LTD Viper 50 mod project...was it worth it?

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This LTD Viper was my first guitar, and it's been lying around for ages begging and pleading for an upgrade. Thanks to something that rhymes with "shmovid," I've found room in my schedule to get it done, at least for now. Was it a worthwhile use of my time and money, or should this rusty old thing have gone to the scrap heap? Watch and find out! (spoilers: worth it more as an enriching and interesting experience than as a bang-for-buck upgrade).
Timestamps:
What was I going for? 3:34
Tuners 4:02
Nut 5:12
Frets 6:30
Neck 7:26
Pickups 8:55
Bridge and tailpiece 11:26
Miscellaneous stuff 12:44
Was it worth it? 14:02
To get the tones you hear in this video, I used a mix of JST Toneforge Jeff Loomis (for cleans and lead guitar) and the Fortin Cali plugin (for distorted rhythm tones).

[@jameslanclos568]

Gold pickup covers and gold screws for the pickup rings would have been a nice touch.

[@hemipirate]

Thanks for this video, this is exactly what I was looking for. Looks and sounds great, man!

[@charlieriffs478]

Awesome! Love it! I ordered a Viper LTD 50 recently with the purpose of modding it. Love how your build looks

projects sure are fun and you can't go wrong with a JB & Jazz combo :)

[@numero6285]

I’m not totally agree. I installed the SH4 JB on my Viper50 and I didn’t like it at all. I think that this guitar (close to SG) needs hot pickups like the Gibson 498t. Finally, I installed a set of Wilkinson MWHZ and it’s exactly what I expected for a very affordable cost 👌

[@Scopix8K]

Man i love what you did to your viper!

[@cannedmilk]

Nice upgrades! Would be extra sweet if the Duncan’s had the gold covers too. I have an old Viper 400 that my friend found in his closet. Didn’t want it anymore and I fixed it. Now I have a sexy Korean viper with EMGs in the natural burst finish. Probably the best playing guitar I ever had.

[@LA80sMike]

Exactly make it yours, I recently got a Viper 301 (MIK) replaced the pots with Seymour Duncan/Bournes pots, funny i also have a Jackson Dinky with a Seymour Duncan JB so i took out the viper pickups EMG Hz (not too crazy about them), and put in the JB.. Incredible sounding now!! Its slowly becoming my main guitar...

[@TheLowest]

At first i hated how it looked with gold hardware, but you made a persuasive point with the batman logo. Suits the guitar perfectly

[@esheero]

I got a Viper-300 from 2001, still plays like a beast!

[@mathewkirk1748]

Just got this guitar from a pawnshop for next to nothing. I'm keeping it banged-up and doing what you did with the matte chrome hardware and some Lars Frederiksen EMGs and new wiring. Might only save $300 over buying a new Lars Viper, but it'll be totally original and a shit-tonne of fun. Of course they are worth it.

[@joshboatwright6600]

Viper was my second guitar but first guitar I bought with my own money. I gave it to mt best friends little brother and now 6-7 years later, I just bought another one and am gonna upgrade it hopefully similar to this 🙏

[@ulrika8198]

This is my first guitar too. Ltd changed the number label to a viper-10, but it's the same specifications as the viper-50. Although I think the neck is no longer finished, it's just the varnished wood. I also wanted to mod it just like yours, since it's my very first guitar and I've had it for 11 years already during my awesome teenage years, all hardware gold and a pair of SD Alpha & Omega pickups, but I never really liked the shape enough. I still have it, but I'm going to give it some maintenance and sell it. I liked more the les paul shape, the EC-10 in red, so I hope I can get my hands on one and at some point change everything I was going to do for the viper, for it to look like an EC-1000 Gold Andromeda. Fell in love with that guitar but the price is overwhelming for me. I loved your video! And I also dig the new sound of it, those SD are beasts!!

[@DoomOfConviction]

Imagine a close friend of mine gifted me his first guitar he got with 14 and it’s also a Viper 50. I played bass my entire life and just said that I would love to start out playing guitar and he gave me his first guitar as a birthday present. He owns many guitars but I treat his first like a gem because she’s also my first guitar now. Edit: and now I’m shopping for a EMG Humbucker set Grover locking tuners..

[@DoomOfConviction]

Update: I upgraded everything on the Guitar, the nut is also the Graph Tech Tusq XL, I went with Grover Rotomatics locking tuners, a TonePros Bridge and Tail piece set, bought a Pair of EMG 81 and 85 and got completely blacked out screws and Pods. It’s a Beast now and I’ll payed 391,60$ for the material and upgraded everything myself. Considering I didn't pay anything for the guitar and gained a lot of experience, it was worth the work. thanks a lot for the inspiration, I hope you always hit the note you want. ;)

[@GettingBentWithBo]

Thanks for sharing. I was given a Viper 50 and I really don't like the sound of the pickups in it other that than it's a solid guitar. I am going to upgrade my pickups to a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge & SH-1n 59 Neck Looking forward to it! Go Pittsburgh!

