Great video! I just got the SL to get back into learning, and I'm looking for inspiration and advice on modding it in the future because I know I'll need better hardware in it eventually. Thanks for the tips!
Looks and sounds great, thanks for sharing! By the way, your "DPDT switch" is really an SPDT (single pole, double throw) switch since it only has one set of poles.
Man that is one JUICY video! Nice mods, nice voiceover... nice photography... I had to pause it to write this comment as I didn't want to miss those tasty closeup pics at the end! As someone says below... yeah... it's a Telecaster! (or, at least that's what it sounds like!) Nice! 🙂
If you use Grover Mini's, they have the screw hole at a 45 degree angle and you can use one of the stock tuner holes and only have six to fill and hide. Oh, and use a reamer on both sides of those tuner holes to open the top and bottom to 10mm before drilling the middle. That will prevent tear out around the tuner holes from the twist drill.
I modified my Sunset Yellow LS with a Gibson dog ear P 90 bridge pickup with a 9.75 output, and later I’ll be adding the same rail pickup for the neck. I used copper tape to insulate the cavity and installed a real bone nut and tuners from an old Gibson 335 I had yrs ago. So far…. It’s working great. Great video, thanks for sharing 🎸
It's OK but sometimes you go down too harsh. You should know better about epiphone quality control otherwise why so many well known are using epiphone, this is just a low end but in the right hands can sound great, and few mods obviously
Factory SL, the SL stands for Sucks at Life. Yours, the SL stands for Sounds Lovely. I mean, it's not that bad (I own one), although I definitely want humbuckers for it.
Just got one of these babies for super cheap. They're selling for $200+ now. I figure in a couple more years they'll be edging towards $500, they're very nice guitars.
I like my sunset yellow Epiphone SL or "Melody Maker" which it was made to look similar to the Gibson melody maker from the 60s, it would of been cool if they put p90s in them
For sure, would have been a lot better with p90s than those weak single coils... Luckily the SD quarter pound is essentially a beefy p90 in a single coil form factor, so that's an option for a direct drop in!
Sounds great! Nice work. Some of those notes you were hitting sounded like they would pair well with a tremolo, a Bigsby style trem might really turn this sucker into a surf machine. Future vid perhaps? Lol anyway keep it up!
Excellent idea! This one would do really well with a bigsby style installed! I actually had a weird thought about an Epiphone LP Special 2 with a tremolo bridge... and routed out with a similar pickguard to this but 3 single coil pickups... A dream of a possible future project!
Wilkinson bridge and tuner's and bone nut... made my SL Epihone an actual guitar 😎.... putting the old screws in the existing hole of tuning machine is almost not noticable..the afore mentioned bridge makes setting intonation awesome ...cool 😎 stuff.. thanks
Thanks, I died from Covid and I am lucky to know who I am,, literally.... I will correct that spelling... 😎 I did in fact correct the spelling.... one of the many things I have noticed that changed, I spent 2 months 18 days in intubation and over Three months in UAB Margaret even learning to play guitar again...😎 Thanks Scotty.
Such pretty wee gats those SL Less Pauls. Very Melody Maker/Joan Jett. There's a black modded one on offer here in NZ at the moment for $200 NZD which nearly tempted me. Partly the fear of the wife stopping me. Cut pick guard for humbuckers and the headstock cut/repainted to a skinny parallel shape...so very Danelectro. Better tuners also. Cool gat but the nut width/string spacing too close for my clumsy big fingers.
I'd love to see that guitar - it sounds like a beauty deal completely done up like that! 200 is really minimal for a fully modded guitar that you really like - try it out, and if it feels really good in your hands, just tell the wife that Old Niles Thrompton said you had no choice but to buy it! I'm good at taking the blame for guys buying guitars.🎸 😀
Did the 1/4 pound raise up tall enough. The SL bridge stock pickup is super tall on mine. I have quart pounds in my strat, it's a great pickup. Great video
For sure - the real benefit of using an SD quarter pound is that its wound 'tall' instead of wide, so essentially they had to make a much taller bobbin to fit the extra windings for a p90 level output. The result is a pickup that fits perfectly in this guitar... Standard single coils might not have the height to properly reach the pickups.
