# Modding My GRG7221 [Progress pics]



## Tesla (Jun 3, 2013)

Hey all

A while ago I bought a cheap Ibanez GRG7221 as my first 7 string but also as a modding platform. I started the modding it today, most of it is aesthetic but here's a list of what I'm going to do.


Replace the Ibanez Gio headstock logo
Ebonize the fretboard
Install a pickguard (A black single humbucker one)
Install a Seymour Duncan Blackout Phase 1 pickup
Install new volume pot (supplied with Blackout)

I also might change the tuners, but It's not a priority right now as the existing ones are doing a surprisingly good job of keeping it in tune.

Ok, onto pictures. First off I was going to cover the headstock with a black decal then put a new logo on top of that, but when removing the strings I scraped the logo a little bit (and then some more to test)




So turns out it was fairly easy to get this logo off, so I took a chisel and with barely any pressure at all, finely scraped it off...so now I don't need to bother cutting and placing the black decal!




You can still see the logo a little bit in that photo, but some hot soapy water took care of the remaining stuff. Then I applied the new logo (Yes, rather cheeky of me to put a prestige decal on it, but it's for me and me only, so I'm fine with it!




Now I'm doing the fretboard with Minwax...messy stuff! Will post pictures when I'm finished!


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## The Spanish Inquisition (Jun 3, 2013)

Yeah, about those pictures...


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## Tesla (Jun 3, 2013)

They not showing up? Ugh...they're working here, I'll try again.


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## The Spanish Inquisition (Jun 3, 2013)

Tesla said:


> They not showing up? Ugh...they're working here, I'll try again.



Not working now, if you are embedding them from Dropbox, they're probably private. Try uploading them somewhere else.


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## Tesla (Jun 4, 2013)

Hopefully the pictures are working now. 

Here's a before and after shot of the fretboard staining.

Before




After




It turned out pretty well, the photo doesn't do it justice. The little white marks are just shavings from the pencil eraser I was using to clean the frets.


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## Tesla (Jul 26, 2013)

If anyone is interested...

Applied faux binding and a black scratch plate. Currently just waiting on the pickup and new electronics being installed and she'll be finished!


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 26, 2013)

Looks good dude!  Surprised that there hasn't been any rage over the Prestige logo on a GIO

/inb4 logo rage


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## Tesla (Jul 26, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Looks good dude!  Surprised that there hasn't been any rage over the Prestige logo on a GIO
> 
> /inb4 logo rage



Thanks! I was wondering about that myself hah. I just wanted a gold logo, it's a specifically themed guitar! I'll probably post a NFPD and explain when it's done.


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 26, 2013)

I look forward to it


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## Matthew (Jul 26, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Looks good dude!  Surprised that there hasn't been any rage over the Prestige logo on a GIO
> 
> /inb4 logo rage



Brand whores, man. They ruin everything.

Back on topic, this looks likes it has some serious potential. I'm not usually a fan of single pup guitars, but this is looking sleek already.

Hurry up and post moar pics!


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## bob123 (Jul 26, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Looks good dude!  Surprised that there hasn't been any rage over the Prestige logo on a GIO
> 
> /inb4 logo rage



As long as hes not selling it as a prestige, should be fine 


Anywho, you're spending a lot of time doing this, if you have the ability, make sure the fret work is up to snuff. May as well getting her playing as good as shes gonna look.


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## Tesla (Jul 26, 2013)

bob123 said:


> As long as hes not selling it as a prestige, should be fine
> 
> 
> Anywho, you're spending a lot of time doing this, if you have the ability, make sure the fret work is up to snuff. May as well getting her playing as good as shes gonna look.



I got it looked over and set up etc. when I bought it, tech was surprised at how good the quality was! She'll get another set up when it's finished too I imagine.


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## Tesla (Nov 4, 2013)

She is now finished, posted a NFPD thread here!


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## remorse is for the dead (Nov 5, 2013)

Looking great! an advice, next time remove the neck from the body when dyeing the fretboard, it's a lot easier!


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## dobry (May 6, 2014)

Hey man,

Tell more about how the sound of the guitar changed after upgrading pickup.


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## Tesla (May 6, 2014)

It's a lot fatter, tone-wise. Sounds a little bit tighter in the high end as well.


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## Blue1970Cutlass (May 6, 2014)

What did you use for the faux binding? 

I didn't see it listed in your original mod list


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## Tesla (May 6, 2014)

Blue1970Cutlass said:


> What did you use for the faux binding?
> 
> I didn't see it listed in your original mod list



Just regular pinstriping tape I got from eBay, can't remember the name exactly but it's fairly easy to find. It's for cars and boats etc.


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