Serrano Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I have a Epi 175 and would like to upgrade the pickups. My first thought is to go 57 classic neck and 57 classic plus in the bridge. My concern is the description of the classic plus being HOT. I want a clean sound. Is the hotness of the pickup only to balence the sound. Are there other pickup choices for a traditional "Jazz" sound? I already have a LP to paly other styles.
The_Buffalo Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I bought one this summer, and plan to install a set of GFS Mean 90's in my "spare" time - the pickups have sat in a box beside my bed for about 3 months now... Will post before & after pics & sound clips when finished.
brianh Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I have one, but not in a hurry to upgrade the pickups. I actually think it sounds pretty good (using flatwounds) with the stock pickups, but could use new pots, switch, jack and wiring. I will do that before doing a pickup replacement.
The_Buffalo Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 ...I actually think it sounds pretty good (using flatwounds) with the stock pickups... I do too, but I like single coils.
Tuiblue Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I have a Epi 175 and would like to upgrade the pickups. My first thought is to go 57 classic neck and 57 classic plus in the bridge. My concern is the description of the classic plus being HOT. I want a clean sound. Is the hotness of the pickup only to balence the sound. Are there other pickup choices for a traditional "Jazz" sound? I already have a LP to paly other styles. There are always choices. Problem is, is the guitar, and what you've invested into it worthy of some of those upgrades/mods. For very serious Jazz tone, and clarity, of individual notes, and so on... With the construction of an ES-175 RE, electronics are the only thing that will bring that jazzy tone out. Seymour Duncan makes a replica of the old style Jazz pups, with individual magnets that can individually be adjusted to a players preference. In other words, the magnet itself is lowered or raised, not the screw threaded into the magnet. Makes for a much cleaner tone... Those sets of screws in between the "Staple" poles, (exposed magnet) are the adjustment screws. You get the idea... Comes in P-90 or Humbucker configurations. But at almost $450 for a pair, it's a very serious investment.
Serrano Posted January 14, 2011 Author Posted January 14, 2011 I have one, but not in a hurry to upgrade the pickups. I actually think it sounds pretty good (using flatwounds) with the stock pickups, but could use new pots, switch, jack and wiring. I will do that before doing a pickup replacement. I have taken the suggestion. I replaced the strings with 11 flatwounds. It does give a tone more in the direction I want. Much cheaper than a whole pickup replacement. I will hold tight, play the flat 11s for a while. I do think in the furture I will get the new pup's and get the guitar setup with flat 12s/13s. Thanks Brainh
vaxxine Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 I have taken the suggestion. I replaced the strings with 11 flatwounds. It does give a tone more in the direction I want. Much cheaper than a whole pickup replacement. I will hold tight, play the flat 11s for a while. I do think in the furture I will get the new pup's and get the guitar setup with flat 12s/13s. Thanks Brainh If you're just interested in the traditional smooth warm jazz sound, I wouldn't bother with expense of the Bridge pick-up since you'll rarely use it anyway. Just replace the Neck pick-up. The '57 Classic is an excellent choice. But here are some others that will accomplish the goal too : Gibson 490R, Dimarzio DP103 36th Anniversary (apparently used by Sadowsky on his jazz boxes), Duncan '59, Duncan SH-55. And there are single coils too but I don't have any experience with them.
Fringe Lunatic Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 I was messing around with jazzy tones on my Mean 90-loaded Dot, and found that a typical jazz tone was simply the neck pickup with the tone control rolled down. So, even with a single coil pickup known to be brighter than a humbucker, I still was able to get a nice jazzy tone. Since the stock tone pot on my Dot is somewhat imprecise (isn't as gradual as I think it could be), I'm going to do an upgrade in the not-too-distant future to full-sized CTS pots, which hopefully will make dialing in a bit more accurate. I wish I knew more about the difference between the two different types of pots in order to choose the one that'll be best for my purposes.
vaxxine Posted January 16, 2011 Posted January 16, 2011 I was messing around with jazzy tones on my Mean 90-loaded Dot, and found that a typical jazz tone was simply the neck pickup with the tone control rolled down. So, even with a single coil pickup known to be brighter than a humbucker, That tone is virtually always achieved with the neck pickup and the tone rolled down. The difference between pickups is how muddy or non-muddy the tone stays as the tone is rolled off. The original, classic tones from the 40's and early 50's was all done on single coil pickups (P90s and the CC pickup). Even Ed Bickert managed to get an incredibly warm, round tone from the original neck pickup on his Telecaster.
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