epiphone emperor regent ...and floating pickup suggestions

[Keira Witherkay]

i'm about to buy one of these 30's style jazz box's .......the Epiphone Emperor Regent........ brand new.... just wondered if anyone has one or has experience with em........

this is more an impulse buy, since i just love the styling and look..... but i will use it i my shows ........

i see it has a floating mini humbucker ...... i'm assuming the stock pick up is usable..but if i wanted a top end floating pick up ......what would you recommend i try ? for a traditional "old" jazz tone

[SamBooka]

I have an emperor regent that I installed the Korean Kent Armstrong pick up.
I didn't notice a huge improvement but I didn't really like floating pick up in general.

I will mention that you have to be careful with the Emperor regent.
The mounting brackets spacing is about a quarter inch narrower then most replacement pickups

It will fit but it takes a little bit of doing

[PTChristopher]

Hi Keira,

I had an Emperor Regent some years back and it sounded great with a GFS "Fat Jazz" floating PU. I mean great - the PU was cheap, and a perfect match for the guitar. Fatter than the stock PU (which is not hard), but still with plenty of highs and upper mids for an articulate a sound.

And of course GFS no longer have this PU. It was a bit microphonic, but not enough to cause any trouble. And for all I know, the microphonic nature of the PU may have been a significant part of the sound in this case - it happens.

The stock PU will be OK, but maybe a but thinner sounding that you might expect. I'd try it out first before deciding what, if anything, you want to change. Don't forget picks and strings as cheap sound changers. Pro Plecs and T-I JS-112 strings make for a full "jazz" sound. I am new to the Pro Plecs, but they really do make a huge difference.

If you do decide to go with a PU change, the most balanced and full floating PU that comes to mind is the Benedetto S6.

Chris

[63Bigsby]

Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay

i'm about to buy one of these 30's style jazz box's .......the Epiphone Emperor Regent........ brand new.... just wondered if anyone has one or has experience with em........

this is more an impulse buy, since i just love the styling and look..... but i will use it i my shows ........

i see it has a floating mini humbucker ...... i'm assuming the stock pick up is usable..but if i wanted a top end floating pick up ......what would you recommend i try ? for a traditional "old" jazz tone

A top end PU for that trad old jazz tone? Here you go:
AJL-Guitars :: News

Of course it's a lot more cash than most other PU's and darn near half the price of the Korean Epi, but since you asked

[fws6]

(Just to be nitpicking here.... the emperor regent is not 1930s styling as it originally was introduced ca 1949. Moreover the current Emperor Regent has little to do with the vintage one; it is a mixture of 50s Epiphone styling and Gibson body shape. It is also pressed woods and plastic inlays rather than carved and abalone)

Anyways; to get back to your question; the 'best' pickup depends on the sound you are after. Traditional jazz can be many things?

- single coil (bright, hot, very traditional sound, but sensitive to buzz) --> a Vintage Dearmond or current copy as 63Bigsby was linking to
- humbucker (warm, full, no buzzing) --> try looking for a Gibson Johnny Smith or BJB they pop up on ebay all the time around $200
- new USA made Kent Armstrong (as Sam sais, the Korean Kent's might have the same name but offer no difference with the standard pickup) archtop.com offers all of them ranging from very traditional sounding, to very hot modern sounding ones see ac accessories

[passfan]

Hi Keira.
I have just replaced the stock KA floater on my Eastman 905 with the handmade 12 pole Kent Armstrong.£90 in the UK.Absolutely wonderful PU with the added advantage that it doesn't feedback as readily.Hope this helps.

[medblues]

Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay

i'm about to buy one of these 30's style jazz box's .......the Epiphone Emperor Regent........ brand new.... just wondered if anyone has one or has experience with em........

this is more an impulse buy, since i just love the styling and look..... but i will use it i my shows ........

i see it has a floating mini humbucker ...... i'm assuming the stock pick up is usable..but if i wanted a top end floating pick up ......what would you recommend i try ? for a traditional "old" jazz tone

I had researched this quite a bit and found Bartolini 5J as a drop-in replacement with good reviews:

Bartolini 5J Jazz Guitar Pickup (Johnny Smith type): Shop Accessories & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

[Keira Witherkay]

thanks for the responces........ much appreciated......... this is the 1st time i'm using a floating pick up ...... except for an old 50's one i had fitted to a double bass but that does not count ........ so yes i'll be gigging the guitar this weekend with the stock pickup and see how it goes....... i'll take my other guitars along just in case ........ but when i demo'd the guitar i found the stock pick up on the epi quite thinner than i expected .... but i have a 15W tube amp that can fatten up most guitars .....

at the moment the guitars still in the store getting a "setup" so will get it later today (fri) and will only have it a few hours before my first gig this weekend

and re using a plectrums.... "no can do" ...i'm a fingerstyle solo instrumental guitarist....so it's fingernails .......

anyway i've gotten great tone with humbuckers in my 175 and 330 and even my tele but lets see what this epi brings ........ and yes i do ;love the styling of it .....thats what made me buy it but if it don't sound that great i'll keep it as a teaching guitar ......... but on what i heard so far it'll be giggable.....and may be need a pickup change..but lets see .... let you know what i feel after the weekend

thanks again .........

peace and light
Keira

[mambosun]

Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay

thanks for the responces........ much appreciated......... this is the 1st time i'm using a floating pick up ...... except for an old 50's one i had fitted to a double bass but that does not count ........ so yes i'll be gigging the guitar this weekend with the stock pickup and see how it goes....... i'll take my other guitars along just in case ........ but when i demo'd the guitar i found the stock pick up on the epi quite thinner than i expected .... but i have a 15W tube amp that can fatten up most guitars .....

