Easy DIY Mods for Your Guitar (ft. Epiphone Les Paul Special)
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- čas přidán 24. 02. 2023
- Adding pickup covers and a pickguard to this Epiphone Les Paul Special.
Leave a comment on if you prefer open pickups or covers?
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Product links:
Pickguard -
www.amazon.com/dp/B09XM45YB6?...
Pickup Covers-
www.amazon.com/dp/B07HH4BFPS?...
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Music Used in this video:
Song: Into The Light
Music composed and recorded by Oak Studios.
Link: • [Background Music] Int... | Creative Commons - Attribution ND 4.0
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Gear used in today's video:
2011 Epiphone Les Paul Special II, Musiclily PU covers, Dopro Aged White 3ply pickguard
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Business Inquiries:
samuel.isfeld@gmail.com
Easy to watch and understand. Thanks. Pickup covers look good. Nice job.
Hi Sam! Nice job on doing a more detailed video of the upgrades that you did on this awesome find! I used to be a "guitar snob" for years. I reached the pinochle of my collection when I got a $5,200.00 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard.
I got really sick very rapidly and had to sell EVERYTHING that I owned just to keep a roof over my head until my Social Security Disability claim was approved. Including my collection of 23 guitars... Not having a lot of dough to start up my collection again, I started out with a $180.00 used Squire Affinity Telecaster. After a little TLC, I WAS BLOWN AWAY! Guitars don't have to cost as much as a used car to be great!
Keep up the great work my friend!
God bless and take care...
I was super impressed with this little Epi LP, for sure. Thanks for your story and thanks for watching.
I know the Feeling!Take care,Collecting Again!I Fix Headstocks and Vintage wire like the 50s and 60s Classics!I'm Getting some Meg CTS Potts to make things brighter and Louder,and You could Wax Parafan,your Cheaper pickups,for a Louder sound!Take care,now!
The pickup covers look great!
Quite a change with little effort. Looks great 👍🏽 👌🏽
Thanks!
I used a Washburn Pickguard and a Fano as well,for a Different look,and Took the Cheap Electrics out and Vintage wired with vintage PIO Tone caps,with a treble bleed!with Seymour duncans!Nah,ya Talkin!Take care!
Hello. You said you did not secure the covers permanently yet. In the end, you did secure the covers?
What did you use to secure them, silicone glue or what?
If you do not secure them, they are unstable and can come out?
The epiphone special series are the best more budget end guitars I’ve played
That could be because I prefer single cuts but they’re thinner and lighter than regular lespauls and at the cost of two knobs and a glued neck and slightly cheaper hardware they’re worth the money in my eyes
Sam, before I forget, where did you get that cool powered screwdriver?
Thanks bro!
It was just an Amazon find, I don't remember if its even branded.
Just bought one of these. Same color as yours. Mine is a 2001 LP special. I don't think it's mahogany. It looks like 1/8" thick wood stacked on top of each other. (Laminated). I wouldn't mind if it's laminated mahogany but since it's made in China I got a feeling it's not. Weighs 7.5 lbs. I lowered the strings and raised the pickups and was able to get the bridge all the way down without any buzzing. It plays and sounds pretty good. I'm just curious about the specs. I can't seem to find anything definitive about the early 2000 specials. 😥. Nice mod on your guitar. I think the only thing I may change are the tuning pegs. They constantly go out of tune. Other than the tuners...it seems to be a decent axe. Hope you enjoy yours! Thanks for the video. 👍
Thanks for watching! Enjoy your Les Paul!
Hello. I saw some people install the pickguard with a bracket. You install it dirrectly on the guitar top, without any bracket.
I have ordered a pickguard for my Epiphone Les Paul and I think I will install it without the bracket, exactly as you do it here.
What exactly is the use of those brackets?
