Upgrading a TGM Strat...

[SAN_TREMONTI]

Hey softies.. I really need help in finding out how i should go about repairing and upgrading my TGM strat.. I have another guitar but i don wanna just throw away the very first electric i bought.. Reason i wanna repair it cos it doesnt seem to stay in tune.. Pls tell me which parts of the guitar i shld be replacing etc etc.. Thx a lot..

Here are some of the brief specs of the Strat:
- Tremolo bridge
- TGM pickups (doesnt sound great at high gain) recommend some pickups if possible
- Standard headstock and tuners (not locking)
- Fretboard is not smooth, makes sliding kinda difficult..

P.S. I don wanna change to a fixed bridge.. THX!

 

[bluelime]

Do u tremolo much ?
Hmm i think u shld swop the stock tuners for some gotoh hardware.
pickups to consider are teslas form standard value. ( dont really have anything in mind)
Tried wiping neck and fretboard with dr.duck wax ?
I heard it will help out a bit.
Hope this helps

 

[bf0502tr]

if it doesnt stay in tune, there can be many reasons:
- ur neck is so far warped that even trust rod adjustments cant hide its bent shape
- ur nut isn't well lubricated
- ur string tree isn't well lubricated
- u whammy as often as vai or herman li

fretboard not smooth: just polish the frets lol.

tgm pickups not giving u enough mojo eh? what kinda stuff u play? and what config is ur guitar? if u have SCs, do u require them humless or are u ok with the hum?

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Upgrade and repair, big difference.
If you change tuners, change the nut and set it up. Leave the trem. I'm assuming it's a vintage trem, so shouldn't have any tuning problems from that aspect.
Just a piece of advice... If you wanna upgrade and make this a main axe, do reconsider. I've never heard plywood guitars sound good, so...

 

[bf0502tr]

Upgrade and repair, big difference.
If you change tuners, change the nut and set it up. Leave the trem. I'm assuming it's a vintage trem, so shouldn't have any tuning problems from that aspect.
Just a piece of advice... If you wanna upgrade and make this a main axe, do reconsider. I've never heard plywood guitars sound good, so...

woah dood harsh words. i dun think all tgm strats are made of plywood. hmmm not all vintage trems are stable though, i've seen those vintage trems that look like they're made of plastic. whammy-ing them feels like u're trying to break the guitar. those do not stay in tune well regardless what u do to the nut and tuners. i'd advice one lubricate the nut 1st to see if its an issue of too much friction there. if it fails, change either the tuners or the bridge.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Sorry, generalization.
But i assume that his is, since it's his first guitar and he needs to make so many modifications while not being entirely sure of the end result.
I agree, some vintage trems, especially those on the cheaper models, feel like crap. If TS doesn't intend on whammying, then it shouldn't be a problem though. Alternatively, he can change the bridge... which will factor in additional costs.
Upgrades, i estimate would be north of 300 bucks, an amount that can easily buy a good workhorse guitar, perhaps a Rally, or a secondhand Squier and still enough to upgrade the pickups. If TS ups his budget slightly, he could even get a Epiphone Les Paul secondhand.
That's just my 2 cents...

 

[kernelspy]

i estimate would be north of 300 bucks, an amount that can easily buy a good workhorse guitar, perhaps a Rally, or a secondhand Squier and still enough to upgrade the pickups. If TS ups his budget slightly, he could even get a Epiphone Les Paul secondhand.
That's just my 2 cents...

This.

I agree that I don't think it's worth it to upgrade a TGM guitar which it may cost more than the actual value of how much you purchase it. Better to just get a mid-level guitar... maybe an Ibanez SA which is getting cheap on buy & sell section... or maybe a GIO...

 

[relinquish69]

Not worth all the hassle. I rather you get a new guitar that works altogether.