Building The ULTIMATE EPIPHONE! - One Les Paul To Rule Them All!
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Follow along as I build my "Ultimate Epiphone!"
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WIRING DIAGRAM:
The wiring diagram for this project can be found on the Seymour Duncan website
You guys asked for it - so here it is! Enjoy the Ultimate Epi!
Part II Comparison is now live! czcams.com/video/fIZqqjdZ1Hw/video.html
Hey Darrell, My friend and i do the same thing as you, but frankly we dont have enough money to buy new electronics and gear, Is there a way i could perhaps buy and/or could you make a generous donation the parts from all your scraps from your squier and lespaul and what not to my friend and i so we can do projects similar? just asking
GORGEOUS! A guitar like that should never be left alone. How could someone just stash it away under the bed? And now it sounds as good as it looks too! Can't wait for the follow up vid.
Darrell Braun Guitar I agree a tele would be great. How about a Sterling AX 40?
Thanks for the video! You've given some new ideas for my Les Paul!
Darrell Braun Guitar can you post that wiring diagram
Even provides the wiring diagram. What a champion.
Brad Angove yes I want to redo my chi son with this pickups
Hi Brad Angove I was wondering if you know of a link to the wiring diagram as listed above? This one does not work now and the others I have seen have the push pull pots on the two tone pots rather than the volumes...:)
Dude, you should totally do a giveaway of that guitar. Yeah, I wouldn't, either.
+Young Frankenstein 😄😄😄👍
@@DarrellBraunGuitar Darrell , please do a review of the les paul of the brand Vintage v100 or the Slash AFD.
@@TheTruth70777no
I had a feeling you were going to use those pickups. I have been drooling over those for a while
How much do they cost?
❤💋
I think the stock Grovers on that were pretty nice tuners to begin with . I have a bunch of Epiphone and Tokai Les Pauls and they all have just stock Grovers. I've never had any tuning issues that needed locking tuners.
Yeah but locking tuners are mostly great for quick string changes. Just less hassle and more time saving.
I absolutely love the color and finish of that Epiphone. If I saw that in a guitar shop it would definitely catch my eye. That is one versatile guitar right there.
I read forums all day and I've never heard of this setup ever. I'm impressed, I like different and that's it. Good job DB!
A couple mini-toggles (if you aren't worried about irreversible mods), and you could be even more versatile, 3 way mini for p90/humbucker/single for each pickup and potentially a series/parallel mini toggle for both pickups together and/or humbucker parallel out of phase etc. tons of options for these. Seymour Duncan actually sells mounting rings with a lot of these options built in with little switches on the pickup rings too.
I did a similar thing on a Tele a few years ago. Fitting anything extra on the already cramped plate is tough though, so I opted for the pickup rings SD sells for them with built-in coil switches.
JamCave Studio i have an epi standard pro and came with same set up except not duncan pickups.
if u spent ur money on a less puaul by buying used parts online and a good base off craigslist you can make (playablility wise not really value unles you know a friend who nkows what grover, checks the model of special ediion epiphones, but these knobs seem very promising for that type of players , and i play on getting them and using a telecaster mim or modded and compare the genius coil settings. it makes me rethink 'every electric guitarist nneeds 2 guitars. a strat and a les paul. and a tool; a dremel with a lot of different bits :D
JamCave Studio needs a roller bridge
Do a video where u show us all ur guitars
+Dom's Shows Its definitely on my list ☺
Darrell Braun Guitar make an annual series for that where first year(video) you show all the guitars that you have and the following ones only include the new ones and modified existing ones. It's easier than doing it all again XD. (Guarantee this will work, reporting directly from lazy organisation)
+TheStonedGamer9 Great idea!
Nice
Also let me tell you a story that happened the other day. My friend doesn't play ANY instruments. I showed him your videos and he looks at me and says I wanna play just like this guy! So I came to say thank you for inspiring my friend to learn to play guitar! 😄🤘🎸🎼 I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm support from Florida!
Keep shredding 🎸🎼🤘
-Ian
+Ian Gonzalez Thanks for sharing that story! It's really cool to hear! Say"hi" to your friend for me 👍
For us musicians born back in the 60’s just give me
either a Jr or a good set of CTS pots
Without any bells and whistles for me! Beautiful quilt!
