dustin1281734135 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hi, my name is dustin(obviously). I just purchased an Epiphone Dot a month ago and am quite in love with it. Just wondering what kinda stuff i can do with it in the future as far as upgrading it and what kinda stuff people use with it, pros/cons and how to fix its. I'm a church musician btw and quite new at guitars period. thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acewarslave Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 welcome aboard dustin hope your happy with your purchase cant help you with the upgrade question but there are lots of people on this forum who will im sure.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captmidnight Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Welcome to the funny farm Dustin. Upgrades for the Dot are many..according to which Dot and how old or new it is. Changing the electrics (tone and volume pots and switch, along with new wire) are a biggy around here as is changing the pick ups...then you may want to change out the tuners, get a bone nut for it...then can add a Bigsby to it, then add a roller bridge.....dang it!!! wish I like the Dots better I would get one after thinking about all that!!! LOL Capt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostindesert Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Dustin, welcome to the Epi madhouse. Just play it for a few months to see if upgrades are needed. Most common is to upgrade the electronics (pots, switch and input jack), pickups, tuners and a bone nut. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 As Peter said, play your Dot and get well-acquainted with it before you decide about "upgrades", or even if it needs them. I strongly advise that you take upgrade advice with a grain of salt - magazines would lead us to believe all sorts of nonsense in order to sell things and unfortunately, there are far too many guys on the forums who have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker. I have a Dot (Studio) - except for the pickups, it's totally stock. Plays well, stays in tune, no need to mindlessly spend money on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 hello and welcome dustin. every post I've read is correct! changes are made to taste.. so they vary, but capt. hit the main ones. It's good to play it a while.. get used to it, know it's sound very well, then look at alternatives. It doesn't hurt to get to know your amp and speaker very well, too.. that's half your guitar right there! TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedepi Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Plays well' date=' stays in tune, no need to mindlessly spend money on it.[/quote'] Ah Ron, I love too spend mindless money.... On guitars!! Faded.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Ah Ron' date=' I love too spend mindless money.... On guitars!![/quote']But "love to" and "need to" are different, Thom. And you reminded me that I did spend a few bucks on a pickguard. BTW, you need to get a black screw for your PG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 My Dot is the only guitar that I've upgraded (to P90's, or is that a downgrade?). I only did it because I didn't have a Casino at the time. Truth be told, with the kind of music I play, the only difference that I've noticed is that they seem perhaps a bit more efficient (-> louder). As some of the others have said, it's not necessary to upgrade. There's something to be said for not fiddling with what you have if you already like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin1281734135 Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Dustin' date=' welcome to the Epi madhouse. Just play it for a few months to see if upgrades are needed. Most common is to upgrade the electronics (pots, switch and input jack), pickups, tuners and a bone nut. Peter[/quote'] what would upgrading the pots, switch and input jack do? also, what is the most common/best upgrade as far as pickups go? how much would upgrading all that stuff cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 epis typically have switch problems. the usual thing is to upgrade it. I just fixed mine and it's been fine ever since, so it's not absolute in my view. pots are imports with a slight loose feel to them.. they turn very easy.. cts or alpha pots, and a couple of others, too, turn more smoothly, firmly, and have a better audio curve.. that is they tend to increase volume or decrease in a way that doesnt just sort of jump up at some point.. the input jack is usually replaced because if you go in to work on it, it's a short shaft. hard to get the nut back on, so people choose to go with a longer shaft, avoiding any future hassles with repair, etc. the caps are ok, really, there's not a great deal of difference in the poly caps they use and more high grade caps.. but most switch at least up to sprague orange drops, some go all the way with oil in paper type caps.. vintage mojo!.. and some like to change values as a value change on the tone pot cap can make a pretty big difference in which high frequencies the tone reduces. You can even use two different values on each tone pot, but you have a single. They are cheap so it's nice to try different values and see what you like best. pots are like 5.50 each.. caps are around a 1.50.. switches are from 15 to 25.00. jacks are 2 or 3.00 each. assuming you shop around. doing it yourself is fairly easy, and much cheaper than a tech. It also teaches you about your guitar, and about tone. pickup changes vary quite a bit. From the typical lower end, costwise, GFS right up to seymours or gibsons, etc. For many, the higher output pups epis tends to use don't have the tones they want... most often people swap to vintage output, around 8K, but some prefer just to switch for a particular sound.. which type of magnet, increased output, etc. That's why it's such good advice to play your guitar for a few months at least. Get to know if you think you'd like something different. Then compare opinions and specs with others with similar instruments, playing the same kind of tunes.. trying for the same kinds of sounds. And you can't forget your amp and speaker.. boy, they make a heck of a difference. You can swap guitar parts all day and then one speaker change later wish you hadn't. Be patient. It's mostly playing that's going to teach you and your ears what is happing with the pups the amp and the speaker, etc. Gives you time to sort through the opinions.. which are many! And varied! TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin1281734135 Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 thanks for all the advice, yeah i definitely wanna improve and i know replacing all that stuff isn't gonna fix my playing. anybody have experience with putting a bigsby on their dot? the zzguitarworks store on ebay has aluminum and steel mounts for a b5. i'm also looking at GFS pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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