Clip: I put $1000 worth of upgrades in a $90 Epiphone...

[thefyn]

This Epiphone was supposed to be a stop gap for installing a 1959 P90 pickup/harness etc. I was going to get a real Gibson to put the electronics in. But after hearing it in action...

Listen to the end for a description of what the upgrades were along with the chain/setup/mic etc. I can hear a little intonation issue from a high nut but that's easily fixed.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Sounds great man.

I can love just about any guitar as long as its not a Fender.

 

[f550maranello2]

Just when you thought you heard it all!

"output jack changes the tone"



Anyhow, thanks for posting this, it just cements my theory that people hear what they want to hear when it comes to sound..
I bet putting a $200 into that guitar would have yielded the results.

 

[stompboxfreak72]

Should have bought a proper Gibson

 

[thefyn]

Just when you thought you heard it all!

"output jack changes the tone"



Anyhow, thanks for posting this, it just cements my theory that people hear what they want to hear when it comes to sound..
I bet putting a $200 into that guitar would have yielded the results.

$200 is around what I usually sink into guitars to upgrade. This case is different. A much better result than my usual boost. I think you can tell how excited I am. Haha. I had this previously loaded with the old Gibson pickups but with the Epiphone cheap pots and thin stranded Chinese wire. I had a switchcraft jack installed but dragged my feet on the harness as the cavity was so small it had to be routed.

People used to do something similar with the old stereo EMG output jacks to help retain freqs. Obviously they don't boost freqs. They just retain them. It's similar to a cheap cable vs an evidence cable. To be fair you probably need good quality cables/internal wiring to really hear the benefit. Monster rock cables etc choke highs. Switching to evidence cables had similar freq retaining qualities.

The pure tone jacks surround the shaft/ring/tip. They are priced similar to switchcraft so it's not a premium price. When you think about it the old jacks have the shaft of the input jack resting on one side. Depending which side the pressure is coming from. It's always been a tenuous connection seeing it's the most important

The new EMG ones are chince. Avoid the new ones.

 

[thefyn]

Should have bought a proper Gibson

I didn't spend $1000 on it. All the upgrades were bargains.

IMO this sounds better than my Gibson loaded with Peter Lawrence Voodoo pickups. Which is really sweet.

The EPI has its faults. The neck joint flexes if I give it too much oomph which momentarily detunes it. The nut is a little high so initially you hear some intonation issues with the hold chords.

 

[thefyn]

Sounds great man.

I can love just about any guitar as long as its not a Fender.

Just picked up a MIJ Fender yesterday. Horses for courses.

Gibson rules though. It's just science.

 

[Fuego]

For $90 it's probably a plywood body. Should have just bought a better guitar imo

 

[Fordman65]

I'm on this one. I understand the desire of guys who upgrade a mid level guitar with improved hardware, pickups and electronics. You can typically get a lot of bang for your buck when done. This case isn't that. This is taking the cheapest possible pos guitar and throwing a real deal 59 p90 in there. I don't get the rationale at all.

Nice playing

 

[thefyn]

For $90 it's probably a plywood body. Should have just bought a better guitar imo

That was the plan. Put it in a Gibson. The EPI was a stop gap to test everything. But it sounds so good I'm not going to bother. It's the best tone I've had.

 

[thefyn]

I'm on this one. I understand the desire of guys who upgrade a mid level guitar with improved hardware, pickups and electronics. You can typically get a lot of bang for your buck when done. This case isn't that. This is taking the cheapest possible pos guitar and throwing a real deal 59 p90 in there. I don't get the rationale at all.

Nice playing

I talk a lot at the end and cover that. So I'm not surprised some are scratching their heads.

 

[apophis]

I bought some puretone jacks a couple of weeks ago, they are nice and sturdy, however I noticed they are almost exactly like the planet waves jacks (Pic) i've had in a couple of my guitars for like 8 or 9 years, so they are not exactly a new idea.

http://www.warmoth.com/Hardware/parts/p ... sJacks.jpg

 

[thefyn]

I bought some puretone jacks a couple of weeks ago, they are nice and sturdy, however I noticed they are almost exactly like the planet waves jacks (Pic) i've had in a couple of my guitars for like 8 or 9 years, so they are not exactly a new idea.

http://www.warmoth.com/Hardware/parts/p ... sJacks.jpg

Before that for me it was the old EMG stereo jacks that seemed to have quality connectivity and a rock solid ground. I used to use them on passives just because they were robust and I was sure they sounded a little better. That EMG could be placebo as I never did A/B tests like I did the pure tones but I've seen others claim the stereo EMG retains more freqs vs a cheap pitted pot metal jacks.

I forgot to mention in my vid I use evidence audio cables. Forte and Lyric. Solid core cables. So when getting down to component level changes in signal I've got a good setup/monitoring/ISO booth etc.

Pure tones are drop in replacements for regular switchcraft etc rather than the barrel/expense of the planet waves style. I picked up some more pure tones yesterday. I'm putting them in my cabs and pedals. They are rated for more than just guitar etc. stuff that's always in my chain like an NS2 TS9 tuner etc will get upgraded.

I'll do a video on it. A chain of before and after to hear the big picture.

 

[apophis]

Would be good to hear. I tried to replace the jacks in my boost pedal but it needs to be a stereo jack

 

[thefyn]

Would be good to hear. I tried to replace the jacks in my boost pedal but it needs to be a stereo jack

Pure tone stereo jacks are in the works. Should be available in a month. Along with some with gold connectors for people who worry about oxidation etc in certain weather/stage/sweat/salt conditions.

I know I need them on my hardwire pedals. Those jacks turn to crust on certain stages.

 

[jkdsteve]

Some great tone and production there....are you gonna put all that hardware in a full on Gibson LP now?

 

[thefyn]

Some great tone and production there....are you gonna put all that hardware in a full on Gibson LP now?

Thanks man! As for the real LP aspect...No. At least not for now. I tried to make excuses and make the guitar out of tune etc but it's rock solid after my upgrades.

Part of the reason is I'm semi convinced the bolt on neck/soft body wood/1959 Gibson pickup screwed into the wood is a legit path to EVH style sound.

The only true difference between a P90 and humbuckers is noise (NS2 is key) and a subtle shift in lows and highs. Midrange is similar.

Another part of the reason is I was nervous using a hot soldering iron on 60 year old bumblebee caps, braided wire, pots etc. I'm genuinely delighted with the tone.

Listen just before 2 mins: you can HEAR what type of pick I am using. With that much gain?! You can hear the drag/chirp you get from a Gravity pick.

I'm actually in the process of inventing a pick that avoids that scrapey/chirp. It's called the Rotor.

That's really where my Tone quest has taken me. With this pristine chain (evidence cables/old Gibson harness/wires, pure tone jack etc) I could hear my pickguard on my Electra clunking when I chugged. Which sucks as I like the look of pickguards on les Paul style guitars.

I've gone overboard admittedly. I've hardly got a 100 subscribers and I'm obsessing like I run a proper studio.

 

[thefyn]

Next clip will be cleans and bluesey tones.

I'll A/B it against my Taylor SB1 that has mini humbuckers and 1 vol 1 tone so it's pretty similar. Also a bolt on neck but it's probably twice as heavy.