Enzo Heavenly Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Finally is here!! :D Just attached a picture :P Hey guys, I won an auction over an Epiphone Emily the Strange SG at ebay and while I wait for it to come home, I've been thinking, why not researching about the modifications I'll want to make on it. Since it is just an Epiphone G-310, I know for sure I will be looking for stuff like... black Tusq XL (self-lubricating nut), new tuners, new pickups... and so on. So, I would like to ask you all some suggestions, since it's gonna be my first SG :D - For the nut, as I said, I think I'll get the Black Tusq XL - For pickups, I am thinking about Gibson Classic '57 and '57 plus set. Or WCR Crossroads or maybe Antiquities or '59s. - No idea if I should modify the bridge. - Any suggestion for tuners? Somebody talked to me about Grover 'rotomatic' tuners, but dunno anything about it. - Also thinking about removing the pickguard, since the design continues underneath the pickguard (but... do u think i need it?). I know some of you will ask... why bothering about customizing a cheap guitar. Well, I guess I like Emily THAT much :P I always loved the paint-job on this guitar, so I said to myself... Whenever I get one, I will work on it so it can be a perfect Backup guitar :D (or the one I would take to rehearsals and stuff). Wanna have at least 3 guitars, my main will be the James Tyler Variax JTV-59 (coz of the emulated vintage guitars), then this one and -whenever I can afford it- a proper Gibson Les Paul. Any tips, suggestions or guidelines will honestly be appreciated. Thanks in advance. PS: If you need to know what kind of music do i write, i would say... Rock, Punk, Alternative and Indie. No metal, no blues. I still love the sound of Noel Gallagher (Oasis). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 - For the nut, as I said, I think I'll get the Black Tusq XL - For pickups, I am thinking about Gibson Classic '57 and '57 plus set. Or WCR Crossroads or maybe Antiquities or '59s. - No idea if I should modify the bridge. - Any suggestion for tuners? Somebody talked to me about Grover 'rotomatic' tuners, but dunno anything about it. - Also thinking about removing the pickguard, since the design continues underneath the pickguard (but... do u think i need it?). - Changing to a Tusq nut is a good, inexpensive upgrade. They don't just drop in though, you will have to sand it down until it fits properly. - I really don't think I would spend that kind of money on pickups. Those pickups will cost almost as much as the guitar. Have a look at GFS pickups from Guitarfetish. They are very popular around here. I would suggest playing the thing for a while like it is first though. Who knows, you might like the way the pickups that are already in it sound. If not, figure out what you don't like about them and that will help when looking for upgrades. What kind of amp do you have? Spending a lot of money on pickups without having a decent amp to play your guitar through is a complete waste of money IMO. - The bridge should be okay I would think. - I have no idea about the tuners on that model. If they are like the ones on LP juniors and LP Specials, the general consensus around here is that they are crap. Once again, try Guitarfetish. - You can't remove the pickguard if you want to play the guitar because the pickups are mounted to it. I still love the sound of Noel Gallagher (Oasis). Me too. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I would like to echo SuperSonic101. Play the guitar for a while before doing anything. Once you play it you'll have a better idea what it needs, versus what other people might suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Heavenly Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 I currently use an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II which i'm selling (that's why i got the Emily), and I have an idea of how an epiphone pickup sounds and even though it's not bad, it ain't my cup of tea either :P @Supersonic101: I understand what you mean, I can get a GFS pro set for under 100 bucks... but I can still get the 57 and 57+ for like 200, which is about the price of the guitar, haha, i got it for 240 (mint condition). But I could make the effort though... Amp? I'm using the ZT Lunchbox for practice, and since I rehearse at a studio, usually i can plug it to a Half stack or a tube amp. I'm gonna get the Line 6 DT50 (2x12) somewhere along next year, since most of the demos I'll be recording will be using the power amp emulations of my pedalboard (POD HD500). So I don't really need the amp right now... I didn't know about the pickguard holding the pups =/ Can I use those (dunno the name) 'rings' that holds the pups in other models? And sure :D I will be using it 'just the way it is' for a while, but I'm quite sure I will be needing some work on it. If any more tips, plz lemme know and thanks a lot for the time and suggestions so far :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The.Traffic.Lights Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I currently use an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II which i'm selling (that's why i got the Emily), and I have an idea of how an epiphone pickup sounds and even though it's not bad, it ain't my cup of tea either :P FYI, pickups in the LP Ultra II have Alnico V magnets and pickups in the G-310 have ceramic ones. Besides, they have different output levels, the second ones being hotter. So not all Epi pickups are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Heavenly Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Don't sell the Ultra II for Emily it is a downgrade.... I know :) but as i said... my MAIN guitar will be a James Tyler Variax (instead of the Ultra II). It's just about the art, I would instead buy a Noel Gallagher (signature) Epiphone Supernova (union jack) if i could find any here in US :S And I loved the Emily SG since I saw it for the 1st time. And... this will sound silly... I'm the kind of guitarist who believes there's some sort of 'afinity' between us and our instruments... And I don't feel like playing my Ultra II no more. Btw, i wrote my best songs with a Dean Evo XM (100 bucks) so i don't need a 5k dollars guitar :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 - For the nut, as I said, I think I'll get the Black Tusq XL - For pickups, I am thinking about Gibson Classic '57 and '57 plus set. Or WCR Crossroads or maybe Antiquities or '59s. - No idea if I should modify the bridge. - Any suggestion for tuners? Somebody talked to me about Grover 'rotomatic' tuners, but dunno anything about it. - Also thinking about removing the pickguard, since the design continues underneath the pickguard (but... do u think i need it?). 