Re: Newbie Wishing to Confirm Pickup Swap Details '59 '55 Thanks
Okay, let's close this one out.
Put the Seth Lover's in the ELP Wed morning. I won't rehash or try to delineate the prior changes, but do keep in mind the new pickups came after practically everything else on the guitar was replaced, the result of which was a playable bridge but still left me with a horrendous neck and a total waste of tone knob (both of them), pickup selector (because all that I could stand to hear was, again, the bridge alone), and coil tapping (tapping, not splitting). Of course, the culprit, at that point, was that out-of-spec ProBucker 2 at the neck. Were there, before the previous changes, other Epiphone culprits? Yes, the worst of which I believe to be the factory caps and that cheap ass plastic nut, see above.
The change is amazing. I now have a very nice sounding guitar which I will describe as ultra clean, maybe a bit bright for some but certainly not chimey. Chimey, to me, is Rickenbacker territory and I have a pencil lipstick Schecter that gets there, this is definitely not that. Bright, to me, has a sparkle to it, like you find on a Blues Jr., and it tends to wander as you twist the knobs. Ultra clean, to me, is string and chord clarity that remains consistent across the fretboard, the coil splits, the volumes, the tones, and the pickup selector as well as, in my case, the phase and series switches. Nothing I can do to the guitar muddies up the sound. Of course, it remains easy enough to do that with an amp but not on the guitar itself. YMMV, especially if your definitions vary.
In other words, I have, like, 15 tones of PAF. Nothing off the reservation, nothing muddy, just 15 clear and clearly different PAF tones, some toned up, some toned down. Every click of the four push pull pots, every twist of the two tone knobs, every flip of the pickup selector gives me yet another quality, clear, different yet totally useable PAF tone. Exactly that for which I was hoping. There is a small dip in the volume when hitting both coil splits (not taps) at the same time but the 'in series' switch takes care of that instantaneously and perfectly.
You did notice I said "nice sounding" guitar? The Seth Lovers are PAF. No doubt about it. They are not, to me, magical little boxes delivered straight from heaven. I don't get goose bumps listening to them, hell, I can't ever imagine bonding with them in any form or fashion. They, in conjunction with the other changes to the guitar, give me a wide range of clear PAF tones that I can send down line to an amp. In other words, I now have a proper, even high quality, platform for re-producing PAF oriented songs, not a magical music box. If young ladies are going to be tossing panties my way, it will be because of my playing (highly damn double doubtful) because of an amp or because some bar owner with too much insurance re-instituted girls' night out half price drinks. It will not be because of the Seth Lovers. Again, that's me. Those of you who believe them magical, please continue.
Was it worth the bucks? To me, yes. To you, perhaps not. To someone who needs a guitar capable of covering different genre? Hell no, to him or her what I did would be a giant step backwards.
Closing kudos/blasts:
Kudos: Jersey Shore Guitar Garage for incredible customer service in sorting out their wiring harness, twice. I mean incredible. Emails, texts, phone calls. Sundays, middle of the night. Didn't matter. You need help, you get it.
Kudos: Sweetwater tech for helping sort out a wiring issue with the new PAFs. Didn't know the answer but cared enough to keep asking questions until I could head off in the right direction. My Sweetwater rep also offered to express a replacement pickup right then and there.
Blast: Seymour Duncan which, when asked to sort out the wiring issue on the new PAF, gave me incorrect information and suggested I send them the pickup at my cost which they would then evaluate and decide whether to replace or repair at their convenience, leaving me without a working guitar for what promised to be at least three weeks. Really, that phone call was handled as badly as I've ever witnessed and I've experienced some pretty bad customer service.
Blast: Gibson/Epiphone which not only did nothing about the mismatched ProBucker 2 but refused to answer follow up emails. I purchased a new $600 guitar for my 10 yr old grandson, two days ago, a present for graduating his1st round of guitar classes. Fender.
Blast: Corporate Guitar Center that, while polite and responding to every email, did nothing, putting it off on Epiphone.
Blast: Charlotte North Guitar Center which, while following up and indicating a willingness to help, when finally given an opportunity, also did nothing. Keep in mind, these are the same guys that told me, when I first complained, that I was using the wrong amp.
