Who's to blame?

[Jazz Rock]

Since i got my Epi back form the luthier, I really feel like my Gibson should do a lot better tonewise... :chairshot

So I am starting to foment a little project for her. :scratchch

And that's where I need your enlightened advises:

Still not convince that the stock pups are bad, I was wondering if changing the wiring for a shielded one, the pots for CTS 500k, the jack and the 3-way switch (like it was done on my classic) would make the best out of the pups and thus provide a sensible improvement to the sound of the damn thing?

 

[marvar]

Re: Who's to blame?

Personally, I don't think the changes you are suggesting will make alot of difference tone-wise, you already have 500k pots in your Gibson, and unless they are worn out, you will just be spending extra money. I like the 498 myself, and have no problems with it in my LP.
btw, I'm an electronics tech by trade.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Who's to blame?

no, upgrading the electronic guts mostly only improves reliability and consistancy of operations (the tone cap will be the biggest change you could make to effect tone) ... tonal improvements are going to come from the pickups and a good setup (i.e string height and tension and, in a sense, intonation) ...

<aleclee bait> plus, we all know that tone is in the fingers </bait>

cheers
t4d

 

[big_black]

Re: Who's to blame?

You need a set of Duncans! I've never been a fan of Gibson's pickups.

 

[marty_the_westie]

Re: Who's to blame?

I agree with everyone else. If you changed the pickups, then changing the electronics would be the right thing to do. But just to change the electronics, the very best you could hope for is a very subtle difference in tone at best. People usually do that on the Epi's to make them more reliable.

 

[Jazz Rock]

Re: Who's to blame?

Thanks for the advises... but there is still something startling me: If the pots of the Gibson are already 500k, how come they don't respond as the one i got on my Epi now.

I mean, I really need to turn down the tone control to hear a difference, and when i am all the way back, the pickups sounds dull and had lost quite some output.

I don't have this kind of behaviour on the Epi. Is it all down to the pickups?

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Who's to blame?

I agree with everyone else. If you changed the pickups, then changing the electronics would be the right thing to do. But just to change the electronics, the very best you could hope for is a very subtle difference in tone at best. People usually do that on the Epi's to make them more reliable.

+1

On a gibson teh pots and switches are genearlly already good, and if you don´t like the tone in general I seriously doubt that you´ll be satisfied be the nuantial difference

....
I mean, I really need to turn down the tone control to hear a difference, and when i am all the way back, the pickups sounds dull and had lost quite some output.....

This on the other hand sounds like you MAY have a faulty tone pot, so changing it would be senseful for sure, if nothing else as a preemptive measure....

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Who's to blame?

Some Gibsons had 300k pots, yours might be one of those. You should be able to take a reading between the pot legs.

Also let me recommend something that really impoved the quality of my Gibson pups.

I switched magnets between the neck and bridge. Mine was a 57 classic, so it sounded different, but essentially what you will get is a Gibson 59, and a Gibson JB2, or Custom Custom. Everyone who tried that bridge pup loved it.

Luke

 

[bryvincent]

Re: Who's to blame?

Personally, I don't think the changes you are suggesting will make alot of difference tone-wise, you already have 500k pots in your Gibson, and unless they are worn out, you will just be spending extra money. I like the 498 myself, and have no problems with it in my LP.
btw, I'm an electronics tech by trade.

all LP Studios come with 300k vol and 500k tone pots

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Who's to blame?

Since i got my Epi back form the luthier, I really feel like my Gibson should do a lot better tonewise... :chairshot

So I am starting to foment a little project for her. :scratchch

And that's where I need your enlightened advises:

Still not convince that the stock pups are bad, I was wondering if changing the wiring for a shielded one, the pots for CTS 500k, the jack and the 3-way switch (like it was done on my classic) would make the best out of the pups and thus provide a sensible improvement to the sound of the damn thing?

We could advise you better if you could tell us what's wrong with the tone now, and what tone it is you're looking for.

 

[Jazz Rock]

Re: Who's to blame?

Some Gibsons had 300k pots, yours might be one of those. You should be able to take a reading between the pot legs.

Also let me recommend something that really impoved the quality of my Gibson pups.

I switched magnets between the neck and bridge. Mine was a 57 classic, so it sounded different, but essentially what you will get is a Gibson 59, and a Gibson JB2, or Custom Custom. Everyone who tried that bridge pup loved it.

Luke

That sounds like an interesting experience Luke. But, do you think it will have a similar effect with the 498T and the 490R.
I guess puting an A2 in the 498T could make it smoother, and I think I can imagine why everybody loves it. But than put A5 in the 490R, which sounds already a little harsh and bassy, I'm not too sure about this one.
What will it sound like in comparison to it's stock sound?

 

[Jazz Rock]

Re: Who's to blame?

We could advise you better if you could tell us what's wrong with the tone now, and what tone it is you're looking for.

To be honest I'm quite happy with the sound of the bridge pickup as it is if it wasn't for the fact that my pots don't allow me modulate the sound as I know it should, now that I've played my Epi with the new stuff.
The neck pickup is another story, the low end is too pronounced to my taste and doesn't sound right when playing lead parts to my hear. However, my biggest grief against it is the same as for the bridge pup.

For the tone I'm looking for, I am usually playing Alice in chains, Slash, Audioslave, Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith stuff, but I'm still trying to explore a more jazzy style. The set of '59 of my Epi is quite nice for what I play, but I woud like something a bit different for the Gibson, maybe more accentuated on the Alice in chains type of sound.