lipstick tube equipped

The patent-pending medallion remains on this sitar, with a serial number of 819009 and a reference to the company’s hometown of Neptune City, New Jersey.

A sonic touchstone from the psychedelic-rock era.

On YouTube, you can watch a segment from Universal Newsreel titled “Teen-Age Rage: Modern Sitar Rocks the U.S.” The clip came out in 1967—one year after “Paint It Black,” two years after “Norwegian Wood,” and at a time when the craze for Indian sounds in Western rock was at a peak.

Watch guitarist Vinnie Bell demo his then-new invention in this newsreel from 1967.
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Photo by Perry Bean

Three entry-level axes and the DIY projects that turn them into secret weapons for the stage and studio.

Click here to enter for a chance to win these expertly modded guitar.

Sometimes you don’t want to throw down a couple thousand dollars on a guitar. Hell, for the large majority of players, that never has been nor ever will be an option. Once upon a time, that was a pretty big conundrum for hardcore guitarists—an existential crisis, really. Thankfully, well-dialed CNC machines and a whole host of production and OEM-parts refinements over the past few years have been obliterating those old worries about not being able to sound and look good (or play comfortably) without decimating your savings account or making credit-card bandits giggle with glee.

PG has long celebrated this fortunate new reality. For years now we’ve invested a lot of time, effort, and money in cooking up DIY mod projects that show you how to get more out of your existing guitars. And May 2018 marked our first foray into an annual feature that ups the ante considerably by helping you suss out inexpensive new guitars that are hiding in plain sight, just waiting for anyone who can wield a soldering iron without burning down the house to turn them into killer gigging and recording machines.

For this year’s no-brainer mods installment, we’ve assembled a diverse trio of guitars that make stellar “canvases” for upgrades that take them to a whole new level.

For many players—whether relative newcomers or mod-savvy mad scientists prowling for the victim of their next tonal heresy—the realm of worthwhile entry-level instruments rarely extends beyond brands such as Squier, Epiphone, and perhaps lower-priced Gretsch or Ibanez guitars. And with good reason: These companies have a long, laudable track record of serving up instruments that look like what our heroes play, and sound and play fairly close, too. All for just a couple hundred bucks and some change.

But there are many other solid contenders for the hard-earned dollars of the DIY addicted, too. For this year’s no-brainer mods installment, we’ve assembled a diverse trio of guitars that make stellar “canvases” for upgrades that take them to a whole new level. The instruments and parts were purchased online, which means they were subject to the same rigors and dice rolls as most web buys—particularly those that aren’t from the handful of retailers notable for their pre-purchase guitar setups. (Plus, you never know what havoc will be wrought going through a half-dozen climes and the hands of at least a couple of careless delivery people.) Given this, it should come as no surprise that a few performance tweaks were necessary here and there, too.

New to modding? Check out this DIY article for a comprehensive guide on soldering techniques and tips.

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Photo 1

Can you get a good deal if you buy a guitar on the sidewalk?

One of my favorite 6-string events is South Carolina’s Spartanburg Guitar Show. It’s only about an hour from my house, and I always seem to walk away with something. On my most recent visit, I rode down with fellow Asheville guitarist David Holt. As we were strolling toward the venue, we encountered a guy leaving the show with a cool-looking, well-thrashed Fender Strat strapped around his neck (Photo 1). Darn, I thought, too late to snag that one.

I asked if he’d bought the Strat at the show and was surprised to learn he’d simply been trying to sell it but had no takers. He handed it to me to try out. Because of its old, heavy strings and high action, it played terribly. I noticed the tremolo was adjusted incorrectly, leaving the bridge poking up too high. An easy fix, if you’re handy with Strats. The seller also showed me where the headstock had been split and repaired before he got it (Photo 2). It looked like a decent repair to me.

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