Which SD pickups similar to epiphone 57ch and hotch?

[Mrjones2004x]

Hi,
first post here. So go easy haha

love how my epiphone sounds with the 57CH neck and Hotch bridge and I wanted a similar thick sounding SD version for my Burny guitar. It has a JB and Jazz in at he moment and I really don’t like it. Sound thin in comparison and way to hot. Can’t dial a clean tone at all through my jcm900 mk3.

any suggestions to what might be similar to the epiphone stock pickups in my custom?

regards
Paul

 

[Synapsys]

A2Pro set.

 

[Mrjones2004x]

Does A2 set mean anything with a2 magnets?

 

[superpete]

those epis aren't that sought after...i'm sure you can find a set on ebay for a fraction of what you can get duncans for.

 

[beaubrummels]

I believe the nearest Duncan equivalents (spec-wise) would be a Custom 5 and a Jazz neck; to avoid brightness and push the mids a bit, the next nearest would be a Custom-Custom and Alnico 2 Pro Neck. But you can also look for a HotCH and 57CH used for like $40-60 for the set on Reverb, eBay and other sites, and have the exact same pickups in both.

Here's a set
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Epiphone-Hotch-G-57CH-G-Les-Paul-Bridge-Neck-Pickup-/274560331311

 

[Hsb]

Does A2 set mean anything with a2 magnets?

Yes the magnet is an A2 in the pickup. AP2 is the basis for Slash's SD pickups.

 

[Mrjones2004x]

Should of added I love the epi ones but looking for slightly more articulate and defined but similar output and warmth. Don’t like the jazz neck to thin in this Burny

 

[Hsb]

Get an A2 for the Jazz will give u the AP2 pickup, same wind, diff pickup. I prefer the AP2 over the Jazz

 

[jeremy]

try the a2 mag in the jazz. could do the same in the bridge too. im a fan of the a2 jb. if you cant get a clean sound from the jazz something is wrong. its not a high output pup

 

[Leon Of Late]

I really think you will like the Alnico II Pro Set. It should give you the tones you are looking for. The C5 will be too mid scooped and too hot based on what you said your goals are. The CC “might” be ok, but it still wouldn’t be my first recommendation if you wanted a slightly hotter bridge.

The new Slash Set is actually really nice too. It has a lot of the same qualities of the original A2P Set, but just “more” of everything. I was skeptical because I don’t typically like neck pickups wound that hot, but they were absolutely fantastic. I have been a fan of the A2P for 20 years, but the Slash converted me.

Those would be my first two recommendations.

 

[Mrjones2004x]

Where can I buy decent pickup magnets in the uk? I’ve never searched but might save a lot of pissing about buying new pickups.

what about the jb? Any magnet change make it thicker and fuller?

 

[Ace Flibble]

Mechanically, the closest Seymour Duncan pickups to the Epiphone set are the '59 Bridge for the neck pickup (the '59 Neck is quite a bit weaker than the Epi 57) and the Custom 5 for the bridge. In both cases the SDs will be a little bit clearer as they're dialled in for slightly less mids and a touch more treble, as opposed to the Epis which are more even. Seymour Duncan don't really make any pickups that are sonic matches for the Epiphones, though the Pearly Gates Bridge with the A2 swapped for an A5 is very close to the neck Epi.
Closer to the Epis, without having to modify a pickup, are the DiMarzio Norton (or Air Norton for a slightly lower output version) for the bridge, while their Air Classic Bridge, PAF 59 Bridge and PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge are all close matches for the neck. (The differences between those three pickups are very small and which one is most suitable depends on the natural tone of the guitar they're going into.)

That said, if you know the Epi pickups are what you like the sound of and you just want them "more articulate and defined" then buy a set of Epi pickups off eBay for next to nothing, lower them slightly further from the strings, and install higher-resistance pots, such as a 550k volume pot and 1meg for the tone control, 1meg for both, or even consider disconnecting the tone control entirely if you don't use it and want a permanently clearer sound.

edit: if you want to get into mag swapping, hit up axesrus. They supply most standard magnet sizes in a variety of compositions.

 

[Mrjones2004x]

I really think you will like the Alnico II Pro Set. It should give you the tones you are looking for. The C5 will be too mid scooped and too hot based on what you said your goals are. The CC “might” be ok, but it still wouldn’t be my first recommendation if you wanted a slightly hotter bridge.

The new Slash Set is actually really nice too. It has a lot of the same qualities of the original A2P Set, but just “more” of everything. I was skeptical because I don’t typically like neck pickups wound that hot, but they were absolutely fantastic. I have been a fan of the A2P for 20 years, but the Slash converted me.