This guitar does not have a carved top so the pickguard is able to sit flush on the top of the body. If you have a *nicer* Les Paul with a carved top, you will need that bracket to correctly install a pickguard.
can i ask sir, whats the size of the pickup cover and pick guard. thankyou for ur answer
It was a 50mm / 52mm set. The pickguard was a generic one from Amazon.
old shoelace to pull off a stubborn knob
Chrome covers for sure. My $100 Epi Special came in today, and I like the sound of the pickups. It was going to be a P90 conversion, but I'm going to keep it this way, at least for a while. Question about the covers. I'm looking at a set, and the seller shows two sizes might be used on Gibson products- 50mm or 49.2mm measured center to center. While the only measuring tools I have on hand are a tape measure and my wife's seamstress tape, the pole spacing on the neck pickup reads just under 50, with the pole screw slots set parallel to the strings for an accurate reading. The bridge p/u reads exactly 52 as expected. Did your measurement show exactly 50mm on the neck p/u? I don't want to order the wrong size. You also mention soldering them if you want them permanent. Where are they soldered? Thanks.
If your measurement reads just under 50 and not 50mm exactly, then I think that’s your answer. I don’t want to tell you what do to as there could be slight variations over the years and mine could be different. YMMV. Sometimes the covers are soldered on the back to the back of the pickup to secure them in place.
@@Sam-Isfeld, that was my initial thought (about the measurement being under 50), but I figured I'd ask. Gibson changed specs over the years, and I looked up this model on the Epiphone site. That kind of detail isn't given while posting the disclaimer that in the interest of improvement, specs could change at any time. Both have the same overall cover width (70mm) which is what I measured on the trim piece. Center of outer poles for the two sizes differs by a fraction of a millimeter. It just doesn't look like quite halfway to 49 from 50, much less 0.8mm there. Hey, it's $12. if it's the wrong one, I order the other. I just don't like throwing new stuff in the trash. Thanks for the reply and info on the solder as well. I'll see how everything fits before doing it. ....hey, while we're discussing aesthetics on these, is the center of the face on yours the amber color visible on the screen? (I know monitors show some variance). Just wondering. Mine is considerably more chrome yellow to orange influenced, not the nice warm golden tone of old Gibsons. I have a '54 ES125, and a friend has an original Junior. I'm very familiar with real tobacco sunburst.... To start with, it's brown over ochre yellow, not black The only black was the top of the headstock and P90. Anyway, thanks again for replying.
@@petset77 Yeah mine seems to be a yellow orange color in the middle.
@@Sam-Isfeld, yeah, they could have replicated the center color of a real one, even with the black halo and sides. Just don't set them side by side. ...I still like it overall, but the almost florescent orange center is the part I care for the least. All I do is play around the house these days, so I won't be changing it. It's as good as my Gretch Electromatic with the too red under black burst, and the pickups grab different harmonics and even strings, which is interesting. I'm not displeased with it at all. Two days in and I'm leaning more towards keeping these humbuckers and not swapping for P90s. (That'll be for another cheap guitar). ...the chrome pickup covers are on order and on their way. Thanks for your video and replies. Take care.
@@petset77You too man. Enjoy your Epi Special 👌🏻
You didn't solder the pickup covers to the pickup bases?
I believe I stated why in the video. I wanted to see if they impacted the sound before permanently attaching them at that time.
Pickup covers produce a muddier, less punchy sound in my experience than without covers
Les Paul Special II?
Yes sir. I’ve got another video of playing it. I was super impressed with the Special ii
@@Sam-Isfeld yeah, I got a used one for £70 a while back. Previous owner ruined the finish but she plays well and I love her.
@@uselessmeatball1745 haha nice! The best guitars are the ones that you don’t have to worry about scratching.
Got the same guitar! Did a bone nut and changed the tuners. I really like the stock pickups. I think I payed under 100$ for it over 12 years ago. It s my backup guitar. I replaced it with aG310 SG. ! Under 100$ and has a invader pickup at the bridge.
Were the pole spacing holes too wide or too narrow?....not sure if i should get 49.2/52 ....or 50/52
It seemed like the holes were too wide on my neck pickup. They seemed about right on the bridge pickup. My set was a 50/52. I would encourage you to do your own measuring as your instrument may be different than mine.
@@Sam-Isfeld awesome..thanks brother
@Sam-Isfeld I think the holes are only for adjustable poles anyway which these special II's don't have so wouldn't matter much....but I feel like It may bother me and my ocd lol