Should i upgrade my Craftsman strat?

[iliLIGHTili]

I'm still saving for my Edwards Les paul, and i'm half way there. While saving, i am currently playing my craftsman strat(either st 10 or 30). It's pickups are rusting, the tremolo bar is loose(u do not need to screw it in/out, you could just stick it in/pull it out) and the tuners are kinda spoiled as well. I'm not sure what to do now. Should i continue saving and endure playing with a rusty guitar or should i spend some of the $ to upgrade it and change the parts so that i can play with a better guitar while saving?

Btw, i'm still a student, and i'm not working. So saving up that half might take a year or so. Please gimme some of your opinions~

 

[lightice]

Rusting pickups pose no problems to playing.

Is it a pop in arm or a screw in arm?
If a pop in arm is loose, you might want to just change the trem block to a GFS one.

Why are the tuners spoilt? What exactly is happening to it?
If they are broken, you can get replacements.

My suggestion is to repair the guitar and continue playing it.

Continue saving for the meantime, because when you're done saving, you might not like the edwards LP anymore.

 

[iliLIGHTili]

Rusting pickups pose no problems to playing.

Is it a pop in arm or a screw in arm?
If a pop in arm is loose, you might want to just change the trem block to a GFS one.

Why are the tuners spoilt? What exactly is happening to it?
If they are broken, you can get replacements.

My suggestion is to repair the guitar and continue playing it.

Continue saving for the meantime, because when you're done saving, you might not like the edwards LP anymore.

Rusting doesn't affect? Hahaz. I didn't know that.

Btw, it was suppose to be a screw in arm. I dunno how to describe the tuners, they kinda of not responsive to the turning sometimes. But, is it worth to repair it and changing the pickups? Cause it's a cheap beginners guitar~

 

[velvetrevolver]

imo, entry-level guitars that are worth upgrading are craftsman, sx, timbre, smash.

go ahead and upgrade, but if its too bad a condition, consider getting a new axe.

 

[eclipze]

the tuners... u should replace it with a new one...
the rusty Pickups .. do not bother changing the PUps as long as they still sound good..
the screw in arm loose .... u need to change ur trem block

 

[dudelove]

i think u should save up.

an edwards les paul is indeed a great les paul.

 

[teleplayer]

yes you should.. i screwed up my yamaha strat.... all the pickups not playable, bridge intonation screwed up, nut screwed up... but I still went to revive it... haha. i replaced tuners, bridge, pickups... around 400+... i think it's quite worth it.. cos it's my first guitar.. haha still saving for 2 more pickups to put it... haha

 

[iliLIGHTili]

Thank you all for your comments~

i think u should save up.

an edwards les paul is indeed a great les paul.

I think i try to change some parts, or spend lesser $ repairing it. So that i can save up for the les paul~

Btw, how would you know if it necessary to change the electronics?

 

[zerstorer]

Electronics you can just leave it, unless you are getting noise when you turn the pots, then you can just opt for alpha or cts pot upgrades. If you are getting hiss/hum then shielding your internal cavities and reworking the grounding can help quite a bit for very little money.

I upgraded my timbre strat with Lace California Transensors, Graphtech Saddles and fully shielded the insides with copper tape and replaced the caps with orange drops.

Made quite an improvement to the tone and playability and was a good learning experience.

However, bear in mind you can get good quality guitars for ~$250 like the Smash S2 series so if the parts cost too much, might as well get a new guitar unless you really like what you currently have.

Pickups alone will cost the price of a decent new guitar, not to mention the cost of a good bridge and set of tuners, so unless you really like the body and neck........

 

[edyeo123]

it's better if u state ur budget down so we'll know what's better for u.

 

[eclipze]

the things u have to change are the tuning machine

... for the trem block
... may be u try using some tape that use to tape on the pipe threads ... PTFE tape if im not wrong ..... stick it on the trem arm Thread
i Think its gonna work !! Try it

 

[iliLIGHTili]

My budget is around $350.

the things u have to change are the tuning machine

... for the trem block
... may be u try using some tape that use to tape on the pipe threads ... PTFE tape if im not wrong ..... stick it on the trem arm Thread
i Think its gonna work !! Try it

I'm considering of getting a new one. I'm thinking of changing to gold hadwares. Haha. Not sure how much it would cost~

 

[eclipze]

My budget is around $350.



I'm considering of getting a new one. I'm thinking of changing to gold hadwares. Haha. Not sure how much it would cost~

ohooo that would be nice !!
mind attaching the photo of ur axe?

 

[iliLIGHTili]

I'm considering the cost of it. It would be expensive changing the gold hardware and stuff. It would easily exceed my budget. I read that gold hardware is difficult to manage as well esp. when your palms sweat alot(my palms sweat like hell when i'm nervous)~

 

[eclipze]

I'm considering the cost of it. It would be expensive changing the gold hardware and stuff. It would easily exceed my budget. I read that gold hardware is difficult to manage as well esp. when your palms sweat alot(my palms sweat like hell when i'm nervous)~

well it depends ... is the gold hardware is brass material or not

if its brass material .. it can get oxidation when in contact with sweats .. unless the brass is properly coated..

or if its any other material than brass .. and it come to metalizing process and the result is gold color... than its ok in contact with sweats

 

[iliLIGHTili]

Maybe i'm goin to the guitar shop(davis) tml to check out the price and material~

 

[eclipze]

Maybe i'm goin to the guitar shop(davis) tml to check out the price and material~

u can try it with magnets
u can detect if its brass or not... if its brass, than it wont be affected with magnet so do aluminum..
but aluminum is lighter than brass

 

[iliLIGHTili]

Btw, is Mamlsteen's dimarzio pickup combination(hs-3 and Yjm) good for metal or rock?

 

[velvetrevolver]

are u thinking of using those pickups on your craftsman strat?

 

[eclipze]

Btw, is Mamlsteen's dimarzio pickup combination(hs-3 and Yjm) good for metal or rock?

both maybe... and replace ur pots with push pull pots and rewiring it so u can have the neck/bridge single Coil in series with the middle SC ... producing a humbucker sound...