I know...I know...Its ALWAYS the guy who does not have a youtube channel that comes up with "deep and meaningful" suggestions about things you "could have done better" in your last video. Soooo, here goes nothin'...When editing the A/B clips it is easier for the viewer to hear the difference between the before and after differences if you cut from the before clip to the after clip immediately after finishing a riff, instead of showing all of the before examples in one long clip followed by a second long clip of all the after examples. I hope this makes sense. It's just a suggestion. You guys do a great job and I appreciate all that you do. Keep it up boss!!!
While I fully support DIY mods (even when you may learn expensive lessons through error)… fret leveling is a bit tricky, and is not represented correctly in this video. The reason a fret rocker has different length sides is that you should only ever span across 3 frets at a time to diagnose where the high frets are. And a crowning file is not used to lower fret height. It is used to put the crown back on to the fret AFTER you have leveled it, which leaves a flat top on the fret.
So if I’ve got like 2 or 3 high frets what’s the best way to go about lowering them? I’ve just been using crowning file to get them lower. If I’ve got more then 3 or 4 I use my fret level and then crown.
i just can't get behind the way most of the epiphone sgs have a veneer on the flat part of the body and nothing on the beveled edge. it just looks awful to me. i would rather have an opaque finish than that all day.
Yeah the only work around for translucent finishes is a Vintage Sunburst or Bourbon Burst. The very humble ol' matte finish SG Special in Vintage Sunburst has a surprisingly thin finish and still hides all the right things...a real ringer too, but being a bolt on neck SG design with crap hardware and pick-ups,...I'm hesitant to call it a sleeper model tho😁 (I would definitely nominate it for least plasticky looking Epi of the modern Epiphone import guitar era, including Japanese poly finished examples)
First of all, love these guitar mod videos. My "philosophy" is slowing starting to become this: if the wood/build is there, buying a budget guitar and modding it yourself is the way to go. It's hard to find a difference between a well set up and modded Epiphone and a Gibson, besides the headstock which I personally don't care about. That being said, these videos off a wealth of info. One thing I'd recommend for the tone comparison is to play a riff stock, then have the video/audio smash cut to the same riff with the modded guitar while doing your best to play with the same dynamics. Having the comparisons drawn outmakes it hard for the viewer to truly compare the two. I'd also spend as much time as possible comparing clean and slightly broken up tones, as more saturated tones make it harder to preserve the differences in the pickups without being there in person. I wouldn't omit overdriven tones; I just wouldn't have them be the first point of comparison! Great video regardless.
I have a Gibson SG that I bought used at a Guitar Center and I LOVE IT!! It is such a sweet and light guitar. The setup it came with from the previous owner was perfect for me. The sound has teeth, those pickups are amazing. I had read an article that Pat of Foo Fighters gave Dave Grohl an SG. Pat told Dave that he would love the SG and sure enough, Dave played the SG for many years. It is indeed a great guitar.
I have a weird compliment for you, but you do this cool vibrato when you bend up to a note that's SO cool. I find it really difficult to vibrate a string that's already bent, but the way you do it just sounds so good.
Same thing I did with my 2006 Epi G400 Custom Maestro. ABR Bridge , new CTS pots / harness, Switchcraft jack and selector and Burstbucker Pro set. Been gigging it for years. Plays like butter.
I love SGs. My standard from 09 is the guitar I’ve owned the longest and the first i modded (PAF style pups and push/pull out of phase). I think they’re really misunderstood guitars. it’s a fun guitar to play and sounds great in pretty much any context. I really like them for straight ahead jazz and fusion.
I love these videos. I have the "higher end" Epiphone 61 Les Paul SG. I really love it, but it has some high frets. I've pondered taking it into a store, but I think I'm going to try to fix it up on my own. PS, I met you at the Guitar Pop Up summer and you both were extremely nice, so thanks for that as well.
@@incredifunk yea, I tried it on my own for a bit, but backed off. I don’t think I messed anything up, as it plays the same as before. I’ll be taking it in to a professional soon.
Pretty cool just browsing through Yt and trying to get back into playing and lay and behold this new video of you modding my very electric guitar. Maybe nothing too fancy but she's my nothing too fancy.
