eor Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 - are the pup covers the same for the standard and elitist versions? are the after market covers the same, as well? not just size, fit and angle (in the neck's case) but quality of material and plating. -how do you feel about the metal covers? i prefer the idea of plastic, but surely a p90 could be designed to compensate for the inherent darkness of metal covers, no? they certainly look cooler, which is what really matters - how high do you shim? did you at all? especially curious about the bridge, which sounds thin, quiet and wimpy compared to its neck counterpart. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spamonkis Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I can't address all of your questions with concrete answers, but here is what I have heard/ believe/ think. I have heard the Chinese pickups are not exactly the same size as the American (Gibson). The stock pickups are wound a bit hotter to make up for the metal covers. I have changed a lot of things on my Casino (nut, tuners, bridge tailpiece, pots/ wiring etc.), but I have NO intention of touching those pickups. All I have done to them is adjust the pole peices to level string to string volume. People can call them cheap, complain about the quality and bemoan their specs, but in the end, my ears say they are perfection! God bless, Spamonkis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I upgraded PU's on my Casino to Duncans, definite improvement in tone. The pole piece holes didn't line up exactly and I had to enlarge them. You can get aftermarket covers that may fit with modification, including metal ones, that are as good or better than what Epi uses. You could also try chrome paint on plastic covers. You can tell how much of a shim you need by measuring. Bridge P-90's often sit too far below the strings on guitars with angled necks, and lose some tone and volume because of it. I like my pole pieces to be between 1/8 to 1/16" from the strings, measured when you hold the strings down at the highest fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 i should note that mine is an elitist. (i imagine) the pickups sound nice. i'd like to give them a fair shot, hence the shimming. a quick peek reveals a pair of the famed and mysterious epiphone usa ep90s in there. i was wondering if the covers were the same quality, dimensions and alloy/material in the event that i don't care for the pups. i'd much rather have new ones built into a new set of covers than reuse these covers and let the perfectly good guts go to waste. looks like the neck is a 1/4" away with the pole pieces more or less flush, and the bridge is also 1/4" away, but the pole pieces are raised 1/8". i think i'd like to raise the bridge some and lower the pole pieces back. that should do it. not sure if the neck needs to be adjusted, it is just a little tubby at times. should i raise that, too? anyone know of a cheap source for shims, or a diy solution? i didn't notice one in the diy thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 anyone know of a cheap source for shims, or a diy solution? i didn't notice one in the diy thread. I've made shims for P-90's out of old mouse pads --- cheap, easy to make, and won't scratch the guitar's finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 i should note that mine is an elitist. (i imagine) the pickups sound nice. i'd like to give them a fair shot, hence the shimming. a quick peek reveals a pair of the famed and mysterious epiphone usa ep90s in there. i was wondering if the covers were the same quality, dimensions and alloy/material in the event that i don't care for the pups. i'd much rather have new ones built into a new set of covers than reuse these covers and let the perfectly good guts go to waste. looks like the neck is a 1/4" away with the pole pieces more or less flush, and the bridge is also 1/4" away, but the pole pieces are raised 1/8". i think i'd like to raise the bridge some and lower the pole pieces back. that should do it. not sure if the neck needs to be adjusted, it is just a little tubby at times. should i raise that, too? anyone know of a cheap source for shims, or a diy solution? i didn't notice one in the diy thread. I would check on the pickups before you do anything. I have an elitist country gent, - the pups are usa made, and in the case of the CG, specifically designed with that guitar in mind. I would have to think the Casino would be similar.. In my case, comparing them to my other USA made gibsons, (490r/490t, classic 57s, and burstbuckers) they pretty much do keep up with these others, albeit with differences in over all tone. But I'm talking about good clarity, good output, good resistance to feedback, quiet, and have good solid tone in just about all situations. you may be chasing a red herring around. When you adjust the pickups, do that while you have it plugged in, you can "hear" when you've crossed the line pretty quickly with the string to pole distance ratio. but at the end of the day, everyone is looking for what they are looking for, these just may not ever float yer boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Elitist Casino's are Premium Quality, all the way around. "I" wouldn't change a thing, except maybe the "set-up," if needed...to a more personal preference. But, we're all different, so...do whatever floats your boat! