the stock pickups in mine sounded very muddy. I gave them a good go but couldn’t stand them. A good set of pickups really helps the feel of the special in terms of dynamics and expression
I’ve got the Epiphone SG Special with the same pickups and wiring, changing them is the last thing on my mind with that guitar. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with them, sounds every bit as good as good as my ‘77 Les Paul Special and my ‘55 Les Paul Junior.
I would say check out other reviews but to be honest, the stock parts and pickups are fantastic. I would recommend playing with the screw heights on the pickups as that can add more clarity without swapping the pickups. You can enjoy this guitar stock for decades as is.
Love fralin pickups. I did an electronic/pickup upgrade with them in my Revstar and really brought the guitar to life. Thanks for sharing the process of making a good guitar great!!! Really enjoyed the tool recs
I used them too. I put a set of matched Fralin p90's in one of the new Melody Makers, plus new pots, paper caps, and 50's wiring, completely changed the sound, I love it!
Remember, if you are young and have a band ... or are training to be a hired gun, and want to tour, something like this is ideal. The poly paint makes it less sensitive to temperature changes. If it gets damaged or stolen it's not hard to replace and you can insure this to the value of replacing it so all the after market parts and labor can be part of the valuation. This is a GREAT way to tour safely... while playing a guitar you LOVE.
Great video! I got one of these when they came out in 2020. I swapped out the bridge for a tone pro’s vintage style, and the posts too, getting the Philadelphia Luthiers ones like Zach used here. After polishing frets and linseed oil on the board, it’s a damn good guitar.
Great guitar...amongst the very best for the cash! I actually dont really like the pickups though, dunno if thats just me but i think i'll be swapping mine out at some point :)
Super video. Fret rounding was great - don’t see that in many videos. Totally changing out the pots and wiring and telling what they are and where you got them was on point. In fact, the whole wiring portion of this was good. Auto-focus is a blessing and a curse, haha.
I updated pots and pickups in my Epiphone Les Paul limited edition standard years ago-to this day, it plays as good if not better than other more expensive guitars I own.
Wow... Now, take this for what it's worth, coming from someone who has only been modding his guitars for maybe 2 years. In this one video, Zach provided more helpful tips and tricks than I have picked up in those 2 years. The chopstick and the Cap leg bend are going to save me a good 15-30 minutes of work, and closer to an hour of muffled swearing and stress the next time I upgrade one of my instruments.
My favorite Les Paul, light, honest and straight guitar, like a Tele. I’ve got the ‘57 reissue Gibson custom shop Special, pricey but a world of feeling and tone different than the Gibson regular one and of course the Epiphone version. Thanks for the video!
I live in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and I have been purchasing a lot of tools from Philly luthier tools for some years now. In many ways it's cheaper than StewMac, but I have to say StewMac has some awesome stuff as well . Their over wound humbuckers ( specially the neck position) are incredible. I do up all of my guitars electronics in the 50 wiring . I tried the other wiring options and I wasn't impressed. To each their own . Good luck to you guys there with your new store . Hope everything works out for you . Many blessings and rock on ,🎸
You can use that wrap around tailpiece with offset studs and still have some decent intonation like all the jrs and specials were back in the 50s, but that epiphone having equidistant studs, the lightningbar is ideal for intonation, Good video regardless!
I was totally with him agreeing with every mod tell that last one at the very end, silly lol. He did it for it being "vintage correct" however it is a Vintage correct tailpiece, but incorrect application,
Have the epiphone and love it as is. An amazing guitar for the money right out of the box. It took a while to make the transition from worshipping the name on the head stock to getting real value for my investment.
Two recommended mods to the electronics: 1) It drives me up the wall that manufacturers have been using the *same* tone cap values for neck and bridge tone controls for the last 70 years. Name me ONE player who switches to their bridge pickup when they want a duller darker sound. And yet the tone cap value somehow aims for that. I recommend changing it to a value roughly 1/4 to 1/5 the original value. So if it was .022uf, change it to .0056 or even .0047uf. This will let that tone control "sand down the edges" of the bridge pickup tone without ever making it dull and dark. 2) I cannot recommend, highly enough, the "half out of phase" (HOOP) mod, that Bill Lawrence invented. Normally, putting a bridge and neck pickup out of phase results in a thin nasal tone with a big volume drop. Overlap in spectral content produces those cancellations, but so does equal level. Players of dual-pickup guitars that have dual volume controls, in addition to phase-reverse, will know that adjusting the volume of either neck or bridge, when in opposite phase, will bring the level back up. The HOOP mod, used well in the old Fender Jerry Donahue Telecaster, simply shaves off some of the bass content of the neck pickup, when phase is reversed; restoring it when the pickups are put back in phase. In that guitar, it results in a tone strikingly similar to neck+middle on a Strat, without any middle pickup or volume drop. I've installed it on several of my guitars and it can do just that. BUT, I also installed it on a dual humbucker guitar. It obviously can't replicate Strat tone on an HB-equipped guitar, but it does add another distinct N+B tone that is *very* usable, without any nasal qualities or volume drop. I see no reason why implementing it on a dual P-90 guitar would not expand the available tonal palette. Probably most easily installed by use of a push-pull tone pot for the neck pickup, to do the phase-switching. Personally, I find a .01uf series cap shaves off the right amount of bass in phase-reverse mode, but feel free to experiment.
