Danydad Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Hi folks Looking for some advice on a used Epiphone Joe Pass which I recently got hold of through the forum. It is a rather nice lefty in tobacco sunburst. It is from 2003/2004 I believe and is from the Korean factory (serial no. beginning "K") and is effectively new as there is not a mark on the instrument and the gold hardware is completely unworn or tarnished. It's away with my guitar guy right now having a light fret dress and (hopefully) an issue with the tone pots sorted out. So here's where I need your expert advice: The issue with the tone pots is that they do nothing for about 98% of their range then, in the last few degrees of rotation, completely roll off all the tone! I was wondering if anyone knew if this was a known issue due to faulty or incorrectly wired components? Could it be related to the fact that the pots are required to work in the opposite direction on lefty guitars (I known of at least one other LH Epi which has the exact same problem). What would be the remedy, rewiring or replacement Secondly, does anyone know what pups are fitted as standard on the JPs from this period and factory and would the guitar benefit significantly with an upgrade? If so, which pups would you recommend? I heard the handmade Kent Armstrong's are particularly good for jazz boxes? I must admit, tone pot issue aside, the factory fitted units sound fine to me but you can't help wondering what you might be missing out on Finally, top notch jazz tone is what I am looking for; what (if any) other after market mods would you recommend that might bring about any meaningful quality in the sound? Thanks in advance for any advice you are able to offer ;) Danydad BTW, I find it very difficult to search the forum and almost always get error messages back from my searches. Is it always this cranky or perhaps an issue with my browser (firefox)? Also, I found myself locked out of here for a couple of weeks but heard there had been a bit of meltdown on the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthemBassMan Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 -The pots I got for my Epi are from Wymore Guitars. They either used to be called Black Rose Customs, or Black Rose was bought by Wymore. Either way, top quality parts. They use CTS pots that was all matched together within 10k. This is the exact kit I got about 5 years ago and it still works perfectly. A very good price for top notch electronics. Don't forget to add a selector switch to your order. We ALL know how those bite the bullet pretty quickly. http://www.wymoreguitars.com/Les-Paul-Upgrade-Kit-Short-Shaft-Orange-Drop-Caps_p_339.html -As for p'ups for your J.P., they sky is the limit for recommendations. It all really depends on how much you want to lay out. From Duncan, you could go with '59s, Seth Lovers, Jazz, Alnico II Pros. With DiMarzio you could check out Virtual PAFs, Air Classics, PAFs, EJ Customs. Gibsons would be '57 Classics. Or if you wanted to go cheaper and a bit different, check out GFS Mean 90s. After all. The Gibson PAF was based tonally on the P90 p'up. And you don't have to look for new either. Scour eBay or whatever. I found my Virtual PAFs on eBay for around $75 for both. Not bought as a set, but totaled together. L8R, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 The issue with the tone pots is that they do nothing for about 98% of their range then' date=' in the last few degrees of rotation, completely roll off all the tone! I was wondering if anyone knew if this was a known issue due to faulty or incorrectly wired components? Could it be related to the fact that the pots are required to work in the opposite direction on lefty guitars (I known of at least one other LH Epi which has the exact same problem).What would be the remedy, rewiring or replacement[/quote'] Years ago a guitar maker/repairer called Stephen Delft used to write reviews for a mag called International Musician and the tone pot issue was his favourite gripe. If I remember correctly his advice to remedy the problem was to fit a lower value pot, so if your guitar is fitted with 500k pots you could try 250k. I've no idea if this works (never having had that particular problem) but it might be worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthemBassMan Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 -One question of yours that I didn't answer is the stock p'ups. While I don't know for sure, I think they might have used the Classic '57s in your guitar. If not then possibly the Alnico Classic series. Btw, my updated pots have a usable tone sweep from 0-10 on them since they were replaced with the above kit. I ordered the neck cap as a .015 to help give me a nice mellow tone when rolled off, but not muddy. Bridge cap I kept stock at .022. L8R, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I have a recommendation for the GFS Mean 90's and a set of their Alpha pots. Although I'm more of a Blues player than Jazz,the Neck pickup in my JP gets a wonderfully warm Jazz tone now IMHO. Here is a pic and a clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk_43pFCDXw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danydad Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hey guys, sorry to be so late in getting back; been out of the lop a bit with teaching commitments. A great big thank you to you for generously sharing your knowledge and experience! Great info and suggestions AnthemBassMan and I love what you've done with that JP layboomo; very tasteful and highly functional! Cheers guys Thanks BTW - layboomo, can you recommend where I can get a tunomatic type bridge with holes at the right centers to fit the the JP bridge foot. Anyone else got views, good or bad, on the GFS Mean 90 pick-ups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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