Maher Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 hey people, i was thinking about buying a new guitar until i relized i really like the feel of my epiphone, and instead of speding money on a new guitar i could upgrade pretty much everything on my epiphone, heres what i was thinking: Tuners - Grover Rotomatic Locking tuners 1:18 All new electics Replacing the three picks ups with Golden age Humbuckers ( has anyone tried these?!?) SCHALLER STRAP LOCKS and a good old bigsby trem ( i dont thinkin ill use it often but i heard it adds sustain, and it looks totally awesome ) so has anyone got coments? sugestions? and does anyonw know what the golden age pick ups are like? and one last question, the binding on my les paul is faded white, kinda like cream colour, is there an easy way to get that white? if i could get it white i would i would like to have all chrome hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Hey Lee, I have a Gibson Les Paul, and I put a Bigsby on it. One thing to consider is that you will have the Stop Bar holes left over. I have not filled mine, but that was an ethstetic (sp?) choice. Also, you may want to go to a roller bridge, which I have not done yet. And yes, it looks really cool. So DO it. Guitar Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 hmmm IMO I always though bigsbys looked ugly and impractical, I really can't imagin rocking out on a guitar witha bigsby on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joej Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 I remember seeing a thread at the Epiphone site forums that listed the "upgrades" to bring a model closer to the Gibson model. I dislike altering an off-the-shelf guitar .. so I'd try the incremental approach :-) Most of the small fixes are reversible, so pickups, tuning pegs, etc may be an easy swap (to see if they improve the guitar). Then, if there still is a need to improve -- try the tailpiece/bridge, etc. --joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Didn't some famous guitar player impale his hand on a bigsby trem arm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Bell Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Didn't some famous guitar player impale his hand on a bigsby trem arm? I think Pete Townsend did on a strat trem. You might want to also replace the nut on your epiphone. I've found that the g string's tuning is often a bit shakey on epiphones. You could try a graphtech nut - it would be pretty cheap and it's an easy upgrade which should increase the tuning stability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maher Posted September 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 i was thinking about a nut replacement but i dont think i have the knowledge to beable to cut a nut, so i would bring it to a tech but that becomes quite expensive, can i buy read cut les paul nuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Graphtech for Gibson comes sloted. Customize that Epi all you want, check the GOTM competition this month to see mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 one quote's stuck with me for a long time. "if some new pickups, a new nut and some new tuners will make an epiphone sound just like a gibson, epiphone's wouldn't be so cheap". you can upgrade all you want, and you could still get a very nice axe, but it's not gonna be the same as a les paul. so, take it with a grain of salt. dont want to rain on your parade, but dont be mad when it still sounds like an epiphone., Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 dont want to rain on your parade, but dont be mad when it still sounds like an epiphone., You are right it will never sound like a Gibson, but believe me when I say that the difference between a stock Epi and mine is remarkable. The craftmanship on Gibson and the materials used are far better than Epi, and thats the big difference, but if you can make a guiatr sound better... wouldn't you? I don't know if you can recall, but I remember seeing Godsmack guitarist using an Epi on the very begining, so did Drowning Pool they both graduated, GS to Gibson, and DP to PRS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maher Posted September 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 one quote's stuck with me for a long time. "if some new pickups, a new nut and some new tuners will make an epiphone sound just like a gibson, epiphone's wouldn't be so cheap". you can upgrade all you want, and you could still get a very nice axe, but it's not gonna be the same as a les paul. so, take it with a grain of salt. dont want to rain on your parade, but dont be mad when it still sounds like an epiphone., yeah dude i know its always going to be an epiphone, i paid £500 for it, if i payed £1500 for a gibson and it only sounded as good as an epip id be pissed! so im not expecting it to, but as i really like the feel of the guitar and i think the craftmanship seems ok on it i think its worth my time, effort and money trying to better it thanks for your comments and help though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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