ezbass Posted August 29, 2020 Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) Fitting new pickups to a semi-acoustic! If there’s a job that’s more of a faff, I don’t want anything to do with it. Anyhow, I replaced the pickups on my Epiphone Casino Coupé. Nothing fancy, just a pair of Artec do gear P90s, for a mere £30. I much prefer the black covers to the Epi chrome ones and they sound much clearer too. The only drawback has been that the bridge pickup sits too low (5mm) and the outputs are wildly different, so I’ve ordered a couple of shims. However, all in all, I’m very pleased. Oh, what’s that I hear you say? Very well then... In terms of the work, I attached thick, cotton threads to each of the pots and then pulled them (one at a time) through the bridge pickup hole (they were too big to get through the f holes!) soldered the new neck pickup on, then repeated for the bridge pickup. Pulling on the attached threads, plus a little wiggling re-sited the pots. The shallowness and compact size of the body made manoeuvring the pots very fiddly, plus the original pickup leads were run through bendy cable clamps (releasing these was an additional PITA). If Epiphone had used mini, Alpha pots, instead of full size, it would’ve been so much easier. The new Artecs are so much more powerful and clear than the originals, I’d definitely try some of their pickups in the future. Edited August 30, 2020 by ezbass 1 Quote
EdwardMarlowe Posted September 2, 2020 Posted September 2, 2020 Somebody should design a semi with a separate back-panel that screws off as a single piece.... 1 Quote
Dad3353 Posted September 2, 2020 Posted September 2, 2020 But that would only encourage folks to fiddle about inside 'em, instead of playing 'em, no..? Quote
ezbass Posted September 2, 2020 Author Posted September 2, 2020 56 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: But that would only encourage folks to fiddle about inside 'em, instead of playing 'em, no..? Having tinkered with this guitar has resulted in me wanting to play it more. 1 Quote
EdwardMarlowe Posted September 2, 2020 Posted September 2, 2020 Ha, well... I think you'd find Gibson woulf od it if Gibson weremore in the business of selling aftermarket wiring and such.... I suspect in part nobody thought of these things when they we designed because there was no "aftermarket" availability in those days.... The cool thing abouyt a removablew back would be you could rpealce one if it got badly dinged up by buckle rash. Also, we could debate the effect of different back materials (and not using one at all) on tone - win! 1 Quote
ezbass Posted September 2, 2020 Author Posted September 2, 2020 7 minutes ago, EdwardMarlowe said: The cool thing abouyt a removablew back would be you could rpealce one if it got badly dinged up by buckle rash. Also, we could debate the effect of different back materials (and not using one at all) on tone - win! Truth! 1 Quote
Dad3353 Posted September 2, 2020 Posted September 2, 2020 Gretsch had (have..?) a press-studded pad on the back, to avoid 'buckle rash'. The Gibson 333 has a panel on the back for pot access. It's black plastic; maybe Bakelite would give a better tone..? 1 Quote
ezbass Posted September 2, 2020 Author Posted September 2, 2020 The Acoustic Black Widow had one... 1 Quote
EdwardMarlowe Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 I always thought thatwas a great idea of Gretsch's, but it seems few others did given it never caight on... I guess that's all part of the "relic" look, eh? Maybe the next thing will be a gorilla-glass type clear sheet to go over it, like a screen protector fo a tablet or phone... Quote
ezbass Posted September 6, 2020 Author Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) All done, although I've gone back to cream selector switch tip (just too much black). I've also quickly lashed up a recording, excuse the dodgy notes and timing. P90.mp3 Edited September 6, 2020 by ezbass 3 Quote
