Guitar Mods You Probably Don't Need

[@vinniesworld459]

8:48 "A true connoisseur of anything does not have just one" - DUDE!!!!! This made my day

[@Mauitaoist]

My favorite mod is the treble bleed circuit

[@bldallas]

Your second point is key, doing guitar mods is fun. Even if they are aren’t needed. In a related note I also love doing very detailed guitar set ups, incl adjust necks, leveling / crowning / polishing frets, rolling the finger board edges and rounding off fret ends, smooth sanding the backs of (some) necks), setting action and pup heights, etc. Now throw in upgrading the electronics, shielding all the cavities and backs of pickguards, upgrading hardware, etc and I’m addicted. To the point I almost beg my friends to let me set up or upgrade their guitars. Good times.

[@michaeljarvis5489]

I understand completely.

[@BackToTheBlues]

I modded a friend of mine's Strat with a pull-for-on pot on the volume which activated the bridge pickup, and another on the first tone knob which flipped the phase of the bridge pickup. That meant that beside the usual five sounds he also had neck and bridge in phase, the same out of phase, all three on one way, all three on with the bridge phase flipped, and bridge and middle in phase (which I really liked). All the options sounded good, but it probably drove him mad deciding which one to pick for which song!

[@ramencurry6672]

This is one of the Dylan best videos…..Interestingly on guitar forums you have a lot of guys nerding out on tremolo blocks. I don’t think I’ve heard Dylan discuss tremolo blocks yet

[@davidgriffith3938]

I am building my first kit, a Solo Guitars telecaster kit. Before even starting I decided to get locking tuners, Tex Mex pickups, a Mojotune 4 way wiring harness and Gotoh brass compensating saddles. I am having a great time!

[@matthewaltomare7629]

I’m one of those who love the tinker and really look forward to modding/replacing just for fun. Geez, the amount I’ve sank into cars and mods, I could’ve been retired by now. I preordered one of those JHS Notaklon kits just for the 15 mins of fun I’ll have putting it together whenever they start shipping again.

[@stephanpeters3875]

You could also try one of those copper sound pedals boards if you want more than 15 minutes. Josh just did a couple videos using their breadboards in the last couple weeks.

[@dw7704]

I know someone like that. I would get a new guitar and ask me what I was going to mod on it, and normally the answer is no mods, or replacing the knobs…

[@Joe-mz6dc]

I've built multiple BYOC pedals and they are good quality and a lot of fun to build and they sound great. Just saying.

[@Glicksman1]

Four of the bridge saddles on my ’62 Strat rusted out so badly that the height-adjustment screws were slipping right through them. I could have replaced them with “vintage”- looking, new Fender Strat saddles, or even sought very expensive real vintage ones, but I looked around and found a Fender-style Strat saddle that seemed to me to be a definite design improvement over the original ones while still looking vintage-correct on my precious and otherwise completely original ‘62. What I got were Callahan Strat saddles, an innovative design that, among other good and clever things, keeps the height-adjustment screw ends from scraping against your right hand. I bought them with the correct spacing for my ’62, and in an “aged”- looking finish as a bright, new set of saddles would look silly on my well-preserved 62-year-old but well-played Strat. This is a “mod” that I highly recommend as it improves the playability of the guitar without degrading its sound in any way, possibly enhancing it, and without breaking the bank.

[@codykastler4709]

The only thing I wish you would have covered is dummy coils. I would love to hear your thoughts on them. Thanks bro.

[@whyis45stillalive]

@ 10:01 The Burny L-55 sustain module has to be the pinnacle of sustain.

[@mattrector431]

I will say, I love modding stuff. I have a guitar right now with series/parallel/split for hsh guitar. all but worthless honestly except for the neck pickup. The best mulit "voiced" pickup set I've ever used, was honestly the fishman fluence open core classic. I used almost all the voicings regularly live except the single coil bridge. Recording, never ever. For live, it was just a thing of wonder when I was pinned to needing a 1 guitar do all for quick fill in gigs of 4-5 song sets. Was especially useful for playing worship sets at church where I bounce from rhythm parts, lead parts, single coily acousticy sounding parts. With was a good approximation that suited the roles beautifully.

