The Ultimate Squier Upgrade Experiment. Sharpen Your Axe

[@malicesmom]

Thank you all for the positive comments and I am glad to see my experience has inspired some of you to start sharpening your own guitars. (If you would like to see the full length videos of my repair journey, there is a link on the KYG webpage.) Thanks again to Phil and all of the sponsors for putting this together. I have learned a lot and hope the viewers have too. Now, on to my next project guitar!

[@dcn4real]

I'm going to the KYG site next - curious about the 'finished' product (what's on the Phase 2 mod list? ;). Helping your daughter swap her guitar's tuners would be an excellent family time project. Good Luck with the community music program, Melissa, & please post updates!

[@SrDeMaFp]

You did great, Melissa! Congrats and best of luck with your music program!

[@TexanUSMC8089]

Well done.

[@andrewsloan4228]

Melissa, just wanted to say REALLY well done!!! And well done to phil too, great video, maybe I can do that too... if I ever decide which parts to buy!!!😀😀😀 Again, great job 👍!!!

[@necronorris]

Hi Melissa! Did you find you needed a tool to remove the bushing from the old tuners or did they fall right out?

[@coopertrost3816]

There are a ton of different guitar channels on youtube, only a few have something really different to offer. yours is definitely one of them. This stuff is awesome.

[@jbn1237]

OK. I'm sending my guitar to Melissa to sharpen!

[@RobbieTayVaughan]

I laughed so hard. She kicked ass

[@mist4620]

Melissa should start a series called 'Sharpen Your Axe'.

[@OriginalPuro]

Ok.

[@Supperconductor]

Great job Melissa! I was especially impressed at how you kept your cool at that nut slot mishap. I’ve had meltdowns over less, just ask my wife.

[@good_king_guitarman1334]

You're sayin' what everyone else is thinkin'!!!

[@DANWRIGHTITIS]

@@good_king_guitarman1334 . AYE: A FIVE minute job never takes 5 minutes!

[@malicesmom]

Thank you! Yes, my heart totally sank when I did that. Looking back, it was pretty crazy that I would even think to try smashing it in there with a mallet, but you learn from your mistakes, right? I also burned through the insulation on one of old wires with the soldering iron (you can see that on the full length videos on the KYG site). Thought I had ruined it. But again, learning from my mistakes.

[@MrAg127]

I am a 58 year old newby who started on the Donner starter kit. So I still can't play very well but I picked up a free Squire affinity strat 2000 that had some issues. This video is fantastic. I have now changed the jack and fitted a new pickguard to make it play. It has given me confidence to experiment. Thank you you two. It has been so helpful. Its the best video I have seen. I have now sharpened my own axe! Thanks from Scotland.

[@mikew2256]

So awesome. You were great Melissa, very well done.

[@anthonynonya]

Hey Phil I hope you're reading this: Sharpen My Axe is my favortite YT series. So, I've had an Epi LP Special 2 for 15 years, rarely played it. Bought a kit with a small amp not knowing anything. After buying a decent acoustic 2 years ago that I love, I realized I rarely played it because it wasn't fun to play. Your Sharpen series has inspired me. I've replaced the static-ey input jack, have a new nut and tuners on order. I'm also putting chrome covers on the pickups and have changed the knobs to amber. And they go to 11! I have a little fret leveling and polishing to do then get it put back together. I'm excited! Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your great content, the education you provide, your humility, and most of all your inspiration to not only upgrade my guitar but also obviously play it more, and have more fun. Thanks!

[@worshipgeek]

Melissa is my hero. Overcoming the hurdles of electric guitar repair with grace and courage, and then turning her newfound skills around to help her community. What a great womsn, and a great video. Thank you both for all the time you put into this for us!

[@tomfoolery2082]

Watching a beginner shines a lite on a few habits iv picked up over the years doin this type of thing that i wont b doin anymore. U go girl!

