Aoresteen Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Way back in Oct of 2011 I bought a 1996 Epi Dot off of eBay with the orginal Epi case for $255. I decided to make a few mods to it. First the tuners were changed to gold Grover Imperals: Then I went radical. I decided to change it into a single pickup jazz guitar. The bridge pickup rout was filled as were all the holes on the top. I wanted a full tailpiece. I got rid of the stop bar and added an Ibanes Artcore 105 tailpiece. Strap lugs were changed to gold Schaller StrapLocks. I replace the neck pickup with a Gibson 490R gold humbucker. I really like how it sounds. The bridge needed to be replaced. Big issue. Turns out that in 1996 and earlier the TOM bridge ws 72mm post to post. The manufactuers have moved tp 74mm spaced TOM and nothing would fit. The bridge insert holes were dowled and re-drilled for 74mm TOM. A gold TOM was installed. The top was finished with a matt satin finish. As a tip of the hat to BB King, I named her Lucy and had a custom truss rod cover and a custom pick guard made for it by Terrapin Guitar. A bone nut with flatwound .012 strings were used to set it up. Here she is: Plays well, sounds fantatics, I couldn'i be happier with it. Lucy is sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoresteen Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 More photos (I hit the limit in the post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I like the tuners. Man, that was a lot of work. But to be honest, I like the way it looked before you did the mods (except for the tuners). The bridge is definitely not my cup of tea. And the finish does not look so hot with the big white space where the bridge pups used to be, and the smaller blemishes where you plugged up the pot holes. It's great that it plays and feels fantastic to you. That is all that matters. But I would have changed the knobs, and been done. I'd put black knobs on it. It's a shame that finish is not so natural anymore. But hey, it's your guitar, and if you're happy than that's GREAT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyphre Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 If it sounds like you want it to, I'd still consider it halfway done. You need to paint her. She deserves to look awesome. I'd go black or white. Either way you'll win. Just my opinion. I love those tuners too. Might have to put some on my dot. They are heavier, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoresteen Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Thanks guys. The tuners are heavier. In a few years I will refinish her but for now I just want to play her. The flatwounds set up nicely, the neck is great and the 490R really sounds nice. I don't know why they are not more popular. In truth I wish Epiphone would make a model like her - perhaps with a L4 style tailpiece. After they see Lucy, who knows - they just might do a run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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