I assume you saw a custom engraved neckplate on ebay or some such. I would strongly advise against replacing the neckplate yourself at this stage in the game. No offense, but as a beginner guitarist there is a chance that something might get out of whack. Remember, replacing the neckplate requires detaching and reattaching the neck from the body of the guitar. I'm not sure what kind of guitar you have (pardon me if you mention what kind of guitar you have earlier in the thread, I must have missed it) but sometimes neckplates aren't as universal as they claim to be (especially cheap ones) and there is a chance it won't even fit your guitar.

I would say swapping out neckplates is the least common mod. There are no tone enhancements that can be had from a new neckplate. And no one can see the neckplate when you are playing, not even you!

If you want to goth up your guitar, maybe some goth inspired tone and volume knobs and switch tip might be the way to go. Those items are quick and EASY to swap out. Just pop off the old one and pop on the new. Same with the pickguard too, of course all depending on what kind of guitar you have. Good luck!

Thanks. I'll avoid the neckplate thing then. I have a Fender Squier. I have pics of it in the pictures of guitar thread. It's a brown sunburst color. I'm not going to mess with the faceplate either because I just love the color.

I was thinking of different nobs, but I don't know how they come off. They seem pretty jammed on and I don't want to force it.

Funny story though....

I got my Squier kit in September. A couple of days ago, it looked like the face plate was getting bubbly. I was upset until I saw a clear edge popping out on the back of the guitar. It was like one of those 'colorform' clear guards you would find on your tv or remote that you have to peel off. Sure enough, the whole front and back of the guitar had that same clear film. I pulled it off and now my guitar looks great.

PS--again, how do you take the nobs off a Squier. There's three of them, and I think some of the clear film got stuck on the nobs so I want to get it off.

Thanks.

_________________
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

My dad said, "I'm going to miss you."
I said, "Well, now that I broke that sight off your rifle..." (Emo Philips)

Strat knobs just pull right off and slide right back on. It's that simple. Sometimes it takes some oomph to pull them off if their tight. In that case, take a shoestring wrapped once under the knob and yank on the shoestring to pull the knob off. Some people take two spoons under either side of the knob and use the spoons as levers to pry the knob off. That method might leave some ugly marks on the pickguard though.

To get rid of the rest of the plastic film (a pet peeve of mine about new guitars), while you have the knobs off, slightly unscrew the nut that is holding the potentiometer (the shaft that the knob goes onto) until you can grab to remaining film loose. Might need a tweezers to grab the little pieces of plastic film. Then retighten the nut. Don't loosen the nut too much, just a little bit enough where you can grab the film stuck between the nut and pickguard.

Here's a cross section diagram of what you're dealing with. Hope that helps.

Check out the Vox VT 15. It's tremendous. Best in it's class. I own the 30 watter. It has a $50 mail in rebate until December 31.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=483551