If you’re not interested in guitar talk, you may want to skip this post…

Now that The Codes are experiencing some minor success, I figured it was time to swap out my cheap pawn shop guitar for something decent. The whole process started a few months ago when a good friend gave me an American made Fender Stratocaster as a gift. I call this a “process” because I decided to pimp that guitar by upgrading the tuning keys, bridge setup, and pickups - in addition to a couple of aesthetic changes.

Here are the “before and after” shots. As you can see, I started with a standard black and white Strat. First, I made some inexpensive aesthetic upgrades - switching out the white pickguard for red pearloid and the white volume and tone knobs for black.

Then I made a few changes to improve the sound and feel of the guitar. I had an issue with the standard Fender bridge set (where the strings rest on the tremolo just below the pickguard). I was breaking strings on a regular basis. So I replaced the bridge set with Graph Tech FerraGlide Saddles. And while I was at it, I also decide to replace the tuning keys on the headstock for smoother tuning. I chose Planet Waves Auto Trim Tuning Machines (not pictured). Both the bridge saddles and tuning keys were a Christmas gift from sweet Momo.

And my boy Ian hooked me up with new pickups for my rig (another x-mas gift). He did a lot of research and decided on GFS Pro-tube Lipstick-style pickups. They’re the three little black tubes in the pictures. The standard Strat includes three 4.9khz pickups, which give it that twangy lead guitar sound. But I’m playing rhythm guitar in The Codes, so I wanted a fuller sound with better mids and lows. The GFS Pro-tubes are three different pickups: 4.9khz, 6khz, and 8khz. They allow for a wider range of sound and styles.

And last but not least, I needed an amp powerful enough for gigs. For practice sessions, I was playing through a Fender Blues Junior. It’s a great amp and I’m definitely going to keep it for rehearsals. But it’s just not powerful enough to play live with drums. So I started checking Craigslist and eBay daily looking for a good deal on a used amp. I bid on a couple of different models on eBay and ended up getting outbid. Then I found the perfect amp on Craigslist. It’s a Kustom Coupe ‘36 - an all-tube amp like the Blues Junior, but it’s more than twice as powerful. Plus, it has two channels with a foot switch, and an additional “boost” switch for leads. And of course it looks badass. Guitar One magazine just gave this amp it’s annual “One Award”.

So I’m all set for now… Though I have to admit I’m addicted to Craigslist and eBay now.