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Getting closer, here's the $2.90 (U.S.) dog ear cover - it arrived in the mail today from StewMac.com. No connection with them except as a satisfied customer !
In my mind, this looks LOTS better than my wooden cover (please ignore the masking tape and paste wax).
cheers
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09-18-2009 07:13 PM
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I think it looks very good indeed! Classy jazz-box touch!
(but too bad you didn't leave 1 or 2 cms distance from the fretboard, although soundwise it's a non-issue, optically I prefer P90s to be not right against the fretboard... but this comment itself is a non-issue just as well, since you already made your choice and installed it your way
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How does it sound? Soundclip maybe?Last edited by Little Jay; 09-19-2009 at 04:45 PM. Reason: spellin error
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Yeah, I hear you and I agonized over that until I looked at the location of the P-90s on my old ES-330. Since that guitar has a wonderful tone, I just copied the location ... right up against the neck with just enough spacing to preclude microphonics,
cheers
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I have to admit it does look a little neater and less bulky than the wooden cover. And not that it will make a whole lot of difference, but right up against the fretboard should make for the warmest possible tone, which would work well combined with the P90 sound.
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I did some googling but didnt have much luck. What is the theory behind puting the pickup at the 24th fret node? I dont see the advantage and open strings would be a little more dead. Maybe that is the point? Make open strings even with the fretted notes?
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Theory? None ... as I stated earlier, I simply copied the placement of the neck P-90 on my '69 ES-330. I really like the sound of that guitar !
Insofar as the "node" thing goes, location of the pickup determines how much harmonic content is detected, i.e. the closer to the center of the scale length, the "purer" the tone. Obviously, there is a limitation on where the neck pickup can be placed.
Most instruments, IMHO, have the neck pickup located for structural reasons rather than for tone considerations. Refer to old Gibson SG models with the pickup placed too near the neck joint resulting in neck failure.
cheers
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Cool. My Lollar pickup should be here this week. It is p90esq but with fixed pole pieces. In theory I should be able to place it almost anywhere on the top since I dont have to route it. I ordered a pack of shims. I can use carpet tape to place the pickup and find the optimal location. I just like to understand other peoples points of view.
Thanks for the info.
DrewLast edited by dh82c; 09-19-2009 at 09:50 PM.
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Disregard
Last edited by dh82c; 09-19-2009 at 09:50 PM.
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probably a little late now, but you miight have been able to use a P 94 ( they fit the standard PAF slot ) and saved yourself at least some elbow grease.....
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Ummmm - slot ? It's an Epi Emperor Regent, it had no slots except for the f-holes.
cheers
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Originally Posted by dh82c
I delayed making a start on my Emperor mod while trying to work out the best position for the pickup, but never really found an answer either - except to find (in the history of the ES175, I think) that Gibson placed the P90 in the best position for pickup height, not node points. I'm still tinkering with an Epi 'Joe Pass' so I haven't got around to the Emperor yet, but had decided to go with randyc's 'structural reasons' at the end of the fingerboard: a) because that's where they put the Broadway pups (and that sounds OK) and b) because that seemed to me to be the least intrusive damage to the top, and maybe least affect the accoustic sound. I'm assuming, unlike the SG, that the neck structure wouldn't come into it with the Emperor.
Also - I think it's an interesting idea to use carpet tape and experiment with the positioning (wasn't it Dearmond who mounted a pup on a sliding rail so the position could be adjusted?). I have already modded an Aria FA50 (I'm really hooked on this modification business) by removing the pick-guard and mounting the pots directly into the top - this seemed to make no difference at all to the tone of a laminate - and replacing the neck mounted pup with a MIK Kent Armstrong. I'd read a forum thread somewhere that said the writer didn't like the sound of a floating pickup when mounted directly to the neck, so I had thought of putting the pup on a mounting (like a bridge base) and taping that to the top. In the end (too many things to do) I've stuck it on there with two blobs of 'Blutack' while I think about the next stage. Works so well I've been tempted to leave it like that - pup in the neck position but without a 'hard' fixing to the fingerboard and without cutting the top. A flexible mounting like this would enable you to try various positions and pick the best.