One upgrade, or more like a change, on LP style guitars I usually make is a blend knob in the 2nd volume position. I'm primarily a strat player, so I love the master volume of the Fender design (or that's just the excuse I use for being confused with dual volumes...maybe). This gives the added nuance of bring able to add a little bridge pickup to a sound when you want that fat tone of the neck but it's maybe a little muddy and not punching through the mix. Another mod I made on poly guitars is to use a scotchbrite pad on the neck. My hands like to stick to poly when I play, so that little bit can make the back of the neck feel more like a satin neck. Mods are a great way to make your guitar experience fit your playing style, ability and sound.
Yup, always wanted an SG and an Epi would be the way to go given other respectable guitars, but I doubt I'd ever pick it up except out of guilt for having got it. Learned that lesson already with guitars and amps. 😅 Regardless, great mod job. Very brave and very impressive.
GREAT VIDEO! THE SOUND TEST WAS A SURPRISE AS I THOUGHT THE BRIDGE PICKUP WAS BETTER WITH THE DUNCAN HUMBUCKER BUT THE MIDDLE & NECK WERE BETTER ON THE STOCK PICKUP, GO FIGURE?
The problem with knocking a little off of the top of one fret is that if you’re trying to take some off of the middle of the fret but you unintentionally take some off of the side too, you’re creating a low spot, which effectively creates a high spot on the next fret up the neck. It costs more, but it’s better to just have all of the frets leveled, crowned, and polished. I’ve had the frets leveled on an Epi SG very similar to this and it plays great. I use it for every show I play.
Gibson lines the strings up on the guitar and then notches them, that way they center over the pole pieces better, and for me the bridge it came with sounded fine
Can I make a "bad" comment, even before the mods take place ? A Rabea preset on Neural when you have a bunch of great amps around ? yeah, this saves time because of the micing, etc, etc, SO WHAT ? Sincerely, a fan.
We are in a business park and I work during normal business hours. We are trying to mic stuff more often but I don't want to get kicked out. And we do crank an actual amp later in the video.
This video is awesome. You're very wholesome and funny and I support everything about this. Plus your pedals rule too. Would you happen to have the link or info on the replacement bridge? I'm a big dumb and can't find it on the Philadelphia Luthier website.
Thanks!! www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/abr-1-bridges/abr-1-parts/conversion-post-import-nashville-to-abr-1/ and I used www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/abr-1-bridges/usa-tune-o-matic-bridge-non-wire-abr-1-for-older-gibson-guitars-bridge-only/
This video is great! I've been wanting to do and this is the perfect video! Sorry if I missed it but what is you're preferred heat setting/temp on the soldering iron?
What is the black stuff you put on your fretboard? What is its' purpose? I have the Epiphone Probuckers and the same pots and 5 wire clips allowing me to split coils for a single coils sounds. I actually used them to upgrade my Firefly SG and it sounds great! Only $40 and about an hour of time to setup the guitar as well and it's better than the newer Gibson that I had. No regret selling it! Great video!
I love this series, just really cool to see the whole process and making the guitar your own. Btw how much did the bridge switch helped or changed the vibrola response?
I had to tweak the saddles a bit but it seems fine with the vibrola, I feel like the guitar is ringing clearer and has more sustain BUT I didn't measure it too carefully before the swap
OK. That rag thing to take off knobs is just sheer genius. lol Yeah, I'm stealing that. @Zach: When you used that 'rat-tail" file to make string grooves on the new bridge saddles - are you concerned about maybe leaving burrs in the saddles, which may cut into each string? Did you add a bit of graphite or other lube in those small channels? Just curious, as a layperson.
This was fun, thx. Quick note - It's possible to reduce the chances of damaging a pot if you "close" (aka turn it down) the pot while performing the soldering. Also, wish SD made a single braided version of the High Voltage.
Don’t stain your fretboards. I have yet to see any stain which doesn’t color your finger tips and overall increases friction, making string bending unnecessarily difficult. My recommendation: steel wool 0000 and Balistol oil. Non-stick heaven.
I love that you are attempting to do the setup but I think you should do more research on how things are done and maybe some more setup tools I love diy kind of attitude but maybe you should look at this the way you looked at pedals and yes you worried a bunch of guitar techs and luthiers 😂 please keep up the videos tho!!