[@jt1316]

Before I clicked on this video, I thought to myself, yes because I’ve done the same with a squier tele I’ve had for 10 years. When I click, it was a Nice surprise to see more fellow female guitarists. Of course she did a better job because I sort of cheated and bought a a solder-less system Darrell Braun did a video on, but now I’m inspired to try and do the soldering myself! Would probably save me money too!

[@ccmusic2249]

Phil is like the orchestra conductor. You may not think you can do it, but Phil believes in you, and pushes you to greatness. Thanks to Melissa for the courage to try this and thanks to Phil for his primo guidance!

[@niclastname]

I loved this! She seems eager to learn and gain the experience and she seems very sweet! :) The only thing I think was missing was seeing her enjoying the guitar after all the work. I don't need a comparison, but I would've loved seeing her happy with the new hardware! Great idea, great video, great viewer to pick to do it with. She was great

[@jamesdouglas1743]

Awesome job! I want to thank Melissa and Phil. She just gave me enough confidense to mod my first guitar after 16 years of playing. I just ordered my parts and solder gun. Have done everything except soldering to my axe.

[@Klaxet]

For 2009 Squier Strat correct nut model: PQ-5042-00 : TUSQ Slotted Nut 42mm Flat Bottom. I own exactly the same guitar and had to go through this upgrades myself. Very helpful video, thank you.

[@barryjmccormack]

Great video. it was so much more enlightening to see Melissa, a beginner, do it from scratch and see how she overcame all the problems. Well done Mellisa and a great concept Phil

[@mikemce899]

Even though this vid is 7 months old, the content will not only be inspiring it will be timeless. Outstanding work Melissa🎸! Phil McKnight never disappoints. Thank Bud 😀

[@bjl4433]

Great video! Melissa is an awesome woman! It knocked me out that she's going to contribute to her community with what she's learned to do. And Phil, thanks so much for lending your time, contacts and expertise to her ... and to us! I've just retired and moved down south to where I grew up and my workshop is nearly done. I cannot wait to try these mods on some of my project instruments. I have plenty of them, but have been scared to start on even one. Just a super job done by all.

[@ericlewis9638]

Great video Phil & Melissa. Very helpful & interesting! I was very impressed with Melissa’s taking control & not showing any fear or intimidation with the soldering!

[@Strattus19]

LEFTY LOOOOOVE! She did a great job for her first time upgrading her guitar. I did much worse my first time, had to almost throw the pick guard away because my solder job was so bad. Thank God for my best friend, saved the whole project. Now I do much better and your videos have been a point of learning for me!

[@markgueren9633]

That was AWSOME!!! It’s great to see someone just digging in and going out of their comfort zone!!! Great job Melissa!!!

[@SouveekBose]

Phil, the sharpen my axe series is great. I used everything I learnt in your channel to do a squier affinity strat upgrade - gotoh tuners, graphtec nut, rounded fingerboard edges, dress fret ends, upgrade pickups and electronics. Love this channel and this series. Oh and kudos to Melissa as well. Would not have dared to mod my guitar if not for her in this video

[@fraenkiboii]

This is a really cool concept being endlessly entertaining and educational to watch. It's a win-win-win-win. You can teach, someone learns by doing, you get immediate feedback on how your teaching was, the viewers learn PLUS brands (sponsors) can place their products. Cheers from Frankfurt/Germany

[@joelesh1381]

That was super cool! I agree with the comments that Phil thought outside of the box with this video. It was inspiring and definitely not your typical KZbin content. Good job Melissa.

[@mrsips710]

This was a great idea. It was extremely encouraging to see Melissa do all the work on her guitar as a first-timer. I loved it. Great Job, Melissa!

[@manny75586]

Great job! I know from having modded "less than optimal" guitars, she is gonna love it. It's crazy how much a little effort and a little cash makes such a HUGE difference. Even just getting better tuning machines can change the life of a guitar.

