Coda
Well-known member
I never thought I’d ever own a Les Paul. They were always well beyond my budget. One day a few years ago, my wife told me that was dumb. A month later I scored a deal $350 on an open box Epiphone Les Paul Standard, through Sam Ash. Seems the guy who bought it (Daryl) thought he ordered the plus top. Anywho, it’s the best feeling/playing guitar I’ve ever owned. Sound-wise…we’ll, I always fought with it.
About a month ago, I decided to finally make some changes. My long term plan: new pickup, JP wiring (even though he never really had it), and a fake Bigsby. I’m the meantime, I wanted to experiment a bit. Experiment #1: I removed the pickup covers. I ended up using a single-edge razor blade, rocked back and forth to cut through the solder holding the cover on. I then used an old soldering iron and a paper towel to melt the wax from the pickup (well, most of it). There was a definite difference. The neck pickup now has a bit more clarity and brightness, while the bridge pickup is a bit smoother, and less sterile. This was a successful experiment. Funnily enough, while I expected the bobbins to be black, they turned out of be black and dark grey.
Experiment #2: last week I decided to go install 50’s-style wiring. It was an easy mod…just move one wire…or so I though. Two new caps and about 6 inches of wire (ground loop) later, and it was up and running. A major success. The guitar sounds like a different guitar…or rather, what a LP should sound like.
So what is the moral/point of this story? Not much. I’m surprised at the difference. I’m not really considering new pickups anymore…I’ll still do the JP wiring with new pots and all that. Now, I don’t really go in for that bluesy LP sound. I precise a jazzier, Frippier tone…a tad warm, clear, and smooth. Let this thread serve as a lesson: sometimes small changes matter…
About a month ago, I decided to finally make some changes. My long term plan: new pickup, JP wiring (even though he never really had it), and a fake Bigsby. I’m the meantime, I wanted to experiment a bit. Experiment #1: I removed the pickup covers. I ended up using a single-edge razor blade, rocked back and forth to cut through the solder holding the cover on. I then used an old soldering iron and a paper towel to melt the wax from the pickup (well, most of it). There was a definite difference. The neck pickup now has a bit more clarity and brightness, while the bridge pickup is a bit smoother, and less sterile. This was a successful experiment. Funnily enough, while I expected the bobbins to be black, they turned out of be black and dark grey.
Experiment #2: last week I decided to go install 50’s-style wiring. It was an easy mod…just move one wire…or so I though. Two new caps and about 6 inches of wire (ground loop) later, and it was up and running. A major success. The guitar sounds like a different guitar…or rather, what a LP should sound like.
So what is the moral/point of this story? Not much. I’m surprised at the difference. I’m not really considering new pickups anymore…I’ll still do the JP wiring with new pots and all that. Now, I don’t really go in for that bluesy LP sound. I precise a jazzier, Frippier tone…a tad warm, clear, and smooth. Let this thread serve as a lesson: sometimes small changes matter…
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