The coil split was completely unnecessary IMO, otherwise good job. BTW, don't forget to ground your shielding foil (with a piece of wire to the back of the volume pot or the output jack) -- one of the reasons copper (available at craft stores) is better than aluminum for that application is its much better solderability. Ungrounded shielding acts more like a hum antenna than a shield. Keep in mind that shielding cannot counteract the intrinsic hum susceptibility of single-coil pickups -- it can only reduce hum picked up elsewhere in the circuit.
For sure! I added the old screw to the foil to the pot on this one, which eliminated a lot of the potential shielding feedback. I just do a neck split when I've got a humbucker or rails pickup there, but that's just a personal preference for a less muddy neck tone on clean.
@@nilesthrompton -- I'm not sure about your generic twin-blade, but many humbuckers sound better with their coils wired in parallel rather than using only one coil, assuming the leads for doing that are provided. That clears up the mud (by lowering the pickup's inductance) without introducing more single-coil hum.
I have a "Sea Foam" model. I'm a bass guy but tried to learn the guitar for years with a Schecter SRG guitar. It never clicked with me. Never liked those Humbuckers, it's weight, or the sound. Not being much of a Metal guy didn't help either. I decided to get a cheap guitar and try again. Total difference for me. Short scale, single coil pickups, nice color, lightweight, and very basic. I'd recommend it for a cheap guitar that isn't high risk money wise. Kind of a Punk Rock attitude as well.
Kit guitars can definitely be fun, and a great way to learn! But yeah, they can also be time and money intensive, and you don't often get a whole lot more than you would by transforming a budget guitar. Budget guitars by and large have gotten so consistent in build that buying a kit is no longer a better value.
@@nilesthrompton I just bought one of these Melody Maker SL like you modded. I'm going to get another pickguard online so I can take the original out, tinker with some of the things I have, and yet still have the original setup untouched. I have some P90's and harnesses I can swap in and modify the pickguard I bought. I also might put a zeroglide nut in(with stainless steel zero fret by Goldtone). It gives more sustain and eliminates the nut problems by always resting on a stainless steel fret instead of plastic or bone. Thanks again for the video, it inspired me to do another project!
@@michaeld.mcclish Glad you are taking up this project, it's a great guitar to modify and you won't break the bank either! The pickup in the bridge is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound - it's essentially a p90, just the extra winds in the pickup are vertically stacked instead of wound around a flat bobbin.
@@nilesthrompton Also, with most of these kit guitars the nut widths are anywhere from 41mm to 42mm at the most, where the standard USED to be 43mm, and you can really feel the difference; and you don't know if the fret metal is any good, not to mention the cheap electronics, pots. I got an lp jr kit, and the p90 was a ceramic magnet, so I got alnico magnets, so it's closer to a real p90
I intend to buy one and change it's hardware too. Maybe I'll change jack's position and put a third pickup at the middle. But Seymours pickups and Grover tuners are out of reach for me. I'll have to use chinese stuff😢
You got to look these projects as those dudes who customize a little car. Is money for their enjoyment and sometimes to "improve the original specs". If you want to do it, do it. Don't put all your wallet and eggs into that basket, because is a project for your enjoyment. The SL its a great mod platform. The stupidest thing you can do is to spent lots of money into it and expect to earn lots money from it.
I ate a red guitar once. Damn thing would not stay in tune, fridge was empty, i was hungry. I made sure by doing a bug sweep for hidden cameras before though.
In my opinion every person should be able to eat a red guitar in the privacy and dignity of their own home! Just like Sloppy Joe from Impractical Jokers, all he wants to do is enjoy a nice bottle of milk, but someone or something always gets in the way....
I believe it was a 3/8 inch cobalt bit. You want a bit which won't bind on the edges if you're not using a drill press, otherwise you can catch the sides of the hole and twist the headstock.
It is now. Used to to be the SL. They changed the name to reflect that it's really a take off on an old GIbson Melody Maker (of which there were many styles).