[@richardbinder9662]

Great video Phil. The best instructors are the ones with so much knowledge like yourself that can relate the information in an easy to understand way got it beginners. The Graphtech products are just awesome. I really like buying used Squires and Affinity Strats. The first thing I do is replace the nut and string trees with Tusq parts. Vast improvement for not alot of dough.

[@richardbinder9662]

To beginners.

[@richardbinder9662]

@@jonthehermit8082 Cool. It's the passion in the player more than the guitar. Jeff Healy played a Squier and he kicked total ass. Love and appreciate what you got.

[@krelbar]

She learned soldering quicker than most first year students in technical school, where there is an instructor looking over your shoulder rather than much the much more difficult video correspondence. She also grasped concepts quickly AND took the next step and thought things out on her own. After all these years, I've done tons of mods but I still haven't replaced my own nut. This inspires me to learn how to level and dress frets. Just about every guitar under a grand these days comes with unlevel frets. Great job, Melissa! You're well on your way, and off to a quick start!

[@timnoble4137]

Respect to Melissa! Well done, Lady. That was a big ask to do that on video. And a big up to Phillip for giving Melissa, and the rest of us, the confidence to tackle a Sharpen our Axes project. Tip; I really struggled with my first few soldering tasks, so, I practiced soldering on bits of junk to get my technique down before risking it on my guitar parts. And Melissa got it spot on: soldering iron tip cleanliness is critical. "Who's afraid of the soldering iron, the soldering iron? No, not me no more.". Feel free to put that to music, Phillip. Ha Ha.

[@maidenthe80sla]

Hats off to you, Melissa! 🎉🎊👍 You did a fine job of taking on a task that can be very intimidating to some. Plus, the satisfaction you got for working on your Strat; including all the money & time you saved using the DIY method. When you start purchasing new guitars in the future, life will become much simpler when it comes to maintenance and upgrades.

[@waltermalone6056]

I have been avoiding upgrading my own guitars (a small family of Fenders) for a few years now because I figured I would mess them up forever. My take away after watching this: Stop being a baby and learn your gear. Great video. This kinda stuff is why I love this channel!

[@1980bwc]

Awesome job Melissa! This was alot for a beginner to tackle, but you overcame all of the obstacles very well. Good luck in your musical ventures! 🙂

[@mikem3929]

awesome job Melissa! let's here how everything turned out after a bit of playing!!

[@Axxman300]

I just received my $20 guitar tool kit from Amazon, and this week I've going to work on my Iceman. Thanks for this video.

[@mikephelps6511]

Thank You Phil . Ive watching for a few months now and youve inspired me to transform my 1986 G & L ASAT Special . Alot to love in that guitar but Im goig for the Dream . All refinished ( a whole plan for that ) Bur new bridge saddles , nut , tusq retainers . Tuners are still great , love the PUs and Tone pots are flawless . Belly ( smaller than most ad arm rest cut in front . Natural Mahogany with Natural Danish oil finish . Should be steller . I took 6 hours to hand finish the back of the neck . started w 220 grit then grdually worked up to 3000 grit . MAN what an improvement in feel !!!! Im so stoked Phil , Ive only just begun this project but with your help im confident itll be as Good as it gets ! BTW You ARE A Great Teacher .......themks again ....mike p NH USA been playing for 50 years !

[@FrugalFretter]

Just watched this video. This was exactly the kind of content that I was looking for. I’ve been away from the world of guitars for far too long and I’ve been looking to get back into some gear. I’ve also been toying with the idea of trying to upgrade some cheaper used guitars in order to learn that side of things. Thank you to both of you for making this!

[@Chaosdude341]

All I can say is, "Wow!" I'm so thoroughly impressed, and massively encouraged! This is absolutely phenomenal. Great work! Soldering intimidates me more than I'd like to admit in my current stage, but this has given me the courage to give it a good effort to upgrade my rig!

[@Brmmsilva]

Great job Melissa! I've been sharpen my Squier too. Still have some things to do, but is going just fine. Congrats to Melissa on this great video. And to you too, Phil, for showing that anyone can do it.