Very cool video. I have an original 1956 Gibson Les Paul Special, as well as a 2019 Gibson USA Les Paul Special. It's interesting to see the differences, especially how different the original TV yellow finish from the 50's is compared to Gibson's "modern" recreation of it. Slightly better on the custom shop's i've seen but still not perfect. Maybe one day they will get it perfect. I love these Epiphone's as well. I had one but never thought of modding it before I sold it. You may have inspired me to find another haha. I ordered some cool parts from the link in the thumbnail. Great video!
Those one piece aluminum wrap around bridge / tailpieces from Philadelphia Luthier Supply are fantastic - Gibson got that design right the first time back in the 1950s, notes really sing on those bridges.
Great video Zach ! I modded one of these too. I kept all the electronic, rounded frets, replaced plastic nut for bone, replaced the bridge for a tonepros with adjustable saddles (I’m picky with tuning😅), remove all the finish, shaped the neck for a slimmer profile and sprayed it with black nitro. I finally gave it a heavy relic look ! This is one of the best guitar in my possession : light, resonant and easy to play, with a great tone ! These epiphone series are great for experimenting with mods 😊
Bad intonation is a pet peeve of mine but it's all the players preference at the end of the day. Some can hide it with high level playing and tasteful technique.
@@18JR78I agree, it’s possible to hide bad intonation playing single note lines, but when it comes to play chords in the higher register of the neck things are getting more problematic. It also depends on the ear accuracy and the tolerance of the player.
I love this guitar…I have a few les Paul’s including a Gibson and I always pick up this guitar…the p90s are just so good…it plays great. I would like to up grade a few things as well, but I’m loving this axe. Rock on 🤘🏼
Like how u did the cardboard to mark the pot placement. Ill do tht nxt time . U reccomended a hakko soldering station to me long time ago . Got it and still love it . Boys n girls whatever Zach says , do it . Hats off to u sir .
I've down a similar route with mine, the electrics are absolutely fine and the pickups are more than good enough but to get the best out of it switch wiring to 50's. Far cheaper and well worth doing first before spending loads on new pickups and wiring loom.
Hellyeah thats my 1st mod to any guitar i get! I love to swap out the pickup magnets with roughcast A5s too. I have even swapped out ceramics in high gain pickups with them and it always seems to be an improvement. For my playing style at least.
Great video. I want to do a project like this sometime. As soon as I saw a chopstick I got hungry. Watched your video, then ordered some Sushi..... Cheers!
Dude you rock. You explained (and demonstrated) how to wire a Gibson sooooooo much better than anyone else. You took into account I am a dumb dumb who has never done it before and I appreciate that more than you know!! I request you help me understand the witchery that is Stratocaster wiring 😅 lmao thank you!!!
Just picked up this exact guitar recently, cheap. It's a '22 model & mint as new. My first adventure into the P-90 world. My first thought was I'll throw some Lollars in it if the stock pick-ups are crap. Pleasant surprise, they're not! Play with the height before you start chasing tone & tossing $$ down that rabbit hole! Good video sir, I'll be using your links to pickup a fret file and erasers. IMO all this guitar really needs is the frets ends dressed a little and a higher polish job, & set-up to taste as normal of course. Electrics seem fine, tuners OK (so far), finished very nicely (though I'm admittedly not a poly fan). Not much to hate on this guitar, pretty dang solid, especially at this price! Do it some justice and run it through a sweating tube amp to find out where it really likes to live! Thanks for the video, cheers!
I have one of these. The mods I made are to replace the capacitors with Orange Drops, a 22 on the neck and a 47 on the bridge. I replaced the original bridge with a Wilkinson wrap around with the G and B string slide. I replaced the knobs with witch hat knobs, the switch tip with a Gretsch style metal tip and put on my Dunlop strap locks. I also added a pinup girl behind the bridge too. I was going for a 70s-esque vibe on the guitar Dennis Denell played on the video for "When The Angels Sing" by Social Distortion. It's worth mentioning that I waited 26 years for Epiphone to release this guitar in this version. For the stock pickups I raised the screw heights a bit to my sonic taste to open up the performance of the stock pickups. Adjusting the screw heights on P-90s, humbuckers, or Filtertrons can make an overall difference in the sound, usually adding more clarity. It's also 100% reversible. Do this on pickups you already have if they have screws, you may find what you are looking for already in there before you replace pickups.
