Question about electronic upgrade

[budg]

I have a Epi Custom Silverburst and was looking at the pots for the tone and volume.Pots appear to be Alpha and JS pots.Are these good pots or inferior ?I know Gibson uses CTS pots .Also appears to be a red cap for the tone controls.

 

[Phildog]

How does it sound to you? If it sounds good, then don't upgrade...yet. Play the taste out of it. But if you need to upgrade, get CTS pots, a PIO (paper in oil) cap, Switchcraft toggle switch and jack. Wire them 50's style and continue playing where you left off.

 

[nzo]

+1 What Phildog said !

 

[Tonefreak]

There are several issues when going from metric to standard size pots. They won't fit the holes in your guitar, and your knobs will not fit over the shafts. In both cases the stock hardware can be modified to make it work, however.

 

[SJM]

The holes are just slightly smaller on your guitar. You can tightly roll up a piece of sandpaper and ream them out. This should only take a few minutes. Your knobs should fit too. I'd do like Phil said, if it sounds good don't screw with it.
If you're not happy with the sound try doing PIO caps first and see if that makes a difference for you. If you're like me, I don't like fixin nuthin that ain't broke!

 

[budg]

I am right now pretty happy with the sound.It might be the honeymoon phase .I read about alot of people swapping out the electronics so I had to take a peak under the hood.Saw that it had Alpha pots.I have been playing it thru my blues jr but have a nice gig coming up this weekend and will probably play it thru the deluxe reverb once I figure out the eq settings for all 3 guitars (srv strat ,epi lp and epi dot deluxe).I actually tried out a few Gibson les pauls and much prefer the tone and feel of my Epi over the gibbies.Dont care for the chambered bodies either.

 

[Phildog]

I am right now pretty happy with the sound.It might be the honeymoon phase .I read about alot of people swapping out the electronics so I had to take a peak under the hood.Saw that it had Alpha pots.I have been playing it thru my blues jr but have a nice gig coming up this weekend and will probably play it thru the deluxe reverb once I figure out the eq settings for all 3 guitars (srv strat ,epi lp and epi dot deluxe).I actually tried out a few Gibson les pauls and much prefer the tone and feel of my Epi over the gibbies.Dont care for the chambered bodies either.

Hey Budg, will you be using any pedals during the gig? The reason I ask is because, in my opinion ONLY, the Fender amps sound great, but I think that humbuckers really drive a Marshall better. Try an OD pedal like an SD-1 between the LP and the Fender amp. Turn the drive down, turn the level to 12 o'clock, then tone up the tone to 2 o'clock. You'll get a better upper frequency spectrum. Then with the Strats, turn back the tone to about 8 to 9 o'clock. I found that pretty useful as I had the chance to A/B a Fender Vibrolux and a Marshall Class 5 playing a '71 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and a Boss SD-1 that I performed a TS-808 mod to.

 

[budg]

Hey Budg, will you be using any pedals during the gig? The reason I ask is because, in my opinion ONLY, the Fender amps sound great, but I think that humbuckers really drive a Marshall better. Try an OD pedal like an SD-1 between the LP and the Fender amp. Turn the drive down, turn the level to 12 o'clock, then tone up the tone to 2 o'clock. You'll get a better upper frequency spectrum. Then with the Strats, turn back the tone to about 8 to 9 o'clock. I found that pretty useful as I had the chance to A/B a Fender Vibrolux and a Marshall Class 5 playing a '71 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and a Boss SD-1 that I performed a TS-808 mod to.

I appreciate the info.I actually have 2 OD pedals.One is the TS9 that I use for my strat and a Digitech Hardwire CM2 that I set up just for the LP and Dot .It has a boost switch that gives it a more Marshally tone than the other setting .I really like the tone of my lp thru my Blues jr , but the strats sound thin and boxy.I may still bring the blues jr to the gig if I dont like the results of the Deluxe Reverb.Something about el84s and humbucker that I like.

 

[Phildog]

I appreciate the info.I actually have 2 OD pedals.One is the TS9 that I use for my strat and a Digitech Hardwire CM2 that I set up just for the LP and Dot .It has a boost switch that gives it a more Marshally tone than the other setting .I really like the tone of my lp thru my Blues jr , but the strats sound thin and boxy.I may still bring the blues jr to the gig if I dont like the results of the Deluxe Reverb.Something about el84s and humbucker that I like.

That Deluxe Reverb can't be beat by ANY Fender, IMO. The Blues Jr is a pretty good amp, although it sounds, to me, a little... generic (for lack of a better term). There are mods out there for them. Maybe one of them will work for you. But you'll find your way.

Hey, like I said, I modded an SD-1 to the TS-808. I love it, as does my buddy who gigs like yourself. He played it through an original Band Master, and his JTM45. And with some adjustments of the tone knob on the pedal, he said he was able to find some really good tones with it on his Strats and his Gibby LP. But I'd like a second opinion. If you want, I'll send it to you for you to demo and tell me what you think. It was my first pedal mod, so I'm still curious as to know how it really performs compared to a TS9 or even the 808. Let me know what you think. You can PM your address and I'll get it out to you early next week. Think about it and let me know.

Phil