verhfrank Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 Hi, Does anyone have any suggestions on what kinds of upgrades work well on an Epi ES-175? What sort of pick ups work well. maybe a good replacement bridge?... I'd like to improve mine as much as I can without breaking the bank. I just put SD '59's in my Dot and my, what an improvement! Would those work in a 175? Thanks in advance.
brianh Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 Hi, Does anyone have any suggestions on what kinds of upgrades work well on an Epi ES-175? What sort of pick ups work well. maybe a good replacement bridge?... I'd like to improve mine as much as I can without breaking the bank. I just put SD '59's in my Dot and my, what an improvement! Would those work in a 175? Thanks in advance. No reason that SD's wouldn't work, it's a standard humbucker cutout. Some folks here seem to like the Gibson '57 Classics for hollow-bodies. I've often wondered what a pair of P94's or SD P-Rails would sound like though....
dougg330 Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 I had a Gibson P-90 installed in place of the humbucker in my Zephyr Regent. I couldn't do it myself - needed to have a base made that was shaped to match the curve of the top - but what a great jazz sound!
Steve-M Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 You can put whatever sounds good to you as long as it fits. If you want some versatility, maybe install a couple of push/pull tone pots for coil splitting. Stewmac has a good selection of replacement bridges.
mrw1960 Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 I replaced the stock pups with Classic 57's and put in a MOJOTONE harness from the crappy asian electronics. I renutted with a Graphtech TUSQ XL. Sounds awesome. Here is the link to Mojotone's 175 wiring kit. You can have them assemble it to your specs.I got mine asssembled with Mojotone Vitamin T (Oil Filled)Caps and CTS Pots.I paid around $95 for it.Was worth every penny. Made a world of difference. Very friendly and helpful people there. http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/guitar-wiring-kits-gibson-style/ES-175-3-way-Guitar-Wiring-Kit
verhfrank Posted January 9, 2012 Author Posted January 9, 2012 Thanks for all the suggestions! It really is a great guitar and I'd like to get the most out of it. So the general consensus then is that replacing the pups is of primary importance when it comes to the overall improvement of this guitar? I replaced the stock pups with Classic 57's and put in a MOJOTONE harness from the crappy asian electronics. I renutted with a Graphtech TUSQ XL. Sounds awesome. Here is the link to Mojotone's 175 wiring kit. You can have them assemble it to your specs.I got mine asssembled with Mojotone Vitamin T (Oil Filled)Caps and CTS Pots.I paid around $95 for it.Was worth every penny. Made a world of difference. Very friendly and helpful people there. http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/guitar-wiring-kits-gibson-style/ES-175-3-way-Guitar-Wiring-Kit
mrw1960 Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 YES...You will find that it will be a awesome guitar with the upgrades.
Blueman335 Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 The biggest improvement in tone you can make with an Epi is upgrading the PU's; does more than everything else put together. For a 175, you don't want hot PU's or ceramic magnets. PAF's would be ideal, and Duncan makes some of the best. You've got '59's; I'd also recommend Seth's and PG's. Seth's were desinged with Seth Lover's help to be exactly like an original mid 1950's PAF (Seth Lover is the guy who invented humbuckers). Great rich, open tones from the unbalanced coils, and they're unpotted so they breathe. That's as good as it gets. Check eBay, and you can save a few bucks on used ones.
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