@@KonicaHexanon No issues, so it works as advertised. I prefer the feel of the bridge to stock lightning bar models. I have three Epiphone wrap around models (bolt on Special with P-90s, an SL that's been converted to a Nashville High Tuned guitar, and my Epiphone Les Paul Special in TV Yellow) and all three have the same Wilkinson bridge on them. Feels better and I have no major tuning issues. It's worth noting that all three have been set up and twerked by me and my luthier friend so that usually minimizes stability issues.😉👍✨
cool video and nice upgrades. as long as you are not spending the difference of buying the USA Gibson. When I sold Gibson and Fender in the early 2000's, Mexican made Fenders were around $350-$400. An American Strat in black was $799 at that time. With a hardshell and better overall quality then (Mexi Fenders have gone up big time in quality since) Guys would say to me "I am not paying $800 for a strat. Then they would put new pick ups, new harness, tuners even different pick guards. So their $400 Fender now cost as much or more than buying the American Standard. I know prices have changed, but I think the USA Gibson is around $1700 so I am sure you are nowhere near that with the upgrades. My former bandmate had this guitar. We tracked with it. Stock, no mods and it sounded fantastic! Enjoy
Why are you so upset? 😂. The guy gives you entertainment , useful information and you proceed to make a pessimistic comment that adds nothing to the guitar community. Lmfao.
@@18JR78 You’re upset I called out this garbage vid. They’re everywhere. Not upset myself over the crap info passed around between neophytes. It’s a funny joke. My comment yesterday on an actual luthiers video: Mark Stutman is awesome. Nice shout-out. Looks like the heat probes got glued to the side of the pocket because the angle was the same.
You did a great job of being thorough and keeping it fun. This covered about everything that’s easy to do at home except setup and there’s plenty of videos on that. Everything you did except the pickups are pretty cheap upgrades that make most guitars better. That Epi had surprisingly nice pots and jack. Low end Fenders and my old Epi Les Paul had ALPS clones and the flimsiest jacks I’ve ever seen. Such a weird corner to cut… maybe $5… but everyone has to make their money I guess. I got into this stuff from buying inexpensive guitars like this. Now I’m better at working on them than playing them 😂. But I still love watching people work. There’s not 1 right way to do anything and I pick up ideas most of the time.
Nice. I did a similar project on an 2011 Epi LP Jr. - Hanging in our local shop, I kept playing it and it felt great in my hands. Single P90 up-grade, premium wiring loom, nut and Kluson style vintage tuners with white buttons - gotta have the white buttons. Great little guitar now.
i took a squier strat classic vibe and put eric johnson pickups in it the same way robbie robertson did to his , sound and plays fantastic and beautiful also.
Bought a fairly expensive pedal last year and got it home to find out it was defective. Brought it back and noticed a Special on sale so I think for the pedal return and 30 bux I was out the door with it. I own all Gibsons but until I buy it’s big brother these are great! Unlike my grammar and sentence structure sorry. I do have a yellow Jr Gibson single though. That thing is a beast!
OMG I've been modding guitars for years and the cardboard template tip is pure GOLD - thanks! 🙂 Would have been great to hear new electronics with stock pickups to see how much difference the wiring and electronics alone really make. Maybe there's already a video on that . . . P.S. - I used a quality Saman Dark Walnut stain on the Indian Laurel fretboard of my Epiphone '59 Les Paul and it looks *just* like rosewood now 👍
I own an Epiphone LP Special just like this - bought it a year ago for $359.00 on sale. I love it! Best value I've ever realized I think, lol. Big question I have, is how much did the components for this upgrade cost? I'm a bit lazy, and could figure it out, but thought I'd ask anyway. Been thinking of upgrading the pickups - all else seems to suit my needs as it sits otherwise. Cheers - Big Mike
the pickups themselves will definitely get you close to $300 alone. All these mod components probably totaled close to $500, so the modifications exceed the price of the guitar itself. Hope that helped
Thank you so much for taking us on this journey with you. While I would leave the CTS pots in there I am sure these upgrades add up to making this a great guitar. The pickup swap alone was probably the game-changer. Epiphone stock pickups are not bad but the Fralins are much better. Many guitarists think that Fralin’s P-90’s are the best on the market. Such a cool guitar. I think I am going to sell some gear and get one. This guitar is so close to the Gibson counterpart it kind of makes more sense to get the Epiphone. Spend more money on a good amp…..or some pedals. I know a guy……😂
That’s a beautiful guitar. You knew it had greatness at the music store. Mid position was such a nice clear and fat sound. Can’t wait to finish my masters. I’ll get something with P90s. This was a neat eye opener. I play a Larose JM. previously played a Joe Pass Epiphone hollow body. I threw some Lollar Low winds in it. Sounded so good.
