Too many upgrades for an Epiphone?

[Tudorp]

I did this to mine and I am happy. However, mine cost a LOT less.

The pickups cost $130 total. The wiring cost $50 with everything including CTS push/pull pots, switch, jack, caps, etc. The bridge and tailpiece combo cost $60. The stock nut was cut too well to replace. I did all setup, fret work, soldering, and customization by myself. Total cost after guitar and parts was $640.

You can do some cool stuff to the guitar to make it look and play better. You can dull the finish on the neck using the scuff pad from an orbital sander (it looks like Scoth Brite), or just use actual Scoth Brite. Do this by and and work it down to a smooth finish, followed by a quick polish.

You can remove the shine from the plastics by wet-sanding them with 1000 grit wet/dry paper. The stock shiny plastic looks cheap and has visible molding marks.

I could have gotten out a little bit cheaper on the pots and been just fine. But I figured since I was jumping in and doing it, I sprung for the 10% tollerence CTS pots, which were abut twice the money of the 20/30% pots. The 20% ones would have been more than enough, but I liked the all brass stem and collar, and it only added about $20 or so to the overall cost. Just do it if'n ya wanna and don't look back..

 

[Bandols]

I have wanted to do exactly what you are doing for a long time now.

I have decided to purchase an 03 gibby standard instead of modding the shit out of an epi standard.

But I plan on doing it. And don't kill yourself all at once. Do it one thing at a time and be smart about everything you put in there. Replace the pickups first since you already replaced the tuners and see how you like it. Than replace the guts, than get the neck shaved and you have what I would kill for.

Roman did a redo of an epi and showed how you can make it feel not like a gibby (cause I have felt some trashy gibsons), but a solid lifelong guitar that others would kill to play.

 

[jon92388]

I did this to mine and I am happy. However, mine cost a LOT less.

The pickups cost $130 total. The wiring cost $50 with everything including CTS push/pull pots, switch, jack, caps, etc. The bridge and tailpiece combo cost $60. The stock nut was cut too well to replace. I did all setup, fret work, soldering, and customization by myself. Total cost after guitar and parts was $640.

You can do some cool stuff to the guitar to make it look and play better. You can dull the finish on the neck using the scuff pad from an orbital sander (it looks like Scoth Brite), or just use actual Scoth Brite. Do this by and and work it down to a smooth finish, followed by a quick polish.

You can remove the shine from the plastics by wet-sanding them with 1000 grit wet/dry paper. The stock shiny plastic looks cheap and has visible molding marks.

Thanks for the info on how to remove the shine from the plastics I like the finish on my neck its really smooth and easy to move on but I have seen some that are terrible. I dont wanna change that lol

 

[jon92388]

I have wanted to do exactly what you are doing for a long time now.

I have decided to purchase an 03 gibby standard instead of modding the shit out of an epi standard.

But I plan on doing it. And don't kill yourself all at once. Do it one thing at a time and be smart about everything you put in there. Replace the pickups first since you already replaced the tuners and see how you like it. Than replace the guts, than get the neck shaved and you have what I would kill for.

Roman did a redo of an epi and showed how you can make it feel not like a gibby (cause I have felt some trashy gibsons), but a solid lifelong guitar that others would kill to play.

I really just wanna do it all at once because I did save up 3000 for a Gibson so why not just do it all. Luckily I'm getting free labor on it and it set up so that helps cost also. If you wanna hear something funny my uncle wants to show it off at work when he puts everything in for me and he is gonna have the one fret fixed and the rest of it looked at by one of his friends at work lol. A Chinese Epiphone being fixed up by guys at Martin I find it hilarious.

 

[captcoolaid]

Many that buy Gibsons do the same upgrades And pay a lot more. I would do it.

 

[1970custom]

Hey man, do whatever you want to YOUR guitar. I own a bunch of Epi's and I've modded them all. Duncan's in most, new tuners, guts, pick guards, hardware, knobs, frets......that's where the fun is man. That's the beauty of inexpensive instruments. I have a couple Gibsons and some higher quality Fenders which I would never dream of screwing with.

