If you’ve been playing guitar for a while, you’ve surely experienced an instrument that was almost perfect for you. It had the tone and playability to draw you in, but now that it’s yours, it seems to always fall slightly short of your expectations in one way or another. Instead of starting from scratch and looking for your next guitar, why not try some minor mods that can result in big benefits? Let’s take a look at five simple upgrades you can apply to practically any guitar.
Tuning Machines
Ideally, your tuning machines will hold your strings’ pitch with rock-solid reliability. In less than ideal circumstances, subpar tuning machines can cause you to retune constantly and can even rob you of sustain and contribute to string buzz. Thankfully you can score a set of premium tuning machines for less than the price of a new effects pedal, whether you’re looking for official replacement parts by Fender or Gibson or looking at player-favorite aftermarket sets by Grover, Sperzel, and others. Pro tip: for faster string changes and better tuning stability, get yourself a set of locking tuners.
Shop for tuning machines here.
Nut
Your guitar’s nut not only affects its overall tonality, but it also plays a critical role in achieving proper string action. Sweetwater’s own Guitar Workshop can install this or you can find a guitar tech to file your new nut for you, to make sure the strings break over it at the correct angle and that they’ll have the correct height over your frets. Tone-wise, almost any material will offer sonic benefits compared with a plastic nut, which can dampen sustain and overtones. If you feel like your guitar tone should have a bit more depth and dimension, and it’s got a plastic nut, replacing the nut with one made from a different material can yield surprising results for a very small investment.
See a variety of guitar nuts here.
New Pickups
Depending on your comfort zone, swapping out guitar pickups may be something you’re comfortable doing yourself, or Sweetwater’s Guitar Workshop can do it for you if you don’t have an experienced guitar tech to do the swap for you. Either way, replacing your guitar pickups is a great way to breathe new life into your instrument — the perfect solution for a guitar that plays like a dream but falls short when it comes to tonality.
Check out replacement guitar pickups here.
New Bridge and Saddle
Just like replacing the nut as discussed above, replacing your guitar’s bridge with a high-quality upgrade can improve sustain and sonic definition. If you’re having trouble getting your existing bridge to intonate properly, a replacement bridge may give you the extra saddle adjustment range you need. There are different materials available — both for the bridge and for the saddle — that offer a range of tonal characteristics to explore. Especially on low-cost import guitars, upgrading the bridge is one of the best simple improvements you can make.
Check out replacement bridges here.
New Electronics
Upgrading the electronics, such as with a prewired kit from Emerson Custom, can really open up the sound of your guitar. This is a great upgrade to make before updating your pickups too — premium electronics packages not only allow your guitar’s pickups to sound their best, but they can also offer more tonal variations or pickup combinations than your stock electronics allow. By upgrading the electronics in your guitar, you’re ensuring that your signal path is as good as it can be, starting right from the source.
Shop prewired electronics kits for your guitar here.
Not sure if one of these upgrades is right for your guitar? Or maybe you’re not sure if you’re ready to perform these upgrades yourself. Just give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 and we’ll be happy to advise.