Great video; nice upgrades. The guitar sounds awesome. I think I’d also put a set if locking tuners on it and possibly a bone or graphite nut. Epiphone and Squire are both putting out some great guitars for the money, I’ve done the same type of upgrades to both a new Squire 60s CV Strat and a new 60s CV Tele. With Fender American pups, the upgrades cost me between $300 and $350 per guitar. I spent quite a bit of time on the frets, too, and now both guitars quite literally feel/play/sound as good as my American Fender guitars. Fun projects, too. Thanks for the video; cool stuff.
Thanks I have a set of custom wound p-90s for around 4 years that i have not used. Have been thinking about doing something like this for a while with a less expensive guitar as my Gibson special sounds great.
Cut a bone nut cause the ones Epiphone uses binds up. Then change them awful crappy tuners. Now we got a gorgeous playing, staying in tune guitar for gigging and playing live. Love the video Bro...
Loved the video Zach, only one thing I would disagree with. Fralins are nice, but the Seymour Duncan P-90's made mine a killer machine!
Epiphone be like we gave you cts pots and you still ripped them out lol
Yea, I don’t get it. Those Epiphone pickups sound great too.
Cts pots aren't as good as they used to be. (just repeating what i've heard from some very knowledgable people).
the stock pickups in mine sounded very muddy. I gave them a good go but couldn’t stand them. A good set of pickups really helps the feel of the special in terms of dynamics and expression
@@JeremyToy Lower them down then - it makes a HUGE difference! Maybe change the pots too?
I’ve got the Epiphone SG Special with the same pickups and wiring, changing them is the last thing on my mind with that guitar. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with them, sounds every bit as good as good as my ‘77 Les Paul Special and my ‘55 Les Paul Junior.
I love the trick of using a pedal housing as a holder for the switch while you do the soldering!
Save those blems!
Zack does A LOT of soldering I am thinking, he likely knows more tips and tricks then he could cover in a 1hr video LOL
Would have been nice to of heard it originally out of the box first to have an a b comparison
He's a very sick guy.
Clearly not appropriate for social media, cause he's antisocial.
Nothing changes so he left that clip out.
@@IronheadStakebreaker If nothing changes then why modify it.
@@IronheadStakebreakerWrong!
I would say check out other reviews but to be honest, the stock parts and pickups are fantastic. I would recommend playing with the screw heights on the pickups as that can add more clarity without swapping the pickups. You can enjoy this guitar stock for decades as is.
That towel / knob pull technique is really good, thank you!!
The proper tool is like five bucks. You’re welcome. Get ahold of yourself.
Towels free. Thx. Get over yourself.
Definitely sold! Always wanted a special! This machine sounds deluxe! Thank you Zach for sharing and showing us the process!
Love fralin pickups. I did an electronic/pickup upgrade with them in my Revstar and really brought the guitar to life. Thanks for sharing the process of making a good guitar great!!! Really enjoyed the tool recs
I used them too. I put a set of matched Fralin p90's in one of the new Melody Makers, plus new pots, paper caps, and 50's wiring, completely changed the sound, I love it!
Remember, if you are young and have a band ... or are training to be a hired gun, and want to tour, something like this is ideal. The poly paint makes it less sensitive to temperature changes. If it gets damaged or stolen it's not hard to replace and you can insure this to the value of replacing it so all the after market parts and labor can be part of the valuation. This is a GREAT way to tour safely... while playing a guitar you LOVE.
My buddy’s band tours and gigs with modified chibsons and chickenbackers, for that very reason. They leave their expensive stuff at home.
Great video! I got one of these when they came out in 2020. I swapped out the bridge for a tone pro’s vintage style, and the posts too, getting the Philadelphia Luthiers ones like Zach used here. After polishing frets and linseed oil on the board, it’s a damn good guitar.
I really appreciated the explanations you gave on what you were doing, and I was very impressed with how it sounded in the demo.
This was a splendid video! Very well done in all regards. Cheers to you and Mythos pedals!
This was a great video Zach, educational and enjoyable! Looking forward to your soldering tutorial vid as well
I am old and probably couldn't do this, but it's a really cool video. Nice to see how this all works.
Awesome video! Learned a lot that I didn’t know I needed. Very useful tips. Thanks guys!
really enjoying these build videos!