[@MrSoulauctioneer]

bought an aftermarket strat pickguard cut for Brian May's switching to put on a knock-off strat copy I was saving from the burn barrel. Neck lined up intonated great all was a success.....except the pickguard wouldnt line up for some reason. So here I sit, looking at my new 2022 Fender Player that just came this week. I have no complaints about it except the bent saddles. Oh yeah, I'll swap the pickguards when the new roller saddles get here. So it will be a Red Special in a Strat body with Fender pickups instead of Tri-Sonics, the roller saddles will be a parallel with May's roller bridge. Now to find a 24 fret strat with a 24" neck scale.

[@wally-001]

Man I have bought guitars for the sole purpose of nodding them. But, at that point I already know exactly what I wanna do. So, need and want are two different things. But, any mod I do is gonna make my guitar better. I'm never concerned with resale value as I'm not really intending to sell any of my guitars. And I always want my guitars to be the best that they can be. To each his own bro. Good stuff

[@Strongholle]

I always mod, tasteful mods can increase how desirable a guitar is & it’s value. Independently of that, I like a guitar that feels my own.

[@wally-001]

​@@StrongholleYes man! Exactly what I'm saying

[@Strongholle]

@@wally-001 Plus, with all that aside, you can unlock some serious potential in some guitars. My all time favourite instrument I initially didn't fall in love with, it had about 10 different pickups, a different bridge and some tinkering with pot and cap values before it felt right but after all that I'd never consider selling it or changing a thing about it, and rarely do I play a guitar that comes close.

[@wally-001]

​@@StrongholleAwesome story man. And I find that with a couple of guitars I own as well. It really is all about matching the pickup to the tone wood, is what I find. And when you finally strike gold, it's so glorious. I have pickups that I absolutely hated on one guitar sounds incredible in another guitar. It's all about funding those magical combinations

[@norseman61]

I hear you about the “10-way” switches. A couple years ago I wanted to get a do-everything guitar due to a tight budget. I was agonizing over several Michael Kelly Teles that had an almost infinite combination of switching, coil-splits, etc. Finally, I settled on a good ol’ straight up Tele with a 3-way switch. Although I do switch between pickups, my amp settings stay right where they are. I found my sound and now I stick with it!

[@ramencurry6672]

A 10 way switch is probably fine if you’re playing in 3 different bands. Maybe in one band you’re just a rhythm guitarist so certain pickup selections may be useful……However switches that are more complicated in theory are more prone to fail in the long run…..Also the different nuances of unusual pick up selections may be too subtle in a song mix that it could be a waste of effort using that switch

[@vw9659]

Your explanation of string vibration energy being almost all *lost* by the time it reaches a tele's ferrules was not quite correct (although the answer to the poster's queestion remains the same - the ferrules are essentially irrelevant to sustain). 99% of the vibration energy is not lost - it is reflected back up the string at the saddle. Only a little vibration energy passes over the saddle, less passes over the string contact point as it goes through the bridge plate, etc, etc. So, little energy reaches the ferrules, because almost all of the energy went back up the string. Sustain would be near zero if the string energy was mostly lost when each string vibration wave reached the saddle. See ch 7 of Zollner's "Physics of the Electric Guitar".

[@explorervango880]

String Spoiler on a Bigsby is a must not because it makes the guitar play or sound better. Maybe it looks worse if you look close. I want it because it makes restringing it a lot faster, easier, and less frustrating.

[@dawnhumbles423]

I was a luthier back in late 70's through the 80's and we did some stereo wiring where the humbuckers were split and any combination of coils and pickups could go to either amp just by using mini toggle switches. The possibilities were really cool but it was too difficult and complicated for live stage work.

