Warning. What you are about to see is disturbing.

[Von Trapp]

It's his guitar so he can do what he likes with it and if you can't do whatever you like with your possessions you don't own them, you just rent them. Personally I think it looks like sh!t but that's just me and that don't mean I don't respect his right to do whatever he likes with his things.

HOWEVER. In this case everything sounds extremely stupid, especially the "skilled luthier" who should have said "Dude, this guitar might just not be for you" instead of doing that miserably ugly job. Or at least said "Are you sure this is what you want because you ain't gettin you money back if you sell it". I have plenty of guitars that I've personalized to the point where I won't get what I paid for them, or the things I put on them, but I knew that and I don't care. Now if that was the case here then it's all good but unfortunately it seems he didn't really reason that way or he would have asked for like 600 bucks. (which he wouldn't get because who the f wants a guitar with ONE pickup in the MIDDLE?!) And yeah, what's holding those pickups up?!

Also, if it sounded "to tinny" (sic) and "the tuners slipped" then that surely isn't the way to go. There were SO may other options available...

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Couldn't say for sure if a batwing would cover it all, but I think so because it looks like the screws for the ebony cover stay within the bounds of the original P90 route. Although there may be screw holes from the original pickguard visible.

What really peeves me is that this guy bought a brand new guitar, hacked it up immediately and then decided he didn't like it, all within one year. How impulsive can you get? Maybe sit with it for a little while and decide whether you want to keep it before hacking it up? Hello?

AND did a shide job of it too, OR else it is a troll trying to jack us around, and tweak us up

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

HOWEVER. In this case everything sounds extremely stupid, especially the "skilled luthier" who should have said "Dude, this guitar might just not be for you" instead of doing that miserably ugly job. Or at least said "Are you sure this is what you want because you ain't gettin you money back if you sell it". I have plenty of guitars that I've personalized to the point where I won't get what I paid for them, or the things I put on them, but I knew that and I don't care. Now if that was the case here then it's all good but unfortunately it seems he didn't really reason that way or he would have asked for like 600 bucks. (which he wouldn't get because who the f wants a guitar with ONE pickup in the MIDDLE?!) And yeah, what's holding those pickups up?!

Also, if it sounded "to tinny" (sic) and "the tuners slipped" then that surely isn't the way to go. There were SO may other options available...

If we disregard my troll comment and get to VT;s points here, I agree and the skilled luthier was no ally. VT was right on about "dude..." and what will result is an unsellable guitar. Worst part is if he bought it new, he could have gotten a refund, and bought a different guitar. As is he can barely sell it as a husk,

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

As to this scenario of modding past resale value, I am sure many guitarists have done this. Here is my own example. My just under $400 EPI LP has a bone nut installed and a set of T top pickups installed. It is a nice playing guitar, set up perfectly and the sound to die for with the T Tops, but I bet no one would pay $750-$800 for an Epi LP STD

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Here is the LP in stock form. EPI pups and plastic nut.

 

[Von Trapp]

....Worst part is if he bought it new, he could have gotten a refund, and bought a different guitar. As is he can barely sell it as a husk,

Hahaha, I didn't even think of that one. OR he could have posted here first."Has anyone ever etc and how did that go etc..." or just "My guitar sounds "too tinny" (plenty of those kind of posts around) and gotten some solid advice. But nooooo, he thought he was cleverer than us! (joke)

(googled the luthier and I feel I have to take back the bunny ears, seems absolutely legit. Still, wtf?!)

 

[PauloQS]

Plenty of these aberrations in the market. Person buys guitar and thinks they’re Frank Zappa and mod the hell out of their guitar. After the damage is done regret hits and they try to get their money back. Obviously that’s not gonna happen. They can post all the invoices they want on their sale listings, it’s not going to help recover the damage they’ve done. It’s a good life lesson, just don’t expect us to pay for their tuition.

 

[Go Nigel Go]

Looks like something I might buy for a hundred bucks or so as a project though... I love it when I can literally do no wrong for a couple of hundred bucks.

Modding can be very cool, but if you expect to hold any value on the finished project, it really pays to know what you are doing and why. If you just butcher a guitar, only to find it plays and sounds worse than before don't expect to recoup your original investment, and certainly not the cost of the mods. You can either part it out, or sell it "as is" to one of us bottom feeders to try and rescue.

Even if you know you want to modify a guitar to make something special, start with something close at least. Why start with a guitar with single coils if you know you want humbuckers, a Floyd Rose if you want a Bigsby,etc. Also, if you really want to go full custom, it may be best to start from parts to begin with and actually do a full custom build. You can buy multiple bodies and necks all day long for a lot less than most finished guitars.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Hahaha, I didn't even think of that one. OR he could have posted here first."Has anyone ever etc and how did that go etc..." or just "My guitar sounds "too tinny" (plenty of those kind of posts around) and gotten some solid advice. But nooooo, he thought he was cleverer than us! (joke)

(googled the luthier and I feel I have to take back the bunny ears, seems absolutely legit. Still, wtf?!)

Yup, still wtf?

 

[fuzbuzz78]

It looks like the reverb listing was removed. It didn’t show up as sold either. I’d imagine he got tired of the $100 offers and took the listing down because it’s clearly a buyers market, at the moment.

 

[Von Trapp]

It looks like the reverb listing was removed. It didn’t show up as sold either. I’d imagine he got tired of the $100 offers and took took the listing down because it’s clearly a buyers market, at the moment.

It'll be a VERY long moment for that guitar at least...

 

[Bettyboo]

SO, it is possible to make that bastard SG into a 3 pup one, just not a "Custom" looking one.

Hey, Chilli - why not just turn it into a '67 style batwing?



(The abused SG would have come with a dogear, so it might end up a bit messy under the pick guard, but the short maestro would take one's attention away from that.)

Put on some strip tuners then you're good to go...

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Good Idea, Betty Grumpy.

Looks like a beaut there.

 

[Steve D]

https://imgur.com/a/7BqykDF

This makes me so sad. What do you guys think?

I'm on the side that says "It's your guitar, it's a tool for making music so do whatever you like and that helps you make the music you want" Especially for guitars that are modern, not vintage. But I'm also on the side that says "Mods devalue your guitar, unless you find that one unicorn who always wanted those very same mods or you are a famous rock god. Minor mods devalue it a little, extreme mods devalue it extremely. So if you sell it don't expect full value anymore"

Now if you'll excuse me I have to use a grinder to put serrations in the bevels on my SG so it looks like it has shark's teeth ...

 

[Von Trapp]

I'm on the side that says "It's your guitar, it's a tool for making music so do whatever you like and that helps you make the music you want" Especially for guitars that are modern, not vintage. But I'm also on the side that says "Mods devalue your guitar, unless you find that one unicorn who always wanted those very same mods or you are a famous rock god. Minor mods devalue it a little, extreme mods devalue it extremely. So if you sell it don't expect full value anymore"

Now if you'll excuse me I have to use a grinder to put serrations in the bevels on my SG so it looks like it has shark's teeth ...

What a great idea!

 

[Gibbo SG]

Well, so now what you have is a strong candidate for a 3 pickup conversion, and hopefully at a nice price. Not my bag, but hey!

 

[Rob1299]

How to take a $1,400 guitar and turn it into a $70 guitar.

Yes. Please do that. And then sell it to me. That is one nice $70 guitar!

 

[Chris Kline]

Thing I can't understand is the guy bastardized the guitar then figures out it ain't for him. I have no problem modding a guitar but only after I know I'm not selling it.