One of the best videos I’ve ever listened to excellent job beautiful sound keep up the good work
Great video! The Epi sounded amazing in every position.
Thanks for showing this upgrade !
Snow day video! Excellent.
I own one of these and I love it so much, the thing plays like a dream. Awesome video and tricks
Great guitar...amongst the very best for the cash!
I actually dont really like the pickups though, dunno if thats just me but i think i'll be swapping mine out at some point :)
Super video. Fret rounding was great - don’t see that in many videos. Totally changing out the pots and wiring and telling what they are and where you got them was on point. In fact, the whole wiring portion of this was good. Auto-focus is a blessing and a curse, haha.
I updated pots and pickups in my Epiphone Les Paul limited edition standard years ago-to this day, it plays as good if not better than other more expensive guitars I own.
What Pickups do you use?
My Epiphone LP has Bare Knucle True Grits and my Gibson LP has Bare Knuckle Nailbombs. Both are excellent. @@MatzeMaulwurf
Yeah i think i want some new ones!
I just wanted to say this video really educated me thank you
This was really good information! Thanks for sharing.
Wow... Now, take this for what it's worth, coming from someone who has only been modding his guitars for maybe 2 years. In this one video, Zach provided more helpful tips and tricks than I have picked up in those 2 years. The chopstick and the Cap leg bend are going to save me a good 15-30 minutes of work, and closer to an hour of muffled swearing and stress the next time I upgrade one of my instruments.
You didn't have ability to think that for yourself really??
Really cool video Zach. Very informative and makes me more confident about doing some maintance and mods
loved this vid, looking forward to more stuff like this on the mythos channel. thanks!
My favorite Les Paul, light, honest and straight guitar, like a Tele. I’ve got the ‘57 reissue Gibson custom shop Special, pricey but a world of feeling and tone different than the Gibson regular one and of course the Epiphone version.
Thanks for the video!
Really great clear video! Thanks for sharing this! Next up a basic soldering video because damn you’re good at it :)
I live in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and I have been purchasing a lot of tools from Philly luthier tools for some years now. In many ways it's cheaper than StewMac, but I have to say StewMac has some awesome stuff as well . Their over wound humbuckers ( specially the neck position) are incredible. I do up all of my guitars electronics in the 50 wiring . I tried the other wiring options and I wasn't impressed. To each their own . Good luck to you guys there with your new store . Hope everything works out for you . Many blessings and rock on ,🎸
You can use that wrap around tailpiece with offset studs and still have some decent intonation like all the jrs and specials were back in the 50s, but that epiphone having equidistant studs, the lightningbar is ideal for intonation,
Good video regardless!
My thoughts exactly! Why would you replace everything and not but on a proper bridge?
I was totally with him agreeing with every mod tell that last one at the very end, silly lol.
He did it for it being "vintage correct" however it is a
Vintage correct tailpiece, but incorrect application,
Do they make a lightning bar in aluminum that is better than stock??
Have the epiphone and love it as is. An amazing guitar for the money right out of the box. It took a while to make the transition from worshipping the name on the head stock to getting real value for my investment.
Two recommended mods to the electronics:
1) It drives me up the wall that manufacturers have been using the *same* tone cap values for neck and bridge tone controls for the last 70 years. Name me ONE player who switches to their bridge pickup when they want a duller darker sound. And yet the tone cap value somehow aims for that. I recommend changing it to a value roughly 1/4 to 1/5 the original value. So if it was .022uf, change it to .0056 or even .0047uf. This will let that tone control "sand down the edges" of the bridge pickup tone without ever making it dull and dark.
2) I cannot recommend, highly enough, the "half out of phase" (HOOP) mod, that Bill Lawrence invented. Normally, putting a bridge and neck pickup out of phase results in a thin nasal tone with a big volume drop. Overlap in spectral content produces those cancellations, but so does equal level. Players of dual-pickup guitars that have dual volume controls, in addition to phase-reverse, will know that adjusting the volume of either neck or bridge, when in opposite phase, will bring the level back up. The HOOP mod, used well in the old Fender Jerry Donahue Telecaster, simply shaves off some of the bass content of the neck pickup, when phase is reversed; restoring it when the pickups are put back in phase. In that guitar, it results in a tone strikingly similar to neck+middle on a Strat, without any middle pickup or volume drop. I've installed it on several of my guitars and it can do just that. BUT, I also installed it on a dual humbucker guitar. It obviously can't replicate Strat tone on an HB-equipped guitar, but it does add another distinct N+B tone that is *very* usable, without any nasal qualities or volume drop. I see no reason why implementing it on a dual P-90 guitar would not expand the available tonal palette. Probably most easily installed by use of a push-pull tone pot for the neck pickup, to do the phase-switching. Personally, I find a .01uf series cap shaves off the right amount of bass in phase-reverse mode, but feel free to experiment.
