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GALLERY: Reader's Hot Rods

From pickups to paint jobs, we collect the coolest mods for our latest PG reader gallery.

This reader’s hot rod “started out as a very old and rusty Kay guitar, a tulip model that I got in London,” says Peter-Eric Verstegen, who hails from the Netherlands. “The neck and body are repainted in off-white—the same color as some of our furniture so my wife wouldn’t object to putting the guitar on a stand in the living room.”

He added Fender tuners, a Wilkinson bridge, and made a new scratchplate that allowed him to hollow out the body and reposition the pickups. “The pickups are a bit microphonic and with some pedal overdrive the guitar is slide heaven,” he says. “I play it through a Brunetti Singleman 1x12 combo.”

Throughout the year we collect stories and photos of guitar-mod projects created by you, our beloved readers. Some of these guitars are so inspiring we’re compelled to share them with everyone in this annual Hot Rod issue. As always, you don’t disappoint. And by using fetching racecar flame designs, several readers even revealed their devotion to the original “hot rod” culture!

We couldn’t fit all of your mod submissions here, but look for more stories in our “Hot-Rod Gallery – Reader’s Edition” online next month.

Supro Montauk Mini Rocker Amp Demo
- YouTube

A 6L6 power section, tube-driven spring reverb, and a versatile array of line outs make this 1x10 combo an appealing and unique 15-watt alternative.

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The two-in-one “sonic refractor” takes tremolo and wavefolding to radical new depths.

Pros: Huge range of usable sounds. Delicious distortion tones. Broadens your conception of what guitar can be.

Build quirks will turn some users off.

$279

Cosmodio Gravity Well
cosmod.io

4.5
4
4
4.5

Know what a wavefolder does to your guitar signal? If you don’t, that’s okay. I didn’t either until I started messing around with the all-analog Cosmodio Instruments Gravity Well. It’s a dual-effect pedal with a tremolo and wavefolder, the latter more widely used in synthesis that , at a certain threshold, shifts or inverts the direction the wave is traveling—in essence, folding it upon itself. Used together here, they make up what Cosmodio calls a sonic refractor.

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Kemper and Zilla announce the immediate availability of Zilla 2x12“ guitar cabs loaded with the acclaimed Kemper Kone speaker.

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The author in the spray booth.

Does the type of finish on an electric guitar—whether nitro, poly, or oil and wax—really affect its tone?

There’s an allure to the sound and feel of a great electric guitar. Many of us believe those instruments have something special that speaks not just to the ear but to the soul, where every note, every nuance feels personal. As much as we obsess over the pickups, wood, and hardware, there’s a subtler, more controversial character at play: the role of the finish. It’s the shimmering outer skin of the guitar, which some think exists solely for protection and aesthetics, and others insist has a role influencing the voice of the instrument. Builders pontificate about how their choice of finishing material may enhance tone by allowing the guitar to “breathe,” or resonate unfettered. They throw around terms like plasticizers, solids percentages, and “thin skin” to lend support to their claims. Are these people tripping? Say what you will, but I believe there is another truth behind the smoke.

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