AlanH Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 ...............Epiphone pickups! I'm not that happy with the muddy low end on my Epi LP standard plus (see avatar) and I'd like to replace the Alnico classic covered pups (especially the bridge one) for as little outlay as possible. I play anything from blues to hard rock to '80s metal. Anyway, I've found a store on ebay which is based in Hong Kong. They sell loads of guitar parts including Epi pickups for dirt cheap prices: http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/ALLPARTSPIPE_Pickup_W0QQ_fsubZ14323901QQ_sidZ290502855QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322 Firstly, do members think that these pups are legit? It's not that great a deal if they aren't given their price. Also, I'm trying to decipher which pup sets are found in which Epi models. So, secondly, would I be right in thinking that (NB. there are hyperlinks on each U code below): -their 57 Classic U01 set are the 'Alnico Classic Humbuckers' that come stock on LP standards? -their U06 set are the same but open as you'd find stock on an Epi LP studio? -their G-400 U05 pickups are the Alnico V humbuckers which do come stock on G400s (Doh!)? -their high output U04 pickups are the 650R/700T pups that come on the SG 'Emily the Strange' model? If you think it's worth a gamble ordering from this site, which of the latter three would sound best in a Les Paul to eliminate that low end mud but to have some degree of articulation? I'd kind of like to get (or improve the ) PAF style tones from the neck and to be able to dial in anywhere from Angus style crunch to a punchy metal tone on the bridge using the volume knob. I could, of course, go GFS with something like FAT pats or Alnico IIs but to get these to the UK the price would be about double the cost of these Hong Kong Epi pups. Does this sound like a good first venture with a soldering iron? Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmitron Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Hi! What's your amp? Do you play any other guitar which gives you the tones you'd like to find on your Epi LP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Hi! What's your amp? Do you play any other guitar which gives you the tones you'd like to find on your Epi LP? I've got a Peavey Royal 8 Valve King 5Watt valve amp which sounds superb with my Gibson SG faded (uncovered 490R/490T - I love those pups), an '87 Peavey Backstage 50 transistor amp (great for cleans as it has a superb reverb but not too good distorted) and a Zoom multi effects modeller. I appreciate that a top end amp would be advantageous but the Royal 8 really is very good (especially when I use my delay pedal to dial in a bit of reverbiness). I also need to play at low volumes. If I lived out in the sticks I'd looking at getting a Marshall DSL401 combo or, better still, an Engl screamer combo. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmitron Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Well if it's good, it's good. isn't it? I understand you need more bite for your LP, but you don't want to pay too much for it. I don't have the knowledge about GFS and Epiphone pickups. But I could advise you to try the Gotoh VH-1 pickups. I had one years ago and sold it for snobbery purpose. ^^" It's not the best pickup in the world, it's nothing boutique at all, but it's cheap and do the job pretty well in my opinion, and well it is cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 The majority of Epis use the same two pickups, called "Alnico Classic" and "Alnico Classic Plus" (they are called other names, too, but are the same thing), whether covered or open-coil. Dots use the Classic at both positions while most LPs and SGs have the hot/overwound "Classic Plus" at the bridge, as does the Dot Studio. And as you mentioned, the ceramics are in a few models. So you could quite possibly replace same with same. With all the fakes and fraud on eBay these days, I recommend buying your pickups from a reliable source. The differences in PAF-type pickups are pretty minor, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icantbuyafender Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Try out rockfield pickups, or GFS. Good and affordable. Or fleabay... gibby sets for under $100 used Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICH Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 If you are in the UK and looking for low cost replacement pickups have a look at IronGear. http://www.irongear.co.uk/index.html ICH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbach Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I recently replaced the crappy Epiphone pickups in my Dot with a pair of Tonerider AC4s. They were less than $100 for the pair and sound really nice. They are, IMO, demonstrably better than GFS pickups for not much more money. For a little more money I'd recommend Seymour Duncans. My choice would invariably be a pair of '59s, but you might want something a bit hotter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 If you are in the UK and looking for low cost replacement pickups have a look at IronGear. http://www.irongear.co.uk/index.html ICH Had a good look at this site. They're one of the few pickup manufacturers who post easily accessible clean and dirty sound files for all pups in bridge and neck position. They sound excellent too! Might have to investigate the Rockfields and Toneriders too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denthevetteman78 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I did change my pickups on my LP standard with real genuine Gibson 490r/498t and i really like the sound. Here's a small video that i took of myself using the bridge 490R from Gibson. [YOUTUBE] [/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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