new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

Sodom616

Sodom616

New member
The guitar is an all mahogany les paul style guitar with a rosewood fretboard and a 24.75'' scale set neck. The stock pickups are open coil alnico pickups which sound really dull and lack output. The guitar itself is very middy sounding and it's lacking in the treble (All mahogany...) .

I'm looking for a beastly metal bridge pickup with a lot of harmonics and thats not fizzy like the duncan distortion. I play metal rhythm so i need a chunky pickup with a lot of growl. And for the neck pickup, I want something that sounds very fluid but not glassy like a single coil pickup.

I was thinking Custom for the bridge and 59 or jazz for the neck. What do you guys recommend? The only thing I'm concerned with about the custom is that it may sound too round and too dry in that particular guitar.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

Hmm I'd prob say A2P or 59 for the neck. Either should give you a good fat, warm tone without being too glassy. They won't sound muddy btw.

For the bridge a JB, 59/Custom, Custom, maybe even a PG. I kinda like to stay in vintage-moderate output territory personally as I feel you get a better range of sounds from clean to full on distortion.

Another thing to consider is getting new pots 500k value, cap to taste. You may be losing some clarity with lower value pots.

BTW what amp are you using? And don't forget if you find a pickup that kinda works you can always try mag swaps.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

indie folk guy said:
Hmm I'd prob say A2P or 59 for the neck. Either should give you a good fat, warm tone without being too glassy. They won't sound muddy btw.

For the bridge a JB, 59/Custom, Custom, maybe even a PG. I kinda like to stay in vintage-moderate output territory personally as I feel you get a better range of sounds from clean to full on distortion.

Another thing to consider is getting new pots 500k value, cap to taste. You may be losing some clarity with lower value pots.

BTW what amp are you using? And don't forget if you find a pickup that kinda works you can always try mag swaps.
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I'll be changing all the electronics soon, I'll make sure to get 500k pots.

Since I moved to an apartment, I'm only using a roland cube 30x. It's a pretty good amp compared to that line 6 crap. But in the future, I'll be definitely getting a peavey 5150! I just need to start working because I'm broke lol.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

lol yeah been there, now I just eat sleep and breathe work (have to step on here from time to time to get away from the solder and wood dust)

of course I don't actually eat or sleep :)
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

sounds like you need an invader or alt 8 Bridge. for the neck the 59 is a good choce or if you want something hotter and more fuller the screamin demon is nice.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

allstarrme said:
sounds like you need an invader or alt 8 Bridge. for the neck the 59 is a good choce or if you want something hotter and more fuller the screamin demon is nice.
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Wouldn't the invader sound too muddy in a all mahogany 24.75" guitar?

I've listened to all the alt 8 clips on the net and I must say I hate it! sounds scooped as hell!
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

Sodom616 said:
Wouldn't the invader sound too muddy in a all mahogany 24.75" guitar?

I've listened to all the alt 8 clips on the net and I must say I hate it! sounds scooped as hell!
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Invader isnt muddy in a warm mahogany guitar but will be thick and the highs are pretty pulled back. I think the bigger issue would actually be your amp. The input on those things arent crazy about high output pickups it tends to make them fart and mush out. Your original idea of the custom is probably your best. I would go that way with a screamin demon in the neck.

Something to keep in mind is that Epi pickups tend to be really bad so almost any nice pickup is a huge upgrade over them.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

Yeah, I think the custom would kill in the bridge. As for the neck pickup, isn't the screaming demon only used for the bridge? on the site it says it is used for the bridge, not neck.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

Sodom616 said:
Yeah, I think the custom would kill in the bridge. As for the neck pickup, isn't the screaming demon only used for the bridge? on the site it says it is used for the bridge, not neck.
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It actually works VERY well as a hot neck pickup. Especially where you have a warmer guitar. If you like doing leads on your neck pickup it would be a great choice
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

The Scremin Demon is an excellent choice for the neck. I have two guitars with the Demon in the neck. I've had it in the bridge, and it is also excellent there as well. I might even suggest a pair of Demons.

The Pearly Gates is also a great neck pup for what you want.

I'm not a fan of ceramic mag pups, but the Custom is probably what you're looking for. But it tends to have a brittle/fizzy/harsh sounding high end. This can be beautifully corrected with an A8 magnet however.

So...C8 bridge with Demon neck should do you just fine. You'll be amazed at how much better that will sound than your stock Epi pups.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

GuitarDoc said:
C8 bridge with Demon neck should do you just fine. You'll be amazed at how much better that will sound than your stock Epi pups.
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Or...a C8 with a Full Shred neck. And yes, you'll hear a huge improvement in tone quality.
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

change out the pots, to cts or gibson,also change out the capacitors,i use orange drop, and use a treble bleed..you have to drill 1/8" holes for the new pots as the chinese junky pots ar not as big..that will wake up that epi...i have a seymour jazz in the neck and a sh6 distortion in the bridge and those changes on a epi with push pull pots
 
Re: new pickups for an Epiphone les paul studio

You nailed it with the Custom for the bridge. For the neck you could go Jazz, A2 Pro or 59, just depends on your taste. For fluid, I think A2, which is an A2 Pro. It is a bit big in the low end so if you like a tighter low end for your neck I'd say Jazz. I like both for different reasons.
 
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