pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

[man-in-moon]

i just picked up one of these and so far i like it. but the pickups are not great by any means. i was wondering what some good ones to look at would be? as with all of my guitars i will use it for blues to down tuned stuff with a lot of gain like down and sabbath type stuff. i am new to the semi hollow body guitars so i have no clue.

 

[blueman335]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

Welcome to the world of 335's. Took me a long time to warm up to them, but once I finally did, they became my favorite. There's old threads on rewiring 335's, which isn't hard or time-consuming at all if you use a few tools and think logically. I trust you can.

As far as PU's, depends on if you're going for the PAF sound or higher output. Either way, you can really crank out some ballsy tones.

For PAF's, I really like a '59 pair. Even a maple 335 is a warm-sounding guitar. You could go the A2 route with PG's, Seth's, '57 Classics, BB's, 490's, etc.

For high output, a C5/'59N is ideal, or a C8/'59N if you want a warmer bridge. The Gibson 498T/490R pair is very good if you put an A5 in the neck (cleans up any mud). I'm really liking the idea of P-90's in 335's, and Phat Cats/P-94's, etc are an excellent choice, whether a pair of them or with a HB in the bridge. If you get PC's, you'll probably want to swap magnets to brighten the neck & add some muscle and body to the bridge.

I've got a pair of Carvin C22's in one of my 335's and they sound great.

Look at used PU's on eBay & you should be able to get them for about half price.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

i wondered about the C5 i had one in a les paul once and liked it. but was worried between the output and gain that i might get too much feedback. i plan on using a pearly gates in the neck. so far that is my favorite neck pickup.

 

[blueman335]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

C5/PGN sounds like a good pair. I don't find feedback to be an issue with 335's. If Alvin Lee played one at Woodstock at a million watts, you should be able to play at the local bar without an issue. Guys use them all the time at blues festivals without any feedback. I put a C5 in a Sheraton and that worked out great.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

i used a JB in my dot studio at one point and didn't run into any feedback issues, it's really only an issue if you play loud and facing the amp right next to it.

as far as what to put into your dot, blueman didn't say anything i wouldn't say

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

I put Gibson Burstbucker Pros in mine, and I'm happy with them.

They are AlNiCo 5, so they have that AlNiCo 5 sound --- and they are direct PAFs, they even have Gibson's own "Patent Applied For" sticker on them. They are not as hot as what was in there before (Epi stock A5 hot PAF). These are fuller than the earlier PUs, but for some odd reason, it's not muddy.

You know how when you are fishing on a dark day, you use dark bait, and on a bright day you use bright bait?

Sometimes you match full with full and bright with bright.

It works great for me.

-Hunter

 

[Seth Pearly]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

I put a Pearly Gates in the Bridge of my Sheraton. If you like a strong mid-range with a full range of harmonics the PG is a great bridge, especially if your looking for British Crunch or marshall-style high gain and are a big fan of harmonics. If Dicky Betts' overdrive tone on his One Way Out solo (a rare bridge solo) is your idea of a good blues tone - this is a great pickup. For heavier tones - I think it's really comfortable in an EL-34/84 based rig. When dropping down - this is a good pickup for a Foo-Fighters Everlong kind of vibe. It's also good if your bass player takes up a lot of sonic space and you don't want to start tripping over eachother. For more serious chunky-heavy tones or I would look at a higher-wound A5 pickup like the C5. Re: Blueman's comment about the C22s - I agree wholeheartedly. I have them in a Carvin and its by far my best heavy guitar.

 

[eggman]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

Howdy,

I'm a Keith Richards disciple and like '59s in my old 335. Congrats, good luck and enjoy!

Eggman

 

[hamerfan]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

I would suggest you a whole revision of the wiring. The wiring on the middle to low priced ES guitars is cheesy (i did two koreans and a Japanese ES so far - cheap pots, ceramic caps, thin wire and bad jacks, even a brocken selector switch.
The swapping of pickups is a PIA in that semi hollow guitar. Check the threads in this forum to get the tricks (and you need some to get it straight).
I recommend this wiring scheme,
http://www.doctorvintage.com/images/drv_es_harness_2.jpg
because you cant wire it point to point like on a solid guitar! You would see the leads thru the holes and you need more slag to get the pots into the place again - not that easy.

 

[jimmhickey]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

Hi,
I just recently got an Epiphne "Dot" and really like it. I'm a freelancer/session player/working pro and play a wide variety of music during the year and would like to use this guitar almost exclusively for jazz. It's good for other types of playing as well. I use Duncans in all my guitars. Can you suggest any ideas for pickups in the "Dot" and what is your opinion of the pickups Epiphone installed in this instrument? I'm also thinking of using a much heavier gauge string for this guitar too. Possibly .011 or even .013.Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

Can you suggest any ideas for pickups in the "Dot" and what is your opinion of the pickups Epiphone installed in this instrument?

It depends on what p'ups you actually have: if they're Probuckers, for Jazz playing are more than decent-sounding, you don't actually need to do anything else than get the instrument a nice pro setup with flatwound 11-50 D'Addario strings, having particular attention to the nut.

If they're the dreaded 57CH/HOTCH, aka the "Worst stock p'ups known to mankind", it means you've got an older model with the cheapest electronics there are, making it from very difficult to impossible to get an useable tone out of it.

If this is the case, a set of Seth Lovers is the best suited for this kind of instruments, but you'll need to also change the harness, if you want the full range of sounds the Seths are capable of.

Look what I did with my ES-339 and Probuckers:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...rs-A-close-view-pt-1&highlight=Epi+Probuckers

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...rs-A-close-view-pt-2&highlight=Epi+Probuckers

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...ng-the-job-done-pt-1&highlight=Epi+Probuckers

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?265684-Epi-Probuckers-DONE!&highlight=Epi+Probuckers

HTH,

 

[Sprinter]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

My Heritage H-535 has a pair of Seth Lover pickups in it. I think they sound great! :fing2:

 

[jimmhickey]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

Great stuff! Thanks so much for posting this!

 

[david kornblatt]

Re: pickup suggestions for epiphone dot.

I put a Pearly Gates in the Bridge of my Sheraton. If you like a strong mid-range with a full range of harmonics the PG is a great bridge, especially if your looking for British Crunch or marshall-style high gain and are a big fan of harmonics. If Dicky Betts' overdrive tone on his One Way Out solo (a rare bridge solo) is your idea of a good blues tone - this is a great pickup. For heavier tones - I think it's really comfortable in an EL-34/84 based rig. When dropping down - this is a good pickup for a Foo-Fighters Everlong kind of vibe. It's also good if your bass player takes up a lot of sonic space and you don't want to start tripping over eachother. For more serious chunky-heavy tones or I would look at a higher-wound A5 pickup like the C5. Re: Blueman's comment about the C22s - I agree wholeheartedly. I have them in a Carvin and its by far my best heavy guitar.

i dont like this tone. I'm looking for more of a pixies meets the band Medicine type tone. I like a scooped mids tone. Everybody wants the same les Paul tone. Give it up it's been done. I really want to sound like the tone that's on the Monkees Valleri. Good es335 players get the tone I like well Rip Alvin Lee!