Angusthegod Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I'm thinking about buying a Gibson '57 classic for my Epiphone SG vintage G400, and I was wondering how long of a process it would be, and what I would need to replace it. My step father is an electrical engineer, so he can deal with that stuff, if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I suggest you try Google. There are a million websites that can tell you exactly what you need, and how to do it. Also try YouTube. They have videos to show you everything. Why are you thinking about buying a very expensive pup for a guitar that already has pretty good pups in it? I have a 2006 G400 and I think the pups are very good. How long have you been playing? Do you really need to spend so much money for those pups? They are not going to make you a better player. If I was you, I'd worry a little bit more on getting your chops down, than getting new pups. I'd also get a new amp before new pups if I were you. One with tubes. That would make you sound a lot better than new pups. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icantbuyafender Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 +10 what brad said. you just got it, enjoy it first with a good amp to see what it can do. epi's pups are getting to be decent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I agree with Brad. Unless you have a good amp, not a practice amp, that would be my first recommendation. Not trying to talk down to you, I just don't know what you have. I have several nice amps, and they can make crumby pickups sound okay. I will say for myself that I don't particularly like Epi pickups. That is the first mod I do to them. I spent some major bucks on my Maestro equipped G-400 and put some Gibson Burstbuckers in it. I was new to finding aftermarket parts at the time so I didn't know anything about GFS or other lower priced pickups at the time. At this time I didn't know about this forum. I like the pickups, but in all honesty there are others that are not as costly that sound pretty good and would have worked as good for me. I put a set of GFS Vintage 59s in another G-400 I had and was totally pleased with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Yes, save your money. A 57 through a crap amp will sound like crap. An epi HB through a great amp will sound great, a 57 through a great amp will sound magical. You are still learning, high quality PUs are a waste at your level. What type of amps are you working with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icantbuyafender Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 yep I recommend a blackheart handsome devil. all the tube you'll need at a small price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denthevetteman78 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I followed like they said in the link below and in less than one hour, my both pickups were install and my guitar was all restring and i was playing. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=100119 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I'm thinking about buying a Gibson '57 classic for my Epiphone SG vintage G400' date=' and I was wondering how long of a process it would be, and what I would need to replace it. My step father is an electrical engineer, so he can deal with that stuff, if necessary.[/quote'] Nice G400 Dude! I've got an ebony one (my avatar) and I love it. I would definitely check out different amps with your axe before you change things on it. I posted a new topic here Guitar Sound/Tone Variables and Recording that you might want to check out before you do any drastic work on your axe. Has links to some real good information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angusthegod Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 Alrighty, I will definitely put my money towards getting a nice 80 watt Marshall amp, I got my eye on one already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Alrighty' date=' I will definitely put my money towards getting a nice 80 watt Marshall amp, I got my eye on one already.[/quote']Be sure to take your guitar with you to try out that amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AS90 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 If you do go for a pickup change, it is a 10 minute job, just 2 small blobs of solder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denthevetteman78 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I have to admit , when i bought my Les Paul i brought it home and trough my old amp it sound like crap so the first move was to buy myself a new amp and i did the pickups changes after that i had a good amp. Even my old guitar with that amp sounded decent. In the same time that i change my pickups i decided to take my Epi pickups and put them in my other quitar that is 25 years old. It did raise the quality of the sound. Now i have two guitar that sound good for the price of just two pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 If you do go for a pickup change' date=' it is a 10 minute job, just 2 small blobs of solder.[/quote'] And, ALWAYS take a picture before starting the job! It doesn't hurt to draw out a diagram of the wiring before changing anything. If you don't, there will be something you have to do that involves three wires being de-soldered. CRS syndrome will take over and you will wonder where at least one of them went. Was it on the center pot leg or the right? Were both wires on this pot or that one? At work, I can always refer to the schematic for that info. On my workbench at home, I have to depend on the photo and drawings to recover or go and download one from a google search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 And if you still need some guidance on the wiring end of it I've posted a thread in this forum with a link to a website with some GREAT information: Guitar Wiring Diagrams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Alrighty' date=' I will definitely put my money towards getting a nice 80 watt Marshall amp, I got my eye on one already.