The_Sentry Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I know Epiphone pickups sort of have a bit of bad rap, but in your opinion what is lacking or missing in terms of this pickup that is normally installed in the neck position of a Les Paul, or in either the neck or the bridge of a Dot? There are undoubtedly higher end pickups out there that deliver a smoother tone when crunch is applied or that may be a bit more responsive when running clean, but IMHO they don't sound all that bad. And, if it's a question of massive crunch, isn't it sort of typical to move to the bridge pickup anyway since that pickup tends to be a bit brighter, and that's where it's just naturally easier to pick up a lot of pinch harmonics? I guess this is my point: upgrading pickups is one thing, but how much of a priority should it be to change this, even for the most hardcore metalhead or tone fanatic? The neck pickup typically has a bit of a darker, thicker sound anyway. I can see how someone might want to change out the HOTCH, but I can't really find anything wrong with this other pickup at all, especially when directly compared to the factory humbuckers offered by Gibson. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Ooops double post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpplayer Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I have heard lots of criticism of the stock pickups, but to me for what I play which is blues and classic rock the Epi pickups are just fine. Especially the neck pickup is great. The bridge is a bit biting for my taste, but if I roll down the volume to about 8 or so, or even fiddle with the tone, I get what I want. Incidentally, I have to do this on my Gibson LP with the Burstbucker Pros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Im happy with my pups too and have been asking about upgrading recently to see whats out there. Give a lovely crunch, could do with bit more tone in bridge. Neck nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I know Epiphone pickups sort of have a bit of bad rap' date=' but in your opinion what is lacking or missing in terms of this pickup that is normally installed in the neck position of a Les Paul, or in either the neck or the bridge of a Dot? There are undoubtedly higher end pickups out there that deliver a smoother tone when crunch is applied or that may be a bit more responsive when running clean, but IMHO they don't sound all that bad. And, if it's a question of massive crunch, isn't it sort of typical to move to the bridge pickup anyway since that pickup tends to be a bit brighter, and that's where it's just naturally easier to pick up a lot of pinch harmonics? I guess this is my point: upgrading pickups is one thing, but how much of a priority should it be to change this, even for the most hardcore metalhead or tone fanatic? The neck pickup typically has a bit of a darker, thicker sound anyway. I can see how someone might want to change out the HOTCH, but I can't really find anything wrong with this other pickup at all, especially when directly compared to the factory humbuckers offered by Gibson. Thoughts? [/quote'] It's actually not that bad. Ok, the 'double wax potted" sticky may be a a bit of a misnomer, as one poster previously mentioned, it still can produce microphonics at very high input levels (rapping on it, blowing on it etc), but as far as the tone..it's not that bad. I don't have a Gibson Classic 57 to compare it to, but it sounds pretty much the same as the GFS vintage 57s. I agree on the HoT CH bridge evalution..it's very mediocre, and in some instances kind of disappointing.. ....but again..if you were a guitar player starting out, only had about $500 to spend tops, (in other words, couldn't afford a Gibson LP), ..and didn't know the differences between the boutique p_ups and the Epiphone hbuckers. They probably would be acceptable for a while, well at least until you got better at it, and bought some better amps and started looking at better sounding p-ups .... Gibsons, SDs, Dimarzios..or whatever you need to sound better on your repertoire of songs/tunes you may be putting together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 It's actually not that bad. Ok' date=' the 'double wax potted" sticky may be a a bit of a misnomer, as one poster previously mentioned, it still can produce microphonics at very high input levels (rapping on it, blowing on it etc), but as far as the tone..it's not that bad. I don't have a Gibson Classic 57 to compare it to, but it sounds pretty much the same as the GFS vintage 57s. I agree on the HoT CH bridge evalution..it's very mediocre, and in some instances kind of disappointing.. ....but again..if you were a guitar player starting out, only had about $500 to spend tops, (in other words, couldn't afford a Gibson LP), ..and didn't know the differences between the boutique p_ups and the Epiphone hbuckers. They probably would be acceptable for a while, well at least until you got better at it, and bought some better amps and started looking at better sounding p-ups .... Gibsons, SDs, Dimarzios..or whatever you need to sound better on your repertoire of songs/tunes you may be putting together.[/quote'] That's a great elaboration, Carverman. I may eventually get around to getting a new bridge pup for my LP standard....but as far as that neck pickup goes? I can't really knock it. It's got a nice, warm, thick sound just like a neck pickup is supposed to have. (Now my only choice? I have 2 sets, so I just have to decide if I want to keep the faded gold ones in there or just go back to the chrome....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 The neck pickup is not that bad. Not great; don't try to compare it to a Seymour Duncan or a Gibson etc. but passable nonetheless. It's the 'hot' bridge pickup that really eats... in trying to create a hot output pickup that the punks will like, they sacrificed any tonal quality that the bridge pickup has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 The neck pickup is not that bad. Not great; don't try to compare it to a Seymour Duncan or a Gibson etc. but passable nonetheless. It's the 'hot' bridge pickup that really eats... in trying to create a hot output pickup that the punks will like' date=' they sacrificed any tonal quality that the bridge pickup has.[/quote'] I hate to admit this....but nah, I don't care much for that pickup. In fact, the faded gold (used to be gold but after 4 months or so and a ton of polish) I melted some of the wax in the back and tilted the brackets so the side closest to the bridge is higher.... Oddly enough....this sounds better. Mwahahahaha...