 

[Diocletian]

If you're having fun and will keep the guitar, fine.

I have a feeling you'll decide you want a Gibson eventually and regret blowing all that $$$ on your Epi. You could have got a Gibby Studio for that money.

 

[capt_goodvibes]

I did exactly what your planning to do, I bought a Epi LP Standard Plus Top and straight away started to upgrade everything I could,

List of Upgrades
*A pair of Bare Knuckle Calibrated "The Mule" Pickups
*A set of Grover Vintage 135 Series Tuners (mint green tulips)
*A Tusq Nut
*A Switchcraft 3 way Toggle Switch
*A Switchcraft Input Jack
*A Aged 50s Style Switch Tip
*1 Aged Gold 50's Top Hat Knob Set
*2 500K CTS Short-Shaft SuperPots
*2 500K CTS Short-Shaft Audio taper pots
*A Jensen .022. Cap for the Bridge position
*A Jensen .015- Cap for the Neck Position
*1 Length vintage-black wire- Used for the grounding in the circuit.
*1 4-foot length braided wire- Used for wiring switch.
*1 Gotoh Aluminum 'Stop' Tailpiece Nickel, M8 x 1.25
*1 Gotoh Tune-o-matic Bridge with Studs/Bushings Nickel
*TonePros Locking Studs - Nickel, Metric thread M8 x 1.25; set of 2

Then in the last year I've bought a Orville, and a Orville By Gibson, and like a previous post said I had kept all the original parts from the Epi, when I got the Orville I immediatly took the Bare Knuckle Callibrated set of "The Mule" out of the Epi and put them into the Orville, and I have to say the difference in the Tone and quality of sound was Chalk and Cheese, the Orville with the Bare Knuckles made the Epi sound like a Kids toy, Im serious the difference in the sound just amazed me.

Im not saying dont do all the upgrades on your Epi, because it was a awesome learning experiance for me, but I look back on it now and just wish I put the $1,000 I spent buying and upgrading my Epi towards a Orville, or Orville By Gibson, which I bought recently.

Do yourself a huge favour, spend your money on a Orville or Orville By Gibson

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[skynyrd67]

My Epi Honey Flametop has had several mods/upgrades. Tusq nut, fret level, CTS pots, Russian PIO caps, TonePros bridge, Aluminum Tailpiece, Steel Studs for bridge and tail. Seymour Duncan 59 neck puck, mag swap from A5 to A3 to reduce boominess. GFS Vintage 59 bridge pup with mag swap from A5 to UnOriented A5 for more vintage edge, grover tuners and new switchcraft toggle and jack. It all boils down to what you want, is the guitar worth it to you to mod or upgrade.

 

[merkin4theman]

The only thing and it's been said is that you never get any of the money back if you resell it. I've done this to a few guitars and found that if you ever do resell it strip it down to stock and sell the upgrades part by part.

 

[steeler80]

I've got a Honeyburst Epi that just feels great in my hands. I plan to do some upgrades on it (it's all ready got new orange drops and shielding from the previous owner) like pots and pups. I plan on keeping it so whatever suits my fancy, I'll do to the guitar as I'm not planning on selling it and trying to recoup my upgrades.

 

[KenG]

The law of diminishing returns applies here. It's your guitar of course and you can do whatever you wish to do. If you're thinking of trying to limit what you spend though and get the most bang for your buck, PUs are the place to start for sound improvement. Keep the original to re-install for sale down the road. For reliability, the pots and toggle switch could be swapped out for small $ (no need to go nuts), good quality pots are well under $10 each and the switchcraft toggle isn't too much money either. If you can do your own soldering and do a decent job, the material costs aren't too much. Wire harnesses won't make a huge difference, obviously knobs are purely visual as are swich tips, pickguards etc. Tuners may be in order if yours aren't working well but tweeking the nut (not necessarily replacing it) can improve playability as much as a good setup.