Gregor is a way better guitarist than me, and the setup for his demo sounds amazing. It's a matter of preference too - some folks have said they actually like the low output ceramic single coils; for me they were just too thin and limited.
Hiya buddy. I've recently purchased one of these and I'd like to carry out this mod on it but am unsure of the wiring schematic ,Do you have a link I could use. Great video btw and VERY inspiring
Thanks! I keep trying to recreate a wiring diagram for this from memory but get sidetracked with other vids; I'll try to create a diagram in the next couple days.
I love this instrument. I call it my „Les Paul Telecaster“ because of the pickup configuration. Nice video!
Great video! I just got the SL to get back into learning, and I'm looking for inspiration and advice on modding it in the future because I know I'll need better hardware in it eventually. Thanks for the tips!
Looks and sounds great, thanks for sharing! By the way, your "DPDT switch" is really an SPDT (single pole, double throw) switch since it only has one set of poles.
Man that is one JUICY video! Nice mods, nice voiceover... nice photography... I had to pause it to write this comment as I didn't want to miss those tasty closeup pics at the end! As someone says below... yeah... it's a Telecaster! (or, at least that's what it sounds like!) Nice! 🙂
Hey your channel kicks ass, nice work. Keep it up.
If you use Grover Mini's, they have the screw hole at a 45 degree angle and you can use one of the stock tuner holes and only have six to fill and hide. Oh, and use a reamer on both sides of those tuner holes to open the top and bottom to 10mm before drilling the middle. That will prevent tear out around the tuner holes from the twist drill.
Which Grover minis? I have Mini locking tuners on one of these guitars and wasn't able to use any of the holes.
Loved the episode 👏👏👏
If you can, it would be cool to see a demo of this guitar with gold foil pickup's and/ or lipstick pickup's.
I modified my Sunset Yellow LS with a Gibson dog ear P 90 bridge pickup with a 9.75 output, and later I’ll be adding the same rail pickup for the neck.
I used copper tape to insulate the cavity and installed a real bone nut and tuners from an old Gibson 335 I had yrs ago.
So far…. It’s working great.
Great video, thanks for sharing 🎸
Great mod idea!! I would love to hear how the final product comes out!
It's OK but sometimes you go down too harsh. You should know better about epiphone quality control otherwise why so many well known are using epiphone, this is just a low end but in the right hands can sound great, and few mods obviously
Factory SL, the SL stands for Sucks at Life.
Yours, the SL stands for Sounds Lovely.
I mean, it's not that bad (I own one), although I definitely want humbuckers for it.
I wanna put skinny humbuckers in one
Just got one of these babies for super cheap. They're selling for $200+ now. I figure in a couple more years they'll be edging towards $500, they're very nice guitars.
Wow they didn’t have a yellow option when I was looking online. Nice paint except for that crack on the post. Love your content sir!
Thanks again - glad you like the channel! It's definitely the best color - if you can even get a used one on reverb, they are awesome mod guitars!
Cool guitar man! Nice mods and great video! Had me laughing more than once haha!
Good stuff and good points!
J
Glad you liked it - and love your videos and your playing as well!!
@@nilesthrompton thanks brother!
Wow! Great mod & nice choice of pickups.
I like my sunset yellow Epiphone SL or "Melody Maker" which it was made to look similar to the Gibson melody maker from the 60s, it would of been cool if they put p90s in them
For sure, would have been a lot better with p90s than those weak single coils... Luckily the SD quarter pound is essentially a beefy p90 in a single coil form factor, so that's an option for a direct drop in!
@@nilesthrompton yeah
Very nice demo. Thanks for playing with a clean tone.
Glad you like it! It was all about the Quarter Pound bridge pickup!!
Sounds great! Nice work. Some of those notes you were hitting sounded like they would pair well with a tremolo, a Bigsby style trem might really turn this sucker into a surf machine. Future vid perhaps? Lol anyway keep it up!
Excellent idea! This one would do really well with a bigsby style installed! I actually had a weird thought about an Epiphone LP Special 2 with a tremolo bridge... and routed out with a similar pickguard to this but 3 single coil pickups... A dream of a possible future project!