[@LightningDogg]

Great job Melissa👍. AND Phil for posting. I especially liked seeing everything thru the eyes of a newbie first timer. Her comments & observations gave great insight into "instructional" videos and how much they assume people already know. Would have loved to hear Melissa's final comment on how she thought it turned out.

[@rickeguitar9086]

Very instructive. Melissa, I felt your pain as you would try to replace parts like the nut. You think it would be an easy swap. Then, you discover the darn part is millimeters off. Kudos for not getting frustrated! It is also great that you have made this into a venture where you can encourage other young students to have access to a guitar to learn. Way to go!

[@charleshaman1782]

What a great way to encourage us all to DIY! Thanks, to both Phil and Melissa!!!

[@StephenBecker]

Very nice! I love how she just jumped in and did it, including making mistakes along the way. This is why DIY is the way to go. There's no reason to pay somebody else to do stuff like this when it's really not that hard to do it yourself, and you learn a hell of a lot from both the successes and mistakes. This goes for lots of things beyond upgrading guitars. I personally bought a Squier vintage modified PJ bass a year ago and decided to teach myself how to play. About a month in, I thought the pickups sounded like junk, so I replaced them straight away with the EMG Geezer Butlers. About 6 months in, I decided I hated the lack of precision on the tuning keys, so I replaced those with nice Hipshots. About a couple weeks ago, I decided I was having tuning stability issues due to the bridge, so I put on a Hipshot KickAss bridge. Now, I have a bass that plays *really* well, stays in tune, and sounds great too. Clearly my next upgrade is to replace the stock nut with something better.

[@CKC411]

After a long history of "solder"mares, I faced my fear and soldered my fist pickup last year, I am not sure how, but it is still full functional and now I am a solder junkie. I am still horrible at it and you can pick out my signature globule style anywhere. I am not sure I can say with a straight face that I am getting better, I am just saying that Melissa did an amazing job -- ESPECIALLY for a first time. Overall., a very inspiring Sharpen Melissa's Axe. I hope Phil had a special commemorative shirt made. like, "Melissa's Sharpen my Axe" or Phil's name crossed out and Melissa over it, or just a general "I Sharpened My Axe for those brave souls taking the plunge into axe sharpening. I am in on one of those. Lastly, "Phillip McKnight's Sharpen You're Own Damn Axe." Nice work Melissa and great video Phil!

[@devilsdoorbell]

This is really inspiring. I've never done my own work on my guitar and Melissa's effort and success makes it easy to consider. I've got a great local tech that I could bring it to if I made mistakes.

[@Bassqueen13]

And PHILLIP...YES, Thank you. This was a SUPERB IDEA. I am forever grateful. Keep the videos coming! Thanks a BUNCH!

[@Xubuntu47]

Thanks for doing this, Melissa and Phil. I have some axes that need sharpening, and I have been deliberating whether to do it myself or not. You guys are helping me see what's possible.

[@michelewade5415]

Great Job Melissa. I just replaced the wiring and pickups in my Ibanez. The hardest part was the fear of messing it up. After the first 5 minutes I was good to go. Save some money by DIY, Thanks to you both.

[@johnmanager1830]

Awesome job, Melissa and thanks Phil for suggesting/undertaking a project like this. I learned to solder in an electronics class I took in high school and so came to modifying my own gear pretty easy, but I've always told friends, look, it's really not that hard to work on your own gear. I'm looking forward to sharing this with others as proof of fact!

[@paulallan1376]

Now that was cool. Melissa for way more than an upgraded guitar. She can do it all herself. What a badass idea Phil

[@TheNewBDetailer]

Fantastic video! I really enjoyed watching Melissa work her way through each problem.

[@LanceisLawson]

This was inspiring Melissa did great. Your videos are some of the best Phillip.