Those would be my first two recommendations.

I’ll look into these sets. I never knew there was new version?

 

[Mrjones2004x]

Mechanically, the closest Seymour Duncan pickups to the Epiphone set are the '59 Bridge for the neck pickup (the '59 Neck is quite a bit weaker than the Epi 57) and the Custom 5 for the bridge. In both cases the SDs will be a little bit clearer as they're dialled in for slightly less mids and a touch more treble, as opposed to the Epis which are more even. Seymour Duncan don't really make any pickups that are sonic matches for the Epiphones, though the Pearly Gates Bridge with the A2 swapped for an A5 is very close to the neck Epi.
Closer to the Epis, without having to modify a pickup, are the DiMarzio Norton (or Air Norton for a slightly lower output version) for the bridge, while their Air Classic Bridge, PAF 59 Bridge and PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge are all close matches for the neck. (The differences between those three pickups are very small and which one is most suitable depends on the natural tone of the guitar they're going into.)

That said, if you know the Epi pickups are what you like the sound of and you just want them "more articulate and defined" then buy a set of Epi pickups off eBay for next to nothing, lower them slightly further from the strings, and install higher-resistance pots, such as a 550k volume pot and 1meg for the tone control, 1meg for both, or even consider disconnecting the tone control entirely if you don't use it and want a permanently clearer sound.

edit: if you want to get into mag swapping, hit up axesrus. They supply most standard magnet sizes in a variety of compositions.

Great reply.
so I have to Les Paul shaped guitars but I’m not sure if they’ll even sound the same with similar pickups. The epi custom and Burny both say mahogany and maple but can the epi pickups and jb/jazz make that much difference? I mean the Burny is aggressive but thin with now low range growl and the epi is full bodies lacking a tad of highs.
to play the Burny I turn volume down to 5 and tone about 5 also. On the neck volume at ten and the tone on zero to get it warmer

 

[Mrjones2004x]

try the a2 mag in the jazz. could do the same in the bridge too. im a fan of the a2 jb. if you cant get a clean sound from the jazz something is wrong. its not a high output pup

I mean jcm 900 mk3 gain on half and sensitivity on full if I roll back volume on neck it’s never clean totally. The epi will go clean.

Burny is wired with cts 500k pots.

one strange thing tho I never noticed on any other guitar the volume pots turn off about 1.5. So there range is 1.5 up to 10.
0-1.5 does nothing. Any ideas?

 

[Hsb]

Both of those pickups are bright, the Jazz neck is almost strat like, how close are your pickups to the strings.

 

[Mrjones2004x]

Both of those pickups are bright, the Jazz neck is almost strat like, how close are your pickups to the strings.

Close as I could get them. Sounded worse the lower they were

 

[Hsb]

Close is gonna make them even brighter, further away should make them woody and warmer unless they are too far away

 

[Mrjones2004x]

Mechanically, the closest Seymour Duncan pickups to the Epiphone set are the '59 Bridge for the neck pickup (the '59 Neck is quite a bit weaker than the Epi 57) and the Custom 5 for the bridge. In both cases the SDs will be a little bit clearer as they're dialled in for slightly less mids and a touch more treble, as opposed to the Epis which are more even. Seymour Duncan don't really make any pickups that are sonic matches for the Epiphones, though the Pearly Gates Bridge with the A2 swapped for an A5 is very close to the neck Epi.
Closer to the Epis, without having to modify a pickup, are the DiMarzio Norton (or Air Norton for a slightly lower output version) for the bridge, while their Air Classic Bridge, PAF 59 Bridge and PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge are all close matches for the neck. (The differences between those three pickups are very small and which one is most suitable depends on the natural tone of the guitar they're going into.)

That said, if you know the Epi pickups are what you like the sound of and you just want them "more articulate and defined" then buy a set of Epi pickups off eBay for next to nothing, lower them slightly further from the strings, and install higher-resistance pots, such as a 550k volume pot and 1meg for the tone control, 1meg for both, or even consider disconnecting the tone control entirely if you don't use it and want a permanently clearer sound.

edit: if you want to get into mag swapping, hit up axesrus. They supply most standard magnet sizes in a variety of compositions.

ordered two alnico 2 magnets today from the site you mentioned. Cheap to try so why not

 

[Masta' C]

Swapping to A2 mags is worth a shot.

That said, I would second Leon's recommendation of the newer "Slash" A2Pro set as the best replacement option if the mag-swap doesn't pan out.