MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

[STLMTLHD79]

I have a boatload of SD pickups stored away and want to start using them in some of my stock guitars. I have multiple les pauls, but all of them have medium/high output pickups (at least in the bridge-i tend to put lower output pickups in the neck)

I have a very mint 2002 MIJ Epiphone LP Custom Elite. I am thinking of putting in a vintage MJ-wound Screamin' Demon in the bridge with an MJ-wound Seth Lover in the neck. The Seth has a somewhat relec'd cover on it (but I can see the screw bobbin is cream). It may look pretty cool with one black pickup (screamin Demon) and the seth (hopefully its a zebra) or should i buy gold Duncan covers for these?

I usually dont ask these kinds of lame questions on this forum, but i am torn on this decision.

please put your 2 cents in.

 

[Mincer]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I'd leave the pickups as is. A Demon and a Seth would be great in an LP. Just be careful with super high volume and gain- the Seth isn't potted and can squeal.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I have the Seth's in a couple of guitars now and have had them in my LP's as well. I play classic and hard rock and I never really have issues with the Seth squealing.... although I do just play at home now. If the bobbins are not all matching I'd go with covers of your choice. If you will cover the slug coil of the Seth with masking tape and then clamp the cover on tight while soldering the edges, it will really help cut down any chance of microphonics.

I don't have any experience with the Demon, so I can't comment. I do know that a Custom sounds great in a LP Custom. For a lower output pup, the 59' would be great as well and it's a good match with the Seth. A WLH bridge would be good too. You said you have a bunch of pickups, so if you list a few more we can give you our opinions.

Good luck.

 

[audiocheck]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

Do you have a black bobbin FullShred Neck? The demon doesn't pair well with a lot of hum buckers in a LP. At least that is what I found. If I needed to put new pickups in a LPC and wanted the Demon in the bridge, I would go with a StagMag in the neck with a Triple Shot pup ring. All black bobbins.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Mr. B]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

If I were going to use a Demon in a Les Paul, I would pair it with a Jazz. In my experience, Les Pauls have more natural lows and highs and a slight lack of mids compared to something like an SG. The Demon also overemphasizes lows and highs, and I thought it was overkill in my Les Paul. I like it better in an SG, although to be honest I find the Demon and Jazz rather sterile and stiff.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I'd leave the pickups as is. A Demon and a Seth would be great in an LP. Just be careful with super high volume and gain- the Seth isn't potted and can squeal.

Thanks Mincer. I forgot to mention that I sent the Seth Lover to the custom shop and had them lightly pot it (because of the soft bobbins). That should cure the squeal issue.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

Never really cared for the Jazz to be honest. It is very sterile as you say. I have always used the Demon in a Charvel and I have come to the conclusion after playing it through a vintage Lee Jackson amp, it is way way too bright in a basswood guitar. I thought maybe putting the Demon in a LP would balance it out a bit. With that said, this MIJ Epiphone is a bit on the bright side as well. I may need to re-plan this bridge pickup a bit. I DO have an MJ-wound Duncan Custom with slightly faided white bobbins that could match pretty well with the Seth. I do not have a Full shred neck, but i do have an MJ wound Full Shred bridge that could go well with the Seth.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I have the Seth's in a couple of guitars now and have had them in my LP's as well. I play classic and hard rock and I never really have issues with the Seth squealing.... although I do just play at home now. If the bobbins are not all matching I'd go with covers of your choice. If you will cover the slug coil of the Seth with masking tape and then clamp the cover on tight while soldering the edges, it will really help cut down any chance of microphonics.

I don't have any experience with the Demon, so I can't comment. I do know that a Custom sounds great in a LP Custom. For a lower output pup, the 59' would be great as well and it's a good match with the Seth. A WLH bridge would be good too. You said you have a bunch of pickups, so if you list a few more we can give you our opinions.

Good luck.

Thanks Jeff_H. I have a ton of Duncans, but they are mostly medium/high output stuff (mostly MJ wound) such as JB's, Custom (custom), Distortion, Parallel Axis, Full Shred maybe a few others that i cant remember off the top of my head.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

One magic recipe I recently discovered for low/med output in my LP is Seth neck and 59N in the bridge. 59N is thumpy in the bass with some high end on it. Being in the bridge position fills in the mids. Pretty even and great sound. (Not for high gain unless you have boost pedals or an amp with plenty of gain, however.)

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

Over the years I've had a few different pups in LPs. Black Winters, Duncan Customs, Pearly Gates neck, Jazz neck, Screamin' Demon, Dimebucker, and of course, Gibson Burstbucksrs and a 500T/496R set, and I have one that a previous owner put an EMG 81/85 set into.

If I had to pick one bridge pup, it'd be a Duncan Custom. The Custom has a nice snarl and grind in the mids. The Demon sounded good, but it doesn't snarl in the mids like the Custom. The others were/are good in their own way too.