[@1upfx281]

I've been thinking about learning how to do my own repairs, upgrades and set ups for a while now. It get's really expensive paying someone else to do this work, especially when you have a bunch of guitars. This video was the final push.

[@minifringwing36]

I was planning on building guitars to sell to people in my hometown for better prices than shops.... this video pushed me to start sooner. Great job done especially for a first timer this is quite incredible actually.

[@MrGixxer1300r]

I'd just like to say "great job to both Melissa, and Phillip for a job well done. I hope to start my own guitar mods real soon. The good news is as a guy who is in the IT profession, and has hobbies that include wood working, and repair, and customization of motorcycles already own most if not all the standard tools needed to do my upgrades.

[@michaelmcmahan4612]

Phil and Melissa, thank you so much for taking us on this journey with you. This is one of the best videos I’ve seen.

[@daverreira]

One of my favorite of your vids so far Phillip. Always cool and interesting to experience through someone else's experience, well done Melissa!

[@chadbouterse8617]

Awesome job Melissa! Fantastic as always Phil!

[@marcellinden7305]

Well done to both of you. Only one slightly negative comment. Good practice would have the pair of wires from each pickup to the switch should be slightly twisted together (to minimise interference). A slight twist looks better too...

[@dcn4real]

...but how do you know if you don't know? Hopefully you ask questions, experiment, apply what you learned next time, & repeat. Les Paul & Leo Fender were experimenting for decades, and still learning. I wouldn't call the wire twist a negative comment- Melissa can do it next time.

[@edwinstovall3334]

Congratulations, Meslissa! I remember my first mod very well; it wasn't so long ago. You did something already that I have yet to do: You changed out your pickups personally! The guitar I'm proudest of came out so well with the physical (non-electrical) mods that I decided that my "target tone" had already been achieved or succeeded without going further. The thing that made the most difference was the fret job I did on it. Of course, that guitar was a pawn shop prize that someone had played to DEATH, with very worn frets. Get a fret rocker and ask Phil how to use it, so you can check for problems. Smooth those out, or even go the full fret job, and it will make a truly dramatic difference in your guitars sustain and tone. Dan Thompson of "Guns and Guitars" has a video with a method that works well enough that even a first-timer can do a good job! As for your daughter's mini-Strat, I think that the problem is that Squier did the same thing that the maker of my Mitchell mini-super-Strat did and used standard parts on a smaller guitar. The result is that tuning stability is impossible to achieve without either tuning the guitar way up (increasing string tension to good levels) or adapting the nut to work with higher gauge strings (maybe 11s or 12s, even) which also will improve the string tension. Either way, a full setup will be necessary to adapt the neck to whatever changes you've made, so this becomes a good time to do everything else you want to do with the strings off. I hope that my recommendation of fretboard conditioner will prove to be to your liking. Since the video showed a still picture of you with your guitar's entire fretboard taped off, I assume you've already found that taping off a dark wood fretboard leads to some of the oils in the board being pulled off the board by the adhesive on the tape. Looks bad, but a conditioning fixes all. I recommend cold pressed linseed oil, per Dan Erlewine's "Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great!" I got mine from an art supplies store. The cost isn't really too great; it's more than I liked at the time, but I've had that one little bottle for so long that part of it's top straight disintegrated! You never use all that much, so a relatively small bottle will last satisfyingly.😎❤️️🎸‼️

[@bertgarrison8317]

Love those Hakko 599B Tip cleaners! Quick Tip: 1. Take out the brass 2. fill the bottom with BB's or Lead shot to about 3/4 inch 3. Pour in some slow set epoxy. 4. put in the brass after it dries. 5. Enjoy your Hakko 599B without it sliding all over the place! Good job Melissa and Phil!

[@b.rodclark7349]

Wow what a coincidence ...I pay $100 for my left handed black label Squier Affinity Strat too but at a local pawn shop and mine's a 2000. Only thing I changed were the pots cuz I swapped out the cheap ones for Alphas that made the stock ceramic pickups less shrill @full volume and a set of left-handed locking tuners all I need as well as a Tusq nut and string trees... good job Melissa and great teacher Philip!