You should list which parts you bought so we could get them easily.
Too ignorant
He names them as hes going along....wtf
@@rastamon5969 he said to get them easily. They could easily click a link, buy, next link, buy, next link. It’s lazy but would be convenient
Hello Darrell!! I did the same thing as you. But I don't have the same nice root beer finish; mine is ebony. I also have changed the knobs to speed knobs. And the final thing was to change the truss rod cover to the one with Les Paul Custom istead of Les Paul Standard. Thanks for the idea!! Best wishes! Musically yours Liselotte in Karlstad, Sweden.
Musicians use their ears to listen to music and to people speak so we write notes and then use google to find what we’re looking for locally.
List of parts in the description would have been useful. Love this Epiphone!!! Color is great and seems to have nice tone. And above all, a lots of different tones!!! Cant wait the next video against other guitars!!!
Clarence Prigent I agree I have a Chibson. I would love to mod it with the P rails . Please provide some info Or links.
Guys, take a look at the wiring diagram, it states all the parts needed for this project.
I'm a novice. Looking at the wiring diagram the wiring is not a problem, but I have no ideal what to buy to duplicate this mod. Without the part numbers for all the parts this mod for me will never happen.
They're called seymour duncan P-rails
I absolutely adore that root beer epi! And now it leaves my 2016 Gibson LP in the dust!
+Bella Chi The root beer quilt combo is pretty cool 👍
Congrats on your 2016 Gibson!
Me want.
I love everything about this guitar.
Every.
Single.
Thing.
Same.
Here.
IKR it’s making me so excited for when I build my guitar
And.
Here.
No.
Doubt.
!
I have one that has been modified to look like a Gibson and its with great Seymour Duncan pickups. Took the pickguard off since I did not like. It's a great guitar.
Darrell you've been helpful, entertaining and even inspiring to this 48-year amateur veteran - keep up the great work! One slight, completely unnatural thing you could have done differently woud have been to change the tuners on one side first so we could see the difference in real time. Seems like an incredibly versatile instrument.
Definitely going to do this!!!
Fluro Flash, amen!
I did I years ago, regretted it. The stock Reverend HB were more to my liking, too many sounds with small differences. Thinking of TV Jones next time.
Me 2
What you did to that Epi, is what I have to do to anything I get ,that I like the looks of. Love those P-90's sounds, Seymour Duncan no.1!!!!
HAVE to say it. I have listened to your 10 leads 10 guitars and I had to go back twice to listen to the P90. MAN, WHAT a GREAT SOUNDING Guitar. So impressed and as always. You simply kick butt playing AND your video's. You can tell what a super nice guy you are.
I bought an ES-339 from Thomann for £200 in a new year sale a few years ago. At that price I couldn't resist. So, I wanted to try out some stuff and got some new bits and away I went. After I put on all the new bits, I can say it's an amazing guitar. Bit it was pretty amazing before I did anything...
1st the bad: The 6th string was slightly out of range for intonation. The frets were rough, when you bent a note they actually made a noise, like the string was rubbing on grit.
The good: After a couple of weeks, just playing it got rid of the gritty finish. Seriously well made guitar, fret finishing aside. Basic hardware was good. Playability as good as anything out there. No fret buzz or choking at all.
What I did to it was not really necessary, i just wanted to try stuff out.
- Babicz TOM bridge
- tripleshot pickup rings
- P-rail Seymour Duncan SHPR-1S pickups
- new circuit with really nice parts
- strap locks
The result, well the Babicz bridge let me get the 6th string intonation set. It also helps the tone and sustain. I tried it before I did the electronics. Probably the best bridge I've ever had.
Ok, the whole circuit was just for fun. It is fun and it's great. P90, humbucker, single coil, in phase out of phase series, parllel and just too much to be honest. It's subtle aesthetically though as it just looks like a normal 339. No holes drilled, just a pain feeding stuff through the F holes. How aptly named.
I play it all the time, it's a great guitar. Even without the mods, I'd recommend it to anyone. I got a bargain.
That is so cool what all you did.
