Epiphone Zephyr Regent

[lawson-stone]

That's weird because their site says this one is the P90 in Humbucker size. Don't know what to think about that.

[neatomic]

.if yours is the original dream model (that was around for years!) its defiintely a strat bobbin..ive posted pics b4

here's how gfs compares dream and mean

Mean 90 Gloss Black- TRUE Alnico P90- FAT and Loud!

just for info...the classic gibson p90 is 10000 winds of #42 wire around a large but flat bobbin....that bobbin won't fit in a humbucker size shell...so they use smaller bobbins..as such they cant get enough wraps of #42 wire around it...so they use #43 thinner wire

so 2 big differences right there!...

other thing to consider is that it changes the point of your 24th fret harmonic over the polepieces...i know many don't care, but just a reminder! hah

being that you already have it, i'd give it a shot...just offering a bit of info

cheers

[Max405]

Lawson, I’m sorry I missed this thread. I like it! I really do.
Big difference to my ears between the new 175 and this guitar. I’m sure the old strings play a part but I really like this guitar for the single note stuff. It sounds like the guitar “been there before”.
Really nice playing Lawson.
Thanks for sharing!
Joe D

[rabbit]

IMO you done good obtaining this guitar!

I purchased one new from the 90's but let it go, unwisely.

Mine had a terrific neck, as good for me as any guitar.

I was unimpressed with the original pickup.

[Brian B]

Lawson...don't know if you've had time to delve into yours, but I did this week.. Thought you might like to see the inside of one of these. I stuck my iPhone in the pickup hole and snapped away. The two holes in the tail block...the top one is the ground wire hole, the lower one is the strap button screw hole.

I'll post pics of the harness I wired up in a bit....

B.

Edit...annnnnd the pix rotated somehow. lol. 4th pic is thru the pickup hole at the cutaway horn, 5th pick is towards the top bout on the other side.

[BeBob]

I've been looking for one of those but I haven't had the luck to encounter one.

Lawson, what's the neck profile on that new Epi? Thick or thin?

[lawson-stone]

Interesting that the braces are not cut/kerfed. Gibson ES1x5 parallel braces are usually partially cut-through/kerfed to make fitting them easier. The Epiphone braces aren't! Fascinating.

[lawson-stone]

I've been looking for one of those but I haven't had the luck to encounter one.

Lawson, what's the neck profile on that new Epi? Thick or thin?

I'd call it a shallow C. Thickness at the center of the neck at the 5th fret is .94"

[Brian B]

Got busy at work, didn't get a chance to put these up.... You're welcome, BTW.



I got one of the rosewood StewMac bridges...we'll see how that goes. I tried my hand at match sanding. It took a LOT of sanding, as the SM bridge was a good 3/16" taller than the Epi bridge was.

I've got the harness soldered together, but not in yet. I did plug it in and bench test it, and it's all good. The 2nd pic shows what came out... P94T and the harness the previous user made.

I, uh...like mine a wee bit more, if'n I'm allowed to toot me own horn for a minnut. XD

B.

[Brian B]

By the by...how loud is yours acoustically? I'd wager if I strung mine with some Martin bronze, it'd keep up with a few flattops...

[john_a]

Hey, I've got one of those too!
Best I can remember now, it is from Peerless factory 2004
The original gold hardware had a patina that was less attractive than some vintage L5 might sport, so I went with new chrome or nickle on the replacements.
I changed PU, bridge, tailpiece, all electrical parts and upgrade tuners. I had the correct size reamers to make the parts fit, and the guitar cleaned up well.

John

[lawson-stone]

By the by...how loud is yours acoustically? I'd wager if I strung mine with some Martin bronze, it'd keep up with a few flattops...

So sorry I missed this! Mine is actually pretty good acoustically. It's as good as any laminated archtop I have acoustically. Maybe not better, but I was happy with the acoustic tone the first time I tried it. I don't put much emphasis on that, since I'm almost exclusively an electric guy.

[lawson-stone]

Got busy at work, didn't get a chance to put these up.... You're welcome, BTW.



I got one of the rosewood StewMac bridges...we'll see how that goes. I tried my hand at match sanding. It took a LOT of sanding, as the SM bridge was a good 3/16" taller than the Epi bridge was.

I've got the harness soldered together, but not in yet. I did plug it in and bench test it, and it's all good. The 2nd pic shows what came out... P94T and the harness the previous user made.

I, uh...like mine a wee bit more, if'n I'm allowed to toot me own horn for a minnut. XD

B.

This is helpful! I 'm curious about the cap wiring. Sometimes I see it like yours, wired between the pots, other times I see the cap basically wired back to the tone pot. Any difference?

[Brian B]

This is helpful! I 'm curious about the cap wiring. Sometimes I see it like yours, wired between the pots, other times I see the cap basically wired back to the tone pot. Any difference?

While I'm sure there is, I'm not sure I could either discern or describe.

I wired both the ZepReg and my Emperor T using what's known as '50s wiring, which is simply put how Gibson connected the capacitor back in the day. They changed what lugs on the pot they connected it to and this became known as "modern" wiring.

