Epiphone Black Beauty

[TheGrandWazoo]

Looking forward to hearing your videos with it Rob.

[Woody Sound]

Working on "The Log." Feast your eyes and ears on the music, fashion, and late50s/early60s home decor with long/shallow brickwork. Gorgeous. One of the truly iconic eras of Americana. Too bad about the way women were portrayed (the commercial).

[Rob MacKillop]

Les was a great player, though not the best at miming or acting. And Mary could just about match him. Pity she was reduced to sewing while the husband plays. I'd like to think those days are behind us.

Okay, I got an email saying the guitar will be delivered this afternoon. Stay tuned for first impressions.

[Rob MacKillop]

And here it is, fresh out of its box - no case or even gig bag included...

Please excuse the playing. I seem to have no rhythm at all today!

Not a bad sound for strings which feel like nines, and going into a cheap amp. I think there are possibilities here. It's funny, it was like I was in a guitar shop - I can never think of a thing to play. Anyway, I'm happy so far.

[citizenk74]

Really sweet tone, Rob! I think you're going to have some fun!

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, K. It has been the bargain of the year for me.

[silverfoxx]

It sounds alright to me Rob , but with a different gauge set and neck adj
it will be transformed I expect, looks pretty good also. congrats on your
NGD with the"Tuxedo look"

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, Alan. I think it will be useful. One day I might learn to play an electric guitar as if it's not an acoustic!

[Max405]

Robster,
I'm sorry bud, I missed this one. Congratulations. You are gonna make this guitar sing I know you will.
I remember buying a brand new Ibanez Law Suit Les Paul with my paper route money back in 1976. I was so proud of that guitar. Had it for many, many years. I used it on stages with some of the biggest names in music history. It was stolen at a place we use to practice at in Paterson NJ. I wish the person who stole it woke up one morning seeing that his feet grew together in his sleep the night before.

Enjoy your new guitar. I hope it makes you feel like a kid again.

Joe D.

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks Joe. Appreciated. Sorry to hear about your stolen guitar...how could any musician do that to another musician? And I thought we were all nice people...

[Rob MacKillop]

You know, I think this neck pickup is not so bad. I've read nothing but bad reviews of it, probably written by rockers. It seems somewhat underwound, and is currently deep set into its casing, much further from the strings than the other two pickups. All the Epiphone website has to say is that they are "Alnico Classic Humbuckers" - would that be Alnico 2, or 5, or? I won't rush into a replacement.

Edit: They are apparently Alnico 5.

[neatomic]

i think you'll have it sounding like you in no time!! haha

enjoy


cheers

ps- alnico v is the stronger magnet..so it will have a tad more bite...perhaps thats why the neck pup is sunk into the body a bit

restring it, before advancing

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks. Will do!

[TOMMO]

What citizenkane said: sounds sweet! Hope you enjyo it in good health!

[LtKojak]

You know, I think this neck pickup is not so bad. I've read nothing but bad reviews of it, probably written by rockers. It seems somewhat underwound, and is currently deep set into its casing, much further from the strings than the other two pickups. All the Epiphone website has to say is that they are "Alnico Classic Humbuckers" - would that be Alnico 2, or 5, or? I won't rush into a replacement.

Edit: They are apparently Alnico 5.

It should be a sticker attached to the baseplate that tells the exact model. I'm guessin' the neck and middle p'up will be the 57CH and the bridge one HOTCH.

They measure about 8.5K neck and middle and 14K the bridge, so they're designed with the Rock player in mind. They're A5, and they're the main reason people come to me to change'em out. I refer to 'em as the "worst OEM p'up set known to mankind" when I feel generous.

They're designed to be cheapest of the cheap. Brass baseplate, low-carbon content in screws, slugs and keeper bar, and of course, a pretty thick brass cover as "icing in the cake", so to speak. Also, the wiring uses the highest capacitance leads known to mankind as well, both for the leads coming out of the p'ups themselves and for the wiring of the whole guitar. There's more capacitance in the 10" lead coming out from one single p'up that the whole LP wiring made with traditional vintage, braided push-back wire. Also, with the wax contained in those three p'ups alone you can even start you own candle-making company... and I wish I was joking.

If you play Jazz solely on the neck p'up, and you use '50s Barney Kessel type of tone, it can be made sound that way with some use of EQ, mind you. But if you need articulation for you play in a band with at least a piano player, then you'll need to use heavy EQ'ing just to be heard in the ensemble.

The wind themselves are not half bad if you put'em together with the right materials, meaning silver-nickel baseplates and covers, 1022 screws in the neck 1018 screws for the bridge, 1215 slugs for all, 1018 keeper bars and vintage-type of braided wire. However, I find'em useful only if used as bridge p'ups. All three of them.

When boutique modded, even though you can get decent, useful tone, they'll always be two-dimensional and not particularly dynamic.

I've been changing these exact same p'ups for over fifteen years, so I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty well acquainted with'em.

HTH,

[Rob MacKillop]

So, you don't like them?

Thanks for the info. A lot of rockers don't like them either. I might just get a Classic 57, or a Harmonic Design Z-90, if they'd do me one with a gold top to match the others.