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Did you use long shaft or regular pots mounted to the body? Originally Posted by RAQ
I am mounting them on mine as well ala L5 Wes. I "think" regular pots will fit but it might be close.
The floating pickup does affect the tone of the guitar, it is distinctive. Having said that, for acoustic reasons it doesnt make a huge difference with a ply top.
My Lollar was shipped on Thursday. I hope to have it installed this week
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I used the small scale knobs from the stock pots, they look really neat (the FA50 is only 16" and I didn't want anything too obtrusive). The stock pots were minis, fitted under the pickguard, so I replaced them with spare set of 'standard' pots from a previous mod (think they were Alphas). They fitted OK, but I left the star washers off to make sure the nuts went on OK. There can be quite a difference in top thicknesses, but have found 'standards' usually fit. Originally Posted by dh82c
I have found it very difficult to bring myself to cut the top of the Epi - I'm not doubting I can make a reasonable job of it, it just seems a bit of a sin to cut a complete top. However - yes, the L5 Wes is the model for the planned conversion. The plan was to aim for something like the new Ibanez PM35, but with a 17" body.
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Yeah.. the plan was to cut the top. Doesnt bother me on a 500$ guitar. If I blow it I can sell it at a loss of a couple of hundred and buy another.
the P90 I ordered Doesnt require cutting the top. A couple of screw holes that is it. Jason Lollar designed it that way specifically so you dont have to cut the top. If you go to the website in the pickup section you will see in the background a guitar with two p90s. The neck has non-adjust poles. He did that to make the pickup thin enough. Doesnt sound exactly like a p90 but very close with hints of Jazzmaster. I like both so I pulled the trigger.
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You're absolutely right of course - on another day I'll be defending buying budget guitars precisely because you can work on them and teach yourself how to set up and modify them. The whole point of me working on budget guitars was to know what kind of guitar I wanted to keep long-term, to be able to to pick a good 'un or spot a dud and to have the confidence to put my money were my ears are. Originally Posted by dh82c
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Drew, FWIW, I kept the pots on the Epi original but changed the tone control capacitor from .047 uF to .022 uF. Worked out fine but YMMV ... Originally Posted by dh82c
cheers,
randyc
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I see. Nice pic btw. The frequensators look so funny now. I made a new bass fork that is about 2 inches longer and I am so used to it.
I also dont use the PG so I figure I will topmount the pots like the L5 in back. I have to order the parts anyway so I will probably mount the pickup and then try different value pots/caps to see what I like. .022 and 500k will probably be the end result but I dont take these things for granted.
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After my last posting I removed the strings and changed the tailpiece, then fitted two outside strings to act as guidelines. Cut a small (ie:safe) hole to get a good look inside and have now begun enlarging it to take the pickup. Plenty of room, well away from braces. I'm going to try to attach a photo, not that you don't know what an Emperor Regent looks like, but to see if I can upload photographs. It's not very good, but it's my first attempt at uploading images. I'll get on then and finish it and post again when it's done
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Just curious. Why did you change the tailpiece?
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I don't know that I have any good reasons, in fact if I had left it as an acoustic Emperor I might have left the Frequensator on it for authenticity; but, given the choice, I just prefer the zig-zag even though the Frequensator is more distinctive. I like the look, especially since it's going to end up as a Gibson copy; I like the heavier string bar; it has a really good mounting plate that I refer on deeper bodied guitars. I suppose, when it really comes down to it, the odd string lengths put me off the Freqensator, and the way the treble strings come off the saddle at some strange angles. Originally Posted by dh82c
I'm feeling a bit guilty now, for changing it. I can always put back. Just don't ask me why I cut that big hole in the top for the PAF - I can't undo that now.
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It's taken a day or two to get around to this, but it's done now. It's the first time I've cut the top to fit a PAF, but it wasn't too difficult - I tended to put it aside when my patience began to wear thin, then pick it up again when my enthusiasm returned. I'm not entirely sure everything lines up as well as it could (strings, pup, bridge, tailpiece). I used the stock bridge and maye the spacing wasn't quite all it should be - should have checked this first I suppose - but re-cutting the saddle might bring things into line a little. Can't imagine it's any worse now that it was before, but if I do this again I will take more time checking the alignment. The PAF is chrome because it was a spare I had - I've changed a washer or two for chrome around the guitar to at least make it look as if the chrome/gold finish was intentional. Can't say that I've had much chance to really evalute the differences, but the accoustic tone seems no worse than before (to my ears at least) and the rest is as intersting, or more so, than the original.
