It says "Discuss gear", so I figured I'd make a quick thread about what I've done to my MIM
Before:
Typical piece of crap MIM with plastic nut and cheesy vinyl plastic parts, all white.
First of all, the stupid white plastic crap had to go, so I got an aluminum pickguard, black anodized diamond plate and some metal knobs. It looked silly without pickup covers, so I dyed them by boiling them in coffee(It should be noted that this only works on pickup covers, none of the other plastic pieces will take up any of the coffee pigment). The plastic nut ended up breaking, so I got a nice bone one that looks vintage. Also, I can't stand gloss, so I knocked back the finish to satin on the body and neck, and now it feels much nicer to play.
The trem has also been blocked, the wiring cleaned up considerably, and I took off the string tree.
After:
Close-up of the nut:
A little elbow grease, about $120 for the new nut and pickguard, plus the money the previous owner spent on locking tuners and new electronics, and you have yourself a fine-playing instrument. Could use new saddles and intertia block too... Pretty much all of the factory hardware is crap.
I dunno where I'm going with this really, I just wanted to show it off.
While I'm showing off my guitars, here's my other one, an acoustic:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p270/xS...ka/IMG_0021.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p270/xS...ka/IMG_0022.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p270/xS...ka/IMG_0018.jpg
Mmm, that flamed Asian mahogany is sweet, also known as Natowood.