My bridge pickups don't sound dull in any of my Gibsons lol
Huge improvement! Sounds incredible guys.
Is there a before and after comparison? I may have missed that.
He played it stock a few videos back when they went on a guitar safari of sorts.
Thank you@@Frettedchaos
You’re absolutely welcome!
Very cool video. I have an original 1956 Gibson Les Paul Special, as well as a 2019 Gibson USA Les Paul Special. It's interesting to see the differences, especially how different the original TV yellow finish from the 50's is compared to Gibson's "modern" recreation of it. Slightly better on the custom shop's i've seen but still not perfect. Maybe one day they will get it perfect. I love these Epiphone's as well. I had one but never thought of modding it before I sold it. You may have inspired me to find another haha. I ordered some cool parts from the link in the thumbnail. Great video!
Awesome bang for the buck guitar! I didn't replace the electronics, just bought the Epi connector from Ebay & swapped in Monty's P90's. Cheers, J
Those one piece aluminum wrap around bridge / tailpieces from Philadelphia Luthier Supply are fantastic - Gibson got that design right the first time back in the 1950s, notes really sing on those bridges.
phil luth also sells the made in Germany ABM bell brass adjustable wraparound bridge
Great video Zach ! I modded one of these too. I kept all the electronic, rounded frets, replaced plastic nut for bone, replaced the bridge for a tonepros with adjustable saddles (I’m picky with tuning😅), remove all the finish, shaped the neck for a slimmer profile and sprayed it with black nitro. I finally gave it a heavy relic look ! This is one of the best guitar in my possession : light, resonant and easy to play, with a great tone ! These epiphone series are great for experimenting with mods 😊
That must be super cool. Would love to see the nitro black relic'ing on this type of guitar.
Bad intonation is a pet peeve of mine but it's all the players preference at the end of the day.
Some can hide it with high level playing and tasteful technique.
@@18JR78I agree, it’s possible to hide bad intonation playing single note lines, but when it comes to play chords in the higher register of the neck things are getting more problematic. It also depends on the ear accuracy and the tolerance of the player.
I can't abide a guitar that won't tune properly.
Very watchable nice delivery and pace of tuition
Great way to end the work week! Thanks fellas, fun to enter into the Mythos world!
Those pickups do sound good!
Loved all of this. Been thinking about hot rodding one of these and it was great to see everything you did!
I love this guitar…I have a few les Paul’s including a Gibson and I always pick up this guitar…the p90s are just so good…it plays great. I would like to up grade a few things as well, but I’m loving this axe. Rock on 🤘🏼
Like how u did the cardboard to mark the pot placement. Ill do tht nxt time .
U reccomended a hakko soldering station to me long time ago . Got it and still love it . Boys n girls whatever Zach says , do it . Hats off to u sir .
This video is outstanding! The chopstick trick was hysterical. I think I have a twin brother by another mother. Excellent!!!!!
Love this episode! Great guitar show! 👍
This was way more informative than you think. My buddy is a soldering phenom, might have to pair up with him so on an epiphone someday soon
Best and most informative DIY guitar upgrade walk thru ever. My hunt for a - lightweight - Epiphone LP Special is on...👍!
What a fun, informative video. The polishing cloth knob removal trick is great! Thanks!
Soldering demo was very good. I know how to solder, but I love learning new tricks. Very well done !
I've down a similar route with mine, the electrics are absolutely fine and the pickups are more than good enough but to get the best out of it switch wiring to 50's. Far cheaper and well worth doing first before spending loads on new pickups and wiring loom.
Agree a million percent
Hellyeah thats my 1st mod to any guitar i get! I love to swap out the pickup magnets with roughcast A5s too. I have even swapped out ceramics in high gain pickups with them and it always seems to be an improvement. For my playing style at least.
Finally! Thak you for this clear, detailed demonstrationand explantion. The new "go to" video for wiring a Les Paul Standard :)
I have same guitar. It ROCKS right out of the box but WOW...even BETTER with your upgrades!
Great video. I want to do a project like this sometime. As soon as I saw a chopstick I got hungry. Watched your video, then ordered some Sushi..... Cheers!
That was awesome! One day I’ll get the stuff to upgrade my 20 year old epiphone and I’ll rewatch when I’m not at work to learn how to do it.
man that overdrive tone is super rad
Great video. Couple tricks I hadnt seen before 👍
So much great general upgrading information as well! Thank You!
Dude you rock. You explained (and demonstrated) how to wire a Gibson sooooooo much better than anyone else. You took into account I am a dumb dumb who has never done it before and I appreciate that more than you know!!
