Guitar Modifications & Custom Wiring in London
Many guitars can be dramatically improved by swapping out a few components. You will be amazed how big of a difference in terms of sound bone nuts and graphite saddles make.
Here at Guitar Garage London we are always excited about new challenging wiring mods pushing the experimental boundaries. In the last several years we have built special wiring for our GGL Custom guitars as well as modded over 400 instruments.
Small things can make a huge difference.
To get a quote on any service, please drop us a line with a description of the project to guitargaragelondon@gmail.com
How We Think About Guitar Mods
From the outside, some modifications can look deceptively simple. In reality, they demand precision, the right tools, and a very strict order of operations. One change made too early – or without understanding the knock-on effects – can undo good work elsewhere.
Over the years we’ve built custom wiring for our GGL Custom guitars and modified well over 400 instruments. We enjoy the experimental side of wiring and electronics, but we’re always guided by one principle: solve the real problem first.
Common Guitar Modifications
Pickup Swap
Many Squier guitars, along with some Fender Japan and Fender Mexico models, come fitted with ceramic pickups that can sound flat or uninspiring. Swapping these for a good set of handwound pickups can completely transform the guitar’s tonal response and dynamics.
There’s an enormous choice of brands, winds and voicings out there – which is where the fun (and the danger) begins. Choosing the right pickups is about matching the guitar and the player, not chasing specs.
Nut Replacement
Cheap plastic nuts are one of the most common tone killers we see. A properly cut bone nut improves vibration transfer, opens up the low end and makes tuning far more stable.
This work needs to be done very precisely. Nut slot depth has a huge effect on tuning and intonation, particularly across the first three frets, and even small errors can cause rattling or binding.
Compensated Nuts (Earvana)
Compensated nuts like those made by Earvana in the USA take things a step further. Made from graphite and compensated per string, they allow for far more accurate intonation across the entire fretboard – something that’s otherwise extremely difficult to achieve.
We’ve been using these on our own touring guitars for years and, frankly, we’re a bit addicted. Chords suddenly sit properly. That notorious third string on the first few frets stops sounding sharp. Everything just lines up.
A word of warning though: once you experience one, you may want them on every guitar you own.
We’re not affiliated with Earvana – we just trust what works.
Saddle Replacement
Saddles have a bigger impact on tone and high-end response than most players expect. Many lower-end guitars use cheap alloy saddles that sound dull or overly brittle.
On vintage-style Telecasters with three-barrel bridges, brass saddles often produce a fuller, more balanced sound. Compensated versions can also improve intonation while keeping the traditional feel intact.
Graphtech Saddles and String Trees
Graphtech StringSaver saddles are used extensively on our touring guitars. Being graphite-based, they dramatically reduce friction and string breakage – to the point where we honestly can’t remember the last time we snapped a string on stage.
They also provide a very even frequency response, smoothing out harsh mid spikes often introduced by steel saddles. Graphtech’s friction-reducing string trees are another small upgrade that can noticeably improve tuning stability.
Again, no affiliation – just a lot of first-hand experience.
Tremolo Block Replacement
Upgrading a Strat-style tremolo block to brass or stainless steel can noticeably increase sustain and body resonance. As always, correct string spacing and mounting layout are critical, so measurements need to be checked carefully before installation.
Tuner Replacement
Vintage-style tuners often loosen over time and simply stop holding tuning. In most cases, replacing them is straightforward.
We typically favour Kluson tuners for vintage-style instruments, and Schaller or Gotoh for more modern guitars. Locking tuners can also be a worthwhile upgrade, increasing string rigidity and reducing friction at the tuner.
Cavity Shielding
Cavity shielding creates a "Faraday cage" inside the guitar, protecting the electronics from interference caused by dimmers, LCD screens, transformers and other electrical noise sources.
Most guitars leave the factory without proper shielding. We use high-quality copper foil and take care to avoid shorts, resulting in a guitar that’s quiet, reliable and ready for studio or stage use.
Rewiring & Electronics
Pots and switches wear out – and according to Murphy’s Law, they tend to fail during your best solo at a sold-out show.
We work with proven, high-quality components such as CTS USA pots, Switchcraft USA output jacks, CRL switches and vintage-style 0.42 AWG cloth wiring. No-Load pots make a nice difference with higher quality pickups - at 10 these pots are eliminated from the circuit, allowing the pickup to work the magic.
Capacitor Changes & Treble Bleed Kits
Only useful if you use your Tone knob. Capacitors affect the treble roll-off sound and can give you a new dimension of tonal variation. We are big fans of the mellow silky sounds of Vitamin Q caps, as well as vintage Mullard Tropical Fish and Mustard caps. We have several contacts in USA for some really rare vintage new-old-stock capacitors. Treble Bleed kit is useful for those of you, who use Volume knob to clean up the sound. Capacitor with a resistor is wired to the Volume pot and keeps the tone unchanged when you roll down the volume.
Series / Parallel Mod
The most common Telecaster mod we do. If you have two single-coil pickups in any guitar, when activated together they are most probably wired in parallel. This provides a slight volume drop as well as a mid-frequency scoop - clean a crispy sound of the Tele in position 2 and Strat in position 2 and 4. Adding a 4-way switch instead of a 3-way to a Telecaster and rewiring the circuit can provide you with a new sound - neck+bridge pickups in series - basically like one big humbucker. More output, thicker gnarlier sound! This can be done to any single-coil guitar. We would usually use a push-pull knob if this mod was done on a Strat.
Blender Mod
A favourite Stratocaster modification. Requires swapping the Tone2 for a special Blender pot, which will gradually add bridge pickup to the neck or neck+middle in positons 1 and 2 and neck pickup to the bridge or bridge+middle in positions 4 and 5. Broadens up the palette, allowing just a small dose of sparkly bridge pickup with the darker neck (Telecaster sound on a Stratocaster).
Silent Springs
That familiar echo from Stratocaster tremolo springs is something most of us have just learned to live with. Silent springs remove that internal ringing altogether, leaving the guitar sounding cleaner and more focused.
Custom Wiring
Have you ever tried a Stratocaster with an S1 switch? Instead of 5 usual sounds you suddenly have 10! Out-of-phase, series/parallel, neck+bridge, killswitch and etc - anything is possible. Let us know what do you have in mind.