@@nilesthrompton Nice! Sounds like a fun project too, just be sure to document it! ;)
Wilkinson bridge and tuner's and bone nut... made my SL Epihone an actual guitar 😎.... putting the old screws in the existing hole of tuning machine is almost not noticable..the afore mentioned bridge makes setting intonation awesome ...cool 😎 stuff.. thanks
Thanks, I died from Covid and I am lucky to know who I am,, literally.... I will correct that spelling... 😎 I did in fact correct the spelling.... one of the many things I have noticed that changed, I spent 2 months 18 days in intubation and over Three months in UAB Margaret even learning to play guitar again...😎 Thanks Scotty.
Nice work😀👏👏👏
Such pretty wee gats those SL Less Pauls. Very Melody Maker/Joan Jett. There's a black modded one on offer here in NZ at the moment for $200 NZD which nearly tempted me. Partly the fear of the wife stopping me. Cut pick guard for humbuckers and the headstock cut/repainted to a skinny parallel shape...so very Danelectro. Better tuners also. Cool gat but the nut width/string spacing too close for my clumsy big fingers.
I'd love to see that guitar - it sounds like a beauty deal completely done up like that! 200 is really minimal for a fully modded guitar that you really like - try it out, and if it feels really good in your hands, just tell the wife that Old Niles Thrompton said you had no choice but to buy it! I'm good at taking the blame for guys buying guitars.🎸 😀
Did the 1/4 pound raise up tall enough. The SL bridge stock pickup is super tall on mine. I have quart pounds in my strat, it's a great pickup. Great video
For sure - the real benefit of using an SD quarter pound is that its wound 'tall' instead of wide, so essentially they had to make a much taller bobbin to fit the extra windings for a p90 level output. The result is a pickup that fits perfectly in this guitar... Standard single coils might not have the height to properly reach the pickups.
Thanks for the video 👍🏻
I converted mine to dual volume pots that blend.
The coil split was completely unnecessary IMO, otherwise good job. BTW, don't forget to ground your shielding foil (with a piece of wire to the back of the volume pot or the output jack) -- one of the reasons copper (available at craft stores) is better than aluminum for that application is its much better solderability. Ungrounded shielding acts more like a hum antenna than a shield. Keep in mind that shielding cannot counteract the intrinsic hum susceptibility of single-coil pickups -- it can only reduce hum picked up elsewhere in the circuit.
For sure! I added the old screw to the foil to the pot on this one, which eliminated a lot of the potential shielding feedback. I just do a neck split when I've got a humbucker or rails pickup there, but that's just a personal preference for a less muddy neck tone on clean.
@@nilesthrompton -- I'm not sure about your generic twin-blade, but many humbuckers sound better with their coils wired in parallel rather than using only one coil, assuming the leads for doing that are provided. That clears up the mud (by lowering the pickup's inductance) without introducing more single-coil hum.
I have a "Sea Foam" model. I'm a bass guy but tried to learn the guitar for years with a Schecter SRG guitar. It never clicked with me. Never liked those Humbuckers, it's weight, or the sound. Not being much of a Metal guy didn't help either. I decided to get a cheap guitar and try again. Total difference for me. Short scale, single coil pickups, nice color, lightweight, and very basic. I'd recommend it for a cheap guitar that isn't high risk money wise. Kind of a Punk Rock attitude as well.
This is a great idea. I have done a couple mods/kit guitars, and I spent way too much on the kit guitar, what a ripoff. Thanks for this video.
Kit guitars can definitely be fun, and a great way to learn! But yeah, they can also be time and money intensive, and you don't often get a whole lot more than you would by transforming a budget guitar. Budget guitars by and large have gotten so consistent in build that buying a kit is no longer a better value.
@@nilesthrompton I just bought one of these Melody Maker SL like you modded. I'm going to get another pickguard online so I can take the original out, tinker with some of the things I have, and yet still have the original setup untouched. I have some P90's and harnesses I can swap in and modify the pickguard I bought. I also might put a zeroglide nut in(with stainless steel zero fret by Goldtone). It gives more sustain and eliminates the nut problems by always resting on a stainless steel fret instead of plastic or bone. Thanks again for the video, it inspired me to do another project!