The guys at stew Mac always have great videos and a book on repairs / set up Dave’s world of fun stuff is also great for tips and tricks he’s just a little grumpy sometimes 😂
The question isn’t whether you “can” make it better, the question becomes is it worth it. The cost and time to make the mods you did are more than the price of the guitar and combined you can buy a real Gibson SG standard.
@@MythosPedals It's like being a car person, or really any hobby. You know enough about tinkering to be dangerous and just want to give it a touch of character to be more unique.
@@thestuffmikedoes2309exactly. I’ve done this routine on so many guitars over the years. It’s just flat out fun to pick and choose parts and pickups and to do the work yourself. Very satisfying.
I'm not a luthier, but are you using a crowning file to lower the one fret without taking the surrounding frets into account? Don't you do that usually with a radius block? whatever.. if it works, it works ;)
I tried the PLT conversion posts and they didn’t fit into my 2023 Epiphone Les Paul 50’s, I was super bummed! Any chance you know why that might be/if there’s anything I can do to make them work?
Oops I did not, the lower the value cap on the neck doesn't roll off as much low end. People call that the woman tone cap ala Clapton. It's subtle but I like it.
@@MythosPedals ah, good to know. I've always just used the 0.022. Learn something new every day! Thanks for the reply! I'll have to give you and follow and check out more content.
@@MythosPedals It's funny how I use like a little dab of lemon dressing to rehydrate my fretboard worried it may ruin the finish and you're globbing on what looks like chocolate cake batter
Fret leveling and crowning along with nut slot work is the last frontier for me personally. The consequences of a mistake are so much greater when it comes frets and nuts. I’ll get it down eventually.
I know...I know...Its ALWAYS the guy who does not have a youtube channel that comes up with "deep and meaningful" suggestions about things you "could have done better" in your last video. Soooo, here goes nothin'...When editing the A/B clips it is easier for the viewer to hear the difference between the before and after differences if you cut from the before clip to the after clip immediately after finishing a riff, instead of showing all of the before examples in one long clip followed by a second long clip of all the after examples. I hope this makes sense. It's just a suggestion. You guys do a great job and I appreciate all that you do. Keep it up boss!!!
I love this style of video. You’re the guitar Adam Savage. Now we just need a guitar mythbusters style show where you blow stuff up for fun.
While I fully support DIY mods (even when you may learn expensive lessons through error)… fret leveling is a bit tricky, and is not represented correctly in this video. The reason a fret rocker has different length sides is that you should only ever span across 3 frets at a time to diagnose where the high frets are. And a crowning file is not used to lower fret height. It is used to put the crown back on to the fret AFTER you have leveled it, which leaves a flat top on the fret.
So if I’ve got like 2 or 3 high frets what’s the best way to go about lowering them? I’ve just been using crowning file to get them lower. If I’ve got more then 3 or 4 I use my fret level and then crown.
Could have been resolved with a 17th fret "fall off" and then kissed it with the crowning file and polished to perfection.
@@SidWalter First, You use a file to decrease the fret height and then recrown the fret
i just can't get behind the way most of the epiphone sgs have a veneer on the flat part of the body and nothing on the beveled edge. it just looks awful to me. i would rather have an opaque finish than that all day.
Yeah the only work around for translucent finishes is a Vintage Sunburst or Bourbon Burst. The very humble ol' matte finish SG Special in Vintage Sunburst has a surprisingly thin finish and still hides all the right things...a real ringer too, but being a bolt on neck SG design with crap hardware and pick-ups,...I'm hesitant to call it a sleeper model tho😁 (I would definitely nominate it for least plasticky looking Epi of the modern Epiphone import guitar era, including Japanese poly finished examples)
Totally agree, not a fan of that veneer.
Veneer looks too cheap for sure
First of all, love these guitar mod videos. My "philosophy" is slowing starting to become this: if the wood/build is there, buying a budget guitar and modding it yourself is the way to go. It's hard to find a difference between a well set up and modded Epiphone and a Gibson, besides the headstock which I personally don't care about. That being said, these videos off a wealth of info.
