Truth be told....I did not take that purchase lightly! As the "miser" of my family, there were many sleepless nights agonizing over whether I should pull the trigger or be "smart"! That said, as a 43yo who has been playing the same Hondo Strat that I got as my first guitar as a 13yo...photo as evidence:

My wife convinced me it was time to "treat myself" and get the guitar I've always wanted....so I went big!

Honestly, I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner! As was mentioned earlier in this thread, having a guitar hanging on the wall that you simply can't walk by and NOT play is half the joy in playing....and I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't played it.....and WHAT an upgrade from that Hondo, haha!

maroon barchetta said:

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That Hondo Strat is greatness!

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It was so ****ty, I could bend the neck as my tremolo...so I've had to relearn how to ACTUALLY use my tremolo!

Imposter Syndrome.

You grab that axe off the wall and play the hell out of it sir! You got this!

BQRyno said:

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Ashamed to say I went into Guitar Center today and was too embarrassed to ask to try out any of the nicer guitars while dudes way above my skill level were putting on a show. In my brain I know nobody what say anything (even if maybe they'd think it) about me trying out upgrades for simple strumming, but I just bought my strings and left. Maybe next time.

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Consider yourself lucky.

My GC normally has kids playing portions of songs they sorta learned a little bit.

Come As You Are by Nirvana is a favorite.

My wife's S6 is so much more playable since I got it set up. Sounds really nice too.

Aggie Therapist said:

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Imposter Syndrome.

You grab that axe off the wall and play the hell out of it sir! You got this!

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Username checks out!!!

When you empty your change out of your pocket to put into your piggy bank, make sure you get your pick out of the group first.

Had to dump the whole thing to get that out.

First stumbling block to the project- I ordered an ABR bridge that comes with M4 studs. Sadly, discovered that the Starlas apparently use a bridge with M5 studs. So the correct one is now here.

Also thought I had a set of Grover Mini Rotomatics that would work out, but discovered that the ones I have are 6 on a side. Found some replacements and have them installed. They are a brand called Shaphue, never heard of them but they are solid.

Finally, found a custom pickguard maker to do an SSS pickguard, for the tidy sum of $160.00 plus shipping! Oof! So I had my luthier friend rout a Strat pup hole into my existing pickguard. I've got a set of Fishman Fluence Classics laying around (three voice version) so I'll may use them and order a Fishman single coil for my middle pup. But for now, since I'm kind of short on play money this month I'm probably going to throw some passive pups that I've got laying around. A Railhammer Cleancut in the bridge, Squire Strat in the middle, and a GFS Dream 90 in the neck.

The pickguard is darker than what this pic shows-

There had to have been attempts that just never caught on. Of course what's amusing is this wasn't even an attempt to start an official thread. Just to show off my new guitar.

DallasTeleAg said:

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So many of the best things in life are accidents!

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This isn't about kids.

Hadn't posts this yet, but installed some brass compensated saddles in my green Tele this weekend. The threaded steel saddles with the laminate board were just too bright and bordering on "tinny". These did a great job of rounding off any harshness, and the difference in intonation is fantastic:

Frok said:

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Do you do your own setups?

I'm getting tired of paying $150 to get the neck and intonation corrected on my guitars. Curious of recommendations of the best YouTube instructions.

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I 100% do my own setup. I don't believe there is truly another way to do it because no one but me knows how I like my guitars setup. There are many videos across all the big Guitartube channels, and i'd recommend finding one that is most similar to your guitar for any nuances.

Step 1: Take strings off

Step 2: Clean your fretboard. I use 0000 steel wool lightly, with the grain. It both gets the grime out of the fret board and cleans the frets.

Step 3: Polish frets. I use a dunlop fret polishing cloth: https://www.jimdunlop.com/system-65-micro-fret-cloth/

Step 4: Treat board with lemon oil. I use the Dunlop lemon oil. Of course, you don't do this for glossed fretboards: https://www.jimdunlop.com/formula-65-fretboard-ultimate-lemon-oil/

Step 5: Restring guitar

Step 6: Stretch each string from the nut to the bridge then retune. Do this about 3-4 times to get the string to settle in.

Step 7: Set the neck relief. Fret at the first fret and the 15th, 17th, or where the neck meets the body. When doing this, there should be the smallest of gaps in the middle between the string and the frets. If there isn't enough relief, you'll get fret buzz from the first to the 10th'ish. If you have too much relief, you'll have fret buzz when fretting above the 10th fret.

Step 8: Set the action height for what feels comfortable for you. If you have to set each individual saddle, then it helps to have a gauge to keep the correct radius: https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-necks-and-fingerboards/understring-radius-gauges/

Step 9: I set intonation last. play the string or the 12th fret harmonic and tune to pitch. Then fret at the 12th fret, and lightly play the note. If it's sharp, then you move the bridge back, adding more string length. If the note is flat, you bring the saddle closer to the nut, to shorten the string.

Step 10: You may have to check steps 7-9. Each step can slightly affect the other. The important thing is to play the guitar while doing this until it feels correctly. Also, it is important to do these steps with the guitar in your lap like you are playing it. If you do all of this with the strings facing the ceiling, then forces are slightly different when you're actually playing the guitar.