I request you help me understand the witchery that is Stratocaster wiring 😅 lmao thank you!!!
Very well done, l use to do similar work on my guitars! But now l just watch others do it! Epi's are a good choice for this type of mod!👍
Just picked up this exact guitar recently, cheap. It's a '22 model & mint as new. My first adventure into the P-90 world. My first thought was I'll throw some Lollars in it if the stock pick-ups are crap. Pleasant surprise, they're not! Play with the height before you start chasing tone & tossing $$ down that rabbit hole! Good video sir, I'll be using your links to pickup a fret file and erasers. IMO all this guitar really needs is the frets ends dressed a little and a higher polish job, & set-up to taste as normal of course. Electrics seem fine, tuners OK (so far), finished very nicely (though I'm admittedly not a poly fan). Not much to hate on this guitar, pretty dang solid, especially at this price! Do it some justice and run it through a sweating tube amp to find out where it really likes to live! Thanks for the video, cheers!
ooof that thing sounded GREAT, that's me back to wanting a special 😂
I have one of these. The mods I made are to replace the capacitors with Orange Drops, a 22 on the neck and a 47 on the bridge. I replaced the original bridge with a Wilkinson wrap around with the G and B string slide. I replaced the knobs with witch hat knobs, the switch tip with a Gretsch style metal tip and put on my Dunlop strap locks. I also added a pinup girl behind the bridge too. I was going for a 70s-esque vibe on the guitar Dennis Denell played on the video for "When The Angels Sing" by Social Distortion. It's worth mentioning that I waited 26 years for Epiphone to release this guitar in this version.
For the stock pickups I raised the screw heights a bit to my sonic taste to open up the performance of the stock pickups. Adjusting the screw heights on P-90s, humbuckers, or Filtertrons can make an overall difference in the sound, usually adding more clarity. It's also 100% reversible. Do this on pickups you already have if they have screws, you may find what you are looking for already in there before you replace pickups.
How is the Wilkinson bridge working for you in terms of tuning stability? I'm looking for getting the exact same bridge.
@@KonicaHexanon
No issues, so it works as advertised. I prefer the feel of the bridge to stock lightning bar models. I have three Epiphone wrap around models (bolt on Special with P-90s, an SL that's been converted to a Nashville High Tuned guitar, and my Epiphone Les Paul Special in TV Yellow) and all three have the same Wilkinson bridge on them.
Feels better and I have no major tuning issues. It's worth noting that all three have been set up and twerked by me and my luthier friend so that usually minimizes stability issues.😉👍✨
cool video and nice upgrades. as long as you are not spending the difference of buying the USA Gibson. When I sold Gibson and Fender in the early 2000's, Mexican made Fenders were around $350-$400. An American Strat in black was $799 at that time. With a hardshell and better overall quality then (Mexi Fenders have gone up big time in quality since) Guys would say to me "I am not paying $800 for a strat. Then they would put new pick ups, new harness, tuners even different pick guards. So their $400 Fender now cost as much or more than buying the American Standard. I know prices have changed, but I think the USA Gibson is around $1700 so I am sure you are nowhere near that with the upgrades. My former bandmate had this guitar. We tracked with it. Stock, no mods and it sounded fantastic! Enjoy
Nice work. I dig your mission to Pluto moonswatch
Gonna be honest. This rules.
pfft
Why are you so upset? 😂.
The guy gives you entertainment , useful information and you proceed to make a pessimistic comment that adds nothing to the guitar community. Lmfao.
@@18JR78 You’re upset I called out this garbage vid. They’re everywhere. Not upset myself over the crap info passed around between neophytes. It’s a funny joke.
My comment yesterday on an actual luthiers video: Mark Stutman is awesome. Nice shout-out. Looks like the heat probes got glued to the side of the pocket because the angle was the same.
Just curious what this guy's doing that you don't like?
@@richsackett3423
I appreciate your honesty.
Love the soldering technique!
You did a great job of being thorough and keeping it fun. This covered about everything that’s easy to do at home except setup and there’s plenty of videos on that. Everything you did except the pickups are pretty cheap upgrades that make most guitars better. That Epi had surprisingly nice pots and jack. Low end Fenders and my old Epi Les Paul had ALPS clones and the flimsiest jacks I’ve ever seen. Such a weird corner to cut… maybe $5… but everyone has to make their money I guess.
I got into this stuff from buying inexpensive guitars like this. Now I’m better at working on them than playing them 😂. But I still love watching people work. There’s not 1 right way to do anything and I pick up ideas most of the time.
