Currently upgrading a Epiphone 2014 Custom Pro silverburst with either Fishman Fluency Modern pickups or maybe new CTS pots and some Duncan Distortions. I've taken it down to no electronics, polished the frets to a chrome like polish, fret board looks like a million bucks, and soon to order parts. Tuners are Grovers so not changing them now.
Too many to keep track of! Modding a DS-1, and an MT-2. Refurbishing a Squier Strat, Fender amps, a Marshall amp, DIY pedals, upgrading an Epiphone G-400 with new tuners and nut, and many more. Epiphones are perfect platforms for upgrades, experimentation and luthier practice.
I have an 04 Les Paul special 2, wife got it for my 50th, at music go round, it was set off in the back, it has locking Grover's on it, sounds absolutely phenomenal, it's heavy, full mahogany, think she got a diamond in the rough
Thanks so much for this video Brian and for the warning about the tuners. People shouldn’t mess with them if the standard ones are functional. This video and some of the comments have inspired me to tweak my wine red Epi LP Spec II. Thanks to you guys I am inspired to make this guitar as good as it can be. It was a gift so I have no money invested yet. So some new tuners, new pickups, and maybe a cream colored pickguard to give it that classic look may be the way to go. Thanks again for the video and the helpful content.
Thanks for watching and I hope this video actually helps people from making the mistakes I did! This guitar still plays great though! Good luck with your project.
Thank you M8! I got same guitar but the Sg version. I was planning on changing the tuners cause the stock ones are pretty much garbage! I think I was going to buy Gotoh tuners and I let the stock pickups for now! Things are kind of expensive in Argentina nowadays. You saved me a lot of money! Thanks for the tips! Cheers!
I have the Epiphone Les Paul Special II Deluxe model, which is a bit different than the basic Epiphone Les Paul Special II. It cost me a bit more, but I consider it was well worth the Price difference. Have never had a problem with it staying in tune. I have thought about changing out the Ceramic Pickup Magnets to Alnico 5's for a bit more range, but I do like the sound of it, as it is. I did have a professional Luthier set it up in the beginning and it was well worth it. In the beginning, I did buy it to gig with, as I almost had another more expensive Guitar stolen off the stage (security caught him with it), but now I would hate to lose it. Now being semi-retired, I have time to customize my Guitars as well as play them, so the time customizing is just well spent.
Mine is Studio LT version. The stock pickup was too weak for me so I changed it to active EMG pickups. Then I changed the tuners to Gotoh brand tuners. Another special project is that I custom create the guitar nut using brass for sustain. Now my guitar got good tone!
The stock pickups are really mostly for beginners who wouldn’t notice the difference. The EMG would be sweet for metal. Used to not like them but revisited and quite like them. The nut would be a big improvement I feel. I have never replaced one
Very nice updates! Nice and shiny in the end and the pickups were clearly an upgrade. I thought you were excited to see me when I first got here but I guess it was just the locking tuners in your pocket. 😢
I have one of these guitars with those crappy tuners. Here’s the deal- Modern sealed gear tuners use a 10 mm hole. Those sh!t tuners we had use a 8mm hole, which are considered a vintage style tuner. Vintage 8mm tuners use a (push in style bushing). Modern 10mm tuners have a nut and washer. There seems to be only the two sizes too. It’s either a 10mm hole or an 8mm hole. If you follow this rule of thumb there will be no surprises when you go to swap tuners. I bought Gotoh vintage style locking tuners for mine. They dropped right in the original bushings. Gotoh even gives you a special little punch tool to remove your old bushings if you want to change them. If reading this, follow what I’m saying and you won’t have to ream the holes. Order the correct size tuner for your headstock. Again, it’s either a modern 10mm or a vintage 8mm. The Gotoh locking tuners I bought on Amazon were only 50 dollars. I bought the vintage style locking tuners for my telecaster too. They both look exactly like old school tuners. There is no thumb screws in the back of the tuner. The mechanism they use is quite clever the way they designed it. I also recommend getting a digital veneer caliper if your going to do your own guitar work. It’s super easy and handy to use. Get one on Amazon for like 25 or 30 dollars. Okay good luck everyone 👌
I had bought a 90s Epi. Les Paul Standard, and i was dissatisfied as most will be with sound and tone of the stock axe. However, when i replaced the P Ups w/ a Seymour D. JB set, new wiring, new 500k pots, new switchcraft toggle. bone nut, intonation check, polished frets, and it was a totally changed guitar. So much tone and sustain. My friend had 3 Gibby LP's and frankly the Epi has a more distinct sound and i like the neck on the Epi better. I did the rebuild about 6 years ago now. The Les Paul Standard model is a great build guitar.
