JimmyO
New member
About 8 years ago I bought an Epiphone Joe Perry boneyard les paul, the one with the Orange tiger striped flame top. It came stock with a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge and a Burstbucker 2 in the neck and is wired out of phase in the middle position like Peter Green. It was my only les paul style guitar until I was able to get my old GTX over from England and upgrade the electronics and put in the WLH set. I posted a thread earlier this year on the GTX and everything is perfect on that guitar.
Now I have another les paul to compare it to I notice I like the tone of the GTX better than the Epi. Specifically the Epi has less depth to the tone, is more mid focused and is a bit congested in the neck and more brittle/brighter in the bridge. Some of this will naturally be due to the difference in age and construction of the two guitars. The GTX weighs in at about 10.5lbs vs the Epis 9lbs. Acoustically the Epi is brighter and has less depth. however the GTX is about 20 years older than the Epi.
Before I go looking to change the pickups I want to see if there are some more basic upgrades eg the electronics.
In the control cavity we have 500k alpha pots and some kind of clip fastening for the switch and Jack connections. My guess would be that upgrading the electronics and using 50s style wiring could help realize the potential of the pickups.
These are the only Alnico ii pickups I have, everything else is Alnico V. If I am hearing quite a lot of mids and congestion in the neck would this be a factor of the pickups? The Burstbuckers are pretty pricey ($150 a piece) and are the stock pickups the guitar was designed for so would like them to work out. Will probably start with upgrading the electronics but if I am considering a pickup swap would it be appropriate to assume the Burstbuckers are representative of alnico ii style pickups? My main styles for this guitar are British 60s blues and 70s classic rock. Also I have to say the tones from the Epi are not bad at all, and I have gigged with it, however compared to my other guitars with PAF style pickups I feel that there is more potential to be realized.
Now I have another les paul to compare it to I notice I like the tone of the GTX better than the Epi. Specifically the Epi has less depth to the tone, is more mid focused and is a bit congested in the neck and more brittle/brighter in the bridge. Some of this will naturally be due to the difference in age and construction of the two guitars. The GTX weighs in at about 10.5lbs vs the Epis 9lbs. Acoustically the Epi is brighter and has less depth. however the GTX is about 20 years older than the Epi.
Before I go looking to change the pickups I want to see if there are some more basic upgrades eg the electronics.
In the control cavity we have 500k alpha pots and some kind of clip fastening for the switch and Jack connections. My guess would be that upgrading the electronics and using 50s style wiring could help realize the potential of the pickups.
These are the only Alnico ii pickups I have, everything else is Alnico V. If I am hearing quite a lot of mids and congestion in the neck would this be a factor of the pickups? The Burstbuckers are pretty pricey ($150 a piece) and are the stock pickups the guitar was designed for so would like them to work out. Will probably start with upgrading the electronics but if I am considering a pickup swap would it be appropriate to assume the Burstbuckers are representative of alnico ii style pickups? My main styles for this guitar are British 60s blues and 70s classic rock. Also I have to say the tones from the Epi are not bad at all, and I have gigged with it, however compared to my other guitars with PAF style pickups I feel that there is more potential to be realized.