I live 15 mins from the Gibson factory (Nashville) and they are going down hill...quick! They don't even offer tours anymore. My local Guitar Center, World Music etc can't move the Gibson's. The last Gibson Les Paul I held, was the Blueberry Burst (my fav recent color) and visually, it was beautiful. However...the QC and setup on it was terrible! The frets were extremely rough, and the guitar tech said it won't hold tune. I'd gladly take any "top shelf" Epi any day!
+Outback Overland That is a shame...
I agree - that blueberry burst finish is astonishingly beautiful!
I have a few Epiphones, a Les Paul custom Pro and an SG 400 and a Ej 200CE. I was going to buy a Gibson Sg Standard, but all of them had really bad fret's, they were so bad that they would cut your finger's when running the neck, you would think that for the price they want for one they could have had a better QC dept. I passed on buying one. I got a PRS core instead.
Turns out you were right.. :)
I haven’t had the bad luck that others have had with Gibson. All my Gibson guitars are golden and I just bought a new 2019 LP Standard last week that I love. With that said Epiphone LPs have gone way up in quality. I sold every Epi I bought prior to 2017 (about 8 or so). Other than the Tony Iommi SG I just didn’t like the cheap components and the quality just wasn’t there. In 2017 I decided to get one of the P90 Chicago Blue LPs and it is a shredder. Since then I have bought six more Epis and they are all money. My favorite is the Matt Heafy with EMGs and killswitch. I added the Hipshot locking tuners as that was the only thing that really needed updating. IMHO it sounds better than my Gibson Standards.
Could you do a video of the wiring for this setup
wish..... :(
Darrell, what happened to the wiring diagram? Totally wanting to make this awesome conversion. Also, which pots did you use?
@@ncst8wolf818 it's impossible to find your comment within the chain of thousands of comments on a 2 year old video. Would it be possible for you to drop a link in this comment chain because it's been upvoted and easy to find here on mobile?
Same here. I am thinking of doing this mod but can't find a diagram for it.
The wiring diagram is the last link in the description.
@@ikeith85ik link doesn't work
hi. I'm also interested in the wiring diagram. please share if anyone has it. thank you
Man I want to hear you play the rest of this song! I was drawn right in with this short sample of something wonderfully moody and melodic.
I had done the P-Rails swap, push-pull pots & green tulip Grover tuners 4 years ago on my used Epi LP Standard, never regretted it, and I found it has quite the same sound on P90 coils as on a Epi LP 56 RI with P90s. Still played it today and found it still sounds very solid. Latest upgrade I've done on it is installing a Bigsby B7 w/ Vibramate 2 months ago. My guitar is cooler than ever, and I'm planning to re-do the circuit with the famous 50's wiring & orange drop .022 uf caps on tones. To this date it became my most mod-expansive instrument in my collection !!!
+Martin Ouellet Very cool!!
My Epiphone LP came with Grovers already on it. Fully agree with the pots and switch. My switch broke and the guitar repair guy replaced it with an actual Gibson one. A world of a difference in quality.
Sir plz link where you bought the switches and everything plz
I also want a link
I'm always skeptical of "trick" pickups like these, but damn that P90 is killer. Well done!
I would’ve appreciated a time-lapse of the building process, instead of the jump-cuts; regardless, this was an awesome video! I have a black beauty ‘59 replica Epi without the pick-ups and a friend is sending me all I need. I can’t wait to play it!
He has done so many videos showing the wiring and even putting the screws in. At some point building a guitar is always the same.
I live vicariously through you. I just want a decent budget guitar. I lost 4 in a house fire. Got an acoustic Mitchell so far. Fingers crossed on the contest.
I've playing acoustics for years, and I just getting to the point where I want more than to occasionally touch a friends electric. I really know how to hear what I want already, which puts me in a forest of Les Pauls, but that experience of involvement in knowing what makes that sound happen on an electric is keeping me from buying a premium instrument, yet wanting a standard of no compromise on quality. So i am going to get under the hood of an epiphone and interact with those internals so i understand how to fine tune that sound. I would really hate to miss a good deal on a great guitar someday just because I can't make heads or tails on how to massage a gem that just needs a little TLC. It makes a lot of sense. One pick up out there I want to hear for myself in this kind of setup would P Rails, so I am headed in that direction. Thanks for the video, I have listen to this guitar quite a bit over your various blogs. It's pretty cool man.
