Epiphone Les Paul Pick ups

[Allan 63]

Hello All
This my new 1st Posting on the site and i hope i can tap on your knowledge of Pick ups, I have bought an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, its a great looking Guitar and sounds good, the pick ups sound ok but i have heard Gibson Burstbuckers or Seymour Duncan Humbuckers would be better on the Epiphone, I cant afford the Gibson Les Paul and if possible would like to get the nearest i can to it.

Would somebody have any idea of Pick ups that could help.

Regards
Allan

 

[Tudorp]

Depends of the sound you are looking for. If you are looking for a vintage Gibson sound like I am. I am going with the Sheptone Tribute pups. They have a few different options. If you are looking for the old "Allman Brothers" sound, the "Blue Sky" set are nice too.

They are kinda pricy, but nowhere near the price of a vintage Gibson set. Here is their website.

Humbucker Pickups, Custom Pickups, Guitar Pickups, Sheptone

Talk to Jonesy on this site, he is an awesome resource for tone info and help.

I also went with Joney's 50's style wiring kit. Here is his website.

ToneMojo.com Got your Tone-Mojo Working?

Jonesy is also a very helpful and respected member of these forums..

 

[dustmite]

What amp are you using? Spending a fortune on pickups to play through a toy amp is sort of counter-productive. Not saying don't swap the pups, but don't just do it because someone on the internet says it's the only way an Epi can sound good.

 

[eyeface]

My personal recommendation would be a seymour duncan 59 bridge humbucker. I had one in my Epi Custom for a while (now lives in my Gibson), but it sounded absolutely wonderful. Okay, not the highest output, but certainly enough, and a really nice, rich sounding pickup- no mud, no notes lost, brilliant. And a good price too.

 

[Tudorp]

I agree with Dustmite too on this. What are you using yours for? The Sheptones are WAY overkill for my own playing level. I am a living room blues gump so I would never get the full benefit of the Sheptones, but, I am just a hardware nerd like that and love overkill. But, the pups in my Epi really are pretty good. I have the Goth model, and I am not sure exactly what stock pups are in that model, but from what everyone says, they are pretty good for an epi. I like them, but like I said, I love overkill and hardware...

 

[Allan 63]

Thanks to All
My amps are Fender Blues Jnr 15 watt for small gigs and Fender Hot Rod Deville 212 60 watt for the Bigger gigs, hope this helps, with this amplification maybe the Epi Stock pick ups will be ok?

Thanks
Allan

 

[Tudorp]

You tell us. If you are happy with the tone coming out of the speakers, then it's ok..

Just sayin..

 

[Allan 63]

i think i need to give it a few months before deciding to upgrade the pick ups as my amps are good stuff, i also play a Fender Strat and the new American Special Telecaster withe Texas Special pick ups, i bought the Epi to have a Gibson type sound as well.

Regards
Allan

 

[KP]

Allan... put a decent set of PIO caps in and check it out. Even Orange Drops are better than what is in them stock.

 

[Mattdive]

If you're on a budget, check out the Stewart MacDonald "Golden Age" pickups. They are a good price and sound much better than stock Epi pups through any amp. Since you're using tube amps, you should notice a more "open" sound with better pups. The StewMac pickups sound a lot like an old P.A.F (IMHO).
STEWMAC.COM : Pickups: Guitar, electric

 

[EnvyInc]

Play the guitar for awhile. Take it to your local shop and A/B it against a few different Les Pauls and ask a lot of questions about which pickups are in which guitars. Let your ears guide you as to whether or not you need to replace the pickups. For the record, the only reason I'm replacing the pickups in my Plus Top is because I want the versatility afforded by Seymour Duncan's P-Rails. The stock Alnico Classic pickups sound just fine, and I'm leaving them in my Dot. I may even make another guitar using the ones from my Plus Top.

 

[KP]

Or, if you are really on a budget. GFS Guitar Pickups

 

[brhokla]

I have Gibson Burstbuckers in mine and at first with a cheaper, smaller practice amp they were lively but didn't do it for me because the bottom end was weak and notes didn't seem to be heard when distorted but this was because of the amp. Now with the Vox AD50VT 212 Amp, the guitar has come alive. The Amp makes a Huge difference and I'd say it's as much or more important than the PUPS. You can hear every single note even with high distortion. I love the Burstbuckers but I don't think you could go wrong with the Duncan's by any means.

 

[Allan 63]

Thanks to all for your valued help, i did a gig last night with the Stock pick ups and i was surprised how good it sounded , i even had friends telling me how good the sound was with Epi Les paul, i shall stick with what i have got.

Regards
Allan

 

[carydad]

Good call. The stock pickups in my pro/fx were just fine. I put in blackouts, in part because they were in another guitar I had and wasnt using, and because they just look great on this guitar. Also, I for the guitar for the trem and two songs I need it for-which are heavier harmonic kinda of things and the blackups chew that up well.

I am a sheptone fan. But at some point you are putting tires on a car that cost more than the car, if you know what i mean. Duncans, GFS etc can get the job done on a relatively similar budget.

I was actually pretty happy with the stick EPI stuff. The holes are too small, and that black junk in the cavity are nasty, but beyond that I am very happy with my cheap little whammy bar mean machine.

 

[Allan 63]

Thanks for your reply, i also have a Strat and Telecaster American special with the Texas Special pick ups, this why i was surprised how good the Epi Stock Pick ups sounded , my Amps are Fender Blues Jnr and Fender Hod deville 60 watt, both are excellent tube amps. i was thinking of one day buying a Gibson Les Paul when i save up, lol, but afer the sound of the Epi i am not so sure, the price diff is a lot for a Gibson which may only sound a bit better, i have tested out Gibson les Pauls and although they are excellent, the difference is not that great.

Thanks
Allan

 

[Doug45601]

I'm sure you have considered string brands and different guages to obtain varied tones! From all my guitars... from Gretsch, Fender and so on... I have never had the need to changeout pickups to achieve "My Desired Tones" Of course no one likes to play in the mud... to each his own... but try to remember to consider the value of a good set of strings... and keep them fresh!

 

[marc1kim]

My Epi custom came with a Gibson Dirty Fingers in the bridge and stock epi in the neck. They work well together and I'm really surpised at how full sounding this guitar is...it smokes half of the Gibsons Ive owned

 

[Allan 63]

Thanks for your replies, i use 10's on all my Guitars i use Ernie Ball mainly, i have also tried A'darrio there pretyy good as well, i change my strings every few weeks as i gig a lot.

Regards
Allan