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Pickups for a epiphone LP studio


j5buckethead

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I have an epiphone LP studio. I want to know what pickups would be best to get a slash type tone but also being able to play rock, classic rock, metal, heavy metal, blues, etc

In case your desires are specified that widely, I have to ask what you think the stock pickups are missing.

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I have an epiphone LP studio. I want to know what pickups would be best to get a slash type tone but also being able to play rock, classic rock, metal, heavy metal, blues, etc

 

If you really want a lot of variety, check out the Seymour Duncan P-Rails and the Triple Shot mounting/switching rings. I have them on my SG Standard and you can get a ton of different tones out of them. They let you switch from humbucker to P-90 to single coil on each pickup. This setup is not cheap. If you want to spend a bit less, the classic Seymour Duncan SH-2 and SH-4 set might work for you. There are plenty of other great pickups out there; I just happen to be familiar with Seymour Duncans.

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I just figured that I could get pickups that sound better than the stock ones

Well, "better" is a matter of taste as well as of matching a particular instrument. As an example, my Epi LP featuring Gibson '57/'57 Plus stock is much closer to a Gibson LP of mine with BurstBuckers Pro than to another one featuring '57/'57 Plus, too.

 

Basically, I think trying different amp settings should be the first step. I don't think the stock pickups are inferior, and a maple top an a Les Paul would also make a remarkable difference, so the all-mahogany tone will persist after a pickup swap.

 

When about replacements, for achieving a smoother response allowing for effective use of amp tone controls especially in high-gain settings, ceramic pickups might be something for you. Gibson 496R for the neck and 500T for the bridge position belong here, and the Dirty Fingers, too. Since EMGs tend to a smoother tone in general, I also want to mention the passive EMG HZ H4 and H4A featuring AlNiCo magnets, and the ceramic-loaded EMG HZ H3.

 

In case you like it screaming, the Seymour Duncan SH-5 with ceramic magnetics might be for you in the bridge position. The Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates SSH-PG1N in the neck position should be a nice match for the SH-5.

 

In my opinion, Gibson 490R, 490T and 498T as well as '57s may not be to your taste. They basically are relatively close to what you already got, and so probably won't make that much of a difference to you.

 

Anyway, I would go with four-conductor wiring and install switching options. In particular, series/parallel switching ability can be a very useful add. I prefer push/pull pots, but switching rings work nicely, too.

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