool more performing, but at a fairly important cost, it is not exactly the first modification to make unless you already have a precise idea.
Here I report the behavior in case of replacement of the Di Marzio Air Norton and the Tone Zone.
Di Marzio
zead
- Cost - from 260 to 280 euros depending on the finishes (Complete set)
- Availability - Just contact the manufacturer, in the case under consideration
- Difficulty - Fairly high, contact a luthier if you are not familiar.
Circuit change
Here you can indulge yourself, but in this case I recommend using original Ibanez spare parts, to avoid having to adapt the instrument to different measures from other brands: for example, the Di Marzio megaswitch is much more bulky and the CTS push-pull potentiometers are more big.
It's okay to use other brands, but a little tweaking may be necessary.
In this case we have opted for a circuit that mainly uses the two humbuckers zead described before: the circuit is perfectly buildable with an Ibanez 5 way switch for HH configurations, at a very low cost. Push pulls can be another option but they cost quite a bit, even if they are well made.
The following diagram shows the result of the changes.
The two choices are obviously at the user's discretion: I opted to use a different switch, to remove the single in the center and take advantage of only the two Humbuckers.
- Cost - from 9 to 45 euros of material
- Availability - In store or online
- Difficulty - Less familiar with pickup assembly, but you need a minimum of practice in soldering
Treeblebleed
This is a “classic” modification, which I do on practically every guitar: I personally use the orange drops, which don't cost a lot and have an excellent performance, but on the market there are many other brands of capacitors with different values and yields. My choice generates a much wider opening, a slightly richer sound and, of course, less loss of highs at low volumes.
- Cost - from a few euros up to 50 euros
- Availability - Any electronics store or specialized site
- Difficulty - minimum expertise in welding
Phage Filter
I wanted to ask for some more information to an exceptional personality in the world of guitar electronics, and so Fabio Gobbi explained to me roughly how his phage filter works.
Basically it is a passive filter that changes impedance to the pickup by filtering only one of the two coils, giving a very acoustic tone and response.
It is particularly appreciated on clean sounds but also on medium distortions, as it gives a single coil sound with almost the power of a series humbucker.
The filter is tailor-made for the instrument, also because it must be configured according to the characteristics of the installed pickups.
- Cost - About 40 euros (Average price)
- Availability - Only by Fabio Gobbi
- Difficulty - None, Fabio takes care of it
Conclusions
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, structurally modding a similar tool is almost madness, for very specific reasons:
- it does not have a low level endowment
- structurally improving such an instrument involves very high costs for an out-of-proportion yield
- mechanics and bridge work well, so there is no need to change.
I wanted to give some ideas about electronics, which have a decidedly variable cost, starting from a few euros up to quite important figures.
References
Here are a few sites that I recommend to browse to choose the components:
- banzai music
- Musikding
- Tubeampdoctor
- tubetown
Many of these also cover amplifier components, but we will talk about them on another occasion.
