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I agree with most folks here -- just do it, and see what happens. If it's not great, that's fine, you've got plenty of time to get it right. You don't have to start perfect, you know. I started when I was around 15, with just two tape decks and a homemade y-connector, overdubbing one track at...

You mean the trem block? Those can be had fairly cheap, just make sure you get the right one to fit your guitar. The intonation on a strat-style guitar is not hard to set, either. Google "strat intonation" and it'll pull up all kinds of stuff. The condensed version: first, put the saddles...

Like everybody else, mine changes on a daily basis, but lately it's been Northumberland West by the Sadies. I can't listen to that twang and not smile.

These things. I think I'd just use a hand-drill, though, and do what Anfontan said.

Sounds like those pots need to be replaced; they're like 3 dollars apiece, so it's not a huge investment to replace them. It's not hard to do yourself; just hook up the new pot the same way as the one you're replacing.

Nah, never throw out a working pickup, even if it's this terrible. These'll find their way into some experimental instruments someday. They'll go in a drawer for now.

Thanks. This guitar is actually very comfortable to play, despite being constructed of laughably bad materials. The body is plywood, yes, which is entirely visible through the clear cherry finish. It has that kind of plastic-pink-flamingos appeal to it. It has this big fat baseball bat of a...

Yeah, I know it's crap. The whole thing was fifteen bucks plus an output jack; I wasn't asking for much. When I bought it I was pleasantly surprised that it made any sound at all. I never put new pickups in it because I always figured even the cheapies would be way more than the price of the...

Honestly, I wouldn't have been entirely surprised if the second pickup was just foam. But yeah, both pickups do produce sound, and the switch is a legitimate one. I imagine they are entirely useless for suppression of mothers.

Well yeah, I've suspected it for a long time, the biggest giveaway being that they hum a little. Plus the output seemed awfully low. I just figured they were, you know, crappy. I only have two electrics, and the other one's a strat copy. This one hums less than that one and sounds...

On one of mine some years ago, I used a bent piece of coathanger from the block to the claw, where an extra spring would go. It stayed pretty well blocked down, as I recall.

I had heard reports online of people finding fake humbuckers in guitars of the same brand as my 15-dollar SG copy, so I decided to check mine out. Here they are, single-coils in humbucker cases, smashed in with yellow foam. What I'm curious about, though, is that it looks like there are two...

Famous last words, man. Seriously, though, either option seems viable to me, it just depends on how much trouble you want to go to. I wouldn't de-fret an instrument with a lot of value, but it would be a fun experiment on a beater. Just pull the frets out, fill the gaps with hardwood, and...

That part doesn't seem normal to me either. When you turn the volume down all the way, is the hum really loud, like when you put your thumb on the end of a cable? I ran into a situation like that once when I was missing a connection to ground somewhere. My first suggestion would have been to...

Cool. I had a phone-mic back in highschool, and I just found it the other day. I like the fact that you didn't modify the phone (plus, that's a classy old handset). I just dug into the phone and ran a line straight out of the mic for mine. I'd like to see the inside of that box.

Normally the bridge is connected to ground -- that's why the hum goes away when you touch the strings. If it's as loud as the strings, then yeah, you have a grounding issue, but so far this sounds normal. If it were a solid-body, then shielding would be an easier issue. You just line the...

Honestly, I'd leave it there. A mildly beat-up guitar is a respectable thing. Have you considered a brush-on or wipe-on finish? You can get wood stain in various shades of orange and yellow, probably locally, and you could mix the color yourself and maybe have better luck matching it. Plus...

Is it a super-loud buzzing, or just the normal hum like you'd get on a strat? The first thing I'm thinking is that P-90s are single coils, and therefore more susceptible to hum issues that you wouldn't have encountered with humbuckers. Odds are that thing's not shielded on the inside, either...

Well, it's good to know it's not the wiring. And it's a good thing that chip shuts off before it sets your guitar on fire. I have a feeling a heat sink is going to have to be kind of large in order to function -- that's the point, right? I'm thinking it's a big chunk of metal used to...

Here's another silly idea. I've seen amps heat up if the impedance in the speaker is too low for the amp. If you haven't already, you might check and make sure you're using a speaker with enough ohms.