One thing I'd recommend for the tone comparison is to play a riff stock, then have the video/audio smash cut to the same riff with the modded guitar while doing your best to play with the same dynamics. Having the comparisons drawn outmakes it hard for the viewer to truly compare the two. I'd also spend as much time as possible comparing clean and slightly broken up tones, as more saturated tones make it harder to preserve the differences in the pickups without being there in person. I wouldn't omit overdriven tones; I just wouldn't have them be the first point of comparison! Great video regardless.
That bend intro to the solo cheff kiss
Thanks!
I have this SG (w/o tremolo) and I just put a Duncan Custom SH 5 in the bridge and left the cover off; love the change!
I have a Gibson SG that I bought used at a Guitar Center and I LOVE IT!! It is such a sweet and light guitar. The setup it came with from the previous owner was perfect for me. The sound has teeth, those pickups are amazing. I had read an article that Pat of Foo Fighters gave Dave Grohl an SG. Pat told Dave that he would love the SG and sure enough, Dave played the SG for many years. It is indeed a great guitar.
You legend Zack. That solo at the start was ripping! 🤘
I have a weird compliment for you, but you do this cool vibrato when you bend up to a note that's SO cool. I find it really difficult to vibrate a string that's already bent, but the way you do it just sounds so good.
Hey thanks!!!
Same thing I did with my 2006 Epi G400 Custom Maestro. ABR Bridge , new CTS pots / harness, Switchcraft jack and selector and Burstbucker Pro set. Been gigging it for years. Plays like butter.
That file is designed for crowning, not really for levelling.
Loved the playing to start the video.
I love SGs. My standard from 09 is the guitar I’ve owned the longest and the first i modded (PAF style pups and push/pull out of phase). I think they’re really misunderstood guitars. it’s a fun guitar to play and sounds great in pretty much any context. I really like them for straight ahead jazz and fusion.
I love these videos. I have the "higher end" Epiphone 61 Les Paul SG. I really love it, but it has some high frets. I've pondered taking it into a store, but I think I'm going to try to fix it up on my own. PS, I met you at the Guitar Pop Up summer and you both were extremely nice, so thanks for that as well.
If you decide to work on your own Frets, I recommend watching a few more videos. This is not represented right on this video
@@incredifunk yea, I tried it on my own for a bit, but backed off. I don’t think I messed anything up, as it plays the same as before. I’ll be taking it in to a professional soon.
Stock sounded good mate , great vid
It did!
Absolutely fantastic have a wonderful day mythos pedals ❤😊
Pretty cool just browsing through Yt and trying to get back into playing and lay and behold this new video of you modding my very electric guitar. Maybe nothing too fancy but she's my nothing too fancy.
Team “Solder” here
Love these mod videos Zach. Cheers.
Thank you, Zach! I watched 5 seconds, bu I know this is what I've been looking for!
Incredibly interesting and helpful ! Thank you for sharing !
One upgrade, or more like a change, on LP style guitars I usually make is a blend knob in the 2nd volume position. I'm primarily a strat player, so I love the master volume of the Fender design (or that's just the excuse I use for being confused with dual volumes...maybe). This gives the added nuance of bring able to add a little bridge pickup to a sound when you want that fat tone of the neck but it's maybe a little muddy and not punching through the mix. Another mod I made on poly guitars is to use a scotchbrite pad on the neck. My hands like to stick to poly when I play, so that little bit can make the back of the neck feel more like a satin neck. Mods are a great way to make your guitar experience fit your playing style, ability and sound.
I really liked the entry jam. Killer!
I could tell this was done in the spring of 2024 due to the cicada hum.
Yup, always wanted an SG and an Epi would be the way to go given other respectable guitars, but I doubt I'd ever pick it up except out of guilt for having got it. Learned that lesson already with guitars and amps. 😅 Regardless, great mod job. Very brave and very impressive.
Yep, the mod sounds better! Good job!
GREAT VIDEO! THE SOUND TEST WAS A SURPRISE AS I THOUGHT THE BRIDGE PICKUP WAS BETTER WITH THE DUNCAN HUMBUCKER BUT THE MIDDLE & NECK WERE BETTER ON THE STOCK PICKUP, GO FIGURE?
Really cool project, and a great wiring job too. Honestly, in some samples it sounded like a hot Filter'tron.
