drew82 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I have an Epiphone EA-250 that I bought for cheap and, though I really like the feel of it (haven't had the problems others on this forum have had - Bigsby stays in tune, neck is straight and solid, etc.), I'd love to put some stronger pickups in it. The issue, of course, is the oversized pickup holes and really strange pickups. I've seen EAs with black plastic pickups and Gibson-style chrome-covered full size humbuckers, but mine has weird Hofner looking pickups (identical to this guitar: http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-19546-Vintage-Epiphone-EA-250-Hollow-Body-Electric-Guitar) that I haven't seen anywhere else and that have unique dimensions that I can't seem to match. I'd love to get some decent humbuckers in but I'm not nearly competent enough to start cutting or filling holes. Anyone know anything that might be able to help me out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 A decent luthier can fix the holes to the size you need. It shouldn't cost you much in labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Bill Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Hi, Drew, and welcome to this forum. I looked at the pictures of the model you referred to, and that's a great looking guitar.. neat looking tuners on that one. Modifying body wood often means really changing the guitar to where it can't be returned, and may affect the sound. You may have numerous other options for different sounds without changing the body's characteristics. The pickup rings in the pics appear to be longer and narrower than standard humbucker rings. I had recently seen some that look to be approximately the same proportions on eBay, from a seller who I have had very good purchasing experiences with. So, I guess there are some manufacturers making differently sized pickups, but maybe not the biggest names in the biz.. I dunno, as I don't spend much time looking for pickups. You don't mention where you're located, and it would be great if everyone at least filled out the space for location, so it would show up under the username with each posting. The seller I mentioned is in Canada, and I receive orders by post quickly, even though I'm in the U.S. For an example, see eBay Item 200415554590 I haven't tried any aftermarket pickups, just Epiphones and DiMarzios, so other readers may be able to recommend pickups for the particular sound you're looking for. Regards, Bill I have an Epiphone EA-250 that I bought for cheap and, though I really like the feel of it (haven't had the problems others on this forum have had - Bigsby stays in tune, neck is straight and solid, etc.), I'd love to put some stronger pickups in it. The issue, of course, is the oversized pickup holes and really strange pickups. I've seen EAs with black plastic pickups and Gibson-style chrome-covered full size humbuckers, but mine has weird Hofner looking pickups (identical to this guitar: http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-19546-Vintage-Epiphone-EA-250-Hollow-Body-Electric-Guitar) that I haven't seen anywhere else and that have unique dimensions that I can't seem to match. I'd love to get some decent humbuckers in but I'm not nearly competent enough to start cutting or filling holes. Anyone know anything that might be able to help me out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew82 Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 Hi, Drew, and welcome to this forum. I looked at the pictures of the model you referred to, and that's a great looking guitar.. neat looking tuners on that one. Modifying body wood often means really changing the guitar to where it can't be returned, and may affect the sound. You may have numerous other options for different sounds without changing the body's characteristics. The pickup rings in the pics appear to be longer and narrower than standard humbucker rings. I had recently seen some that look to be approximately the same proportions on eBay, from a seller who I have had very good purchasing experiences with. So, I guess there are some manufacturers making differently sized pickups, but maybe not the biggest names in the biz.. I dunno, as I don't spend much time looking for pickups. You don't mention where you're located, and it would be great if everyone at least filled out the space for location, so it would show up under the username with each posting. The seller I mentioned is in Canada, and I receive orders by post quickly, even though I'm in the U.S. For an example, see eBay Item 200415554590 I haven't tried any aftermarket pickups, just Epiphones and DiMarzios, so other readers may be able to recommend pickups for the particular sound you're looking for. Regards, Bill Thanks for the replies, I've updated my location as requested. I'm making this something of a project guitar, I'm using it to learn a thing or two about electronics and I'd prefer not to alter the actual wood (since I don't trust myself to do it properly and I don't really want to pay someone else to do it either). The pickup rings are longer and narrower than standard humbuckers, as are the pickups themselves, so my ideal solution is to find new rings that fit the old mounting holes. I found a seller on eBay that makes pickup rings so I'm going to see if he can do something custom for me. And as a side note, the tuners look pretty nice but I've been having trouble with them binding. It's an old guitar and was neglected before I got it so I guess that's to be expected though. Thanks again for the input, I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future. - Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 The pickup rings in the pics appear to be longer and narrower than standard humbucker rings. I had a similar problem on a guitar I recently upgraded, I bought some standard sized buckers and they didn't fit. GFS has ones that did fit mine though, they might also help the OP out. Unfortunately they only seem to have them in gold at the moment, the chrome ones look like they're sold out. GFS Wild Dog Pups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vomer Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I did look into the Wild Dogs for my EA250 a while ago, and decided they wouldn't fit. I don't remember the details, but I took measurements and exchanged emails with wossisname at GFS. My EA is the same as in your link, drew. After not finding any pickups in a matching size, I decided to live with the original pickups in mine. It sounds sweet through a good tube amp. Interestingly, it also sounded loads better with a little drive from a Nobels ODR-1 overdrive pedal; gave it a much classier body and edge to the tone. But I gave in to temptation and sold the Nobels when they started fetching silly prices. The EA doesn't seem to respond in quite the same way to other pedals I've tried since, and I haven't tried the newer version of the ODR-1. Might be worth a try if you come across one. If you do find a matching pickup though, I would be interested to hear about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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