Top 10 Strat Mods

[sunvalleylaw]

LOL!! That one is good! Stand by your metal man!

[Jimi75]

Well folks, I think there are so many so called experts out there on the internet and on forums and everyone of them has another advice how you can mod or improve your instrument. Eric Johnson is a sound freak. Remember the thread about fuzzes? Eric Johnson exchanges the screws of his fuzz to improve the sound! So what are we talking about here? Removing the lacquer underneath the tremoloblock, underneath the pus?

Please make sure you really want to do this to your instrument before acting in a rush. I believe that you will not hear a difference. Please bear in mind that people with a superior capability of hearing like Eric Johnson are few out there and they hear things we might never hear.

Buy an instrument that you love from the first moment on. Don't buy something where you feel the need that you have to mod this and that! Most of the time when you play on stage with a full band you don't hear such subtle changes.

Fixing the tremolo block is cool, if you don't use the tremolo. Exchanging pus is also something one can do, but that's about what I did to my instruments.

Plug in and play!

[slow&alive]

Sound advice, Jimi75 (no pun intended).

On removing the back cavity cover, I read that Eric Johnson does this on all his guitars because he liked what it did to the sound, so I thought, what the hay, I'll give it a try--can't hurt, and if I don't like it, I can always put the cover back on.

I did this years ago and the cover is still off (noticed a distinct sound improvement immediately, but Y-ear-MMV).

[Mymindsok]

Most of the mods that EJ does are really common sense.

The "removing the rear cavity cover" trick has been around since at least the 70's. Dunno how it works but it does.

Removing the paint under the trem plate lets the bridge transfer the strings vibrational energy directly to the guitar's body.

Removing the paint under the pick guard lets the guitar vibrate more easily.

Cleaning up the neck cavity makes the sounds travel to/through the neck more easily.

Bone nuts are a proven item.

Etc, etc, etc.

I'm currently doing all of the mods to my EJ Strat but I started out by installing a Callaham trem assy. Thats another item that I was warned, would yield no results. WRONG!!! The hi-zoot trem makes for a much better sounding/playing instrument.

I really had my eyes opened when my dealer loaned me his personal 60th Anniversary Strat and it turned out to be the best instrument that I've ever played. He cherry picked the best Strat that came through the shop and then did the usuall mods,. added a titanium trem assy and ended up with an amazing guitar and some of the botique instriments are very fine too and don't cost any more mullah.