The problem with knocking a little off of the top of one fret is that if you’re trying to take some off of the middle of the fret but you unintentionally take some off of the side too, you’re creating a low spot, which effectively creates a high spot on the next fret up the neck. It costs more, but it’s better to just have all of the frets leveled, crowned, and polished. I’ve had the frets leveled on an Epi SG very similar to this and it plays great. I use it for every show I play.
Nothing wrong with spot leveling/crowning with a budget guitar that has one tall fret. Just take it slow and keep checking with the rocker.
Gibson lines the strings up on the guitar and then notches them, that way they center over the pole pieces better, and for me the bridge it came with sounded fine
It was fine, I just wanted to swap it
Team “Sodder” here
Can I make a "bad" comment, even before the mods take place ?
A Rabea preset on Neural when you have a bunch of great amps around ? yeah, this saves time because of the micing, etc, etc, SO WHAT ?
Sincerely, a fan.
We are in a business park and I work during normal business hours. We are trying to mic stuff more often but I don't want to get kicked out. And we do crank an actual amp later in the video.
@@MythosPedals thank you and excuse my bad manners
Great intro track, tasty playing.
I don't know 😮 Those stock pickups sounded pretty good.. 🎸
They sounds great, the duncans are more balanced but stock is an awesome guitar.
nice video, next time with the tone demos you should cut back and forth more often- bridge PU old vs new, then both, then neck
I just keep adding layers of montespresso I don’t clean the board before. I’m trying to stack layers of tone
Gotta get that toan.
Great stuff cheers Zack 👍
This video is awesome. You're very wholesome and funny and I support everything about this. Plus your pedals rule too.
Would you happen to have the link or info on the replacement bridge? I'm a big dumb and can't find it on the Philadelphia Luthier website.
Thanks!!
www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/abr-1-bridges/abr-1-parts/conversion-post-import-nashville-to-abr-1/
and I used
www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/abr-1-bridges/usa-tune-o-matic-bridge-non-wire-abr-1-for-older-gibson-guitars-bridge-only/
@@MythosPedals Thank you as well!
Uh ohhh looks like Gibson will be sending a Cease And Desist Letter to themselves now 😲😉
This video is great! I've been wanting to do and this is the perfect video! Sorry if I missed it but what is you're preferred heat setting/temp on the soldering iron?
i run at 720 degrees fahrenheit
What is the black stuff you put on your fretboard? What is its' purpose? I have the Epiphone Probuckers and the same pots and 5 wire clips allowing me to split coils for a single coils sounds. I actually used them to upgrade my Firefly SG and it sounds great! Only $40 and about an hour of time to setup the guitar as well and it's better than the newer Gibson that I had. No regret selling it! Great video!
the black stuff is supposed to make the fretboard darker / condition it. it is called montepresso's fretwax (or something like that)
I love this series, just really cool to see the whole process and making the guitar your own. Btw how much did the bridge switch helped or changed the vibrola response?
I had to tweak the saddles a bit but it seems fine with the vibrola, I feel like the guitar is ringing clearer and has more sustain BUT I didn't measure it too carefully before the swap
OK. That rag thing to take off knobs is just sheer genius. lol Yeah, I'm stealing that. @Zach: When you used that 'rat-tail" file to make string grooves on the new bridge saddles - are you concerned about maybe leaving burrs in the saddles, which may cut into each string? Did you add a bit of graphite or other lube in those small channels? Just curious, as a layperson.
I almost snagged that 61' reissue last night. But couldn't decide between the two pickup version or the three pickup. 🤔
Oh an Epi with a high fret or two? What’s new. It seems like they all have a high fret or two.
whole modding process looks great and sounds better but dont really need to replaced the knob.
I love the aged reflector knobs, it really makes a big difference in person
Great stuff! Chock full of useful nuggets.
Why in the world would you cut off the extra tabs on the potentiometers?
Because I don’t need them?
This was fun, thx. Quick note - It's possible to reduce the chances of damaging a pot if you "close" (aka turn it down) the pot while performing the soldering. Also, wish SD made a single braided version of the High Voltage.
Man that's what I've always heard but, who knows if it actually helps. Likewise on the High Voltage.