I really like the openness of the HB parallel setting.
+216trixie 👍Me too! It's silent (no 60hz hum) but not as heavy as the series humbucker.
I would give you my life savings for this guitar...if I had a life savings.
+Manuel Encalada 😄😄😄
Did you buy all these pickups, wires and such separately? Can you give us a breakdown of the parts... if it isn't too much to ask.
Will Haskew there’s a link below the vid that has the wiring diagram including the individual parts
@@prascerafaga1037 Not any more!
bought a used Epiphone Joe Perry les paul 4 years ago for 350 dollars on kijiji, kinda like Craigslist in Canada. It has Gibson burstbucker 2 and 3 pickups and Gibson wiring and pots. I Harley'ed it with chrome bezels around the pick ups and chrome knurled knobs and a chrome 3 position switch knob. Looks fabulous and for being 61 I still like a nasty look, TC
having done a few "builds", upgrading, &c. myself over the years, IMO, swapping the nut on Epi's (or any other guitar w/ cheap plastic nuts) for a "Tusq" brand - or other bone stuff - has the most immediate, direct, cost efficient & satisfyingly positive, net effect in terms of tonality on just about ANY guitar (electric or acoustic). if it were my build, i'd have probably included that as a priority for an "ultimate Epiphone" LP build. otherwise, it's a lovely instrument that's even more enhanced by Darrell's know-how & expertise.
That color. I need it in my life.
Yeah, it's just BEAUTIFUL. Especially with the quilted(?) top.
The link to the wiring doesn’t work. :(
He took it down. He hates his viewers.
Never saw someone work so fast on guitar mods, whatever they pay you, you are worth it. :)
It is amazing how one can get an excellent guitar at a real great price. So many people start to play & do not stick with it.
+Ray Ross Thanks Ray!
Yeah, this one is great value for money ☺👍
I had a similar rebuild done on my 2009 Epiphone Explorer bass. It is one of the Limited Edition Korina wood models made in Korea. I discovered the wood was pristine, everything else was junk. I collected the parts I needed, took it to a good Luther, and he got to work. He installed a Schaller 3D high mass roller bridge, Schaller M4 Ultra Light tuners, a set of 2015 Gibson EB Humbuckers that can thump, roar, and scream, new pots, and a Switchcraft output jack. I then added a low profile ebony thumbrest in between the pickups. If you have an Epiphone you enjoy playing, by all means hot rod it as much as you want, you'll end up with an instrument you'll play for the rest of your life!
+Tad Petrie That sounds awesome! 😎
Darrell Braun Guitar, If I can, I'll make a video playing it and post it if that's OK? The upgrades that really made the difference were the 3D High mass bridge and the pickups. This bass now sustains into the middle of next week. I spent over a year looking for someone selling a set of the Gibson EB humbuckers and they were worth the wait! They would be an ideal upgrade for any Epiphone bass.
+Tad Petrie Cool! Feel free to post ☺
It amazes me how many different sounds guitar manufacturers leave on the table, It's great to see Darrell show how much more versatile a guitar can be. For people who don't mind even more switches, being able to select the mode of each pickup individually gives an even greater variety of sounds. I'm particularly fond of mixing humbuckers and single coils. Adding a bridge single coil gives some clarity and definition to a woofy sounding neck humbucker. With the individual volume and tone knobs of a Les Paul the degree of tonal shading is incredible. I do have to admit that the switching can be cumbersome.
Hey Darrell, I know it has been a while since this video was uploaded.. but, could you make the wiring diagram available again?
Yeah I'm looking for it too!
Me 3
Me 4
Me 567
with your Squier video, you GAS'd me into making a Super Squier Jazz Bass. Love the Obsidian kits. awesome stuff. I dont have an Epiphone around so I'm safe for now. :P
+lando27music 😄👍 Glad the jazz bass upgrade went well!