What was the brand pup you said was essentially a beefy P90 in small form factor, SD??
@@michaeld.mcclish Glad you are taking up this project, it's a great guitar to modify and you won't break the bank either! The pickup in the bridge is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound - it's essentially a p90, just the extra winds in the pickup are vertically stacked instead of wound around a flat bobbin.
@@nilesthrompton Also, with most of these kit guitars the nut widths are anywhere from 41mm to 42mm at the most, where the standard USED to be 43mm, and you can really feel the difference; and you don't know if the fret metal is any good, not to mention the cheap electronics, pots. I got an lp jr kit, and the p90 was a ceramic magnet, so I got alnico magnets, so it's closer to a real p90
I thought you did a fantastic job with this mod. The only thing I would have done differently is to paint that ugly pickguard a different color.
Great job
Do you have a schematic of the wiring on the Epiphone Les Paul sl I want to mod one like it if you could post it I would appreciate it thank you.
Nice find, thank fuck! You've changed everything and it's no longer the same guitar.
Definitely some changes! With a guitar like this, it's almost begging for new pickups and parts!
Ha ha I love that joke red guitars you cad.
I intend to buy one and change it's hardware too. Maybe I'll change jack's position and put a third pickup at the middle. But Seymours pickups and Grover tuners are out of reach for me. I'll have to use chinese stuff😢
nice mod
Could you post the wiring diagram you used for this mod. Thank you
I will try to recreate it and post it soon. I didn't follow a specific diagram but I think I can sketch out how I did it.
You got to look these projects as those dudes who customize a little car. Is money for their enjoyment and sometimes to "improve the original specs". If you want to do it, do it. Don't put all your wallet and eggs into that basket, because is a project for your enjoyment. The SL its a great mod platform. The stupidest thing you can do is to spent lots of money into it and expect to earn lots money from it.
I ate a red guitar once. Damn thing would not stay in tune, fridge was empty, i was hungry.
I made sure by doing a bug sweep for hidden cameras before though.
In my opinion every person should be able to eat a red guitar in the privacy and dignity of their own home! Just like Sloppy Joe from Impractical Jokers, all he wants to do is enjoy a nice bottle of milk, but someone or something always gets in the way....
Great Video. Do you still play this guitar?
I still pick this one up and play it... It's got a great combination of options and is a really fun guitar overall!
what size drill bit did you use on the headstock to fit the grovers in?
I believe it was a 3/8 inch cobalt bit. You want a bit which won't bind on the edges if you're not using a drill press, otherwise you can catch the sides of the hole and twist the headstock.
Would P90 fit into this one?
As I recall the routing was not quite big enough to put in p90s. But with just a bit of shaving of the cavities, p90s will definitely fit.
Left that crappy wrap over bridge on, the one thing that did need changing..
Get copper tape works 1000% better
My Pacifica has better tuning stability than Epiphone sl at the same price point. The pacifica has whammy bar ffs.
Thats a Lesser Paul
I love your video man,,Idol can i give me this guitar plssss i need a guitar plssss idol plssss help me plssss💙🙏🙏🙏🙏
It's an Epiphone Melody Maker...
It is now. Used to to be the SL. They changed the name to reflect that it's really a take off on an old GIbson Melody Maker (of which there were many styles).
At Gregs Guitars it Sounds better unmodified ℹ️
Gregor is a way better guitarist than me, and the setup for his demo sounds amazing. It's a matter of preference too - some folks have said they actually like the low output ceramic single coils; for me they were just too thin and limited.
Hiya buddy. I've recently purchased one of these and I'd like to carry out this mod on it but am unsure of the wiring schematic ,Do you have a link I could use. Great video btw and VERY inspiring
Thanks! I keep trying to recreate a wiring diagram for this from memory but get sidetracked with other vids; I'll try to create a diagram in the next couple days.
@@nilesthrompton Thanks buddy
Did the replacement PUs drop right in or did you have to to carve the routing?
Do you have a schematic of the wiring on the Epiphone Les Paul sl I want to mod one like it if you could post it I would appreciate it thank you.