Don’t stain your fretboards. I have yet to see any stain which doesn’t color your finger tips and overall increases friction, making string bending unnecessarily difficult. My recommendation: steel wool 0000 and Balistol oil. Non-stick heaven.
Great video! 😎👊🎸
I love that you are attempting to do the setup but I think you should do more research on how things are done and maybe some more setup tools I love diy kind of attitude but maybe you should look at this the way you looked at pedals and yes you worried a bunch of guitar techs and luthiers 😂 please keep up the videos tho!!
I’m learning a lot from you guys and I appreciate it.
The guys at stew Mac always have great videos and a book on repairs / set up Dave’s world of fun stuff is also great for tips and tricks he’s just a little grumpy sometimes 😂
Use a bridge with rollers.
The question isn’t whether you “can” make it better, the question becomes is it worth it. The cost and time to make the mods you did are more than the price of the guitar and combined you can buy a real Gibson SG standard.
I do this because I like it, like I said in the video.
This is an incredibly fun and rewarding learning experience for those who are inclined to do it.
@@MythosPedals It's like being a car person, or really any hobby. You know enough about tinkering to be dangerous and just want to give it a touch of character to be more unique.
@@thestuffmikedoes2309exactly. I’ve done this routine on so many guitars over the years. It’s just flat out fun to pick and choose parts and pickups and to do the work yourself. Very satisfying.
@@MythosPedals I totally get it. My point was for those that are not tinkerers.
Well you just taught me that Epi Probuckers are hard to beat for P.A.F. tone.
They are great
I'm not a luthier, but are you using a crowning file to lower the one fret without taking the surrounding frets into account? Don't you do that usually with a radius block? whatever.. if it works, it works ;)
Could use just a triangular file (with flat sides)
I tried the PLT conversion posts and they didn’t fit into my 2023 Epiphone Les Paul 50’s, I was super bummed! Any chance you know why that might be/if there’s anything I can do to make them work?
How do you get the solder to flow and sit so easily on the back of the pots (ground)? It`s a nightmare every time for me.
More heat and using a chisel tip in your iron helps. Just have to be careful and move fast
@@MythosPedals Thank you :)
That crowning file won’t hit the top. So it’s not reducing any height.
Noted
Are you satisfied with a one prong jack? I was thinking of upgrading and wondered what you think?
I've never had an issue with a traditional jack.
Curious about the different values on your caps, one was 0.022 and the other 0.015 . Sorry if you said something about it, I may have missed it.
Oops I did not, the lower the value cap on the neck doesn't roll off as much low end. People call that the woman tone cap ala Clapton. It's subtle but I like it.
@@MythosPedals ah, good to know. I've always just used the 0.022. Learn something new every day! Thanks for the reply! I'll have to give you and follow and check out more content.
Which P Bass is that? Sounds and looks awesome. Is it modded too?
It's a 60th anniversary MIM P Bass, just swapped the guard. It's a great bass.
@@MythosPedals Sweet! Thanks for the reply
Is the fretboard wax just shoe polish????
Nope
@@MythosPedals It's funny how I use like a little dab of lemon dressing to rehydrate my fretboard worried it may ruin the finish and you're globbing on what looks like chocolate cake batter
Crowning files are only used after you’ve leveled the fret with a leveling file. Wrong tool for the job my man…
Right on, 39 years old and still learning :)
@@MythosPedalscheck out the Stew Mac Fret Kisser...great tool to handle these sort of tweaks. Then of course crown after. Thanks for this great video!
I tried to hold my guitar like Zach and my wrist and hand were like gtfoh.
Broke my left wrist as a kid, it's completely BORKED but I get by ok.
I thought that was just how you put the funk on the notes. Sounds and look like rock and roll to me!
Im 3/4 thru this video. Do you have any idea how many AD's have ran already
Turn em off 😠
Fixed it. YT places them automatically. Sometimes it'll put 2 sometimes 20 :/
Probably shouldn't be teaching people how to file frets. Your fret rocking was hard to watch lol
Fret leveling and crowning along with nut slot work is the last frontier for me personally. The consequences of a mistake are so much greater when it comes frets and nuts. I’ll get it down eventually.
Like I said, I don't know what I'm doing with everything. The comment section has taught me a bunch. This isn't a tutorial
Modded is more clear, more harmonics best suond
Agreed