Granite EG-11BS modification!

Here's a nice "Granite" branded electric guitar. It's an affordable "super-strat" style guitar with HSS pickup configuration, a bolt-on maple neck and a spalted maple top body. It's made in China for the Greek music store "Nakas":
http://www.nakas.gr/ecomnakas/nakas2006/default.asp?static=421&product=130637

Here are its original specs:

Body: solid hardwood (solid basswood probably)
Fingerboard: Rosewood with shark fin inlays
Frets: 22 medium
Neck: Maple with a "Jackson" DK style profile
Bridge Pickup:  passive ceramic humbucker sealed in plastic epoxy
Neck Pickup: ceramic Single Coil with satin black cover
Middle Pickup: ceramic Single Coil with satin black cover
Tremolo Type: 6-point Vintage Tremolo
Hardware: Chrome plated

 This guitar costs about 136 Euros and it's a value for money instrument. The fretwork is good, the hardware is decent and the electronics sound okay.
So, what's the problem? Well, the guitar was brand new but it was never set up properly, plus it had a mixed set of 0,09" and 0,10" strings on... Also, the finish of the body is nice but it classes a bit with the chrome hardware.
 We thought a black hardware kit would be most suitable for this guitar. Therefore, we ordered a black 6-point tremolo assembly, a set of black closed type tuners, a couple metallic knobs and two strap buttons from Hong Kong via ebay.
 The quality of the new hardware is pretty good. All the parts are quite similar to the stock "Granite" hardware. This is a good thing because we didn't have to drill extra holes to retrofit the new hardware on the guitar. The new parts didn't really change the way this guitar sounds and feels but its looks were much improved. The black hardware matches the dark burst spalted top and and it looks awesome.
 I also bolted the humbucking pickup directly to the wooden cavity of the guitar and removed the old plastic pickup ring. This easy mod is known to improve the sustain of the pickup a bit and I think it worked OK in this case. It looks cooler too!
 The guitar was finally set up with a fresh set of 0,09" coated strings. The intonation is just perfect and the action is low enough for soloing. It's a very playable guitar that needs a bit of attention and modification to unlock its full potential.

Here are a few pictures of the guitar, before:

And after!...

Cheers,
Thanos
guitardreamer.gr@gmail.com