Awesome build! Currently my only guitar is the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop PRO model which also uses coil splitting and I thought that was pretty versatile until I saw this hahaha. Great video Darrell
Seymour Dunkan/EMG/Dimarzio pickups, locking tuners, bone/graphite nut, graphtech/tonepros bridge, obsidian wire electronics and Schaller strap locks
Makes any guitar/bass go from ok/good to amazing!
Where is the wiring diagram for p rails? I want to add these to a couple les paul style guitars.
Great video. Very creative.
The link for the wiring diagram is not working anymore... Can anyone share the diagram please ? Thanks
See my comment above for a new link.
Does anybody have the wiring diagram for this mods as the original link no longer works? Thanks.
The Seymour Duncan website has the diagram if you choose p-rails as the pickups
@@indie209 I have scoured their diagram site but can only find the diagrams with the bridge pick up on the left and the neck pick up on the right, and they do not fulfill the functions that Darrell is describing here, any help or thoughts?? :)
I've been holding onto a beaten down epi sg for ages without even touching it in years, since I somehow fell out of love with it years ago (after I messed up a nut replacement and had a abysmal guitar for some time...) and passed on to other guitars.
But I was drooling over finally getting my hands on a P90 guitar for a long, long time and this actually really inspired me to take that bad girl, buy her a new dress and a pair of shiny shoes and take her out to town again. Thats gonna be fun, I think.
Hi Darrel, very beautiful top. I searched a used LP with that kind of quilted top, but nothing at affordable price. My ultimate LP is my Epiphone Black Beauty 3 made in Korea, that I rewired "a la Frampton" with Duncan SH2,SHPG1 and SH 5 custom. On par with my Tokai LS1000 !
It seems to me in this video that this guitar originally came with Grover tuners, they are pretty good actually, so changing them I guess was more a matter of aesthetics than functionality. Other than that, great video as always!
It is like 3 guitars in one-strat, LP, mutant
+Ravi S Chadha 😄 Totally!
greetings from colombia, awesome guitar and even more awesome guitar player thank you for all you do and all that hard work keep doing grate
😁
+Daniel Urbina Espitia I appreciate the kind words Daniel!
I put SD 'Pearly Gates' pickups + 920D Jimmy Page wiring in my Epi LP Standard. It's about all I need now. The single coil mode isn't Strat/Tele, but fat at the neck and 'toothy' at the bridge. The phase-reverse opens it up and makes it stand out in a crowded mix, too. I love it. Thanks for your vids; they're inspiring.
I have an Epiphone and installed the same pickups. However, I chose to use 3 way toggle switches to go between P90s, single coils or HB. This allows me to use both pickups at one time but have perhaps a P90 at the neck and a single coil at the bridge or what ever else I want. Those Seymour Duncan pickups are a great choice.
+Steve Morrison Nice!
Hi Darrell, which kind of push pull pots does this wiring diagram use? Are they DPDT or SPDT?
Surprised you didn't change the bridge and tailpiece.
+Dave W I thought long and hard about it, but the guitar doesn't show any signs of tuning instability, and out sustains both my Gibsons - so I didn't want to screw that up! Lol.
And the nut
I'd be far more apt to change the bridge and tailpiece : especially the tailpiece for more sustain.....That would be a far better upgrade then changing perfectly functioning Grovers for Klusons.
the epi bridge/tailpiece out sustains gibson ANY DAY.what is better for sustain 1/4"HARDWARE OR 1/8"HARDWARE.gibson bridges sit on tiny 1/8 hardware and actually LEAN causing tuning instability
@@DarrellBraunGuitar what electronics did you use?
I'll never be able to look at another Epi the same way again.
Dude, I picked up a 2002 Epiphone Les Paul Standard made in Korea at a local pawn shop for like $250.00, and a new SKB hardshell case for $50.00...$300.00 total. The guitar is in mint condition, a few blemishes here and there from normal use, but overall in excellent condition. It came with a 1957 Classic Neck Pickup, and a Slash AFD Signature Model Pickup in the bridge position...absolutely awesome guitar. All I had to do was swap out all of the cream colored parts with black ones, put some black speed knobs and a set of black strap locks on it and it was ready to go. Oh yeah, it came with the vintage tuning keys and I changed them to chrome grover tuners. I run it through my home recording studio (WAY too much gear to list...lol) but I run it through my Marshall MG100HDFX 100 Watt head and a Crate 4x12 120 Watt cabinet...through one of several effects processors...a Behringer V-Amp Pro, a DigiTech RP150, or a Korg AX1500G...it the thing is a BEAST!!!
