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25 February 2009 - BBZGuitars of High Wycombe has reported a 30 percent increase in the number of guitarists requesting upgrades and enhancements to existing guitars and amps, since the beginning of 2009. The company has also experienced a rise in the number of professional players, in the Buckinghamshire area, that are purchasing guitar brands such as Vintage, St Blues, Gordon Smith, Indie and Antoria in preference to more traditional 'super-logo' guitars like Fender and Gibson.

According to the Bucks guitars specialist, popular enhancements for guitars include new pick-ups, new bridges and new electrics, although by far the most requested upgrades are professional set-ups.

"The majority of customers ask me to set-up their existing guitars after they've visited the showroom and tried out a few of the instruments we sell," said Steve Busby, MD for BBZGuitars.

"All guitars can benefit from a professional set-up but particularly those that have been mass produced – that's because factory settings are only approximate. The main areas with scope for improvement tend to be the intonation, neck, nut and action of the guitar. All of these elements can have a major impact on how the instrument sounds," said Busby.

Busby also believes that revamping an existing guitar by upgrading components like pick-ups, bridges and electrics can give the instrument a new lease of life and make financial sense.

"Apart from sounding great, replacing your stock pick-ups with Seymour Duncan's or DiMarzio's can actually increase the value of your guitar," said Busby. "Changing your bridge to a vintage style tremolo or a Wilkinson replacement will not only enhance the guitar's intonation and sustain, and improve its tuning stability, it'll also make it a lot more saleable."

Another area of the business where BBZGuitars has enjoyed a recent surge in demand is for sales of guitar brands such as Vintage from JHS, Gordon Smith, Indie, Antoria and St Blues to professional musicians however, Busby believes that the two events are not mutually exclusive.

"There's still a lot of snobbery in the guitar market," said Busby. "Quite often pro and semi-pro guitarists will come in to our High Wycombe showroom for upgrades and maintenance to brands like Fender and Gibson, with no intention of ever looking at Vintage or the other makes I sell. But when they try out these guitars, they're amazed at the quality they can get for the money and quickly see how much more sense it makes to gig with an instrument that costs under £500 versus their super-logoed axes at £1500 plus."