There was a guy selling Epiphone Probuckers with the quick connect system on the local craiglist style app here in Japan, so I decided to give it a shot and went ahead and ordered them. It was only later I found out that they were coming out of Asia, and that they might be potentially ‘fake’. Anyhoo since I bought them, time to put them to the test in a project Les Paul.
All the parts were there as advertised, the pickups themselves were not flimsy or crappy designed. They were quite heavy and well built. Although the installation was quite simple, the 4 wire conductor socket for the pickups and the connector for the 3 way switch wouldn’t go through the cavity so I had to remove them, push it through and re harness everything. Took a little longer than I expected.
After the installation, it was time to put these pups to the test. Here are my observations
*Whatever they are, one thing is for sure, these are NOT you standard Epi pups. Much more clarity and focus
*Bridge pickup has a spongy bass response, balanced mids, and a nice high end
*Neck pickup is fat and clear, EXCELLENT for blues and jazz. I LOVE the neck. Sounds like a humbucker version of a Dimarzio Twang King neck pickup.
*Rolling down the volume gives it a nice balanced mid focused sound(reminiscent of a Burstbucker)
*Coil splitting gives it an Albert King kind of vibe.
*DC resistance(after installation from guitar lead) Neck 7.66 Bridge 8.26
*They sound similar to a Gibson classic plus, but the Gibson has more mids, a tighter bass and sounds more muscular (more suited for various styles,at least for me )
Whether they are stolen, copied, or defective pups I cannot say for sure, but these are not like any of the old Epi pups. I like them very much and they are excellent for a BB King, Clapton, AC/DC kind of tone, but with more clarity.
All the parts were there as advertised, the pickups themselves were not flimsy or crappy designed. They were quite heavy and well built. Although the installation was quite simple, the 4 wire conductor socket for the pickups and the connector for the 3 way switch wouldn’t go through the cavity so I had to remove them, push it through and re harness everything. Took a little longer than I expected.
After the installation, it was time to put these pups to the test. Here are my observations
*Whatever they are, one thing is for sure, these are NOT you standard Epi pups. Much more clarity and focus
*Bridge pickup has a spongy bass response, balanced mids, and a nice high end
*Neck pickup is fat and clear, EXCELLENT for blues and jazz. I LOVE the neck. Sounds like a humbucker version of a Dimarzio Twang King neck pickup.
*Rolling down the volume gives it a nice balanced mid focused sound(reminiscent of a Burstbucker)
*Coil splitting gives it an Albert King kind of vibe.
*DC resistance(after installation from guitar lead) Neck 7.66 Bridge 8.26
*They sound similar to a Gibson classic plus, but the Gibson has more mids, a tighter bass and sounds more muscular (more suited for various styles,at least for me )
Whether they are stolen, copied, or defective pups I cannot say for sure, but these are not like any of the old Epi pups. I like them very much and they are excellent for a BB King, Clapton, AC/DC kind of tone, but with more clarity.
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