worst mod

Mid 70's nice natural P-bass...I thought the Leo Quan bridges were cool, but didn't know they came in different heights...so I bought one, and got out the hammer and chisel. Still see it show up around Westminster every once in a great while...I did a horrendous job. But, to my defense, I was around 15 at the time.

Isn’t it horrible when you have to see them again? I modded an ESP M1 back in the 90’s and it occasionally pops up on CL touting a “custom” finish. :(
 
While I haven't ruined many guitars, just remember that your talking to the guy who A) threw an amp owned by Chet Atkins in the trash and B) sold a Fender Twin for a Peavey Backstage because the fender was too loud, too heavy and didn't have "distortion!" Oh, and this SHOULD count... at one point I had a Les Paul custom and it was at the absolute low point in their history for value. I had it listed for 3 months on Craigs List for $450 and didn't even get one offer. I ended up trading it for a Fender Lead II because I really wanted single coil tones and Steve Morse endorsed it in GP ads. I did get a distortion pedal along with the Fender to even up the trade values a bit. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
 
Isn’t it horrible when you have to see them again? I modded an ESP M1 back in the 90’s and it occasionally pops up on CL touting a “custom” finish. :(
We need pics! Look, I'm sure Picasso didn't start out doing masterpieces either. :cool:
 
My question is, did you know it was Chet Atkins owned before you threw it out?
No! It was a small Gibson tube amp and it went from "scratchy" to no sound except noise. I didn't know at the time that it probably needed nothing but a tube replaced. I wanted a new amp and it didn't work. Later, talked to my friend that I got it from, who was Chet's nephew, and when he asked if I still had it, he said "you know that was Uncle Chets amp, don't you?" Well... now I do!
 
great! i think i have similar stories that i’m blocking out for psychological reasons.

No! It was a small Gibson tube amp and it went from "scratchy" to no sound except noise. I didn't know at the time that it probably needed nothing but a tube replaced. I wanted a new amp and it didn't work. Later, talked to my friend that I got it from, who was Chet's nephew, and when he asked if I still had it, he said "you know that was Uncle Chets amp, don't you?" Well... now I do!
 
Isn’t it horrible when you have to see them again? I modded an ESP M1 back in the 90’s and it occasionally pops up on CL touting a “custom” finish. :(

Absolutely...but I'm usually like "Dude, that used to be in my basement", but with this one it's " Whoa, where's the rest of that body" ( yeah, I did a REALLY lousy job with the chisel)
 
In 1970 I had a tune-o-matic bridge installed on a 1965 SG Special. Back then, it was just an old guitar, no one worried about keeping it original in those days, and truthfully, it sounded better with the TOM, and stayed in tune better.

But I couldn’t afford to have it refinished, so the tech simply glued some mahogany dowels in the holes where the old Gibson one piece bridge was, and stained the ends to match the cherry finish. The guitar is still around, and still looks every bit as homely as it did in 1970. I just didn’t care how a guitar looked back then.

Obviously, any value compared to an un-modded one is minimal. But I got an awful lot of use out of that thing; at least, that’s my excuse for destroying its value! ;)
You didn't like to "bend until in tune"? Lightning bolt bridges sucked.
 
75 grit, 80 grit, whatever it takes.

75??? 80?????

Everyone know 60 is the...

true%2Bgrit.jpg
 
I wore out (it was not new when I bought it) a Washburn G5V, It was my practice guitar. (I kept the gigging guitar for gigs). So I thought I would experiment with a new body shape...

I soon cut into bits of routed cavities and... yes. I had to bin it. But I had utterly worn out the fretboard anyway. It was cosigned to the tip.


This one is not serious at all. Last month I decided to reverse a pickup ring on a semi-hollowbody Gibson ES-339. The pickup was positioned at an odd angle so it seemed worth a try as the rings are wedge shaped. All went well until I tried to re-attach the pickup to the ring. The 2 springs were too hard to press down into position (I also have arthritic thumbs). So the spring fired off into the ceiling but I found it. On the 2nd attempt it pinged off into the wall and ricocheted off somewhere in the recesses of the kitchen. No I never found it. I ended up cutting the remaining spring in half and using those instead.


oh.. and this guy must rank somewhere as the worst mod (maybe a uk only gag?)
5032542605e643c9e087d59e0c49f6c1--vespa-scooters-margate.jpg
 
‘belll boyy!’

I wore out (it was not new when I bought it) a Washburn G5V, It was my practice guitar. (I kept the gigging guitar for gigs). So I thought I would experiment with a new body shape...

I soon cut into bits of routed cavities and... yes. I had to bin it. But I had utterly worn out the fretboard anyway. It was cosigned to the tip.


This one is not serious at all. Last month I decided to reverse a pickup ring on a semi-hollowbody Gibson ES-339. The pickup was positioned at an odd angle so it seemed worth a try as the rings are wedge shaped. All went well until I tried to re-attach the pickup to the ring. The 2 springs were too hard to press down into position (I also have arthritic thumbs). So the spring fired off into the ceiling but I found it. On the 2nd attempt it pinged off into the wall and ricocheted off somewhere in the recesses of the kitchen. No I never found it. I ended up cutting the remaining spring in half and using those instead.


oh.. and this guy must rank somewhere as the worst mod (maybe a uk only gag?)
5032542605e643c9e087d59e0c49f6c1--vespa-scooters-margate.jpg
 
I've never actually thought to mod a guitar. I have always played them and worked them and Made them do what I want. The one modded guitar I have was given to me by the wife of a deceased friend. It's an 85 or 86 Kramer strat clone called a "Classic". There is no provenance, as at liquidation, all Kramer documents and blacks and anything that might tell you what it was, went in the dumpster. On their own, they were a good strat copy with seymour duncans, and dummy coil to kill buzz. My late friend did some questionable things to it. He pulled out all the pickup guts, and installed 3 lace sensors, silver, blue and red. Perhaps that is why I hate them to this second. He put on a MOT pickguard that didn't' fit properly and he "shaved" it here and there. The pickups are held in place by surgical tubing that has to be 30 yrs old. Cheap bastige couldn't spring for springs. They rattle around like nuts in a hubcap. Unfortunately, I'd like to tell you it's a jewel and a stellar guitar, it's not. It sounds like very thin a** on ice. Eventually, I may take it to my guy to return it to semi stock...It's useful however in that it tells me that I shouldn't ever consider modding with possible results such as this guitar.
 
losing a pickup spring is like thee gentlest mod ever! #absolved

and schefman probably improved that sg with the bridge operation, which may or may not be typical schefman.
 
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