at the moment the guitars still in the store getting a "setup" so will get it later today (fri) and will only have it a few hours before my first gig this weekend

and re using a plectrums.... "no can do" ...i'm a fingerstyle solo instrumental guitarist....so it's fingernails .......

anyway i've gotten great tone with humbuckers in my 175 and 330 and even my tele but lets see what this epi brings ........ and yes i do ;love the styling of it .....thats what made me buy it but if it don't sound that great i'll keep it as a teaching guitar ......... but on what i heard so far it'll be giggable.....and may be need a pickup change..but lets see .... let you know what i feel after the weekend

thanks again .........

peace and light
Keira

My 2 cents: I have a Bartolini 5J on my Gregg Benett JZ4 (same league & price as the Regent) and I confirm it is superior to the stock PU which was not bad at all (Seymour Duncan Design). Warm and rich tone, very transparent sounding. Almost zero microphony.
However flaoting Pu as a sound signature not really similar as routed-in HB like in your ES175; check if this is the tone you like.

[Keira Witherkay]

Originally Posted by mambosun

My 2 cents: I have a Bartolini 5J on my Gregg Benett JZ4 (same league & price as the Regent) and I confirm it is superior to the stock PU which was not bad at all (Seymour Duncan Design). Warm and rich tone, very transparent sounding. Almost zero microphony.
However flaoting Pu as a sound signature not really similar as routed-in HB like in your ES175; check if this is the tone you like.

oh i like the floating pick up i got the guitar this afternoon and spent a few hours with it ....... it's a way more open sound than the humbuckers and it sounds very acoustic ...... i hear a more organic bass sound when i play walking lines than i get with the humbuckers ... anyway i have 2 gigs this weekend and the guitar is going but so far i feel quite at home with it .....and so far i like the mini humbucker but time will tell

thanks for the input

[mambosun]

Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay

oh i like the floating pick up i got the guitar this afternoon and spent a few hours with it ....... it's a way more open sound than the humbuckers and it sounds very acoustic ...... i hear a more organic bass sound when i play walking lines than i get with the humbuckers ... anyway i have 2 gigs this weekend and the guitar is going but so far i feel quite at home with it .....and so far i like the mini humbucker but time will tell

thanks for the input

You may like as well the Ibanez special George Benson floater seen in the GB10, it is cheaper than Bartolini or Handmade Kent Amstrong.
I never tried it but I am quite curious about the full tone it has, as it could be heard in some GB video clip.

MICRO JAZZ IBANEZ GEORGE BENSON MANCHE IBANEZ

[SamBooka]

Originally Posted by mambosun

You may like as well the Ibanez special George Benson floater seen in the GB10, it is cheaper than Bartolini or Handmade Kent Amstrong.
I never tried it but I am quite curious about the full tone it has, as it could be heard in some GB video clip.

MICRO JAZZ IBANEZ GEORGE BENSON MANCHE IBANEZ

Can you buy the Ibanez pickup as a replacement part?

[Keira Witherkay]

ok ... so i did 2 solo instrumental fingerstyle jazz gigs this weekend and the new epiphone emperor regent made it's debut performance .......( i must admit i had a backup of my "old faithful' there in it's case just in case........) and it was amazing ......

on the positive side
1. i liked the feel and weight (it's a nice comfortable weight and lighter than a 175 ) and was nicely balanced ... i sit and play so a guitar must sit in the right position for me to be comfortable .......
2, tone wise i was happy ....... and the notes were nicely defined and it makes a great multipart fingerstyle guitar
3. the sheer size and style of it of it is a show stopper........ and i mean that in a good way ... i got endless comments on how beautiful it was and how it caught their eye .but at 17" across it's a BIG guitar and can't be missed but the styling is very elegant and suits my solo jazz guitarist "image" better than say my usa tele which tonally is great but looks odd (well to me) so yes looks and audience responce get full marks , it was talked about

cons (negative points)
1, the store i bought it from never had a case in stock(it's on order) so i had to put it in an acoustic bass gig bag since the guitar because of the wide body and huge headstock could not fit into a standard gig bag...... it was too long ....... so it kinda made me nervous of damaging it while transporting it .....
2. on the 2nd gig i had to play a bit louder than the 1st and had a tiny stage footprint so my amp was right next to my chair and i got a bit of feedback or howl back from the body ....... so i had to position myself just right all gig to avoid that ........ so it seems this guitar will be prone to howl back/feedback from the body and at this gig i said i was louder than the 1st gig BUT i was still NOT that loud so a bit dissapointing ...

so yes early days still.......... and yes the guitar gets my vote of confidence....and does what i expected it to sound wonderfully warm and sweet (very undeniably jazz tone leaning a hint more on the airy/acoustic jazz tone than the darker humbucker side but what i expected from an archtop) and it look fabulous and helps the stage "image" ..i'm of the school that believes the audience listens with their eye's at live shows........ so "looking the part" 'albeit cliched" gets the audience attention ... and seeing the archtop they immeadiately know what kinda repetoire to expect so it definitely sets the tone of the show

just wanna experiment with amp placing to get that feedback/howlback issue sorted it';s no prob at low intimate small venue levels i usually perform at but when i push it ...mmmmm

anyway money well spent ........and yes i would think possibly in future replacing the floating pickup with something top end will be a cherry on this cake....... and the great thing with if i replace the pickup with something really top end ..... is that since it's a floating pickup it's non intrusive so if i get a "better " archtop i can just move the "top end pickup to the new better guitar and replace the stock epiphone one and no damage to the epi and that top end pick up can follow me around from archtop to archtop i aquire ........as i'm sure i will upgrade to a better archtop and if NOT better definitely an original vintage archtop would be on my shopping list at some time ......