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Nice job, it looks gorgeous ... you're the only one that will notice minor imperfections in workmanship.
My impressions about accoustic tone were similar to yours, I didn't notice any real difference - but then it wasn't a very GOOD accoustic guitar to start with.
I wasn't thrilled with the amplified P-90 sound on mine, it didn't sound that markedly different from the MIK floater, just louder. I was hoping for an ES-125 sound.
Can you comment on how the humbucker sounds ?
cheers
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That looks very nice. As the owner of an Epi Joe Pass, I bet you will get a nice warm humbucking tone. I agree these guitars are not great acoustically; laminated guitars are meant to be amplified. Although I have read that Joe Pass played his ES-175 (another lam-top) acoustically into a microphone for recording some of the songs on the Virtuoso series.
Are you going to put on a pickguard? Maybe Benedetto-style?
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Thanks for the comments, although I have to say that I had been planning to modify the Emperor for months, but was finally inspired to do it because of the work you were doing on yours - I thought I couldn't keep on talking about it unless I actually got down to doing it. Also - I'm working on guitars, not because I know what I'm doing, but because I'm trying to learn what to do by doing it. I say that because any comments I may have, as a learner, on tone and sound quality may not be entirely reliable. Originally Posted by randyc
I got the Emperor to play the role of a 17" accoustic archtop. It's OK, I knew not to expect too much from it; but I think the Aria FA71 is better, livelier, more responsive. The standard 'floater' sounded to me like a cheap radio played too loud - poor sound quality, distorted and with little distinction between individual strings. I replaced it with a MIK 'Kent Armstrong' from WD Music. This was an immediate improvement. I did a DC resitance check and found the stock pup was 11K and the KA was around 8K. I'm gradually forming the opinion that stock pups are often overwound to sound impressive (ie LOUD), but at the expense of sound quality. Since I had a spare 57 Clasic, from a previous 'experiment', I thought of converting it to a 'Wes type' L5.
There is a marked improvement over the stock pup (which is just as well since the PAF is around £130 now in the UK), but I don't know that there is such a remarkable improvement over the MIK Kent Armstrong. I began lurking around on guitar forums to learn about jazz guitar, and everyone and their dog was ripping out stock pups and installing 57 Classics; so I began doing it too. It's a great comment of yours to question the improvement - the 57 has, to my ears, a richer, deeper, fuller, more mellow tone; and with complete clarity (I mean you hear each string as a string and not a jumble). But in terms of sheer improvement I too would question the point of the upgrade - although I wanted to upgrade for other reasons too. The only direct comparison I have made so far (and then it was through my little 15w Marshall - not the best test maybe) is with an Aria FA71, but that has a fancy floating Bartolini. The Aria is a clear winner; but the Emperor sounds OK, and I'm pleased with the outcome. I certainly wouldn't change back.
While I'm on the subject (sorry if this is dragging on) - sitting holding the guitar you get to feel the accoustic qualities of the sound too. The accoustic components of the Aria can be FELT by the player as they may not be by an audience. I tried them both through headphones (where you only pick up the signal fed to the speaker of course) and they both sound fantastic. I actually like a slightly brighter tone (the Emp has round-wound 12's with a wound 3rd), but the tone direct from the PAf is so good I could quite happily listen to it through headphones all the time. I suspect my wife prefers that too.
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I play (try to play) fingerstyle, and mostly remove pickguards - mainly because they don't (for me) serve any real purpose - although they add a real jazz look. Whenever I'm tempted to put them back, I always take them off again; but I would agree that if I added one it would need to be in keeping with the style now and not the piece of Epiphone plastic that came with it. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
I really do like the tone now, but the improvement is more sutble I suppose than I was expecting.Last edited by RAQ; 09-30-2009 at 12:09 PM.
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