Mick Amon Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I got the $99 Epi LP Special I with P90's for myself as a Christmas present to bang around on and I fell in love with it. Scoff all you want, this thing sounds dreamy. Anyway, I upgraded it to Grover tuners in black, because everything else on it is black except the bridge. The bridge is a wraparound and it's shining bright chrome against a nice satin black finish with black everything else including speed knobs. Does anyone know if there even is a decent brand of wraparound bridge that I could get in black to replace this, or would it be worth it to have a luthier tap it for a two piece set? I don't know why it bothers me so much, but I love everything else about the way it looks and the way it plays. She's the pretty one on the right: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I got the $99 Epi LP Special I with P90's for myself as a Christmas present to bang around on and I fell in love with it. Scoff all you want, this thing sounds dreamy. Anyway, I upgraded it to Grover tuners in black, because everything else on it is black except the bridge. The bridge is a wraparound and it's shining bright chrome against a nice satin black finish with black everything else including speed knobs. Does anyone know if there even is a decent brand of wraparound bridge that I could get in black to replace this, or would it be worth it to have a luthier tap it for a two piece set? I don't know why it bothers me so much, but I love everything else about the way it looks and the way it plays. She's the pretty one on the right: hey Mick - check here: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbridge_economygibson.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Mustard Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 check this out: It's a Gotoh black wrapover bridge that's a definite upgrade because it combines the virtues of the wrapover bridge with the intonatable saddles. Hard to beat. http://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/tailpieces-and-wraparound-tailpieces/gotoh-510ub-wraparound-guitar-bridge-and-tailpiece-black-with-stud-lock/ I believe this will fit the metric studs on your Epiphone, but if the one on this link will not, then Gotoh surely makes one that will. This web site is great for giving the accurate measurements. I recently became the proud owner of an Epi ES-339 P-90 pro, so I'm not anyone to scoff at your Les Paul special. I have become quite fond of my new Epi. It's my first P-90 guitar, and I'm having a great time exploring all the ramifications of these classic pickups. It's amazing to me that something designed in the 1940s (Like the Messerschmidt 262 and the P-47 Thunderbolt) could still be in production today, and still be giving great service and making excellent music. But it is. Like many Epi owners, I decided to replace some of the inexpensive parts and upgrade my instrument. My ES-339 is a blonde maple color. The neck is just varnished mahogany, and it looks great from the back with the blonde body. I decided to go with a Blonde/Black motif, so I replaced the Epi bridge and tail with Gotoh parts (black) and they fit right in. I replaced the nut with black Tusq, the knobs with black metal dome knobs (tele style) and replaced the tuners with Black Gotoh keystones. The most recent mod was to replace the pickguard with one I made myself out of ebony headstock veneer. It's subtle but very elegant. And I have some experience with the Epi Les Paul Special ll... This guitar is the humbucker version of the one you have. My stepdaughter was given a Special ll as a gift from her dad. She was only 11 at the time, and I thought the Lester was pretty heavy for a young girl, but she did NOT complain. She just shouldered it like a trooper. I admired that... and decided to do some work on her guitar so it was easy to play. Just because I had to learn on a POS doesn't mean anyone else does. *laughs So I did similar upgrades on the Special ll, and the instrument responded very well. Grover tuners, Tusq nut, a pair of Gibson 490 pickups out of my SG, new wiring harness, and TonePros bridge and tail. I spent more money on these parts than her dad did buying the guitar, but I did it for love, so who's counting. I didn't think the stock pickups sounded bad at all, but I had the Gibson 490s lying around. And I'll tell you something... The Gibson 490s sound actually better in the Epiphone than they did in the Gibson, to my ear. I like the tones from this Epi a lot. Cork sniffers will tell you that the plywood body and bolt on neck of the Special ll means it will never sound good, but that's simply not true. The neck was straight on hers, and it plays fast and smooth. The combination of locking bridge and Tusq nut had been a good one IMHO. The Special ll has excellent tone and lots of sustain the way a Les Paul should. So this Epi turned into a lot more guitar than it looks like from a distance. *laughs. My reward for all the work and expense I put into upgrades and setup was to overhear her and her boyfriend talking in another room. He'd been playing the Epi for almost an hour, and sounding fine with it. He turned to her and said, "This is a good guitar." *grins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Amon Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 I'm hoping to learn my way through the craft and get to that point for my daughter one day in the near future. Great job hooking the little sweetie up, classy move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Mustard Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I'm hoping to learn my way through the craft and get to that point for my daughter one day in the near future. Great job hooking the little sweetie up, classy move! Yea, I like the looks of your guitars... those black beauties seem very menacing. You've got a fine collection there. Amp too. If you are curious about upgrading guitars, you should read and keep this book: "How to make your Electric Guitar play Great" by Dan Earlewine... They sell this book online at StewMac, which also sells lots of tools and supplies for professional luthiers and for regular players hoping to upgrade or repair their own instrument. http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Books/ I also bought Dan Earlewine's Video: "How to wire a Gibson guitar." I like this guy... I first met him in Ann Arbor Mi way back in the '70s when he had a shop in my town. He did good work for me then and I've always kept track of him. His shop is in Athens Ohio now, but he has authored several books and videos. He always explains things very well, and includes great photos that show what he's talking about. So I learned a lot from reading his books and watching his video. Highly recommended. Good luck in your journey into the world of soldering irons and nut files and radius gauges. I actually enjoy working on guitars and have learned to recognize my own limitations, so I don't usually try something that's out of my league. I'm willing to pay for work to be done that I couldn't get right, for lack of proper tools and know how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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