hawkfanatic Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I was looking at gibson LP specials but I noticed epi has a limited edition version with set neck unlike all those bolt ons you always see. Does anyone have one and what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 You mean the one with P-90's? I have one, got it when it came out a few years ago. I like it, well made. Flat top, nothing fancy like a Std, but a good basic rock and roll guitar. A lot more players should have them. There were a lot of P-90 LP Jr's and Specials used by some well known players in the late 1960's and early 1970's (Lennon, West, Ralphs, Marroitt, Richards, Grosvenor, Marley, etc). A bunch of guys then also had SG Specials (Iommi, Santana, Townsend). Some great things have been done with a no-frills guitar with P-90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 You mean the one with P-90's? I have one, got it when it came out a few years ago. I like it, well made. Flat top, nothing fancy like a Std, but a good basic rock and roll guitar. A lot more players should have them. There were a lot of P-90 LP Jr's and Specials used by some well known players in the late 1960's and early 1970's (Lennon, West, Ralphs, Marroitt, Richards, Grosvenor, Marley, etc). A bunch of guys then also had SG Specials (Iommi, Santana, Townsend). Some great things have been done with a no-frills guitar with P-90s. Yeah, thats the one. My only worry is the tunomatic, as many seem to think the wraptails are the ones that have the tone. But epi doesn't have a wraptail p90 special and the gibsons like that are in the $2k region. My gut tells me they are more raw and organic sounding than a standard, which to me sound a bit too polite compared to what i'm looking for. Not sure of the special will get me what i'm after but the price is surely right. By the way, how are the pickups? Anything special beyond what a cheap stock P90 usually is, or just the typical epi usable pickup but one you'd very much like to dump for a great one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I use the overwrap method to string my stop bars, so I get any benefits of a wrapround, and don't give up the ability to intonate (which is frustrating). In either case, wrapping the strings isn't what creates the raw sound of a Junior/Special, that comes from the combination of P-90s and mahogany. P-90's have a sharper high-end and a more open overall sound, and warm woods give them midrange punch. That's the winning combination. What wraparounds bring to the party is minimal (maybe a slight difference in tone and slightly easier string bending) and you can get that by overwrapping a stop bar. The P-90's are decent, better than the HB's Epi was using back then. I eventually upgraded PU's when I found a good set of used American-made P-90's. The most affordable way to upgrade with new PU's is GFS Mean 90's (not Dream 90's), which are highly regarded on the Duncan forum, a notoriously picky bunch of guys. I had one of the recent Epi P-90 SG Specials, but sold it because of two things. It had the original-style wraparound bridge (I couldn't get used to the intonation being off and it didn't seem to do anything tonally) and the neck was wide but thin (D-shaped); didn't like the feel. You get much more tonal benefit and sustain from a thicker neck than a wraparound bridge. It's important to have more wood on the neck near where it joins the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 Funny u mentioned the SG special limited. I just played one of those. I also can't get along well with the neck, tho i used to love that shape/width many years ago. It's not easy to find a mahogany gibson style flat top with P90's and a wraparound bridge, so i was pretty excited when i saw that but the neck feel plus the fact that neck joint doesn't allow proper neck pickup positioning were deal breakers for me. I personally DO think the wraparound bridge makes both a tonal and feel difference. If for no other reason it changes the *overall* string length. But i'm willing to go with a tunomatic if i can find the right guitar. Not sure about the limited LP specials because i can't find one locally which is why i asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 i'm willing to go with a tunomatic if i can find the right guitar. Not sure about the limited LP specials because i can't find one locally which is why i asked. If you like the idea of an LP Special: no frills and P-90's, you'll probably like this Epi. Certainly cheaper than a Gibson, and you can upgrade PU's easily enough. I'm happy with mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.