For the neck, I'm not sure. I love the PGn, but I don't like it with the Custom. The Jazz, I like better, but it's a little too sterile for me. It's great if you want a clean and clear neck pup, but I like a little more of a snotty, bluesy tone in the neck. May try an Alnico II Pro that I have laying around next.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

Thanks again for all the recommendations. Here is a short list of the possible pickups that i could think of off the top of my head for use in this guitar. Again, i really dont want anything really hot in the bridge as i have 3 other LP's with hot bridge pickups (Gibson 500T, JB 35th aniv, and DD).

Bridge:
Custom (old MJ wound double white bobbins (slightly cream)
Full Shred (black MJ Wound)
Screamin Demon (MJ wound)
Custom 5 (modern)

Neck:
Pearly Gates (cant remember the winder)
Seth Lover (relec'd nickel cover, MJ wound with at least one cream bobbin).
Alnico II Pro (MJ wound)

With all that has been said about the Screamin' Demon not being the best pickup for the LP, i am possibly leaning towards one of the others. The Custom/PG combo maybe pretty good or Full Shred/PG or ALnico II pro . I may save the Seth for something else.

 

[Mincer]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

Well, if the Demon is off the table, I'd go Custom/and either PG or Alnico II Pro. I like the A2P's EQ better, so that would be my favorite choice.

 

[audiocheck]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

Thanks again for all the recommendations. Here is a short list of the possible pickups that i could think of off the top of my head for use in this guitar. Again, i really dont want anything really hot in the bridge as i have 3 other LP's with hot bridge pickups (Gibson 500T, JB 35th aniv, and DD).

Bridge:
Custom (old MJ wound double white bobbins (slightly cream)
Full Shred (black MJ Wound)
Screamin Demon (MJ wound)
Custom 5 (modern)

Neck:
Pearly Gates (cant remember the winder)
Seth Lover (relec'd nickel cover, MJ wound with at least one cream bobbin).
Alnico II Pro (MJ wound)

With all that has been said about the Screamin' Demon not being the best pickup for the LP, i am possibly leaning towards one of the others. The Custom/PG combo maybe pretty good or Full Shred/PG or ALnico II pro . I may save the Seth for something else.

My experience, 39 years playing Les Pauls, the Full Shred and Custom not good for me. Why in your header did you want Med/Low output? To me these 2 pups are not. I found they had a lack of dynamics and stiff. Too much of everything (frequencies) in a LP. The Demon is as hot as I will go and it is very dynamic and it's upper mid frequencies work well for a modern/vintage aggressive tone in a LP.

 

[audiocheck]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

If I were going to use a Demon in a Les Paul, I would pair it with a Jazz. In my experience, Les Pauls have more natural lows and highs and a slight lack of mids compared to something like an SG. The Demon also overemphasizes lows and highs, and I thought it was overkill in my Les Paul. I like it better in an SG, although to be honest I find the Demon and Jazz rather sterile and stiff.

I really like the Demon, but there was a reason it was created for a Maple guitar. That being said, it works well in a LP, but the pairing is tough in the neck. It also is a very transparent pup. It will take on and reflect the tone of the LP. I moved it from a very lively LP to a super heavy (13lbs) LP with a thick acoustic tone and BAM, Vintage characteristics came through the Demon that I thought was not possible. Like you said the Jazz, seems sterile and stiff. although a great pup, it pushes the mids too much in a LP and that is where the stiffness comes from. So in a LP the EQ curve is comes out flat. I wound up pairing my demon with another demon in the neck and swapped the Fillster screws with 1/2" ones, to get a little more brightness in the neck position. That 13lbs les paul is perfect now.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I don't think Epi's were made in Japan in 2002. I could be wrong.

If it has the book-matched headstock maybe.

They left Japan for Korea in 1992. You may want to re-check your serial number.

As for pups. 59's, Seth Lovers, Alnico Pros & maybe Pearly Gates.

 

[Diego]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I so wanna drop my Demon into my Les Paul. I bet it's killer.

Sadly it's wired with a Gibson harness from factory and I can't be bothered with soldering the whole damn thing from scratch.

 

[Mincer]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I believe you can solder a connector to the Demon, so you can plug it into the existing harness.

 

[Diego]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I believe you can solder a connector to the Demon, so you can plug it into the existing harness.

To be honest, I haven't researched that at all.

I do like the stock Probuckers a lot, and they look sick with the chrome covers but sometimes I wish the bridge pickup had just a bit more output and a crisper high-end. I'm using a Zvex SHO clone in front of my Tweaker 15, which does those two exact things amazingly well, so I'm not in a rush.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I don't think Epi's were made in Japan in 2002. I could be wrong.

If it has the book-matched headstock maybe.

They left Japan for Korea in 1992. You may want to re-check your serial number.

As for pups. 59's, Seth Lovers, Alnico Pros & maybe Pearly Gates.

It is an Epiphone Elite, which are made in Japan. Very over-looked guitars and most people dont realize they were Japan made.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: MIJ Epiphone LP Custom medium/low output option...Thoughts?

I believe you can solder a connector to the Demon, so you can plug it into the existing harness.

Luckily, this one doesn't have quick connectors-way before that was even a thing.