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Have any of you experimented with putting a great pickup, like a USA Armstrong or Lollar imperial, into a cheap Korean plywood arch top? What did you get? Thanks!
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01-12-2019 05:36 PM
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Not an archtop, but I have a Squier Affinty Tele ($180 new) with a set of Dimarzio Area T pickups in it; it sounds every bit as good as a "real" Tele. But a solid plank guitar may not be all that fair of a test.
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I put a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover in a $400 Epiphone Zephyr Regent Re-Issue and LOVE IT. Totally the right move. The EZR has mahogany back and sides and just feeds that pickup all the right vibes. I think if the guitar body is solid and competent, gives the player a good platform for playing, it deserves a great pickup to deliver the goods.
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I had a terrible experience trying to outfit a Squier strat with top end electronics and hardware. After playing a zillion Squiers I picked the one with the best neck and then paid a pro luthier some $250 to install on this $200 guitar a $250 Kahler trem (he had to rout the body cavity a bit) and a $300 set of EMGs. So after close to $1k, I still had a Squier neck that was not anywhere close to any of my other "good" guitars. And I never did like the dry, cold sound of the EMGs. So I restored the original PUPs and bridge, gave the guitar to my nephew, sold the EMGs and put the Kahler onto a Charvel Model 6 that I still have and still love. That particular combo DID realize the playability of a $2K Jackson for half the price.
Originally Posted by Cunamara
I still do not own any actual Fender guitars, never was comfortable on those necks, but my Charvel "super-strat" comes close in tone (though not quite the same) ... with a great neck and great (original active) electronics.
SJ
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I put a DiMarzio and a Schaller golden in a $150 Harmony 335 clone it sounds and plays great.
Last edited by GNAPPI; 01-15-2019 at 11:16 AM.
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I put a Lil 59 HB in a Yamaha Pacifica 012 (the cheapest one) and gigged with it for several years.
I don't think it sounded quite as good as a genuine Strat, but it had better playability (slimmer neck, stayed in tune better). Most important, I could get my sound.
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Yes. I put a Gibson '57 Classic into a Samick HJ-650. It sounds great. It also sounded great with the stock cheap Samick pickup. The Gibson pickup was an improvement over the stock pickup, but surprisingly - not much.
Like Lawson, I also have a Korean made (Peerless) Epi Zephyr Regent. It's a nice sounding/playing guitar on it's own. It has a Dimarzio PAF in it now; I may try the '57 Classic in it sometime.
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I put a Stew Mac Golden age HB in the neck of my Squier Strat. The pick up was about half the cost of the guitar. I was thinking of putting an SD Benedetto PAF in it, but the Golden Age sounds great. I am still thinking of swapping it or may hang onto it for another project.
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I've done it a few times with solid bodies and wasn't really thrilled with the results. If the original pickups were bad you're going to hear an improvement, but whatever was weak about the guitar will still be there. My latest one was putting a set of new Gibson pafs on an Epiphone les Paul, still sounds like the same guitar to me.
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Put a Benedetto S6 on a Washburn j600k. The sound quality took a quantum step up. $600 for the guitar, $60 for a luthier to level the frets, $150 for new pup and pots installed by me. Might be able to get $250 for it but probably not.
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If the guitar is a dog, no pickup in the world can change that. But if you have a good guitar and a poor pickup, then a pickup upgrade makes sense.
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Back in 1970 I had no money for a 'real' Les Paul, so I had Guitar Villa (in Hollywood, CA) modify my one and only guitar. It was my cheap, single pickup Harmony Stratotone.
He pulled the DeArmond foil p'up, routed it and mounted two new Gibson PAF T-Tops in it along with Gibson tone/volume pots. The result was a decent playing, but GREAT sounding small hollow body.
I still have it and use it for killer slide guitar tones.
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I work in a guitar store that sells Gibson and Epiphone. A customer had an Epi Les Paul and had me put CTS pots, Switchcraft fittings and a pair of Duncan Antiquities into it. I did. Then I did a really nice set up. When it was done, a bunch of people wanted him to take it on the floor and A/B a bunch of real Gibsons against it. For whatever reason, everyone preferred the modded Epi. Yup. We sold two Epi's that day and they immediately came to me for modding.
David
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I put a 57 Classic and 57 Classic Plus in an MIK Epiphone Broadway. The guitar was decent to begin with. The upgrade included orange drop caps and CTS pots. The result was a very decent guitar. I played it in that state a couple years and then traded it in at GC for my Tele. The Epi resold at GC immediately, so someone agreed.
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Keep the old pickups so if you ever sell it you can swap the expensive ones out.
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I put the Bartolini "Jazz Pair" PBF55/57 into an Ibanez AF125 which I was actually considering selling. The Bartolinis breathed new life into the instrument. IMO the "Super 58 Custom" stock pickups were junk.
I also put a pair of Stew Mac Golden Age pickups along with new upgraded pots and caps into a Korean made Epi Sheraton and am very happy with the results.
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I'm kinda in the opposite camp. I find it harder to find a cheap guitar with a nice neck/fretboard than I do a cheap guitar with decent pickups. Then again, neck/fretboard/playabilty/action has always been more important to me than subtlety of tone.
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I absolutely agree that playability is paramount. What good is excellent tone if you can't play it? However, I also think that the search for excellent tone is a noble quest. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Another similar story to WG. As a teenager I had a dirt cheap guitar I kept trying to upgrade. But no matter what I did it just never felt like my friend’s higher end guitar.
Cheaply made guitars can be great, just like a broken clock is accurate twice a day. But they can also be awful to play, and no pickup/saddle/nut/tuner upgrade can overcome that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Since a couple of you mentioned the Golden age pups, which did you get, the A2 or A5? Also are the pups identical (winding and pole spacing) like the Gibson 57's have been?
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@Gary
I've always preferred A2 over A5.
The Golden Age pickups are a Price
/Performance champ and an outstanding value for about half the money of other brands, but if you've got an extra $200 available I would go for the Bartolinis or Duncan Seth Lovers.
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I installed a pair of Seymour Duncan Alnico 5 Staples plus new harness RS Guitarworks CTS pots, Switchcraft switch and jack in my 2013 Yunzhi and liked the result. Was about to sell this instrument one year ago but decided to keep it. Just needs a new pickguard.
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Sorry for the pics.
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I'd put a Texas Special or two in my Squier Strat if I could find some cheap. I'm not going to put a lot of money into the guitar.
ETA: didn't realize how affordable these were. I might just get me a replacement middle to try and get something useful out of that position.
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that's what i did. I did a bunch of other shit like brass barrel saddles, made my own bone nut, string through body...so i would think that made a different too Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus
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