[@ramencurry6672]

Stereo output on an actual guitar is used on stage today but it’s not common. Trey Anastasio does it

[@lone-wolf-1]

A kill switch is just a fun gimmick but not very usefull. I used it just a few times on a HSS guitar while noodeling. Now, after few weeks I want to swap it with a neck pup on/off switch, to have all pups on or bridge + neck. On a well set up strat style trem guitar, with all friction points carefully lubed, I noticed an increase in stabillity only for some 3% with the locking tuners. So, Dylan is right about that, lockings are good for fast string change, but do not help much for stability. I only swap the TOM saddles with roller ones, if I miss top end. Roller saddles allow the strings to move on the contact point in comparison to normal saddles wich are pinching the string. So the tiny bits behind the saddles till the tailpiece vibrate more and are inducing these high frequencies into the plucked string. And I do wax potting the rollers or fixate them with super tiny droplets of superglue, to prevent any buzz or vibration. 😅 Works fine. 😊

[@sunn_bass]

Great video. Catching after the fact because I'm traveling. As a bass player, hi-mass bridges are a pet peeve of mine as far as improving sustain. The old bent metal steel bridge is perfectly fine. Plus chromed steel ages way nicer than the zinc alloy most every hi-mass bridge is made of because pitted zinc looks bad. HiMass bridges serve two real functions: 1. to balance a neck heavy bass by adding weight to the body and 2. because they do look cool.

[@michaeljarvis5489]

I was wondering about this very subject. The simple bent metal plate bridges just look too basic to keep, yet they seem to work just fine where it counts, in sound and ease of use. I was also wondering if changing a bass to string through body set up has any real benefit, or if it's just a look. I tend to think that it may tighten up the whole instrument, but then, does that even matter? Do I even need more sustain anyway? Anybody?

[@sunn_bass]

@michaeljarvis5489 I've had both string though and tailpiece mounted basses, and one bass i had could go either way. I couldn't tell any difference in sound or sustain to be honest. Feel wasn't much if any difference if any. However I tended to break strings faster on the through body stringing due to the harsh angle. For a traditional bass, give me a bent metal or nice quick release bridge any day over a through body bridge, which ever looks best on the bass.

[@whyis45stillalive]

Does that mean I did well, not getting a "String Butler", for .99¢ on AliE? However, I did get a knock-off set of Probuckers, and a P94, for my $220 Chibson Black Beauty. (Got all three just for the open gold covers.)

[@stringybarkin]

I love making junk old stereo speakers into crazy arted up guitar cabs etc etc etc etc etc etc

[@strumminronin]

Thanks Dylan. Anything to help save money! 💖🕊️🤘

[@dw7704]

If I have tuning issues with my Gibson, it’s me not tuning it properly If it’s tuned properly it’s good.

[@geekinthegarden3927]

I went for Volume nobs that go to 15, just so I can turn them DOWN to 11. I only get cheap guitars to mess with mods (when I say cheap, they only get above three figures if I include the numbers after the decimal place). Just got an Epiphone LP Express because it's a dinky guitar. Part of me is saying "leave it as it is, keep it original, don't mod it". The rest of me is squashing that part under a pile of sofa cushions whilst browsing for pickups. Now what am I (not) going to do with it? Locking Tuners? Zero-Fret? 2 switch Jimmy Page mod? Go faster stripes?

[@dre1kke]

Funny as I have just bought plenty of Soviet military caps of different values😅 Do you think something like Orange Drop caps or Emerson Bumblebees would be better?

[@DylanTalksTone]

Emerson bumblebees are a rip off. Orange drops are better than Russian caps any day

[@ramencurry6672]

In theory Orange Drops are resistant to high humidity environments and they are also good for sloppy soldering since I accidentally burned one and it still worked……That said, those cheap generic caps are also great too and keep in mind many of those cheap caps are actually made by reputable companies like Panasonic, etc……Also many cheap generic Chinese or Taiwanese caps are actually made by companies that actually specialize in caps and it’s their dedicated products

[@polymorphism1966]

Thanks Dylan very informative information, u only use locking tuners for speed of string chang🎉eout

[@Chucksguitargeekery]

I’m spin-a-splttin’ everything. No guitar is safe.

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

"Get a good tech to set up your guitar properly" - people who learn to make their own music should learn to make their own set up. Filing a slot is not rocket science.

