Tone and Mods:Improved or just Different?

Been thinking a lot about tone and mods this week. Since getting the Epiphone really. And I keep thinking about what mods are a real improvement and what's just different sounding.

Pickups are a great example. You can drastically change the sound of your guitar by changing the pickups. But have you Improved it? Or just made it Different?

I remember the guy on the board who said he didn't like his hardtail Strat because it didn't sound like his regular Strat and I told him the hardtail sounds good, it just sounds different. Now I find myself in the same position.

When I first played the Epiphone I thought the sound was kinda "Blah!" because it didn't sound like the Agiles. The midrange in the Agile really honks, possibly because of the AlNiCo V pickups I assume. The Epiphone has more of a scooped midrange and a bit less treble. I keep thinking I should replace the wires and pickups on it, but when I'm playing it for awhile I realize it sounds good, just different.

So I almost wonder if all the mods that people do on their guitars aren't really an improvement as much as just a difference. All our ears work differently and what sounds good to some of us might not sound good to others. To me a Squier Bullet sounds a bit harsh and trebly, but Pesky makes them sound great, and I bet if SRV picked up a stock Squier Bullet he could make that puppy scream and sound amazing. Then people would wonder how he got that amazing sound and be convinced it must be expensive mods made to the guitar.

You can't argue that better tuners, better volume controls, etc. are an improvement because it makes the guitar work better. But when it comes to changing things that pertain to the actual sound like the pickups themselves I wonder how much each pickup is really an "improvement" over the next pickup?

I mean it'd be awesome to have one guitar and be able to afford to pop 10 different pickups and brands into it to see how it sounded, but who can afford that? I sure can't. And I wonder how much of it is psychosomatic in the sense of, "I just spent $200. on these pickups, they ARE GOING to sound GOOD!" But do they really sound good? Or just different? And would someone else with a completely different set of ears agree that they're "better" or just "different?"

I find with the guitars I have now depending on my mood I reach for a different one. The Epi for the scooped out, softer, warmer tone. The Agile for the harsher honking chunk, and the Squier CV50's for the treble, clarity, and response (it's immediate.) And I'm starting to think that none of these guitars sound better, just different. And they're all stock nothings replaced except some cosmetics. If I want to do a rock song or a chunky blues song the Strat is great for that. If I want a softer metal type song with shredding and stuff, the Epiphone is great for that. When I need something kind of in the middle the Agile is awesome because it can do heavy chunky stuff or I can play the bridge pickup, turn my CryBaby pedal on and use it like a treble booster and get a very, very close sound to a Strat. It doesn't sound like a Strat don't think I'm saying that, but I can get close to the sound of one.

So lately I'm starting to think I really don't need to change anything on these guitars, they all work very well and they're fine at what they do. None of them are better, they're all just different. And I guess I'm just comfortable with working with what I have instead of wondering what I could do to "improve" the tone when really maybe I'd be better served improving my own skills and techniques?

Anyway just thought I'd share the thought because this is a heavy modding board so it seemed an appropriate venue for discussion. In no way am I trying to flame-bait anyone or start an argument or anything. I do not look down in the least on people that mod their guitars. In a way I'm jealous of how fast some of you guys dismantle a guitar install new wiring harness's and pickups and have the guitar back up and running so fast. It's a very impressive skill, and one that I definitely do not have.

I'm always scared I'm going to make the guitar worse, or somehow change the sound or something and it won't feel or sound the same and I won't be able to get it back to where it was. I think a lot of people have this fear too which is why not everyone is quick to take their guitars apart.

But anyway.... Improved? or just Different?