jefrs Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Ok, a bit late but as I have actually swapped the pickups out on my Joe Pass because the Epi Classic'57 were nbg, the poles were tapped into wax and only wax. I fitted Tonerider Rocksongs. They're a straight swap, off with the plugs and sockets, on with a blob of solder. Alnico II 8k/12k, anything hotter and a jazzbox will howl. Up there with the best of the pickups. Very nice indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 It depends on the guitar. For solid bodies I like the Burstbuckers for classic Les Paul tone; otherwise I'm a big fan of the Seymour Duncan JB for a little more heat, paired up with a Jazz or a '59. On something like the Dot I'd be looking at either Burstbucker I and II or else a pair of '57 Classics... nothing over the top, just nice creamy Gibson tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Flick Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Ok' date=' a bit late but as I have actually swapped the pickups out on my Joe Pass because the Epi Classic'57 were nbg, the poles were tapped into wax and only wax. I fitted Tonerider Rocksongs. They're a straight swap, off with the plugs and sockets, on with a blob of solder. Alnico II 8k/12k, anything hotter and a jazzbox will howl. Up there with the best of the pickups. Very nice indeed.[/quote'] I have a Tonerider Rocksong matched with a Dirty Fingers in my Frakenmaster: Good combo, that guitar wails. That's my go to axe when I need some crunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 The Burstbucker Pros I've got on my Gibby LP DC Pro are the best-sounding humbuckers I've ever played. As for a P-90 that fits in a humbucker hole: Seymour Duncan Phat Cats. To me they sound even better than 'true' P-90s. I've got an Epi LP and an Epi Dot with them installed and they kick *** big-time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I don't have much experience in modding guitars. I've got a Dot on order' date=' and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on possible pickup swaps.[/quote'] Lot's of good suggestions, above, but for my money, you can't go wrong with a pair of '57 Classics in a Dot. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefrs Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 The 57 Classics in my Joe Pass sounded passable until I adjusted the poles and the poles pushed through. It turned out that the poles were tapped into the wax, not a metal plate, the keeper plate that should have been on the secondary coil was on the primary side, it has large holes for the slugs, not tapped, the secondary coil had no keeper plate at all. Now the ceramic magnet lies along the bottom of the pickup and without the keeper plate, the slugs are not magnetised, so the secondary coil was not functional as a pickup. Both pickups were like this, we assumed faulty assembly but the available replacements were the same. You can test without disassembly by using a piece of iron (the screwdriver), it should be attracted to both the adjustment screws and the blind poles, mine only attract to the screws, Opps! One hopes this is an isolated duff batch. My Toneriders look the same as the originals but they (a) work ( they're Alnico II © they sound good (d) they're economical (e) they're 8k/12k, and they're available in different flavours. Re how will it sound depends on the guitar, the build of the guitar affects they way the string vibrates and this is what is picked up by the pickup, especially true of a semi or hollow. If the guitar sounds bright acoustically then the output from the pickup will be bright too, if the guitar sounds dark then the same pickup will sound darker. And if you put a high output pickup in a hollow body, it will howl, guaranteed. The Joe Pass will howl with the stock 8k/8k 57CH(G) Dot-Neck-Bridge LP-Neck BHK pickups (as fitted to the Dot too), you always have to watch the gain on a hollow one. I hope you don't have the same problems with them. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 The 57 Classics in my Joe Pass sounded passable... now the ceramic magnet lies along the bottom of the pickup... Pretty damned sure that the '57 Classics have AlNiCo magnets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan1281734152 Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Sorry for my delay in getting back to this thread. I didn't mean to pull a hit and run. You guys are great. I've got a lot to think about now. My dot has not arrived yet, and it's been about ten years since I worked with one. I borrowed one from a friend for some session work, and I just loved the clean tone I was getting through a Fender Twin Reverb. I never really played it with full blown distortion, just slight overdrive. His Dot was stock, and I was pleased with its sound. I wish I could have played it longer, but I didn't have much control over that. Meanwhile, I'll wait for my dot... This waiting sucks. Thanks again guys. You rock. Dylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Pretty damned sure that the '57 Classics have AlNiCo magnets. I don't think he's refering to the Gibson '57 Classics Spud. Everything from his description points to the old version of the Epi 57CH, which had ceramics. http://epi.p3net.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=733&p=8385&hilit=+Epiphone+pickups#p8385 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Big fan of Burstbuckers myself. BB2 in the bridge is great. P-94 (although not a humbucker) matches very well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Absolutely love BB Pros in my Les Paul but in the Dot Studio the sweetest combination is a GFS Mean 90 in the Neck and a Gibson 57 Reissue in the Bridge. Tried the GFS Vintage 59's but frankly they don't sound (to my ears anyway) much better than the stock pups which after discovering just how good GFS had got the Mean 90's was something of a disappointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figstrum Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 SD hotrodded set is nice. I have them in my LP, no complaints so far.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 I don't think he's refering to the Gibson '57 Classics Spud. Everything from his description points to the old version of the Epi 57CH' date=' which had ceramics. http://epi.p3net.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=733&p=8385&hilit=+Epiphone+pickups#p8385 [/quote'] Ah, yes, the ones with the non-adjustable adjustments. The 'screws' are just slugs with slots embossed in the tops... had a pair of those on my '94 Classic Birdseye. Still kicking around somewhere; I converted one of them to 4-wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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