Guitar Modification
From Mod Mania
Guitar Modification
Guitar Modification Alan Menhennet
Guitar modification can take numerous forms, from subtle electronic re-configurations to complete re-finishes and even modify the actual shape of the guitar.
There are numerous reasons why people choose to modify a guitar, one such example is turning a otherwise useless guitar (often useless in the modifiers eyes such as the Stratocaster and Superstrat) into something that is deemed functional. I will use this example because it is something that I have personally undertaken. Over a period of several weeks I turned a cheap clone Stratocaster into what is commonly referred to as a “Superstrat”.
Guitar Company Fender created the Stratocaster guitar in 1954 and featured very different construction to guitars of its day. Its manufacturing has been likened to that of the automotive world, the body is a single slab of wood that is almost completely flat as opposed to other guitars with arch or curved tops, this made production quicker. Another new idea was the pick guard. Instead of mounting all the electronics into the wood, everything except the jack was mounted on a piece of plastic called the pick guard. This ease of construction has made the Stratocaster one of the easiest guitars to modify and create from scratch.
Although several musicians had made “Superstrats”, which are simply Stratocasters that have been made “better”, generally to create a rock or metal sound, Eddie Van Halen or commonly shortened to just EVH popularized the idea. As such, his guitar is not referred to as a Superstrat, but rather as the Frankenstrat, a melding between Stratocaster and Frankenstien, a reference of EVH’s goal to mix the sound of a Gibson, with the look of a Stratocaster. EVH bought the body and neck for $130 and assembled the guitar himself. EVH’s first new technique was to get his PAF (patent applied for) Humbucker from his Gibson guitar and dip it in paraffin wax to reduce microphonic feedback. Since then, major guitar manufactures have adopted this technique. The only draw back was, if you held it in the wax too long, you would melt the pickup. But this pickup and his modifications to his guitar amps which I won’t cover helped produce a signature sound, which has been called the ‘brown sound’. The guitars paintjob has become legendary and is recognized by many people instantly. EVH painted his guitar black, striped the guitar in masking tape then sprayed it white and removed the tape. This paint scheme got so popular that in 1979 EVH painted a red coat of paint using the same method of masking tape to create the current design which is known as the RWB (Red-White-Blue) Frankenstrat.
Eddie Van Halen’s modifications have also spawned several communities of modders, with the one goal, to perfectly recreate EVH’s guitar/s. Member’s of these communities recreate the paintjob perfectly as it would have looked right after Ed himself painted it, but after 30 years of performing his guitar has many ‘battle’ scars, and as such simply replicating the paint scheme isn’t enough. There are numerous pages of documentation on the scratches, burns, chips and scrapes on his guitars and how to recreate them. Since EVH created his Frankenstrat many years before the creation of the internet, people had been doing this for many years, and when the internet rolled around, it provided the perfect medium to establish communities to share knowledge. Van Halen was/is an American band, but that has not limited the guitars appeal. In an issue of the Japanese Young Guitar magazine, an article showed how to recreate one of Eddie’s guitars known as ‘The Shark’
Two Van Halen specific communities are the ones at www.frankenstraat.com and www.halen.com
The forum at Frankenstraat.com I have personally joined when undertaking my own mod. Unfortunately the site is currently down having suffered hacking attacks. The group there were incredibly helpful and answered any question I threw at them. The skills of the group ranged from beginners, to the sites owner “James” who manufactures guitar bodies and necks and sold them in kits for producing your own custom guitar.
James however is not the first person to realize there is profit in custom guitars. During the Rock and Metal era of the late 70’s and 80’s the idea of Superstrats were incredibly popular, and many companies sprang up and even the creator of the Stratocaster, Fender got in on the trend and created their own Superstrats such as the one pictured.
Two companies that sprang up and established a strong business were Kramer and Charvel, who at some point were both endorsed by Eddie Van Halen, and both closed down when the Metal era died down, and have both since been purchased by larger companies and have begun to sell their now ‘classic’ Superstrats.
But Eddie Van Halen replica’s are not the only thing you can do to your guitar. The website and community at http://www.projectguitar.com/ specialize in practically any guitar modification and many one of kind jobs. The site has an excellent forum, and pages and pages of guides to create your own personalized guitar.
The internet has become a fantastic tool for the modification of this very old instrument. It has been said that EVH’s Frankenstrat only has one pot (volume knob) on it because he didn’t know how to wire anything more compex. But today, pickup companies such as Seymour Duncan offer wiring diagrams for nearly every conceivable configuration.
Locally, I personally know people who will ‘setup’ friends guitars, modify pickup heights, bridge set ups and many more things to fine tune the instrument. Which is something at some stage, every guitarist will do. Small communities also spring up between friends. I often discuss modifications with my friends, and personal guitar preferences are always an easy way to start conversations about creating the perfect guitar, with each person offering advice on how to achieve it.
One friend however also creates custom Effects pedals and gives them to friends to try out. When I mention to people, even non musicians that I’ve done some custom work, simply using the word custom creates a ‘cool-factor’ which appeals to many people, and which I think is one of the most alluring parts of guitar modification.
Companies have long since realized that guitarist’s modifications of their products can create new markets for them. Today many of the most expensive guitars are what are known as Artist Models or Signature Series guitars. Simply put, these guitar companies have made deals with popular artists to recreate their guitars and sell them, and the artist’s get money and a constant supply of guitars, and a company who will make any modification they want for them. But many of these guitarists then take their own Signature Series guitars and modify them more, which are then sold as more expensive models of the original series.
If companies produce artist’s guitars, why is there still need to produce replica’s? Well Fender’s almost identical version of EVH’s Frankenstrat costs $25,000. So to your average guitarist, a few hundred dollars and a couple of weekends, sounds much more appealing, and communities such as Frankenstraat.com and ProjectGuitar.com will continue to flourish.
Websites information directly sourced from www.halen.com www.frankenstraat.com www.projectguitar.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstrat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Stratocaster www.van-halen.com http://www.ultimate-eddievanhalen.com/
Since I’m a guitarist and almost anything about guitars interests me, especially guitar modifications I've spent countless hours of reading websites and books over the last year.