This explains it better, from Seymour Duncan's site;


"The 50s wiring is what it’s actually all about. That particular schematic focusses on the tone pot/volume pot relationship. As with the volume pot, there are two ways of wiring up the tone pot. I’m not talking about the entire filter (there are more ways that lead to Rome!) but how the two are connected.

The modern way is to hook the tone pot up to the outer lug of the volume pot. The 50s version is to wire it up to the central lug of the volume pot. Is there a ‘best way’? It really depends on your guitar, pickups and playing style. The modern version will maintain the overall volume better when you roll down the volume but at the cost of losing a bit of high end. If you have a bright pickup that may not seem that bad of an idea, because with less volume and the same amount of treble the tone might be too piercing. On the other hand, the 50s version keeps the amount of treble the same but drops a bit in volume as soon as you roll down the tone pot.

What you might prefer is very much subject to personal preferences. I’m very fond of the 50s wiring myself. Once I discovered it, I modded almost all of my guitars to have this version. The highs seem to be clearer, especially with the volume pot rolled back."

( 50s Vs Modern Les Paul Wiring | Seymour Duncan )


For the ZepReg, I literally built a '50s Les Paul Junior harness, simply with the proper control spacing for the ZepReg.

Hope this helps.

B.



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[TOMMO]

'50s wiring, which is simply put how Gibson connected the capacitor back in the day. They changed what lugs on the pot they connected it to and this became known as "modern" wiring.

Probably not entirely true. I've discussed this with a luthier who has repaired / set up quite "a few" 50s Gibson Les Pauls and he told me that he found equally both types of wirings in them....


Another thing you have to consider is if you usually play your volume control wide open (that's where the 50s wiring works well) or if you have your volume control rolled back a bit most of the time. The more you roll it back the less effect the tone control will have because it receives less signal.

[vinnyv1k]

Form fitted bracing. Very impressive. Gibson take note of the right way to do it.

Lawson with your love of 175 type guitars I highly recommend playing a L4CES mahogany if the opportunity ever arises.
Though it is exactly like playing a 175 the sound is apples and oranges. The L4 has a sweetness that is hard to describe.
Angelic sounding. Players tend to love them to death or don't like them. No 175 thunk just perfect sweet balanced tone.
The one I have is the only guitar I ever owned were every string on every fret has the exact same volume.
For a guitar that looks just like a 175 they couldn't sound more different. Unfortunately they used to be very inexpensive
but those days are gone. The secret got out about them.

Those Epi Regents are very nice. I love single pu guitars.

[LtKojak]

That's weird because their site says this one is the P90 in Humbucker size. Don't know what to think about that.

As they say: a picture is worth a thousand words:



As you can see, the Dream 90 it's a single humbucking coil with wax filling all the empty space. Not quite a tone monster, if you ask me.

OTOH, the Mean90 are one of the better-sounding P90s in humbucker format I've personally tried, despite the price.

[lawson-stone]

As they say: a picture is worth a thousand words:



As you can see, the Dream 90 it's a single humbucking coil with wax filling all the empty space. Not quite a tone monster, if you ask me.

OTOH, the Mean90 are one of the better-sounding P90s in humbucker format I've personally tried, despite the price.

Wow. I already got the Mean90 and I'm going to try it. though I do have a 90's Benedetto (made by KA) that could be fun to use too. On the Mean90 pickup, you say the 47 cap is the one to use?

[73Fender]

Happy NGD to lawson-stone, I wasn't aware of this model before. Your's looks nice congrats.

Would anyone happen to have experience with any built at the Samick Indonesian factory as opposed to the earlier Korean Peerless models? There is one for sale locally, a 2006 model (actually it's over an hour drive). I may go have a look at it. The serial number starts with "SI" so it's a Samick build from the Bogor, Indonesia plant.

[electricfactory]

I found an Epiphone Zephyr Regent in my local guitar shop, it looks to be in more or less decent condition generally, seller is asking $600, ser# R98P0594. Unfortunately the Epi serial number dater couldn't decode this number, but do I interpret it correctly as Peerless factory 1998 ?

[mr. beaumont]

I don't know about the exact date deciphering, but yeah, "R" is Peerless, I believe. Should be a cool guitar...price maybe a little high? Offer $500, maybe?

[Brian B]

Yes.

R = Peerless
98 = 1998

From what the EpiWiki states, the 4th character should denote the month, but P wouldn't make sense, as it's after the 12th letter/month.

But then, so is mine. I've got a R98M...

Gobble that up. $600 is reasonable. If you can get it for 500, RUN.

EDIT; Just noticed that pickguard. No idea what that came from but it's not the original. Yeah...Definitely try for $500. LMK if you get it, I can send links to the PG and bracket I put on mine...



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[lawson-stone]

These are wonderful guitars, esp. if you want a laminate with mahogany back/sides. They benefit greatly from a better pickup, some suggest upgrading the whole wiring harness. They're likely right, but just a new pickup, like a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover, can do wonders.

I love mine, which is a 2003 Peerless. I don't know what the letter after the date means, mine has "C"

[Brian B]

C *should* indicate March of 2003.


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[lawson-stone]

I just found out the letter=month. I wonder if the OP having "P" is looking maybe at a "B" or "F" that is a little obscured somehow? Also, Peerless is marked with either initial P or R.

Don't know what that P is, unless it's not clear.