[/quote'] Hey Angus, I just listened to a couple of your tracks you link to in your signature. Nice work. Just a couple of thoughts about amps. I'm guessing you are talking about an 80W Marshall Valvestate? Don't know much about them, other than the fact they are solid state amps that try and emulate the sound of tubes. You might still want to think about checking out some tube amps, though. Remember, tube amps are way louder than their solid state cousins, so don't be put off by the smaller wattage. I play gigs quite often through a 15W Fender Blues Jr and it is plenty loud enough, I assure you. Don't buy an amp that is bigger than your needs. A big amp running very quietly has little to offer. A small amp pushed hard will offer an infinitely better tone. (By the way, this is very much "do as I say, not do as I do," it took me many years to realize that I didn't need a 50W all tube combo and that the little guy suits my needs just fine!) For home / studio use, I'd take a look at the Blackhearts as other people have suggested, perhaps also the Orange Tiny Terror. As I mentioned, a Fender Blues Jr will do you fine for studio use, as well as smaller gigs. After that, you can always mic it. Vox have released a more affordable version of the AC15, and there is also the 30W Epiphone Blues Custom to consider....There also Peaveys and doubtless many other options I have overlooked... By the way - don't change your stock G-400 pick-ups until you're certain you need to upgrade. I think the stock humbuckers in today's Epiphones are pretty good... Good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Yea what amp you looking at? 80 watts is WAY LOUD. Are you playing in a loud *** band yet, or at home? Even then 80 is overkill. On the valvestate, I have one, you will like it. get the 50 watt, no effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angusthegod Posted December 28, 2009 Author Share Posted December 28, 2009 I found a Marshall MG80CDR, and a MG250DFX (Dual 50 watt speakers)..... One of these amps will be used to melt the faces of people in small venues very soon, very loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Reconsider, I know it SAYS Marshall on the front, but those amps are terrible IMO. You can buy the same thing for much cheaper if you get a Crate, you are over paying for the Marshall name there. Now the AVT line is another story. Or maybe the Class 5 would suit you. If you like Angus, I would look there first, not like you need a ton of gain to pull that off or anything. The MG just won't give you that sound at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denthevetteman78 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Reconsider' date=' I know it SAYS Marshall on the front, but those amps are terrible IMO. You can buy the same thing for much cheaper if you get a Crate, quote'] I bought a crate VTX 30 Watts and i really like it. For my personal use in my basement i don't need more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Musikron is dead right, the Marshall MG series are poor quality. I had the MG100DFX for a year. They are all solid state, no valves/tubes, Asian manufacture, not British, and cheap speakers, not Celestions. Basically a cheap imitation of a "proper" Marshall, but apart from the look they have nothing in common. I couldn't get a decent tone clean or dirty. I used it for about 15 gigs, never used it flat out, and I had 2 speaker failures and a fan replaced under warranty. The AVT and Valvestate series are similar to each other, and good for the price. They are mostly solid state but with a single tube in the circuit, and Celestion speakers. I had the AVT275X before I upgraded to an all-tube TSL. I've now also got an old 80w Valvestate for back-up. AVT or VS series don't quite get the classic Marshall tone you get in all tube model, but they get close and they're more affordable. The all-tube models are too expensive, I was lucky to get one cheap. You'll probably find any all-tube amp up to 25w will get you the sort of tone you want once it's warmed up. Remember tube amps sound louder than equivalent wattage solid state. 25-30w is plenty for gigging small venues. Over the years I've had Vox, Fender, Laney, Session and Peavey combos...all the tube ones were good. All the solid state ones were disappointing and I ended up buying pedals to try to get decent tones out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWRGOSPEL Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I didn't like how my Epiphone Dot sounded and debated about changing out the pickups too until I bought a Fender Superchamp XD amp recently. When I plugged the Dot into the clean channel on it, I was blown away; I was hearing totally different (and better) guitar. It would sound better with 57's in it but it sounds pretty good as it is now. It does no good to mod a guitar if you are still running through a lousy amp. Get a good amp, then work on the guitar if you still feel it is necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I didn't like how my Epiphone Dot sounded and debated about changing out the pickups too until I bought a Fender Superchamp XD amp recently. When I plugged the Dot into the clean channel on it' date=' I was blown away; I was hearing totally different (and better) guitar. It would sound better with 57's in it but it sounds pretty good as it is now. It does no good to mod a guitar if you are still running through a lousy amp. Get a good amp, then work on the guitar if you still feel it is necessary.[/quote'] You're exactly right! What your sound comes out of has a LOT to do with overall sound quality. Sometimes the amp is good but the speaker sucks! Or the amp just sucks. But I know a bunch of musicians who have never even considered that point. I have a small 40 watt Peavey Envoy 110 amp that is ok for what I am using it for, playing at low levels in my little room, but I am going to install a Celestion G10 Vintage (soon as it arrives) to see how much difference it makes. So check out the rest of your equipment before doing mods on your axe....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icantbuyafender Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I actually trying to get rid of a burstbucker 1&2 for a pair of 490R/T combo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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