Am I the only one that prefers to buy stuff “stock”?!!

riffpowers

I’ve been down the modding route a few years ago , but for a long time now I mostly prefer things stock . 
So in my mind even if a guitar has been “upgraded” it’s not worth as much as a stock item .. 
There are exceptions, but not many. 

I wondered if I was alone in that way of thinking ??
M

tony99

I nearly always have to hem a few inches off my spandex stage leggings, but other than that yeah, I agree

riffpowers

tony99 said:

I nearly always have to hem a few inches off my spandex stage leggings, but other than that yeah, I agree

That reminds me , I’ve run out of cucumber and tin foil .

JT96

I agree as upgrades are always subjective. Upgrading to locking tuners and a super hot Humbuckers in the bridge pickup of a Tele might be an upgrade to a stock MIM for one player, but be further away from what a pop guitarist would get from a stock model.

HAL9000

I’ve had both good and bad results from modding guitars. To be honest I probably won’t bother in future. However it wouldn’t put me off of buying a modded guitar if the mods worked for me. I wouldn’t expect to pay more though - one man’s upgrade is another man’s bodge job.

DrJazzTap

I've never bothered with farting around with pickups, that's too much like a rabbit hole for me tbh.

fields5069

I prefer to buy something that comes stock with mods.

RaymondLin

It depends.

if it’s a high end guitar like custom shop or PRS is want it stock.  On a cheaper guitar I don’t mind if the parts changed are good and well known parts.  Like putting in a Callaghan block in a cheap Strat is okay by me.

Philly_Q

It's a long while since I modified anything or sold anything, but when I did I always put them back to stock (if I'd kept the parts).

My "upgrades" may be "downgrades" to someone else, and they certainly don't add any value.

You can always sell the returned-to-stock guitar and the replacement parts/pickups separately and get more money than you would for the modded guitar.

mgaw

went through a phase of constantly changing pickups, finally learnt is mainly a waste of time and money better off just getting on with the playing.   Enjoyed it at the time though

TTBZ

I wouldn't turn down a guitar with some nice handwound pickups in (Bare Knuckle, Oil City or something) but I'd rather buy something with the original Gibson pickups than something by Dimarzio or Duncan. 

Lestratcaster

I usually end up changing stuff out of the guitar anyway when I first get it unless it enhances the sound or playability of the instrument. 

I've grown quite addicted to changing hardware and electronics on cheaper guitars to make them sound better. Usually they'll be guitars I won't be selling on so free to mess around with it if I want.

NelsonP

I'd only buy a 2nd hand harley benton if it already had upgraded pickups....

ICBM

It's not just you - it's a widely accepted fact of the market that any guitar is worth no more, and in some cases less, with mods - no matter how good the replacement parts... and especially so if the mods are irreversible, even if only cosmetically (eg machineheads needing new screw holes). Even really good replacement parts tend to only retain the value instead of reduce it.

That doesn't stop people trying to sell their upgraded guitars for the cost of the guitar plus the cost of the replacement parts, but I'd be a bit surprised if even one has ever sold for that.

The only exception would be something like a Harley Benton upgraded with Bareknuckle pickups. The chances are someone will buy that for more than the guitar would normally worth... probably so they can take out the expensive pickups, fit some cheap ones, and sell the guitar on thus getting a cheap set of Bareknuckles .

alalalkasar

Absolutely, if I'm buying a guitar it's one that's built to a level I'm happy with. Or perhaps I'm just not that fussy.

fretmeister

The thing that makes me laugh is the "Upgraded something so worth another £200"

Ok - are the original parts that would also cost £200 as an after market purchase included in the sale?

No.

GTFO then.

chrisj1602

Reminds me of an eBay listing that I saw recently.  I’m sure it is upgraded to the seller but to me he’s destroyed the guitar of my dreams...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303562037019

Philly_Q

NelsonP said:

I'd only buy a 2nd hand harley benton if it already had upgraded pickups....

ICBM said:

The only exception would be something like a Harley Benton upgraded with Bareknuckle pickups. The chances are someone will buy that for more than the guitar would normally worth... probably so they can take out the expensive pickups, fit some cheap ones, and sell the guitar on thus getting a cheap set of Bareknuckles .

Hang on, hang on.... why would anyone sell a Harley Benton with upgraded pickups?  That's the equivalent of an R8 or custom shop Fender you've got right there.

NelsonP

@Philly_Q I'll set 'em up......

In all seriousness I bought a second hand j mascis jazzmaster, with upgraded p'ups (Seymour duncan's), trem (fender rather than squier), tuners (locking gotoh's), vintage wiring, cts pots, switchcraft switch and jack, and a tort scratchplate.

The premium I paid for that little lot was very small and it makes it a much better instrument. Although I do like that gold scratchplate....

riffpowers

It’s good to know I’m not on my own in that !!
 I’m always on the lookout for stuff , but the aftermarket extras put me off straight away . Sometimes they ruin the guitar when there was nowt wrong with it in the 1st place !!

i can see why people would be more interested in buying a cheap guitar that has been upgraded , but I don’t tend to look at guitars like that 2nd hand . 

Funkfingers

If a guitar has been upgraded and is now offered for sale at a reasonable price, I see no problem.

The difficult bit is getting seller and buyer to agree what figure is reasonable. 

Returning to stock specification simplifies the assessment of the item’s market value and increases the chances of an amicable deal.

Occasionally, you chance upon a guitar that manages to be far more than the sum of its parts. It has to be acquired as is to be worth acquiring at all. Time for some good, old-fashioned haggling.