i upgraded the tuners, bridge/trem block and a loaded pickguard on a strat SE. It was great because it didnt cost a lot (maybe $120 cdn) and it taught me a lot about my guitar and i also learned polished/leveled the frets. i got lucky with the tuners and pickguard fitting correctly without modification.
Mine is rattling? Got a Guitar Center LP special ii player pack for $220 because they matched Amazon’s price. Would it be a nut upgrade or the truss to fix it? Keep in mind I know nothing about guitars so maybe I’ll watch a video on RUclips. I’ll probably just play it like it is but if there’s a simple mod to help the rattle I’d be all for it… heard people talking about truss tightening or something. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! ✊ It’s so fun playing this
@@greg6162 this sounds like the truss rod isn’t even engaged. You should give it a tighten up. Not too much to start. Just enough to engage it. It’s not as tough as you think.
@@ravindramesh1397 Wilkinson 18:1 tuners. They aren't locking, but I was trying to keep costs down. I think they were less than $40 CDN. Big upgrade over what it came with, though and thankfully didn't require any re-drilling.
If you have a guitar that plays well built with decent wood nothing wrong with upgrading it. better to learn on a cheap guitar. This special II was my first guitar as a beginner have since got more expensive guitars but still like the way this guitar plays. I put in hipshot locking tuners (had to enlarge the holes use a hand reaming tool not a drill go slow no damage to head stock) replaced pots and switch, leveled & polished frets and slapped in zebra seymour duncan pearly gates pickups. Sounds and plays great. I could always use these parts on another guitar down the road (saved original pups & could always swap out tuners for cheap ones (10mm pretty standard hole size except on cheap & chinese guitars) if I decide to sell the guitar.
Mmoran64…….sounds like you had some pretty good ideas for the upgrades. I may borrow/steal some of them. I think the zebra coil pickups look great in about any guitar even though I don’t think the color of the bobbin has anything to do with tone but the cool factor goes up to a 10 out of 10! The Pearly Gates pickups are pretty good from what I understand and what I have heard. Of course Billy Gibbons is bad…..and nation-wide. As far as tuners, I am kind of a traditional guy and like the old tulip tuners, maybe cream colored for me and I want them to be light in weight so the guitar stays balanced. My Epiphone Les Paul Special II is a dark red color so maybe those tuners I mentioned, cream colored plastic frames around the pickups, and zebra coils would give it a sharp look. Maybe even adding a cream pickguard to make it look like a more expensive Les Paul. This video and your comment inspired me!
I upgraded my pups in mine, I originally put Seymore Duncan phat cat p90s in them, but ended up switching the bridge one for one of the SD Slash Alnico2 humbuckers. I liked the warm bluesy tone of the phat cat in the neck. Cool combo. Rewired the mess of electronics with gavitt braided wire. New pots and switch. Need new tuning pegs now. Not sure what to get.
I totally agree more I got a squire starter pack 20+ years ago. I have since bought 2 other guitars. My main go to is a telecaster but I can’t lie I still find myself going back to my squire strat. IT STILL PAYS VERY WELL
I'm an old-fart, metal head, and I enjoyed this video til the end. Yeah I had one of these a few years ago. Worn cherry finish. I liked that little guitar. I gave it away. Got me a Gibson Les Paul Tribute satin cherryburst finish. Its nice. Anyway, this was a great video brother. God bless you and yours. Happy pickin'!☺👍
Thanks man and I am glad you enjoyed this one. The Gibson would be a nice upgrade. I feel like someday I'll end up with a Les Paul. I like the ESP Eclipse a lot too. About to practice some now.
Does anyone know of a perfectly fitting, drop in replacement for the tuners? I'm upgrading my Slash AFD Epi LPs-ii as well. Just changed the pickups for vintage probuckers and did a coil split for the heck of it. The guitar sounds creamy and divine now compared to the original tone which was a little screechy to my ears. Haven't been able to put down the guitar since the upgrade. I'm in love again.