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskank Sally Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Having two of the stock neck type pickups in a G-400 Custom makes it turn out a bit muddy to me. Having sandwiched an SH-6 neck pickup between the HOTCH now at the neck and an SH-6 at the bridge turns out an interesting combo. I never hated HOTCH at all, in fact it rings out some damn good crunch if you dial the tone down...but pull tapping the pots on the SH-6 pair is Stratophonic and the brightness of the HOTCH when dialed between these two is something cool. Hotch has enough power if moved to the neck to complement the higher output Duncans, and its darkness when turned 180 and moved up front and lowered does make a difference. HOTCH has tone you just have to make it visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Having two of the stock neck type pickups in a G-400 Custom makes it turn out a bit muddy to me.Having sandwiched an SH-6 neck pickup between the HOTCH now at the neck and an SH-6 at the bridge turns out an interesting combo. I never hated HOTCH at all' date=' in fact it rings out some damn good crunch if you dial the tone down...but pull tapping the pots on the SH-6 pair is Stratophonic and the brightness of the HOTCH when dialed between these two is something cool. Hotch has enough power if moved to the neck to complement the higher output Duncans, and its darkness when turned 180 and moved up front and lowered does make a difference. HOTCH has tone you just have to make it visible. [img']http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/bobbydamm/SG%20Custom/crapshotbut.jpg[/img] Huh....now you've got me thinking about this... Maybe just for giggles, since I have two HOTCH's, I may go ahead and play with this just to see what the results are. (No, I don't have a high output bridge pup to play with in terms of the combo, but now I'm curious as to what two HOTCH's might sound like in the Standard plus when tapped into a phase position.) Eh, if I don't like it, I can always move it back.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Wow...that's interesting. It's definitely got more kick. I noticed an immediate boost in the sustain department, and it sounds like it's a bit brighter while having more presence when applying crunch. I think I lost a bit of the warmth on the cleaner side of it, but so far.... Dang. This doesn't sound too bad. Now it makes me wonder what the 57CH will sound like in the bridge, raised.... Hmmmm.....:- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskank Sally Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Now it makes me wonder what the 57CH will sound like in the bridge' date=' raised.... Hmmmm.....:- [/quote'] I bet it'd sound really good with the cover popped off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbirchett Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I thought they were OK but nothing special. Pretty muddy although the bridge became more useful after I lowered it. Not a lot of string definition or clarity. If you can afford some GFS pickups there are some nice alternatives that aren't that expensive. People have been almost unanimous in their praise of the vintage '59s and the mean 90s. The Dream series have not been as well thought of although some liked them. I put a pair of Retrotron vintage alnico Liverpool pickups in my Sheraton and like them a lot. Clean, they have a bit of Filtertron clarity but with a bit of an attitude. They have responded well to my Route 66 and Blues Driver OD as well, holding the striing separation and definition. Those are some inexpensive alternatives. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 I bet it'd sound really good with the cover popped off Actually, it doesn't sound that bad with the cover on. It doesn't have as much bite as the HOTCH in that position, but it's also got a slightly warmer tone. This kind of works for me since I mostly play up in the neck and phased between the 2 pups. Heh. I think I'm going to keep it this way. Thanks, Gas. You gave me a project this evening... :- (PS: As far as the expensive mods? That's for the LP Custom. On this guitar I'm sort of priding myself on trying things out which don't cost anything, or next to nothin'.) EDIT: I can't wait to try this setup tomorrow when I can actually crank up the amplifier a bit. I suppose if I want a glassier tone, I could always bypass the tone control on the bridge, or toss a 1 meg pot for 5 bucks on it and see what happens.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Maybe the standard Epiphone PUs are fine on a blues setting. But start dicking around with Medium to High-gain overdrive/distortion and you will notice an absense of definition. Play some chords. The separation between notes, highs and lows is simply not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 IIf you can afford some GFS pickups there are some nice alternatives that aren't that expensive. People have been almost unanimous in their praise of the '57 vintage and the mean 90. The Dream series have not been as well thought of although some liked them. Those are some inexpensive alternatives. Good luck. I got a set of GFS Vintage 59s in my custom made LP type without the covers and they are a LOT better than the covered ones. That additional brass cover does make a bit of difference in the loudness of the pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Maybe the standard Epiphone PUs are fine on a blues setting. But start dicking around with Medium to High-gain overdrive/distortion and you will notice an absense of definition. Play some chords. The separation between notes' date=' highs and lows is simply not there.[/quote'] Yeah, you're right about that. I hate to do this....but I might have to visit a store today.... *grumbles* I think I also know what brand I'm going to get if the store's open. Ah well.....In the long run, it's probably worth it...IT also became noticeable when I started using headphones. You're right....in terms of leads, you can probably get away with that, but on the rhythm side of it.....ah well..... EDIT: Ah, fuhgettabout it. I think I may even look at getting actives for the custom at this point, and putting the Burstbuckers in the Standard. (Runs to shower...) And...stuck until the 19th. IF I'm going this active route, I don't know if I want to get into anything other than the Seymour Duncan blackouts. Ah well. I think for the interim I'm going to put the pickups back where they're supposed to be, and play with the 1 meg pot which will hopefully be in before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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