Nice. I did a similar project on an 2011 Epi LP Jr. - Hanging in our local shop, I kept playing it and it felt great in my hands. Single P90 up-grade, premium wiring loom, nut and Kluson style vintage tuners with white buttons - gotta have the white buttons. Great little guitar now.
i took a squier strat classic vibe and put eric johnson pickups in it the same way robbie robertson did to his , sound and plays fantastic and beautiful also.
Nice, Mission to Pluto! I have 3 MoonSwatch's, love to see other watch nerds in the guitar community 😂🤙🔥
I have the Pluto and Jupiter, great daily watch for the shop.
I love watching upgrade videos, thanks
Filing is such a pinnacle ASMR experience
Holy god - that sounded so good!
That’s awesome, great video! Keep it up guys!
Wow sounds great afterwards! :)
I have the bolt-on version of this Epiphone. It's not my best guitar but it's one of my favorites. Lightweight and stays in tune.
Such a good video. I love stuff like this.
Sweet video.! I had this guitar n my wishlist, I might need to get me one soon now.
Awesome!! Cheers from Brazil Zack!!
Thanks so much for this. You made it very easy to understand. Love these kinds of videos.
Bought a fairly expensive pedal last year and got it home to find out it was defective. Brought it back and noticed a Special on sale so I think for the pedal return and 30 bux I was out the door with it. I own all Gibsons but until I buy it’s big brother these are great! Unlike my grammar and sentence structure sorry.
I do have a yellow Jr Gibson single though. That thing is a beast!
Great explanation and the result is awesome! Hope you will find that 3rd hand 😂
OMG I've been modding guitars for years and the cardboard template tip is pure GOLD - thanks! 🙂 Would have been great to hear new electronics with stock pickups to see how much difference the wiring and electronics alone really make. Maybe there's already a video on that . . .
P.S. - I used a quality Saman Dark Walnut stain on the Indian Laurel fretboard of my Epiphone '59 Les Paul and it looks *just* like rosewood now 👍
Got that same guitar a while back, plays real nice, needs a good once over like this, love the bulletproof set up. It is hard to beat.
Smart approach! Lots for learning.
I own an Epiphone LP Special just like this - bought it a year ago for $359.00 on sale. I love it! Best value I've ever realized I think, lol.
Big question I have, is how much did the components for this upgrade cost? I'm a bit lazy, and could figure it out, but thought I'd ask anyway. Been thinking of upgrading the pickups - all else seems to suit my needs as it sits otherwise.
Cheers - Big Mike
the pickups themselves will definitely get you close to $300 alone. All these mod components probably totaled close to $500, so the modifications exceed the price of the guitar itself. Hope that helped
It sounded really great with that open e chord just how you want it too.
Thank you so much for taking us on this journey with you. While I would leave the CTS pots in there I am sure these upgrades add up to making this a great guitar. The pickup swap alone was probably the game-changer. Epiphone stock pickups are not bad but the Fralins are much better. Many guitarists think that Fralin’s P-90’s are the best on the market. Such a cool guitar. I think I am going to sell some gear and get one. This guitar is so close to the Gibson counterpart it kind of makes more sense to get the Epiphone. Spend more money on a good amp…..or some pedals. I know a guy……😂
That’s a beautiful guitar. You knew it had greatness at the music store. Mid position was such a nice clear and fat sound. Can’t wait to finish my masters. I’ll get something with P90s. This was a neat eye opener. I play a Larose JM. previously played a Joe Pass Epiphone hollow body. I threw some Lollar Low winds in it. Sounded so good.
Great video; nice upgrades. The guitar sounds awesome. I think I’d also put a set if locking tuners on it and possibly a bone or graphite nut.
Epiphone and Squire are both putting out some great guitars for the money, I’ve done the same type of upgrades to both a new Squire 60s CV Strat and a new 60s CV Tele. With Fender American pups, the upgrades cost me between $300 and $350 per guitar. I spent quite a bit of time on the frets, too, and now both guitars quite literally feel/play/sound as good as my American Fender guitars. Fun projects, too.
Thanks for the video; cool stuff.
Thank you!
Really enjoyed this and great mods. 😃
Great video! I love the chop stick trick.this will help me alot with my soldering.thanks!
Great video and Moonswatch.
Thanks I have a set of custom wound p-90s for around 4 years that i have not used. Have been thinking about doing something like this for a while with a less expensive guitar as my Gibson special sounds great.
Love your selector switch "holder".
Blem enclosures are handy for lots of things
Excellent video. Thanks.
Great work !!! I need to stop procrastinating and start tweaking my guitars thx
Cut a bone nut cause the ones Epiphone uses binds up. Then change them awful crappy tuners. Now we got a gorgeous playing, staying in tune guitar for gigging and playing live. Love the video Bro...