Improving playability and feel

[AlanH]

I've been thinking about doing some modding to my cheap and cheerful Epi LP Studio Deluxe. I'd like to do it for the experience as much as anything but there obviously comes a point where spending money on upgrades goes a step too far.

 

Now this guitar is a good example with a nice unplugged resonant, fat tone and a slick feel to the neck with low action. It stays in tune excellently and the stock pups aren't half bad. In fact, it's a great guitar for the money.

 

For modding, primarily, I'd like to put some quality chrome PAF style pickups in there to get a nice vintage LP tone (maybe burstbuckers or SD '59s) while still retaining the original look of the guitar. However, although the neck feels nice, there is still a bit of a stiff feel to the strings on bending and fretting despite my raising the stop bar tail piece to ease the tension over the saddles. This makes me wonder whether spending so much on top notch pickups would be wise.

 

So, my question is this:-

 

Obviously I can't change the fretboard and frets as a home mod, but will changing the hardware to higher quality gear improve the playabilty and feel of the guitar?

 

I'm really talking about nut, saddles, bridge, stop bar and maybe machine heads. Which, if any, of these mods would improve things? I appreciate that a change of the nut in particular can significantly affect tone but my question is about feel and playability only.

 

I'd be grateful to hear of your opinions on this, particularly from folks who have done these mods on their guitars and have felt a difference (or not).

 

Alan

[StewartB]

AlanH, I have modded my Epi Dot and am about to do the same to my Epi LP. One of the things I have found is that you can do too much to an Epi. If, as you say, the guitar sounds great unplugged and stays in tune then maybe less is more?

 

I think the first step is to address the "playability". I changed the nut on my Dot to a TUSQ (teflon) and that made an immediate improvement. You need to get it right though, and this means that the new nut needs to be sanded down so that the string grooves sit with just the right amount of height above the fretboard. On nearly all Epis I have seen (and many Gibbys!) the string slots are too high above the fretboard and this means the guitar is harder to play.

 

Next step was to do a good setup which means adjusting the action including moving the six string saddles back or forward as part of this process (not just raising or lowering the height of the bridge) and adjusting neck relief via the truss rod. I used the Dan Erlewine book to get help and I used his Gibson specifications.

 

After these two steps the frets need to be checked for buzz and rattle. You may find that fret levelling and dressing is needed particularly from the 7th fret through to the 14th fret. This is because of the neck relief adjustment. I am able to do my own fret levelling and dressing but you may need a guitar tech.

 

The moral of this "lesson" is that you should get the "playability" (nut, action, neck relief, etc) right ,then worry about hardware & pups. On that topic, when I do the mods on my Epi LP, I am replacing the capacitors and some of the wiring as well as changing the pups to a Gibson 490R and 490T. I have found that the Epi bridge and stopbar is ok and works quite well so I'll leave that be.

 

Good luck

 

Stewart B

[brad1]

Alan, tone/sound is a very subjective thing.

But playability/feel is even more subjective, in my opinion.

I mean most of us can agree on a good tone. But each of us has a distinct and unique way of playing a guitar.

So I think what you're are asking is a bit difficult for one to answer.

 

I think a different set up on a guitar can have just as much affect on playability as changing any of that hardware does.

Depending on what you have on there, new/better tuners are always going to help out with keeping your guitar in better tune. But will they feel better to play? I don't know about that.

 

I played other guys guitars and wondered how they even played them the way they had it set up.

And yet they thought it felt great.

[i Can Tuna Guitar]

What strings are you using? A lighter gauge string set will have an immediate effect on feel, and may be a good place to start. What can you tell us about the current state of your setup?

[AlanH]

Thanks for the interesting comments so far.

 

The strings are my favoured Ernie Ball 10-46s. I've tweaked my set up (using Erlewine) to my liking already - straight neck with a low action and little to no buzz, although the nut remains as factory. The guitar just doesn't quite have the feel of my Gibson SG or my Wildkat which have similar setups. The SG is not really a similar comparator though (beefier '50s neck and faded finish).

 

I may get one of those graph tech nuts from ebay as I wonder whether some of the strings are sitting too high and others not but I am reluctant to change it when the guitar stays in tune. Worst case scenario - old nut back on right? For 5 quid it's no real loss.

 

Any other opinions on the hardware, including saddles and nut?

[wardog]

OF ALL THE MODS I DID, THE REPLACEMENT OF THE NUT HAS BEEN THE BEST OF THEM!!!!!!!!

[Lend27]

OF ALL THE MODS I DID' date=' THE REPLACEMENT OF THE NUT HAS BEEN THE BEST OF THEM!!!!!!!![/quote']

 

 

I agree with the comments on the nut.

The grooves on most of the guitars I have purchased have been way too high out of the box.