[@stevenlouden6836]

You don't know what model of nut you bought for it. I'm looking at replacing it with same brand but I'm unclear on which ones would actually fit. You've done a great job with it.

[@markpowers7823]

How many people even have their first guitar? What you did was worth it. It looks good, plays better, sounds better. You will start to play it more again. Did you consider gold pickup rings?

[@BenRobsonMusic]

I did consider gold pickup rings! I may still get them at some point. Then again, I also might swap in some gold covered pickups instead.

[@dcfromthev]

I still have mine! Fender Squier strat in sunburst and white. It's rusty and not currently setup, but its actually still in great shape overall! I even still have my second and third guitars, one of which is broken in half. I have the severed headstock hanging on the wall in front of my desk. I hang my scissors on one of the tuning knobs lol

[@jamesmarchetti3286]

Great job on a good and entertaining video I Have a couple guitars eventually I'm gonna do some upgrades on.

[@wormsy2222]

Good video, thanks for the info. What’s the song you were playing @ 11:00 mins into the video? Thanks

[@Worathum]

Great Vid Ben! Btw, may I ask did you install the JB regular sized humbucker (SH-4) or the JB Trembucker (TB-4)?

[@BenRobsonMusic]

Good question! I used the regular SH-4.

[@kingveller]

I have a Viper-50 and put Seymour Duncan Black Winter pickups and Brother, IT IS KILLER!!!

[@KINGV2189]

Throwing Black Winter pickups for the neck and bridge on my white Viper-50! I’ll keep you posted! LoL!!!

[@KINGV2189]

Bought it used for $125 from a single owner, $150 for the Black Winters and $29 for the 500k Seymour Duncan Liberator pot. Doing all the work myself. Everything arrives on 4/8.

[@KINGV2189]

Been a while! Threw those Seymour Duncan Black Winter pickups and I sounds absolutely KILLLER!!! It can play anything and cleans sound like a dream! The coolest part is when it’s time to open it up, I have it there, READY TO GO!

[@Wabin22]

Great story man! I think you should be proud having taken your time to buff up your old guitar, people seem to put down too much on "cheaper" guitars and saying it's not worth upgrading them.. Allthough I think it's the individuals decision, but if you like a guitar it shouldn't matter if it's cheaper or expensive - just take pride in it and play the shit out of it. In regards to upgrades I was thinking of getting an EC-1000 just because I like the satin look and it's simply a great instrument, however I was thinking of getting rid off the neck pickup and the switch (I always hit the switch on LP style guitars) so I thought it would be better if I'd do changes like these to a cheaper guitar. So now I'm looking to get the satin black EC-256 instead, as it has all the things I want and it kinda feels dumb to buy a high end expensive guitar if you're just gonna scale it down.

[@christopheriac5]

mine chipped in the same exact spot! hahah

[@brightideas5782]

Very cool thx Rock on ,,!!!

[@mrpaiute9013]

... so just buy the Viper 256 then?

[@brokenmechanics1772]

What nut would you recommend because I don't feel like sanding it down?

[@gringogreen4719]

Vipers are more of a cross of a Les Paul for weight and girth, mixed with an Jaguar or Jazzmaster because the body is really offset comparrd to a Les Paul or an SG. They really only bear a SG resemblance due to the horns. If you have played or owned an SG, the Viper is very far away from how it feels and plays. The biggest thing is that the guitar shifts to the left. The neck feels more like a bass than your standard Fender or Gibson. I own a 06 Ltd Viper 400 with Seymour Duncan pickups ( stock, Custom V in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck). It is a NAMM prototype. I decided to go with a Bigsby on mine on a Vibramate but that will get decked and move it further back. I play more Punk and Psychobilly hence the mod. Also I have CTS coil split pots for it. The thing weighs a ton, like 70s P Bass. Its a great guitar. It really is its own beast but definitely not an SG. Oh by the way, pickups change when you switch them in guitars. Not huge but definitely noticable.

[@gringogreen4719]

@@fredriksvard2603 Indeed...

[@EXSENTRIX]

Is it just me or does this guitar have a very slim neck? I have an ltd 50 too. It seems like the fret board isn't wide enough. I don't have big hands either. Idk maybe I'm crazy.

[@EXSENTRIX]

The quality of the neck is amazing though omg lol.

[@BenRobsonMusic]

You aren't crazy! The fretboard is kinda narrow, compared to my other guitars, anyway. Tighter string spacing, too.

[@ignuciousii1278]

Hey man! Where did you buy the gold hardware?

[@BenRobsonMusic]

I bought it on Reverb!