[@kemsmith]

Your videos have encouraged me to mod my Jackson because you make it so easy. I've got a Tremol-no in the mail and can't want to install it. Thanks Phil!

[@deanjenkins5161]

Well done Melissa! Great job. I know people won’t adventure to do a setup on their guitars, which is way less daunting than changing out electronics (soldering). And to you too Phil, for the content you’ve published empowering the community to do their own work.

[@BILLYBOBSTUNES]

Super Job Melissa, and Thanks also to Phil for showing us all your how to sharpen my axe vids !!!!

[@SeanKerns]

She did great, and obviously has a natural aptitude for this kind of work. I know lots of veteran players who would still be scared to death to take on some of the stuff she did. And her work area is sooo much cleaner than mine.

[@Claimjumper55]

Outstanding video Phil and Melissa!!! Phil's videos have helped me to perform quite a few tasks on my guitars and for my friends. I haven't had the opportunity to replace a nut yet though so that part was really helpful.

[@ronaldnewton5092]

I think it's cool you were able to help Melissa out with her Fender. Goes to show you with a little effort most if not all can seceded in working on their own guitar 😉. Way to go.

[@RaymondR127]

All these videos make me want to try a DIY kit. Excellent series! Well done Melissa!

[@lucrosen]

Incredible work Melissa! Your tips added to Phil’s were great. Great work Phil as well

[@bigbokiptd]

Congratulations Melissa and Phillip, wonderful video to celebrate 200K subs. Great idea and wonderful execution by Melissa.

[@mikewithers299]

Awesome job Melissa! You learn so much about guitars by actually doing these kinds of mods. Philip is a great teacher, and full of experience. Awesome job to both of you

[@VgoRob]

Excellent job by both of you. I've been wading into the waters of guitar set up and repair over the last year and am still quite new at it. This video gave me a lot of confidence. Looking forward to this new series of instructional repair videos you mentioned!

[@yankeesclippers]

Great job 👍 and kodos for taking the time to do this. Phil, great content as always!

[@tonepilot]

Wow, she did a great job. Much better than I did the first time around. Congrats to both of you for such an excellent video.

[@DrDavidGreenfield]

I was impressed by Melissa's willingness to try something new!!!!

[@mikecorey8370]

Great job, Melissa! You did something very few of us want to do. You put us old boys to shame.

[@gregmetzler6828]

I love the duct tape and ceramic tile idea! AWESOME!!!! Well done, Melissa.

[@luisvivas7384]

You inspired me to fix my own gear! I thank you so much man! I’ve rewired 1 guitar and I’m going to sharpen my old 1995 Bullet Squier!

[@fishpotpete]

Excellent vid! I'm always surprised with people not even wanting to try to work on their own guitar. This really shows if you have some level of interest and determination these things aren't rocket science. Now we need to hear what she plays live!

[@lonniezamarripa959]

Phil, this is an excellent teaching video. One of the best I’ve seen because the teaching was done by a person learning. to do guitar maintenance and modifications for the first time. I may try some adjustments and maintenance on my Gibson SG and my Taylor for the first time.

[@observinghumanity3034]

Even though I have been doing this for years, this was a great idea and video for beginners. This would have been priceless to me 30 years ago.

[@GaryRuschman]

Awesome. Good work, Melissa! Checking out this and some other videos in the series, this week I added new springs to my tremolo block, and will be doing more upgrades to my old Squier in the near future.

[@keithcarter9396]

Great work Melissa, and a brilliant idea Phil. It's good to watch someone developing new skills.

[@austinm419]

This video deserves a user engagement comment of appreciation if I've ever seen one. Nice job!