+Gun Slinger Nice!
wiring diagram is dead. i am ordering parts but not sure what to get for wiring and pots. can you check the link? awesome vid btw
Correct way to do this:
Use Seymour Duncan Triple Shot Pickup Mount. Gives you single coil, p90, Humbucker in series and parallel. For individual pickups.
Use pots for other effects such as reverse phase, coils TAP (not split) etc.
Hey Darrell, I'm interested on installing the same pickups and setup on my Les Paul Epi, but the wiring diagram link is not working, anywhere I can download it from?
Thanks in advance.
Seymore Duncan has the diagram on their website
Don't toss those stock tuners, those Grover Rotomatics are extremely good, some of the best non-locking tuners I've tried. That's a great looking Epi you have found there, it really deserved the makeover. Nice tones for days.
+SteelSkin667 Thanks!
I'm definitely hanging on to them in case I ever pick up another Gibson with the g - force. I'll rip that off and put on the grovers 😀
Speaking of Grover tuners: I know there are a few other companies that make similar tuners, e.g. Schaller and Wilkinson - there may be others that i haven't heard about though - But can someone tell me which brand offers the best bang for the buck'? I'm asking because ii have several guitars, both electric and acoustic, that i would like to treat to a better set of tuners, and these fully closed ones seems to me to be the best choice for a tuner that doesn't need looking after every now and then.
Thanks in advance, and Greetings from Denmark. :)
The ‘Little Pry-Bar’ is a purpose-built ESP spanner designed, primarily, to re-tight, or loosen (it’s reversible, with two different sets of ‘gripping teeth’), pots without the need to remove the knob. Works with output jacks too. Of course, it can ALSO be used as a pry-bar to get knobs off, but so can 2 tea/coffee spoons - with a duster/cloth underneath, of course.
BTW: I bought a new Custom Shop Gibson ES-335, in Cherry with P90s, fitted with these Grover locking, metal ‘keystone’, tuners. No matter how carefully you tightened the locking button, the D-string locking pin eventually cut through the string, causing it to (always) snap at the tuner post... not good!
WOW those p-rails are the most versatile and honestly coolest mod ive ever seen..... literally the definition of a desert island guitar very cool, plus its beautiful that root beer top is very nice
Hey DB, where can I more info on those pickups??
could at least showed us how you put it all together.
Where did you get the t-shirt from? ....nice 👍
I won't pay the ridiculous prices Gibson asks for its LP's but I love Epiphones. First thing I do when I buy a Les Paul is take it to the Luthier, have neck work done, put a bone nut in, change out the tuners, put in EMG 81/85's, have it intonated for B standard tuning, and have 72-13's strung up.. My Epi's sound as good as Gibsons. This is the way to go!
I’ve always been a Fender player, just got an Epiphone ES-335 and couldn’t be happier with the guitar itself. Can’t wait to mod it out.
@@mjc4art Nice!
Great looking and sounding guitar. For those people perhaps not quite as adept at modifying guitars you might check out the Epiphone Les Paul tribute plus, which I own. Mahogany body with a carved hard maple top. Gibson USA '57 Classic humbucking pickups.
Upgraded Push-pull tone pots let you switch between series/parallel pickup configurations USA Switchcraft 3-way toggle, Mallory-150 tone capacitors, Epiphone StrapLocks, 18:1 ratio premium Grover 106 Series Locking Rotomatic machine heads, and a premium hard case.
Hey Darrell
Having been an unhappy Gibson Les Paul Studio owner in the past has colored my opinion of the mark.
What you have done with this one (ok, an Epiphone) could give me pause to re-evaluate that view.
Nice work!
having one bad guitar doesn't make you dislike
all similar guitars,that's equivalent to saying,my
car died so now i hate all cars,do you see your conundrum?
ive had 1 bad les paul and 8 awesome ones
You should list in the description all the upgrades and all the link so that it is easy to follow 😊
Where is the wiring from?