Thank each of you for the help.
Okay, let's close this one out.
Put the Seth Lover's in the ELP Wed morning. I won't rehash or try to delineate the prior changes, but do keep in mind the new pickups came after practically everything else on the guitar was replaced, the result of which was a playable bridge but still left me with a horrendous neck and a total waste of tone knob (both of them), pickup selector (because all that I could stand to hear was, again, the bridge alone), and coil tapping (tapping, not splitting). Of course, the culprit, at that point, was that out-of-spec ProBucker 2 at the neck. Were there, before the previous changes, other Epiphone culprits? Yes, the worst of which I believe to be the factory caps and that cheap ass plastic nut, see above.
The change is amazing. I now have a very nice sounding guitar which I will describe as ultra clean, maybe a bit bright for some but certainly not chimey. Chimey, to me, is Rickenbacker territory and I have a pencil lipstick Schecter that gets there, this is definitely not that. Bright, to me, has a sparkle to it, like you find on a Blues Jr., and it tends to wander as you twist the knobs. Ultra clean, to me, is string and chord clarity that remains consistent across the fretboard, the coil splits, the volumes, the tones, and the pickup selector as well as, in my case, the phase and series switches. Nothing I can do to the guitar muddies up the sound. Of course, it remains easy enough to do that with an amp but not on the guitar itself. YMMV, especially if your definitions vary.
In other words, I have, like, 15 tones of PAF. Nothing off the reservation, nothing muddy, just 15 clear and clearly different PAF tones, some toned up, some toned down. Every click of the four push pull pots, every twist of the two tone knobs, every flip of the pickup selector gives me yet another quality, clear, different yet totally useable PAF tone. Exactly that for which I was hoping. There is a small dip in the volume when hitting both coil splits (not taps) at the same time but the 'in series' switch takes care of that instantaneously and perfectly.
You did notice I said "nice sounding" guitar? The Seth Lovers are PAF. No doubt about it. They are not, to me, magical little boxes delivered straight from heaven. I don't get goose bumps listening to them, hell, I can't ever imagine bonding with them in any form or fashion. They, in conjunction with the other changes to the guitar, give me a wide range of clear PAF tones that I can send down line to an amp. In other words, I now have a proper, even high quality, platform for re-producing PAF oriented songs, not a magical music box. If young ladies are going to be tossing panties my way, it will be because of my playing (highly damn double doubtful) because of an amp or because some bar owner with too much insurance re-instituted girls' night out half price drinks. It will not be because of the Seth Lovers. Again, that's me. Those of you who believe them magical, please continue.
Was it worth the bucks? To me, yes. To you, perhaps not. To someone who needs a guitar capable of covering different genre? Hell no, to him or her what I did would be a giant step backwards.
Closing kudos/blasts:
Kudos: Jersey Shore Guitar Garage for incredible customer service in sorting out their wiring harness, twice. I mean incredible. Emails, texts, phone calls. Sundays, middle of the night. Didn't matter. You need help, you get it.
Kudos: Sweetwater tech for helping sort out a wiring issue with the new PAFs. Didn't know the answer but cared enough to keep asking questions until I could head off in the right direction. My Sweetwater rep also offered to express a replacement pickup right then and there.
Blast: Seymour Duncan which, when asked to sort out the wiring issue on the new PAF, gave me incorrect information and suggested I send them the pickup at my cost which they would then evaluate and decide whether to replace or repair at their convenience, leaving me without a working guitar for what promised to be at least three weeks. Really, that phone call was handled as badly as I've ever witnessed and I've experienced some pretty bad customer service.
Blast: Gibson/Epiphone which not only did nothing about the mismatched ProBucker 2 but refused to answer follow up emails. I purchased a new $600 guitar for my 10 yr old grandson, two days ago, a present for graduating his1st round of guitar classes. Fender.
Blast: Corporate Guitar Center that, while polite and responding to every email, did nothing, putting it off on Epiphone.
Blast: Charlotte North Guitar Center which, while following up and indicating a willingness to help, when finally given an opportunity, also did nothing. Keep in mind, these are the same guys that told me, when I first complained, that I was using the wrong amp.
Thank each of you for the help.
