A few years ago I picked up a PRS SE EG that look like it had been sitting at the pawn shop for a couple years.

25-in scale length, set neck, side mounted jack, PRS style pivot trem, and most importantly a master volume and master tone that isn’t mounted directly next to the bridge.

I’ll be damned if it doesn’t solve every nitpick I have about fender strats. And the proof is in the pudding. I have guitars that cost 10 times as much but I find myself almost always reaching for the EG. It’s a brilliant instrument and something that’s definitely worth looking into if you’re looking for a strat with more modern ergonomics over the standard stratocaster.

Beautifully put. Toss a GFS humbucker in there with a coil split on a push pull pot and some of their Wilkinson tuners. Parts done!

Just to echo what you said, I wouldn’t even bother adding a pickup. You’d have to route a cavity for the pickup and the switch, Make a back plate, And then connect the cavities. Way too much work for very little payoff! And this is assuming he has the skill set to do it without borking it. High risk low reward

I feel it’s worth clarifying that you cannot file one fret like this. You will need to lower all the frets in unison hence the sharpie. I figure you probably meant that I just wanted to clarify before somebody files down a single fret and wonders why they can’t produce the correct note in that position anymore.

Based on the inlay and the sides of the fretboard I’m assuming you’re referring to the finish. Unlike rosewood (or similar) boards, most maple boards have a thin finish that absolutely wears through over time. Generally the only way to fix this is to refinish the neck and, due to the nature of a finished fretboard, usually this entails a re-fret.

To my knowledge, the only way to prevent this from happening is to not play it. It’s just a natural by-product of playing a finished board.

In the long term, More of the finish will wear off. Eventually you’ll even get some dark spots. It’s a look.

Overall this is nothing I would be concerned about and certainly not justification for a refin. However, if you’re the type of person that absolutely can’t stand The look of an instrument that shows play wear (I understand), then I would strongly suggest you consider avoiding maple fretboards in the future as you’re going to be constantly fighting this battle assuming you actually play it.

Frankly, it’s a lot of tinkering. However, my “ah ha” moment happened when I started paying with the cabinet IRs. While not a surefire way to make things sound “good” it can be a definitely be responsible for why your sound sucks.