Get yourself a good set of nut files and use Dan Erlewines specs to get the nut grooves right, otherwise the strings sit way too high making the guitar difficult to play. It just won't feel right.

 

Get the nut right first.

[CajunBlues]

so three things to try...

1) lower the nut

2) truss rod

3) lighter gauge strings...

[i Can Tuna Guitar]

To check the nut height, depress the strings (you can use a capo) between the 2nd and 3rd frets. The clearance at the first fret should be just a hair, about the thickness of a standard business card.

[CajunBlues]

Well I guess y'all helped me out too... I was having issues with my lp special sc being hard to bend on and I took the nut off and sanded down the bottom to match the height of my gibson ES-137 and now it plays like butter...

 

Thanks guys...

[bynapkinart]

I've been thinking about doing some modding to my cheap and cheerful Epi LP Studio Deluxe. I'd like to do it for the experience as much as anything but there obviously comes a point where spending money on upgrades goes a step too far.

 

 

I don't know that I've ever come across that point. I personally can't stand the Dot (no fretboard binding' date=' neck is too thick) but I wanted something resembling a 335 in tone, so I bought a used semihollow no name Arbor with very similar specs to the Dot and modded the hell out of it...Gibson 57's, CTS and Switchcraft wiring, Orange Drops, Bone nut, Sperzals, Aluminium bridge. End result is a ridiculously nice guitar I spent a total of $400 on. It might not be a Gibson, but it sure sounds and feels nice.

 

This pic is pre-CTSing it...notice the rats nest galore of wiring. I don't seem to have a new pic...might need to do that soon. I should note that I bought this guitar knowing that I was going to gut it. The important thing to me was that it played great and felt great....everything else besides a warped or too skinny neck I can sort of fix.

 

[img']http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss258/bynapkinart/P2040009.jpg[/img]

 

You can kind of see the new setup on the left behind my Casino...at least I think so. I didn't get the Gibson pickguard bracket till after I CTSed it, so I guess it has to be CTS at this point:

 

[CajunBlues]

AlanH:

 

Have you made any changes ? Any plans ? Do tell...

 

sanding down my nut (ouch !) helped me on my epi...

[Dave]

Alan, I guess most of the points were covered in previous posts. The bend tension varies on my Epi LP with the amount of time I spend playing. Right now mine has a stiff action because I haven't played as much lately as I normally do and my callouses are wearing thin! Really, three weeks ago I was thinking of trying the next gauge up from .010 because the neck felt squirmy. Today, it feels really tight and hard to bend. The difference is practice and playing.

 

Not saying that's why yours feels tight on bends, but I was surprised at how much difference a couple of weeks off made. I was in Florida on vacation and the ocean and sand seems to have removed at least half the thickness of my callouses and completely re-wired my muscle memory! This was one of those years that I decided not to take the acoustic on vacation. WRONG move!!

 

Pardon me while I go and make faces while trying to build all that back up

[AlanH]

AlanH:

 

Have you made any changes ? Any plans ? Do tell...

 

sanding down my nut (ouch !) helped me on my epi...

 

Still contemplating. I might buy a black tusq XL 1/4 inch for Epiphone. That way if I mess up the sanding of its base I could just put the Epi one back on.

 

Dave has just made a very interesting point. Sometimes the strings feels stiffer than at other times. I'm playing less at the moment as I've recently been away on a beach holiday and also currently have a shoulder problem.

 

Alan

[Hooligan]

I did quite a bit to my Les Paul.

 

The dang thing had a horrible time staying in tune. "G" string would ping like crazy so I replaced the nut with an Ivory nut from Bob Colosi. The harder nut material allows the strings to slide better during tuning and eliminates any ping. On un-fretted strings the harder material gives you more sustain and string to string clarity.

 

I still had some tuning issues and it became obvious the tuners were junk. I bought Gotoh's. They took care of the tuning issues I had but I have since discovered Kluson tuners. I will at some point in time get a set of chrome Kluson waffle backs!

 

While the guitar was in the shop with the nut I had my luthier make sure the neck was right. He adjusted the neck, set the action, and leveled the frets. Now my guitar stays in tune and plays like a dream.

 

Shortly after all that work my switch quite working. I researched electronics and decided to go with a vintage short shaft CTS Super Pot kit (+ caps) from RS Guitarworks. I will tell you at the first rehearsal after this work was completed during the sound check my bass players head snapped around and his jaw hit the ground. His ears were filled with a lush wall sonic bliss. I told my luthier I wanted to drop in Pearly Gates pups, he said these stock pups were fine. He played my Epi next to a 59' re-issue Gibson. My Epi ate that Gibson for lunch. He says this is the best sounding Epiphone he's heard in 30 years.......

 

I did a bunch of cosmetic mods too, but that only adds to my pleasure playing note any sonic benefit.