1. Tusq XLs are great. I use them. 2. Pickups are super personal. GFS are a great choice though. 3. Nothing wrong with the stock one. 4. Grover Rotomatics are amazing. I've put them on all my guitars because of that fact. I actually just grabbed my explorer after about a month of it sitting in the corner and it was still in perfect tune. 5. What Supersonic said. I also rather like the Emily G310. The paintjob just has something rad about it, even if it is for some... clothing brand... or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Heavenly Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 2. Pickups are super personal. GFS are a great choice though. I also rather like the Emily G310. The paintjob just has something rad about it, even if it is for some... clothing brand... or something. But... which one of the GFS? I which they had some audioclips :S I was thinking about this one (from GFS): http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-professional-Series-Alnico-II-Humbucker-Black-Case-Neck-Pickup_p_4151.html But I dunno how far is its sound from my favorite (Gibby's Classic '57 And yeah... Emily first appear as a sticker to promote "Cosmic Debris", a clothing line from a bunch of guys. But I knew her a little after that, when she appeared as a comic. Any other pups suggestion? Any idea where can I find an audio clip of GFS pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 But... which one of the GFS? I which they had some audioclips :S I was thinking about this one (from GFS): http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-professional-Series-Alnico-II-Humbucker-Black-Case-Neck-Pickup_p_4151.html But I dunno how far is its sound from my favorite (Gibby's Classic '57 And yeah... Emily first appear as a sticker to promote "Cosmic Debris", a clothing line from a bunch of guys. But I knew her a little after that, when she appeared as a comic. Any other pups suggestion? Any idea where can I find an audio clip of GFS pickups? I've only used GFS Loudmouths and Dream 180s. The Loudmouths are great for hard rock, and the Dream 180s had some of the best clean tone I've ever heard. The usual go-to place for sound samples of any pickup is youtube, although I did check there before posting this and there aren't any there. <_< Can't really help on that one, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSDx Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 ...Btw, i wrote my best songs with a Dean Evo XM (100 bucks) ... Irrelevant ... you can write songs with no guitar, for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Heavenly Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Irrelevant ... you can write songs with no guitar, for that matter. Irrelevant if you don't believe in what I called 'affinity' between the guitarrist and the guitar itself, I guess. Any suggestion for modding this G-310? :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 You could take the pickguard off but you'll have to make yourself some pickup mounts that can be screwed on in it's place, like Les Paul style but same thickness material as the pickguard, and big enough to be able to screw into solid wood, it may look great. As for bridge, i'm very toying with the idea of trying out one of those £36 piezo ones and fitting it to my Columbus LP copy as it already has a preamp that I made in it. Hmm, make an internal preamp? After reading one of the threads in here I'm toying with the idea of making some acrylic tuner knobs to go on my SG as I know a man with a laser cutter, then just a matter of drilling the holes to fit the shaft and screw, a bit of smoothing and polishing. Maybe Emily needs some black tuner knobs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Heavenly Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Finally Emily arrived, gonna add pics later and... comparing it to my (still here) Epiphone LP Ultra II, these pups ain't that good xD Still gonna try them a little more, but this time connected to my Multi-FX pedalboard. I may do a review of it as well, it's not as bad as I expected it o.o' But the neck feels a little different, like a C shaped neck, but still like it. So... the 1st will be the tuners, nut and pups... Still thinking about the pups >.< Anyone needs a 2nd handed Epi LP Ultra II? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl00dsm0k3 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 how about refinish it on the front put see emily play and on the back put people are strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Heavenly Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 how about refinish it on the front put see emily play and on the back put people are strange If I were thinking about refinishing it... I would have just made my own, hehe. I don't mind it reading 'people are strange', I think people is :P (I'm quite like Greg House from the House MD tv-series). Sigh~ Still deciding about the pickups :( I find about no clips for the GFS Vintage '59s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.