Modding first guitar

Kuras

I still have my first guitar, a Squier Showmaster I purchased from Argos many moons ago. I haven't used it in years but I'm thinking of reversible mods I can do so I can actually get some use out of it and have another tool in the arsenal.

So far I'm thinking either

• Tuning. Nashville tuning or open slide.
• Pickups. It is HSS. I have a LP, a JM and a Casino so don't need anything with those kind of pickups. Perhaps a Gold foil for the bridge, maybe some Burns single coils. Also, might be nice to wire position 2 and 4 so they have the Pete Green out of phase thing (handy for the studio)

What's reckon? Does anyone have any suggestions?

edit. Tone wise I’m thinking of something quite lo Fi. Black Keys esque garage rock tones

Funkfingers

Is the bridge a basic six-screw fulcrum vibrato or a budget licensed Floyd Rose double locking system?

If it is the former, the first thing I would change on your guitar is the bridge sustain block. (Fastening screw spacings permitting.)

My recollection of Squier Showmaster guitars is that their stock pickups and controls are nothing to write home about. 

It would help to know what material the body is made from BEFORE investing heavily in exotic pickups. Counterintuitively, plywood can make a positive contribution towards obtaining good slide tones.

Just because the guitar has three pickup cavities, there is no obligation to install three replacement pickups. The well-known DiMarzio/Ibanez five-way HH circuit can provide five usable sounds from just two dual-coil pickups. (Leave the stock single coil mounted to occupy the central rout.)

Fancy wiring circuits like the one I suggested and the one you are considering will require specialised selector switches. 

Enough of my waffle for now.

Kuras

Interesting. It has a two point tremolo and other have said its basswood from a google search. 

earwighoney

To my ears anyway but I find a gold foil isn't great for bridge pickup sounds but they work beautifully at the neck position. I'd get a Mojo Strat sized Gold Foil for the neck and a Firebird (be it FB sized with a new pickguard or a Hb sized one like Oil City make). 

I think @p90fool has that combination in one of his guitars or something similar if my memory serves me right. 

A different set of pickups to the guitars you already have, should give a few good sounds for playing slide. 

Also, I can't remember which type of pots, but the CTS ones which are almost entirely swell up between 8-10, they work well for playing slide for keeping your little finger on the volume pot to do volume swells.

HCDavies

If you don't have a guitar in Nashville tuning, I'd recommend putting a set of those strings on to see how it sounds. They're less then £10 on e-bay, a lot cheaper than new pickups.

If it doesn't work, not a lot lost. I love Nashville tuning on an acoustic.

Funkfingers

I keep my Rickenbacker 230 in Nashville tuning. Using this to double track rhythm guitar parts in standard tuning creates fake McGuinn jingle jangle. 

Tall_martin

My first (bass) guitar was a fender music master. It wasn't brilliant and I was going to sell it after getting something better.

A mate persuaded me to keep it. 30 years on I'm glad I did as with a better set up and fatter strings its great.

I'd go for new pickups so it sounds different

Lestratcaster

I did this with my Affinity Strat 5 years ago. It was the first ever guitar I got and one I'll never ever sell. Changed the tuners/nut/trem block (not sure if a Showmaster has one) and those made a big difference. Didn't factor how much hardware plays a part alongside pickups and electronics etc.