L_Mo Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Howdy all. I recently got my first solid-body guitar - a used Epi LP standard quilt top. Cosmetically it was a little on the hideous side - lots of stickers, very high school punk band. Anyway, after several hours with some glue remover it actually polished up quite nicely. There are a few dents (especially those caused by the pick guard, which apparently broke off (there's a piece of it by the screw near the neck...), but overall I'm not disappointed for $180.. Anyway, I like the feel of it very much, it plays very nicely now that I've set it up properly. However, I've got a few initial questions I was hoping someone could help me with: 1) The quilt tops (this one included) have uncovered pickups - what gives with this? I've only switched over to electrics the past few years and I only have a rudimentary understanding of SC and HB pickups - what's the difference between the ones in the quilt top and the normal standard? 2) A related question: Is it worth it to upgrade the pickups? I know a set of seymour duncan pickups can run $150 for a set, which is almost what I paid for the guitar. I've looked into it a bit and there is a crazy number of choices. I play a variety of styles, jazz, blues, rock, metal... Is there a resource out there that can help choose pickups? I'm sure it's a matter of taste and budget if it's "worth" it, but I'm mostly interested to know if changing the pickups will elevate the guitar to a totally different level, or if they'll just make it sound a bit nicer, but I might not even notice. 3) Lastly, speaking of upgrading the pickups, are there any other upgrades that have a big effect on the sound of the instrument? Since I think I saved money for the guitar itself, I might be willing to get into it a bit further with some nice upgrades, but only if they'll have a noticeable effect. I did a brief search of these topics and I couldn't find much help. I did notice the forums are new, so that could be why. Speaking of that, the forum search option groups by post, not by thread. That's really annoying, because if a thread has your search word in the subject, but it isn't relevant, you have to weed through all posts in that thread to find what you want.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Try a few different amps or settings before you commit to new pups. If you still wanna cange 'em out, yeah, there's a million & one choices out there...some affordable, some extortionate. No earth shaking difference between the pups in your "Classic" and a "Standard." Just no covers on 'em. Otherwise, same pup. Some claim to hear an "airiness" without the cover. I took the cover off my bridge pup just for appearance sake and don't hear anything that would convince me to keep/change it based on it being uncovered. Generally, your pups, your amp and your playing technique will affect your tone way more than new "greeblies." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I've got an LP Classic Quilt top that's one of my main guitars. I swapped the pickups for some SD Phat Cats & the guitar sounds really good. I'm real pleased with the quality but would suggest upgrading the pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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