 

[Dolebludger]

You can mod your Epi (I did), but you don't need to spend a ton of money. I got a bone nut installed by my luthier ($27), a Gotoh Bridge (under $30 and a Gotoh aluminum TP (under $30) -- both from Stewmac. I got Duncan pups installed by my luthier for $100 each. And that was all I needed to make it sound and play like a $1000+ guitar. I don't worry about resale, because there isn't going to be any.

 

[GerryL98]

Oh yeah. How do you figure that?

Based on the fact that I waste too many hours scouring the local Craigslist to find a deal to satisfy my GAS. I should be picking up a 2005 plus top with case tomorrow or Thursday. It's a lot less than $300 but I don't want to say how much because I might end up flipping it on the forum.

 

[GitFiddle]

If you like the guitar and plan on keeping it and playing the hell out of it, its more than worth it, to improve it to satisfy yourself. I just finished a complete overhaul of my old 89 Epi MIK. New nickel bridge, nickel aluminum TP (top wrapped), Jonesy 50's wiring, SD pickups nickel covers, toggle switch, jack, knobs and even dulled down the poly finish. Tuners are still original and work just fine. (The secret is in pencil lead). It didn't cost near as much as you are expecting.

After getting the intonation set, I started playing it last night. Its like getting another new guitar! I can't believe the sound it has now. With the top wrap, the new set of 10s feels more like a set of 9s. Can't wait for our next gig. Plan to take it as backup for the R7 and switch them off for a little A/B comparison.

Its not about brand or price. Its all about personal satisfaction.

Well I gave her a good workout after her makeover. Sat in with a friend's band for a 4 hour gig last Saturday night. So much sweeter now. Now this old LP that just sat in the case all the time is a real player.

 

[KP]

Based on the fact that I waste too many hours scouring the local Craigslist to find a deal to satisfy my GAS. I should be picking up a 2005 plus top with case tomorrow or Thursday. It's a lot less than $300 but I don't want to say how much because I might end up flipping it on the forum.

Then it must be one of the following:

1. You may have purchased a fake.
2. There may be something dreadfully wrong with it.
3. The person selling it is stupid.

 

[GerryL98]

I'm betting on#3. Tough times for some....they don't have the luxury of time to get their best price. Buying from kids is the best. Parents pay for it, kids sell it on the quick. It's a great time right now if you're in the market for American strats too.

 

[EnvyInc]

I bought a 2004 Plus Top and I'm in the process of upgrading it myself. The list is as follows:

Seymour Duncan P-Rails neck pickup
Seymour Duncan P-Rails Hot bridge pickup
Seymour Duncan Triple Shot switching bridge pickup mounting ring
Alpha 500K push-pull pots (all 4)
Switchcraft 3-way toggle
Mallory .022μF tone caps
Pointers
Dunlop Dual Design strap locks

One of the tuning knobs is also bent, so that's on the list to get replaced.

As for overpaying for a Standard Plus at a $300 price point, I'd like to know where you're finding all the deals for less than that. I could pack them all up, ship them here and sell them all for $350-450 apiece and make a killing. Typical prices in New England range $200-300 for a Studio, $300-400 for a Standard, $350-450 for a Plus and $450-550 for a Custom, dependent on condition.

 

[GitFiddle]

Based on the fact that I waste too many hours scouring the local Craigslist to find a deal to satisfy my GAS. I should be picking up a 2005 plus top with case tomorrow or Thursday. It's a lot less than $300 but I don't want to say how much because I might end up flipping it on the forum.

Good luck with that.

 

[WillieG]

Modding an Epi is fun, because you can feel the improvements as you go along. I changed the tuners (not because the stock ones were bad, I just wanted vintage ones), put in a DiMarzio Super Distortion and changed the bridge to a Gotoh Wide. Changing the bridge was a pleasant surprise, a noticable improvement in sound and sustain.

If you ever decide to sell it you will never get back what you paid for, but heck, just make it stock again and keep the hardware.