Shedding a new light on how components may assist you in finding the perfect sound ~
to suite your needs and budget!

This series of articles explores the points and benefits any electric guitarist and bass player should know –
particularly before upgrading or purchasing an instrument.

So, who should pay more attention to guitar pickups?
Well the answer is everyone! This affects all different levels of practice:

1. Beginners

Most beginners start with low budget guitars. These guitars are usually hard to play and carry low quality electronics. Upgrading pickups can be a great way of having a good guitar sound on a low budget, right from the beginning of your learning process. But don’t hurry, it’s usually best to take small steps at first in order to familiarize yourself with the sound landscape before branching out.

2. Professional musicians looking for a work tool

There’s a big difference between live conditions and studio/rehearsal conditions. In the studio, you can achieve ideal conditions, use great equipment, routings, settings and have complete control over the room atmosphere like size and temperature.

However, on stage it’s a different story. There is heat, cold, humidity and sometimes unprofessional workers. Standing long hours while holding your instrument during sound checks and of course during the shows and many more problematic situations may lead to the need for a high-quality sounding instrument that is as light-weight as possible and that you won’t have to worry about all the time.

The modded guitar is an excellent option and is cheaper than a professional standard guitar, decreasing the worry factor over your instrument. In addition, these guitars are usually a lot lighter in weight so they work well for standing with them for longer periods of time.

3. Enthusiasts looking to expand their collection

A large number of musicians; professionals and amateurs alike, greatly appreciate guitar craftsmanship and keep a personal collection. Mostly because it’s great fun having multiple options, and one can enjoy the variety of sounds from the different types of guitars.

Each guitar has its own personality and creates a different ‘vibe’. However, a collection of high quality sounding guitars could cost thousands of dollars, especially for the standard professional class.

Guitar modding is a perfect solution for this scenario. How many of us walked into a second-hand guitar shop and ran into a weird Squier guitar that we fell in love with in first sight? And of course, for a bargain price! But in a professional situation such as live performances, the guitar may be inadequate as it is. Taking these ‘cheap’ and special guitars and upgrading them is a great option and is worthwhile in the long run.

4. Producers who need a guitar available at the studio

In today’s world, when music technology is so advanced, we no longer need the big companies and studios in order to make a good sounding album. A lot of musicians have set up their own home studios meaning they are less dependent on other musicians.

Producers originate from all kinds of different backgrounds, genres and instruments. Some of them never played the popular stringed instrument and a lot of them need it as an essential part of their soundscape setup.

In our next article, we will explore the reasons these insights stayed in the dark to so many of us up until now, and how to bridge this gap of critical knowledge.