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Elitist Casino's are Premium Quality, all the way around. "I" wouldn't change a thing, except maybe the "set-up," if needed...to a more personal preference. But, we're all different, so...do whatever floats your boat! CB +1. All I did to my Elitist was a fret dress, setup and B7 install. It really has become my GO TO guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 i should note that mine is an elitist. (i imagine) the pickups sound nice. i'd like to give them a fair shot, hence the shimming. a quick peek reveals a pair of the famed and mysterious epiphone usa ep90s in there. Elitist 'Epi USA' PU's are made by Gibson, so you've got Gibson P-90's, which are highly regarded by players who know about PU's. Are you measuring the distance between PU's and strings with the strings held down at the top fret? That's how it's done. If that's the case, 1/4" is too far and I'd use shims at least on the bridge PU. You could do that and see how it balances with the neck PU, volume and tone-wise. Unfortunately shims for dog ear P-90's are ridiculously overpriced, being just a piece of plastic. You can find them on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 definitely going the mousepad route after checking ebay. they were more expensive there, they made the lollars seem like a good deal. that should be enough to get the guitar to a useable place, where i can assess it further and what i can do to and with it. i was always curious about the pups in the chet model. never heard them before, and always kinda had a sweet spot for the guitar. are they some how gretschier than normal hums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 i was always curious about the pups in the chet model. never heard them before, and always kinda had a sweet spot for the guitar. are they some how gretschier than normal hums? Are you referring to the Elitist Chet Atkins Country Gentleman (or Country Deluxe after they changed the name)? Those pickups are not like traditional Gretsch filtertrons at all, they are Gibson style humbuckers all the way. Similar to the Elitist Dot pickups but with less bite. I had one for a while. Nice guitar but completely different than a Gretsch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 yes. agree with Gunner, the Elitist Chet Atkins pups are not "Gretchy" at all. sort of "burstbuckerish" they are labeled as something like a 500 or 502 series? I found a few articles on them a while back. I found the reviews to be pretty close to what my experience with this guitar has been. one thing for sure, visually it's a looker, and it's real solid guitar. I got mine in I think in 04, it was just called the "Elitist Chet Atkins" at that time. I can post a pic if you're interested, I don't want to hijack your thread. btw.. If you want something a bit "gretchy" from Epiphone you can check out the Epi Swingsters the pickups are wired with phase push / pull pots. when you pull em "out" they are full humbuckers, "in" out of phase, good for that "just a bit of edge" sound, and they are pretty resistant to feed back, appearance wise, the Swingbuckers look like filtertrons, (the are made in China btw.) I've not been able to compare side by side, so how close they come to a real gretch, I can't say, but the do offer some twang when you have them not set to full humbucker mode. /ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 i didn't mean "gretschy" as in a filtertron, just closer somehow to that sound than a regular humbucker. it being a super secret humbucker that no other guitar could have, i got to wondering. gunners description make it sound like something i might have liked, the elitist bridge pickup is too hot for my taste. always thought they were neat guitars, but i couldn't justify one when i've seen them on ebay. saw one once in a store many moons ago and i played it unplugged for a few minutes. didn't hate it, but they but the stationary arm on the bigsby and between that and the nut width, i didn't have a good first impression. i would have needed more time and an amp. as for the casino (which could also use a slightly wider nut :P), i came back from the inept mouse pad experiment. and, well... it fixed the volume problem, at least. jury is still out on the pups, though. the neck is still a little dark and wooly and the bridge is still lacking body. maybe i'm just not used to p90s. or maybe the curse of the epiphone bridge pickup has struck again- i've not liked them on any epiphone i've owned. neck is generally fine and this one is, too. if only they could trade properties. i will continue to assess them for the time being. hopefully a callaham bridge can solve things for me. its most of the way there- maybe 80-85%. this was a big step in the right direction. as always, i appreciate the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 "the stationary arm on the bigsby" ? are you referring to the "chet" wire, verses the normal flat bar? it rotates just like any other standard bigsy arm. it's not supposed to be "stationary"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted July 26, 2013 Author Share Posted July 26, 2013 yeah, i know, but i swear i didn't make it up. someone at the shop must have swapped it for a stationary chet wire one, like a gretsch 6122-1959 (which comes with both). it didn't move. it just stuck straight out and ran parallel to the strings. which is fine if you're a finger style player (like chet), but didn't work at all for me. its just in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 yea I agree--- that just wouldn't work for me either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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