Mario Rosales me pregunto lo mismo
Definitely doing this to my LP-100. Awesome. I always loved a swiss army knife.
I'm going to do this upgrade to my 2008 Les Paul Ultra II and have tons of options! The ultra has a "shadow nano mag" pickup hidden right at the bottom of the neck and it's supposed to sound like an acoustic. I don't think it sounds like an acoustic, but it has a great sound that I really like! They used one of the tone knobs as master volume for that pickup, the other tone knob is a master tone now...from the factory. The nano mag pickup volume control knob can be turned up at any time to blend in that sound..or you can turn down both the neck and bridge pickups volumes and have neo mag sound only.
So..with the upgrade Darrell did here I'll have all the tones he listed, plus neo mag alone, plus infinitely adjustable neo mag on top of whatever combination you already have going on. I'm so excited to get this going!! Sucks that the pickups he uses, the P Rails are $200!! But they'll be worth every dollar! Thank you Darrell...you're THE BEST CZcams GUITAR CHANNEL AND YOU'RE AN INCREDIBLE PLAYER AS WELL!!!
I'd like to build my own strat. I'm thinking of making the body myself, but I'm unsure of what else to get. I'd like to keep it to a relatively low budget, but still sound solid. Should I go for a squier used or a mighty mite neck? Also, what pickups would you recommend? I'm thinking of using the wiring that you should in the Squier mod video.
Anybody feel free to suggest hardware or electronics, it's greatly appreciated. Thanks!
+Fred Jones A Squier body is a good way to go, and after all the soldering I had to do for this build - I'd definitely go with a solderless kit 😀
Try guitar fetish necks! Great bang for your buck! You shouldn't be disappointed!
yo! my advise is, buy used or cheap guitars and try necks at the store until you find a sweet one, buy body from warmoth, and maybe you fine tuneit first, also check 920D custom shop for pre wired
Fred Jones I'd recommend you to use the Eric Clapton's mod, it's a piece of art man, the tones you can get 😍
I tried the same: buy a neck and make the rest myself.
For me, the cost of wood for the body is not worth it. Mind you that I a: live in the Netherlands and b: looked at mahogany and swamp ash. There is plenty of cheaper, locally sourced oak but that stuff is to heavy.
Assuming this will be to costly for you aswell: buy a neck that is comfortable to you. Buy a second hand guitar/body or a blank body which is close to the shape you want. In my guitar I used Iron Gear pick ups. Not to expensive and they sound great, to me at least.
A list of parts would be nice. Other than that great vid!!
Max Mulsch he shows them in the description :)
I added hipshoot locking tuners, Seymour Duncan whole lotta humbuckers, a Jimmy Page wiring harness, black pick guard, tail piece, brige, and mounting rings with a tusq nut to my Epiphone Les Paul standard plustop pro in trans blue
Wow! Very nice 👍
I just put fishman fluence classics in my worn purple epi. It has same split type push/pull pots. I’m getting locking tuners for it and a tone pro locking bridge and maybe one day ss frets. It will be the ultimate Epiphone!
I always wanted a custom Les Paul in my collection, (Something like a Les paul classic 2015 VS) and the bandmate wants me to buy myself a Gibson Les Paul, but paying that kind of money, that I'm afraid to take it on shows, and I've heard that the new ones are not so good, do you think I can make myself a better guitar than Gibson, for much less money? Get a gorgeous epiphone, and mod it with quality parts?
+rockstarimotski Taking a Gibson LP to shows is asking for it to get stolen or damaged - unless you really know the venue and patrons well.
