hey everyone,
i just bought an epiphone les paul standard for my backup guitar and i really love it so far. i bought it used off ebay (yes, i know...but it was too good of a deal to pass up) and got it for a great price. cosmetically, the guitar is immaculate. it is possibly better than new. anyway, i'm having a little problem with the pickups. they sound great when distorted, however, when i have my amp on the clean channel, it still sounds like it is being overdriven. this doesn't happen with any of my other guitars. i was just wondering what could possibly be wrong with it. the controls seem to all work fine, and i love the sound when it is distorted. any ideas? thanks all!
"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC
Just out of curiosity, how much did you get it for? :D
are the pickups orriginal?
even god loves rock-n-roll
Epi Humbuckers are typically wound fairly hot and they distort pretty easily, even on clean. Try to run the gain on your clean channel really low and see if that helps...
AK - $250 with an epi hard case (guy screwed up and ended up shipping it for free...that's why it was so cheap)
rocker - yes, they are original
Dave B - i figured they were hot, but something still sounded a little funny to me. i'm gonna make this my project guitar anyway, so i guess i'll just deal with for now until i can change the pickups.
i'm thinking that i'm going to put either EMG's or Duncan's in it. With the EMG's, will my output be louder into my amp? i was just wondering as when playing live, i'm going to be switching guitars for different tunings. also, i was thinking duncan's because i can put the pickup covers on them and make it look stock as well (i like the look of pickup covers). any suggestions anyone?
"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC
Try lowering the pickups. And turn your dadburn guitar volume knob down if it's still too hot. That's what it's there for.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
My Epi is my project guitar too, gonna stick Dim Paf in the neck and Dim super distortion in the bridge, get that sexy Morello sound :> Roll on April 23rd for my student loan!
You sing in praise of suicide, we know you're useless, like cops at the scene of the crime.
The sky is a landfill.
epi pickups are not hot pickups, imo there not very good, thats why i changed them
to dimarzio's 8)
even god loves rock-n-roll
ric - i've done that. played with the pickup heights, volume/tone knobs, etc. thinking there might be a wiring problem or something, so i'll probably get it checked out by a tech. definitely considering a pickup change anyway. i like the bridge pickup when it is being driven, but i don't like the neck pickup at all.
"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC
epi pickups are not hot pickups, imo there not very good, thats why i changed them
to dimarzio's 8)
I don't know about all of them, but the ones I'm familiar with (Epi LP Studio and Vintage SG, among others) use a hot bridge pickup that measures about 13.5k. Pretty hot in my book - at least compared to vintage pickups...
I'm not a big fan of some of the stock Epi pickups, but the 57 neck and hot bridge they have been using on some guitars lately sound pretty decent.
I don't know what kind of music you're into but I put Gibson 57' classics in my Epi and they sound amazing! That is if you play lots of classic rock and modern rock/alternative...not so good for metal. Check 'em out at the very least.
My Epiphone SG had no doubt the same pickups and I didn't like them for somewhat the same reason. The ones I have on it now are an even cheaper Epi open faced in the bridge position and a Samick deal (probably the same manufacturer) at the neck and I love the sound. Are your Epi stock pickups the ones with the covers? Mine were and they sounded "buzzy". I am happy now though. I did have a pole alignment issue. I fixed it by tilting the pickup like the bridge pickup on a Strat. The neck pickup is wired in parallel rather than series. It is a little brighter and has a better clean sound and distorted sounds very bluesy. The bridge pickup BTW is from an Epi Special, a $99 guitar. I love the way it sounds though. I had to replace that one in my sons Epi Special with a Duncan Design high output humbucker. Small price to pay for the sound I was after. No, seriously, only $30. :lol:
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
