MNM7
I have a Berhinger Strat copy. And i'm planning on getting a new guitar. But i'm thinking of modding this one. Is it worth it to mod a cheap guitar? Cause i want to swap out the pups for decent pus and like get better hardware. Not trying to make it like something else. Anyone's opinion is welcomed.
Sidecar
I bought a R300 old Hondo Strat copy recently. When I plugged it in, I loved the sound of it. I think If you plan to mod a cheap guitar (as long as there are no terminal flaws in it) you need to really love some aspect of it to make it worthwhile. Sometimes you can buy a guitar that plays well, quite cheaply, but its sound is really bad. Changing the pickups can improve the sound a lot, but that extra bit you want might actually be in the wood, which you won't necessarily find in a cheap guitar - So its something you need to consider carefully.
TomCat
First of all....is the Behringer body and neck worthwhile to form the basis for any mods. Not much point in spending money on parts to upgrade if the foundation of the guitar is not up to scratch.
Is the neck straight...are there dead notes......How are the frets......does it feel good to play on.....Can the guitar be properly set up......etc.
I'd get someone to check these out first before spending money on the guitar.
Gearhead
+1 on any doubt that has been posted. Pups do not change sustain or make poor highs ring. If the guit is dead they will not miraculously bring it to life. Long time ago I put Fender US pups on a cheap Strat which improved tone by a small margin but I never heard the pups like they sound on my new Strat body+neck. Massive difference, now they are worth the money.
Spyke
+1 on the above. The old saying goes "You can't polish a turd". There's no point in throwing good money after bad so you need to make sure the foundation is worth the investment.
It is possible to find a gem of a cheapie that just needs a few small upgrades (nine times out of ten it will be the electronics) to come alive. It really is possible to get a respectable tone out of a lesser (read: cheaper) guitar. But it takes time.
MNM7
Well. I've had this guitar for 5 years and it plays very nice. The accent(don't know if it's spelled right) is very good which is surprising but I think it's because I took it to get setup on a regular basis. It does have a nice tone and sustain. A lot of people have told that they've had problems with Behringer guitars. Things like the accent is not good, the neck bends etc. But I haven't had such problems and it's weird to hear people say that. I have thought of taking it to get checked out. So thanks for the advise. Y'all have a good day now.
Sidecar
I think what you mean is the action? The ease with which the guitar plays? It might be good idea to take it to an experienced player and to let them give you their objective opinion about it to see if it lines up with what you think, to be sure before you go ahead spending money that would be better spent on a better option.
nicovlogg
From my experience, you might have some problems adjusting the neck on that Behringer - the one I fixed up had a really terrible truss rod in that seemed to be welded solid - might be a problem later one. A Squier Standard strat is probably a better bet for the money, if you can find it second hand!
AlanRatcliffe
+1. The Behringers are not very well made and there is only so much you can do, so it's unlikely to ever be a great guitar, regardless of how many quality parts you pour into it. By the time you've finished, you may as well have bought a more expensive guitar with the same money.
chris77
I reckon Do it. Look, no amount of make up will turn Susan Boyle into Shakira, but the make-up artist that tries will gain a helluva lot of experience in the process. And thats where it counts. You might end up with a Behringer GT that looks the part but lacks the heart, but thats cool too. Strats are great in how you can mix and match hardware, pups, electronics and pickguards to morph into whatever you want it to be. And you can keep changing them out untill you find what works best for you. So if you do, you will be left with a) experience to mod, setup and maintain your own gear, b) lots of nifty better quality spares, electronics and hardware that you can use again, and
c) a firm idea of what you like and dislike when you Do buy a higher end instrument. It wont turn your Behringer into a tone machine that puts Custom Shop strats to shame, but it will be worth it in the long run. Unless you only want a better guitar to play - period. Then I agree, rather save up the money to buy a higher end guitar.
Sidecar
+1 Good point, Chris77
AlanRatcliffe
Yes, you learn from upgrades and mods, but why not get the same experience by doing the same upgrades/mods to a Squier which you can turn into something fairly decent?
chris77
Good point that... Squiers are great value and with a few upgrades will be a lot better than the Behringer with the same (I assume).
IceCreamMan
alan for the win imho..the only reason for wanting to mod the behringer will be for sentimental reasons and they seldom make sense anyway...
richardangel
behringer guitars are made out of compressed sawdust... they really are terrible, terrible guitars. i definately think upgrading cheap guitars are the way forward, mexican squiers and fenders are extremely solid guitars to work with, and a lot of epiphones can be too... get a cheap guitar with some sort of real timber body (anything, alder, ash, basswood) and a good neck...and you an upgrade it to something really nice. i want to get an epiphone sg to upgrade next...
TomCat
richardangel wrote:
behringer guitars are made out of compressed sawdust... they really are terrible, terrible guitars. i definately think upgrading cheap guitars are the way forward, mexican squiers and fenders are extremely solid guitars to work with, and a lot of epiphones can be too... get a cheap guitar with some sort of real timber body (anything, alder, ash, basswood) and a good neck...and you an upgrade it to something really nice. i want to get an epiphone sg to upgrade next...
Another nice guitar to use as a basis for upgrades are the Yamaha Pacifica's.
dan77
If I can say one thing is that it's not worth it upgrading Behringer guitars.
You can fit anything to them, but remember that the main parts will still be what they are, and I don't want to be the one saying what that is here! ?
