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REPLACING PICKUPS! need some advice


nirvanarocks10

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hey,

 

i own a Epiphone lespaul standard, the thing sounds nice but im going to buy a tube amp real soon and i'm not ready to buy a gibson yet, as they are $4000 or something, and i would prefer to buy a nice amp first.

 

I was hopeing i could replace the pickups of my epiphone to something really nice so they will sound good through through a tube amp, probly a peavy, or a marshal

 

any suggestions on what pick ups i could use to replace my old ones?? or if its even worth it :-k

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Really depends upon what sound you are after. Certain brands often cater for certain types of music. For example - Dimarzio and EMG cater for high gain metal type stuff, whereas brands like Fralin and Seymour Duncan tend to be toneful all-rounders. Here in the UK there's a brand called Bare Knuckle that tailors it's pick-ups to specific players tones.

 

My advice is shop around and read lots of reviews. Ebay is often a good place to look and Harmony Central is a great review site. Don't forget that Gibson OE pick-ups are generally fantastic allbeit a touch expensive. Good luck.

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If they sound nice now why change just because of a tube amp? Don't fall into the "Mod my guitar just because I head it was the thing to do" syndrome.

 

If you want to change the sound of your pickups experiment with the amp setting more. Experiment with pickup height, string gauge, strum techniques first. Then if your not satisfied do the mod.

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I agree with the comments saying, "try them first" before you replace them. You may find that you can live with them long enough to get your amp and then replace them down the road. IMO Epipone pickups are worthy of replacing at some point but maybe not right away. They are fine just not great.

 

If you're on an extreme budget, GFS pickups are a step up from the stock pickups IMO. They can be found a guitarfetish.com and are worth twice what you'd pay for them. Otherwise what others have said regarding style of music and different brand emphasis' are good points. Know what you're looking for in tone and function and that will help you narrow it down.

 

Good luck.

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All very wise advice. My '03 transamber LP is still completely bone stock...it never really needed anything else. It suits me as is and believe me, I considered all kinds of mods (yeah, because it was the "thing to do" with your Epi when I bought it). Would've been wasted money...

 

But I just picked up my '07 Honeyburst LP + top Friday (almost an iced tea color - very reminicent of Jimmy Page's #1 battle axe). Only thing I plan to do is change the pup selector tip to the antique orange one and probably a set of GFS '59 Boutiques for a little tonal variation (again, hopefully to get it a little more "Page-y"). The GFSs will be close enough for me. Not because it needs it (it's a fine guitar as is), but because it's what I want.

 

Listen to what your ears are telling you, not your friends (or even us for that matter :-k did I just say that?!!?)

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I got a pair of GFS pickups for my project Tele, (Fatbody in the neck and '62 Vintage at the bridge..) based on recommendations from folks on this forum... I can't begin tell you how great they sound! Above and beyond what I was expecting... And they only cost $35 apiece! I got a Dot coming soon, and I plan on putting GFS pups into that as well..

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I will echo the recommendations above. Do not replace the pickups until you have had the opportunity to put them to the test through your new tube amp.

 

If you are still not happy with the tone at that point, start listening to some of the clips on the pickup manufacturer's sites. I know Seymour Duncan has clips available and I would expect Dimarzio does too.

 

You can also investigate what pickups are being used by musicians whose tones you like.

 

A forum search for a musician or pickup keyword is always a good start. If that is not successful, posting "I want a Slash tone, what pickups?" or "What pickups are you using in a LP for punk?" type questions will help forum members suggest specific options.

 

As for replacing pickups being worth it, it will be if you achieve the tone you want.

 

Edit: click here for SD sound clips

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thx guys, i was suprised with how many replys i got O:)

 

i forgot to menstion wat music i play, mymistake.

 

I play a bit of grunge/rock. i love a nice thick crunch.

 

 

Thanks for all your suggestions i am defanitly going to wait until i get my amp Before anykind of modding.

 

 

colin.

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thx guys' date=' i was suprised with how many replys i got O:)

 

i forgot to menstion wat music i play, mymistake.

 

I play a bit of grunge/rock. i love a nice thick crunch.

 

[/quote']

 

 

I would have never guessed, Nirvana Rocks.

 

As someone mentioned, GFS are really good, especially if you're on a budget. Sound is subjective, but for a crunchy tone I personally love Gibson Dirty Fingers.

 

Good luck

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I replaced the PU's in my LP clone (not an Epi) with the Seymour Duncan Hot rod Set,

SH4 in the bridge, SH2 for the neck, it had Alnico 5's in it originally. The SD's are great,

they are hot so I lowered them a little more than the suggested height and it cooled

them down somewhat and gave me a nice articulate tone.

 

But, live with the stock PU's for awhile, try adjusting them either up or down, you may

find you like them.

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Well, if you're looking for the 'Gibson sound' I don't think you can go wrong with a Gib 490/498 combo. Some people don't like the brightness of the 498 but I think it's a great pickup for 'modern rock'.

 

As has been said, Seymour & DiMarzio both have some excellent pickups that will be a considerable improvement over the stock Epis (which, as I'm sure you've noticed, are just fine until you push them too hard in which case they tend to 'mud up').

 

And I concur with regard to the GFS pickups. Don't let the cheap price fool you. They are very good pickups and based on my own experience and the comments made by other forum members, they are catching on fast. They have a couple of 'rail' sets that are quite hot. I've got a set of 'Loudmouths' on one of my guitars that I really like. And the 'Crunchy PAFs' they sell are very similar to 490/498. (As a matter of fact, the neck pickup on those 'crunchy PAFs' is as good of a neck humbucker as I've heard in a long, long, time).

 

I would've never believed a $30 pickup could be as good as they are until I tried them myself. I've since installed them on 5 of my guitars with 5 different varieties of GFS pickups and am very satisfied with all of them.

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