Moding an Epi - especially if you buy it used will definitely save you money, and you won't feel too bad if it gets some dings and scratches from gigs. ☺
rockstarimotski unfortunately newer Gibson's are.... sub par to be nice about it. It's like quality control just doesn't exist for them anymore. I personally basically do this, buy an Epi and make it better. I don't need Gibson written on my headstock I'm not looking to impress anyone
rockstarimotski Darrell is right, bringing a Gibson to a gig is asking for trouble. A friend of mine had his gold top stolen. Unless you wanna babysit it the entire time, id go epi. A modded Epi is the best of both, a great guitar and no one would look twice at an epi
rockstarimotski theres nothing like a gibson bud, no guitars sounds or most importantlt FEELS/PLAYS like a gibson. Bite the bullet get a used one you wont regret it.
thezosokid I beg to differ, i think it's just confirmation bias. I don't think any guitar is all that special, I've played some epiphones that were better than a Gibson
Hey man, love the vids. Keep this stuff up! A question, do you prefer the super epiphone or the super squier?
+Erik Lundstrum Thanks Erik!
I haven't gotten enough time with the new sounds on the Epi to tell yet, but I'm pretty happy with it so far ☺
Hey... I've an epiphone without strings too :'D
+Julio Criollo 😄😄😄👍
I own an Epiphone les paul standard 2007 model...2 years ago i upgraded the pickups( gas boutigue pickups...amazing!!) and all the electronic stuff(wire, knobs, toggle switch)...it cost me about €300 but the sound was beyond my expectations!!!!
I did almost the exact same with my ‘96 MIK Epi Les Paul Limited, except different tuners, my push-pulls are in the tone positions and I mounted my pickups backwards with the rails towards the outside. So much fun.
Next up: turning a carb board box and a 2x4 into the ultimate guitar
+Erik Lundstrum 😄😄😄👍
I'm not a guitarist (other than strumming my acoustic), but I really enjoy your channel. You have a pleasant, conversational demeanor and this build was FANTASTIC. I've always heard that coil splitting was not really that great and it doesn't give a true single-coil sound. The pickups you used, along with the trick push-pull pots, are the perfect solution. Really nice work, Darrell.
That guitar is off the hook beautiful man! Had to watch it twice, once to stare at the guitar, the second for the information.
+Rick Bendel 😄 Thanks man!
I’m a drummer, not a guitar player, but I love watching your videos. And I really enjoy listening to you play. Great.
Awesome build i just modified my Epiphone Custom Silverburst Les Paul with Billy Gibbons Custom shop Pearly gates i put a 59 custom wiring harness tone pro bridge and tail piece new keystone locking tuners chrome pickup rings chrome toggle switch ring and tip new custom knobs. New custom truss rod cover it says custom this guitar sounds sick its it sounds better then most Gibson Les Pauls thanks for the video i seen your video awhile back and it gave me inspiration to build my new custom Epiphone Les Paul.
I changed my ivory black Epi to that one. I also changed the knobs to speed knobs and the truss rod cover to Les Paul Custom. Thanks for the idea!
If you need a Gibson let me know. I have a beat up late 90s early 2000s Les Paul studio with Slash's pickups in it. Neck was broken and professionally repaired. Nice guitar. Tuners were replaced as well.
message me on discord YoureTheRealMVP#7304
Hey Darrell my friend! I was impressed by how close to a strat sound the mod took that les paul. So I made the mod on mine! Only instead of two push/pull I got 4 to switch each mick independent from the other. Thanks so much for showing such amazing ideas! Cheers!
Oh, wow. I'm getting back into guitar after 10+ years of neglect and am picking up an Epi LP Special II tomorrow to mess around with and this is giving me great ideas. I wish this channel existed back in 2005!
Good video and thanks for making this for many to follow.
The thing you can't change is the wood and feel or vibe.
Very cool mods, tones are beautiful. I'm considering modding my Epi LP, simple stuff like swapping the wiring, pots and switch, probably a P90 in the neck and keep the stock humbucker in the bridge for now.
Lots of well defined juice to be had there...very nice pickups and clever switching make them so versatile
Another great video. I appreciate your candor and lack of silly graphics, "hacks", and god knows what else that plagues many youtube channels. Just great info. Keep up the good work!
+Tony Branham Thanks man!
When you do a how to on swapping out parts on low end guitars could please use part numbers or links to where you purchased the parts so those of us that are transitioning from new player to rookie can upgrade our starter sets like this one?
Hi Darrell, I know you've been asked many times for the parts and diagram but I can't find the link anywhere. Is there any chance you can reply with the link or post it in the description again. Many thanks and absolutely loved the video. 👍