cliffenstein Posted September 10, 2015 Posted September 10, 2015 Seeking advise on which of the following I should buy: 2007 mint condition Epiphone Les Paul Custom in the rare Antique Ivory color (so rare it isn't on Epiphone.com discontinued models section, nor is it on EpiWiki). Brand new Epiphone Les Paul Custom Blackback Pro from Musician's Friend scratch and dent ("tier 3"). The 2007 is $260 with case and I have to drive 85 miles to pick it up. The Blackback Pro is $387 with no case and ships free right to my house. Both are tax free. There's no photo of the Blackback Pro and there's been no assessment of cosmetic damage, but is in perfect working order. The pull pots and fancy stuff of the Blackback are irrelevant to me as I only play wide open with the bridge pickup and get my guitars re-wired accordingly (toggle, neck pickup and tone knobs disconnected). I will also be upgrading the tuners to locking tuners regardless of guitar. Are the Blackback pickups really that much better? With the price differential, I could afford to just get a Gibson Burstbucker 2 pickup put in the 2007 model...assuming that's even necessary. Anyway...I would appreciate your thoughts on the subject of which one to buy.
Junior Jr III Posted September 10, 2015 Posted September 10, 2015 Those are both nice deals in my opinion. Having just acquired a Blackback I can say that I love it for a variety of reasons. Push/pull isn't something that I cared about but it does give a bit of the toned-down single coil sound. It also has that antique ivory color, which drew me to it in the first place. If you just get one and plan on doing all the mods that you've listed I'd get the $260 Custom with the case. No sense paying more for parts that you'll pull out anyway. Or...get both! You might decide that you like one better than the other, then just sell one. You'll recoup your money on either. Then again, you might find that they are both great fun to play and keep them. (that just happened to me! see avatar) Sorry, I'm not a great judge of pickups. I'll take the word of folks around here but most will say, whatever sounds good to you is the one you should get. I've seen pictures of an antique ivory Custom while looking for my Blackback. Great looking guitar. Good luck. Pictures please.
cliffenstein Posted September 12, 2015 Author Posted September 12, 2015 I decided on the used 2007 Antique Ivory Les Paul Custom. This is admittedly not the best photo by a long shot, but here it is in my house: The guitar is in FABULOUS condition. It's hard to tell from the photo but the fretboard inlays look killer...they have that great MOP swirl. This was easily the best $260 bucks I've ever spent. I picked up perfect drop-in tuner replacements (Grover Roto-Grip 502G) for $75 and a used gold Gibson 498T for $40 (I know, I know...but I absolutely love the 498T and it is a HUGE improvement over the stock Epiphone Alnico Classics that are in it now and, c'mon...it was only 40 bucks!). I was going to get a gold Gibson Burstbucker 2, but those are only available as a non-wax potted pickup, so I decided on my tried and true 498T. I also picked up a set of gold Dunlop strap locks. People reference the wiring and the pots not being good in Epiphone guitars, but I opened up the cavity and we're talking clean city! It's just beautifully assembled with very nice 500k pots. I won't be changing out any of the wiring, but I will have the toggle, tones and neck volume disconnected so that the bridge pickup volume knob is the only one that does anything. I'll have better photos up when I get it back from the shop next week after the setup and pickup installation, but I am a happy camper!
Junior Jr III Posted September 12, 2015 Posted September 12, 2015 Very nice! I am still considering disconnecting the toggle. So how will that work? Both pickups always on? What do you like about the 498Ts? I think you got a great guitar for a fantastic deal. Congratulations!
Steve112 Posted September 12, 2015 Posted September 12, 2015 Nice! You made a great choice. That 498T should just scream. I like the LP Custom Epis, nice inlays and binding, congrats!
cliffenstein Posted September 12, 2015 Author Posted September 12, 2015 Very nice! I am still considering disconnecting the toggle. So how will that work? Both pickups always on? Nope...the neck pickup is disconnected as well. I only play the bridge pickup wide open, so the only control I have with this kind of set up is the one volume knob and that's it. I started doing this years ago when I switched to Les Paul guitars and routinely found myself accidentally hitting the toggle which would disrupt my sound. I'm in a band that's been playing for years. Much like the Ramones and AC/DC, we don't play with a lot of nuance. We've got a straight rock tone that never changes. Once I started getting my guitars re-wired this way, I never had issues with my sound on stage again. What do you like about the 498Ts? I like it's volume, punch and clarity. I used to put the Angus Young signature pickup in my guitars, but some years back I got a white Gibson Les Paul Studio and loved the tone I was getting from it. I found out it was the 498T and I was hooked. An awful lot of people bag on the 498T online which I've never understood...they're incredible for how I play. You can also get them sounding almost exactly like the Burstbucker 2 by lowering them a bit or you can raise them and go crazy.
Junior Jr III Posted September 12, 2015 Posted September 12, 2015 Finally, someone else who has issues with the toggle! I love the idea of the LP but that switch is just in the wrong spot for me too. At the very least I may just snip a wire. Nuance is for candle light dinners not rock n roll. Ramones! Say no more. As someone else says, play it like you stole it!
cliffenstein Posted September 15, 2015 Author Posted September 15, 2015 Finally, someone else who has issues with the toggle! I love the idea of the LP but that switch is just in the wrong spot for me too. At the very least I may just snip a wire. Nuance is for candle light dinners not rock n roll. Ramones! Say no more. As someone else says, play it like you stole it! Plus, if, like me, you only play the Bridge pickup, you don't have to worry about upgrading the entire electronics, because the pickup just goes directly to the volume pot. Assuming your guitar has a decent 500k pot, you get straight, wide open Gibson tone.
cliffenstein Posted September 15, 2015 Author Posted September 15, 2015 I asked Gibson Customer Service about this guitar, here's the reply I received: "Epiphone Les Paul Custom Antique Ivory was a dealer exclusive model built for Musicians Friend and Guitar Center during late 2007 and into 2008. We do not have production numbers available." I did not know this was only available through Musicians Friend and Guitar Center, so that was cool to find out. I figured I'd pass that along to others here who may care about such things.
capmaster Posted September 15, 2015 Posted September 15, 2015 This is really a pretty one. Congrats on your purchase!
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