[@jimrankin5320]

Melissa??? I'm late to the party, but...I want to thank you for doing all you did and finding what we all need (like the solder tip cleaner and the tip tinner). I really hope that not only is your guitar what you hoped and want it to be, but by now, so is your daughter's. I re-watch this video from time to time to make sure I'm not forgetting the "simple stuff." I'm not trying to sound trite. I'm a firm believer in the KISS concept...Keep It Simple Stupid!!! You so ROCK...and I wish you the best!!!

[@phmassi]

Making this kind of video was probably the best atitude i've ever seen since I started watching guitar videos.

[@joephillips4082]

I've played guitar over 50 years and I never had the nerve to try anything Melissa did. I applaud her fearlessness and her success. Well done, Melissa.

[@nbrowser]

Phil McKnight...inspiring confidence in people to try to work on their own guitars...nicely done man, a remote axe sharpening! Melissa, awesome work and nice to see a leftie guitar...I'm a leftie but grudgingly learned to play a right handed guitar, oddly a similar 2004 Squier Bullet Strat in a beauty dark blue colour.

[@weaponx7010]

I loved this episode Phil! Big shout out to Melissa for doing a great job!

[@SamlonHoldfield]

Thanks Phil. I had been debating whether to start rebuilding a cheap guitar and this video certainly helped build a nice foundation. Appreciate your work. Thanks.

[@casperboo5465]

Really great video Phill, and Congratulations to Melissa on a job very well done, thanks for your time both of you, Cheers

[@raceface_m2579]

Wow you got connections from all over the place, Phil. Great job, Melissa!

[@matthewscott2299]

This was awesome. Great job Melissa! I knew you could do it. All things are intimidating until you do them. Fun video and very informative as well.

[@jasonhill9788]

thanks Phill watching your videos have help me so much, gave me the guts and know how to start doing my own fret work, and expanding my skill working on my own stuff, so much so I thinking of one day tackling a refret, I have a acoustic who's fret board was described to me as a "roller coaster" by a pro. the frets are all shaved so it plays ok. but now think it would be a wild project to one day tackle

[@matphillips6786]

You guys should use Melissa to instruct more videos, she is so sweat and her speed and clarity make it easy to follow. I love the on the fly trouble shooting she does, she is very patient and intelligent.

[@ImprobableJoe]

I just did a bunch of mods to my Strat, including adding active pickups. I really wish I had practiced on a much less expensive guitar! But learning how to do these things will save you a ton of money and down-time versus sending your guitar off to a tech to do all the work.

[@simontemplar3359]

Hey Phil! THANK YOU so much for the instructional videos. I'm no luthier (although I now know what I want to be when I grow up), but your videos gave me the knowledge I needed to be a bit adventurous. I basically bought a few low end ebay guitars and modded them as far as I could, and I have to say that the results have been fantastic. I'm sure a pro would look at my work and see mistakes, but there are 3 new Parts-casters in the world as a result of what I learned from the Sharpen My Axe series, and I've upgraded all of my other instruments to make them sound exactly how I want them to. it all started with a question about doing a setup because I was battling with a Squier whose intonation was FUBAR. It was like they didn't even try,. So I had to be QA. Which sucks because that's what I do for work! Anyway, thank you a ton and now I feel like i know my gear! :)

[@Xubuntu47]

QA can really suck on some guitars. I have an Ibanez bass that has uneven frets so it buzzes no matter what I do to the action. The battery cover also didn't fit, and a solder blob shorted the input jack. I would like to get some help sharpening that axe...

[@danieloday9279]

Thank you so much Melissa! I am so proud of you :)

[@scottieroberts87]

I think the job you did first time out was great. I'm a big rig mechanic and sometimes we get a new man in that doesn't know jack and you have to show them. Some that come in I would not trust to do what you did, once again great job!

[@peterf1927]

Really great and inspiring video! I will now attempt soldering, something I would never have even considered before. Thanks!

[@dianneburns9403]

Thanks Melissa and Phil! Now I have the confidence to upgrade my guitar.