When I was just getting started on the guitar back in the 1990s, cheap guitars were just that — cheap. One of my first guitars was a Squier Stratocaster, and it was not a good guitar. To be honest, that guitar has tainted my view of the brand — admittedly unfairly — to this day.
As the decades have progressed, however, this is often no longer the case. You can now buy an inexpensive guitar for a few hundred dollars that is anything but cheap. I have a Rondo SX that cost me less than $200 that plays great. I bought a new Ibanez semi-hollow-body guitar for $300 that hasn’t needed anything more than a string change. The fact is, overseas guitar factories have exponentially upped their game, which is great news for us as consumers.
As good as they are, though, cheap guitars are still cheap for a reason. They might be solidly constructed and play well out of the box, but they also still have less expensive components, they probably aren’t set up very well at the factory, and there may be lingering issues here and there. But the good news is there are a lot of easy and cost-effective modifications you can make to an inexpensive guitar to make it even more playable. Today I want to discuss five of them.
Use those knobs and dials
Those knobs, dials, and switches on your guitar and amplifier are not just for show! You can actually use them to dial in your tone. For several years I played on a $100 Epiphone Les Paul and a $50 Behringer amp. You would think that playing on this kind of rig would result in a nightmarish tone. And it’s true, I was never going to sound like John Mayer with that setup, but I did manage to develop a good enough tone to do what I needed to do.
Take the time to explore your rig’s tonal palette. See what the guitar sounds like with the tone or volume dialed back. Adjust the settings on your amp. If you have an EQ pedal, take the time to adjust it in different ways. You just might be surprised at how good of a sound you can actually get out of inexpensive gear.
Replace the nut
Inexpensive guitars almost always come with a plastic nut. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, it’s a simple and cheap upgrade to switch it out with a better-quality nut. Graph Tech or bone nuts can be had for as little as $10, and swapping out the plastic one is a pretty straightforward affair requiring minimal ability and tools (I mean, even I can do it). And if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, you can always take it to a guitar tech.
I find that installing a synthetic or bone nut actually does affect the sound and playability of a guitar. To my ears, it opens up the way the guitar sounds (especially when playing open chords) because it increases the harmonics (at least that’s what I perceive). It also enhances the feel of the strings and the neck when I play. It just feels more solid and professional than a plastic nut.
Upgrade the tuners
One of the cost-cutting measures overseas manufacturers engage in is using cheap tuners. While you can find cheap tuners that are just fine, sometimes they will have problems keeping the guitar in tune. They can also be difficult to adjust and hard to turn, which can make tuning and restringing not a ton of fun. And the last thing you want is to play a massive bend only to find your guitar wildly out of tune as a result.
I’m not going to do the standard “guitar guy advice” thing and tell you that you need to put locking tuners on all your instruments. I do have locking tuners on one of my guitars, and they are nice, but there is a myth that they will help your guitar stay more in tune. This is 100 percent untrue. Any set of quality tuners will keep your guitar in tune. Locking tuners’ sole advantage is making string changes quicker and easier. They were first used in live settings because guitar techs needed a way to change out broken strings quickly during shows.
By all means, get a set of locking tuners if you want, but the reality is installing a quality set of any kind of tuners will make you appreciate your inexpensive guitar all the more. The beauty of this mod is if you decide to sell the guitar later, you can take the quality tuners off and reinstall the factory ones, thus allowing you to swap them out on the next guitar you purchase.
Change the pickups
There’s just no getting around it: cheap guitars have cheap electronics. Again, this is not necessarily a problem. You may find a cheap set of pickups that you think sounds great. But it’s just as likely that the cheap pickups will not sound as good as a more expensive set.
This upgrade option requires a bit more involvement and know-how, but if you’re handy and can read wiring diagrams, upgrading your cheap guitar’s factory pickups can be an amazing way to step up your guitar’s overall quality and sound. I struggle with soldering and reading diagrams, but even I have successfully swapped out electronic components in guitars. And if you really don’t want to mess with it, you can go to a site like Guitarfetish and pick up a complete replacement kit that requires no soldering at all (look for their Kwikplug line).
Do a proper setup
This is the number one thing you should do with any guitar you purchase, regardless of price. Doing a thorough setup on a new guitar can make a world of difference in playability. A setup involves adjusting neck relief, checking for uneven frets, raising or lowering the action, and dialing in the intonation, among other things. And while it may seem scary at first, you absolutely can learn the skills and knowledge needed to do the job yourself.
I’ve seen amazing results by simply adjusting the truss rod and lowering the action on a guitar. The truth is, when it comes to playability, a good setup can make a bad guitar passable, a passable guitar good, and a good guitar great. It is worth the time, effort, and minimal investment to learn the skills and buy the tools to do this yourself.
When it comes to inexpensive guitars, we are living in the golden era. No longer are they terrible playing or terrible sounding. A few hundred dollars can get you a “good enough” guitar. And doing the things I mentioned above can take that guitar and turn it into something special.
What other tips do you have for making improvements to a guitar? Leave them in the comments, and thanks for reading!
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