Metropoulos Forum

I'am curius just if heavy metal guitars from the past and with heavy metal musicans from the years did modify their guitars in any particular way both electricaly and visualy, was there ever a ''trend'' to modify a guitar in a specific way under the 70s, 80s and so on or was it only up to each and ones own style?

I'am a little bit interrested that, just as a fun project, try to build a guitar like a Flying V as an example, modify it with wiring, pickups, knobs, tremolo arm and so on to replicate any possible modifications that might have been popular back then just for a fun thing, maybe researching tone over it, try to get an old school style over it and also make it sound good for those eras tones with heavy metal in particular.

Also the visuals is something i also consider, was thinking of trying to make the guitar ''ugly'', battered, filled with sweat, open humbuckers without pickup covers, having scratches, ugly ass paint like matte black, several colors, ugly decals that is slightly loosing it's grip from it's surface, dirty and dust overall and so on just to make it feel like a super gigged guitar that has been around the road for years in clubs, studio and so on, i don't like shiny guitars since it feels too perfect most of the times in one way, i like the guitars battered, so that's why

The guitar is supposed to be having great wood, like korina body and ebony frets, playability being great but still not ''perfect'' so to not remove all the ''mojo'' over an instrument that just plays so stupidly perfect, you gotta fight with the instrument in my opinion at least a little bit

Any suggestions? I'am really curius over this, and since this is a long term project, it will look brand new but i will play it hard and fight to make it look so dirty and bent and broken that it will loose it's clean visuals fast. Might even consider slightly using water on the metallic components so they can rust over time..

It's gonna look, feel and sound like an old school heavy metal guitar that could have been an example of an first guitar being used by a guitarist from first place being modded over the years, the guitarist ''number one'' some famous ones might even allways use in studio if you know what i mean.

Any suggestions or tips? I'am totaly serious about this, was there ever any common mods both technicly and/or visualy on the old guitars used from those eras?

80's Fender Abortion - Stolen from me in late 80's

AustinTx wrote:80's Fender Abortion - Stolen from me in late 80's

my-burned-guitar.jpg

That's exactly one good example of a guitar that i refer to, battered, rusty, ''oversweated'', dusty, dirty, scratched and overall beaten to hell in other words, love the look of that guitar!

Irön/Beast wrote:I'am a little bit interrested that, just as a fun project, try to build a guitar like a Flying V as an example, modify it with wiring, pickups, knobs, tremolo arm and so on to replicate any possible modifications that might have been popular back then just for a fun thing, maybe researching tone over it, try to get an old school style over it and also make it sound good for those eras tones with heavy metal in particular.

Try looking at this link for inspiration :

http://www.rsguitarworks.net/cms2/index ... &Itemid=92" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(RS Guitarworks in Winchester, KY)

That Strat body was customized by throwing it up and down the concrete
stairs behind the original GIT building...burned in Howard Robert's charcoal BBQ,
myself, Paul Gilbert. Kurt Kasinoff, and Dave McClain did the relicing.

My old buddy Mitch make 80's Metal Guitars...His guitars are pretty insane!

http://www.kneguitars.com/guitars_orig.php

Cool story and cool V there Austintx (Kne huh ?).

Iron/Beast, just get a Warmoth V body and neck (unless you want a glued in neck, there are kits out there) and get to goin on it.

Tone Slinger wrote:Cool story and cool V there Austintx (Kne huh ?).

Iron/Beast, just get a Warmoth V body and neck (unless you want a glued in neck, there are kits out there) and get to goin on it.

That is a kneguitar that my buddy makes...one off builds.
He also makes quite a bit of EVH cloned gear...bodies, pickups..etc

Second that on the Warmoth necks and bodies!

Also the Guitar ReRanch paint and finish supplies are
really cool, good quality and they come in spray cans..

http://www.reranch.com/

The swirl finish offcourse is real 80's. And putting a humbucker slanted in the bridge position was also an 80's thing. Don't know what it will do with the sound, the polepieces aren't exacly underneath the strings. Other then that offcourse the maple fretboards, all grey and dirty.

hmm... Love the 80's