[@Strongholle]

As a tech I believe the same and I always try to teach my customers how and why I do what I do if they care to listen. Some people (many of them pro’s) just couldn’t care less, prefer to just pay and forget about it or show interest and try it for themselves but will do major fuckups doing the simplest task. I’ve tried to show two of my regulars countless times how to properly restring for years and they cant do it to save their lives. One a virtuoso, the other a local producer and both really talented.

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

​@@Strongholle I have come to believe that performing musicians are mostly of the "learning by heart" type, rehearsing patterns over hours without understanding and reproducing note by note what others came up with. Explaining doesn't help them.

[@Strongholle]

@@Leo_ofRedKeep Maybe, some people are just mechanically inept. A pro that constantly changes strings and knows that their way of doing so causes tuning and breakage issues and also has access to me and the endless stream of info on the internet and still manages to fuck it up has no excuse, no matter their way of learning. Just like people able to fuck up an oil change or cooking a simple dish. I won't complain, tho, it makes me money and they don't need to worry much about setups.

[@DylanTalksTone]

I mean, I don't change my own oil.... or cut my own grass. I know how, but my time is better spent doing other things. Why can't a musician concentrate on creating and leave the fiddling to someone else?

[@Lomoholga2]

I agree. It connects you with the instrument in a way that’s so basic many ppl scoff at it Hence the actual topic of modding- ppl want to connect with the instrument

[@jetset808]

There is something cool about having Russian military surplus oil and paper capacitors in your guitar

[@J0HN01DATA]

MORE MODS!!

[@timscarrow9151]

The Kill Switch Comment made me laugh.

[@Jan-m5c2r]

Good and important content, but the guns on the wall scare the shit out of me 😞

[@DylanTalksTone]

Why… they are on the other side of the internet… they are not sentient beings that can just jump off the wall

[@MrKenstar2]

This is the “Everything you do is wrong “ channel

[@DylanTalksTone]

Where do you get that idea lol

[@robbarker9878]

Does string butler really do nothing? I mean clearly the break angles are less

[@DylanTalksTone]

I didn’t say “it does nothing”

[@robbarker9878]

@@DylanTalksTone your commenter did

[@18JR78]

I have one and it definitely makes that noticeable difference once you start tuning.

[@7171jay]

@robbarker. I bought the String Butler and while it seems theoretically like it should be a good thing found that it didn't seem to do much for my guitar. Refiled the nutslots just slightly to go along with the angle to the tuners and that is what actually fixed the guitar's tuning issues. I still have all the all String Butler parts in the bag they came in if anybody is interested in one for cheap.

[@DylanTalksTone]

Yeah. A properly cut nut will do better than a strong butler

[@MrSoulauctioneer]

I don't think break angle at the nut is an issue for fixed bridge guitars. I'm pretty sure that the straightest string path reduces friction at the nut is a physics thing and our opinions are moo points. I don't have a problem with my Eclipse staying in tune. And Jose did a good job on my Strat. I don't have tuning issues.

[@Trauzzinator]

What the hell is a 10 way switch???

[@Nursemedic97]

Not sure if you’re being serious or not, but it’s a 5-way where the switch rod can… click over to the side, perpendicular to the usual axis of travel, if that makes sense. It contacts another, separate set of 5 contacts that can be used for other wiring patterns, like bridge/neck and “all 3 on” settings.

[@frankhunt2800]

Do you no anything about a gibson trad pro v. I seen a few vidoe but not to informative

[@stephanpeters3875]

Old Russian transistors can be very cool in home-made pedals, especially if you are just playing around with a breadboard. I wouldn't trust old oil capacitors at all, no matter where they were made. The oil degrades. Maybe the old oil will give you an awesome tone for a couple years, but you'll never recreate it. Then again, maybe not.

[@serritt005]

do you think there is a tonal difference in a single humbucker guitar than a HSH in the bridge position? im thinking getting rid of the middle pickup cus i dont use it at all and it gets in the way of strumming

[@ItsVictoriaG]

7:26 Brian May uses a rocket launcher at the end of the headstock during A Kind of Magic to imitate the music video! Always a crowd pleaser.

[@2000SkyView]

#1 unnecessary mod - pickups!

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

Locking tuners won't prevent your guitar from being stolen. You need a locking case for that. Some people need to be told everything ;(