This might inspire me to pick up a soldering gun for a couple of projects I've never seriously considered before now. I've got a couple of guitars sitting around that are already unplayable in their current state, can't hurt to practice a new skill on 'em.
Thank you! I try to make it less crap. Also thank you for subbing the channel. Your prize is a Gyoza and 30 cents off your next purchase of Shake n Bake
I’m going to be starting a similar project. I just bought one of these, with the black trans flame top. It plays great, neck is dead flat. I have extra parts/pickups laying around from other projects. I think I’m going to throw a dimarzio PAF master in the neck and a Fender Shawbucker 2 in the bridge.
@@BrianBower in thinking about it further. I’m thinking about slapping a LP junior pickguard on it and running it as a single pickup guitar. Just a solid rock machine. Idk. I can’t do anything yet, because I can’t actually take the guitar home for another 3 weeks. Lol
Oh man, fluence would be cool. I think that is going to require some more work and possible routing. I have no experience though so make sure you look into it how they are installed. The tuners are easy. Just be careful with the drill.
Reemer tool £7 Amazon, or if you drill the headstock use scrap piece of wood at the back of the head stock which stops the wood splitting and ruining your guitar, although a Piller drill is brilliant for this job
I just bought a used epi LP special 2 simply as a learning platform to putz around on. It was cheaper than going with a kit from harley benton or something like that, and all the upgrades can be used on something else or resold. Should be fun.
Something like this, if you love a good project that is, is always worth it. Why is it worth it? If you don't think it is, then it isn't but for those that like to personalize/customize their gear, I don't need to explain why ;) You also don't need expensive pickups and hardware, there are a lot of great affordable alternatives if all you want is to change things up and personalize your gear. Covered pickups? Rails? All the options can be had for $50 or less a set if you are willing to try them out. It's how I stumbled on Vanson pickups, great tones at a great price. I needed a cheap set for a project build I didn't want to spend too much on and now I have multiple Vanson pickup sets in a number of my guitars. Worth a look if you don't want to fork out for "known brands".
I upgraded one. the playability is great so I replaced the tuners and bridge pickup. big difference. The nut is a cheap piece of plastic with deep grooves which stuck a lot. some sort of nut lubrication helped with that, but still not as nice as a higher quality guitar. I paid $50 for the guitar and another $150 on parts and now take it to every show as a backup guitar. If someone steals it from the bar, I"m only out $200.
I would love to see this the other way around: Ibanez Prestige S-series, DiMarzio out - Gibson '59,/'60 Humbuckers_Burstbuckers in.😊 A super comfortable fast guitar with high class sound.... will this work ?
I have a black version of this same guitar, I am going to jazz up for fun. I also noticed in-between starting and finishing your project, you got new monitor speakers! I have the KRK's, like you had originally, but I see you swapped out for something else.
That is cool and it is a fun project. As for the monitors. I probably wouldn't have ever changed them but one of the KRK's died and I needed a set of monitors for mixing and playing when not using a cab (or playing bass) so I replaced them with the Kali Audio LP6's I like the Kali's more too. This video was filmed in pieces and I think I didn't touch that guitar for a month so there you go!
I was stubborn modded the guitar(added a kill switch) refinished it changed every single piece in the guitar and paid for a professional setup/fret job. Was it cost efficient? No . Was it worth it? yes
I have a lp special series 1 ruby with black hardware. Sounds great but I would like to put Grover's on but it's hard to get black. I have replaced the output jack with a switch craft and I want to replace the rhythm/lead switch but have yet to find a good black one! I am happy with the pickups on it. My Epi sg is cherry red and chrome hardware, I just don't like it. The body has terrible plywood with too much glue so It doesn't resonate and the chromed tuners suck!
I should have replaced the Jack on this too but it wasn’t really necessary. There a bunch of things you could do. I feel like I’m done with this project though. Sucks that your SG is like that. I like my friends Epiphone SG.
Talk about a mixed message!! LOL, "Don't do this" "This guitar sounds great and has a lot of "potential" "The locking tuners feel amazing!" HAHAHA. I actually like the pickups on my LP Special, but the combo of the wrap-around ("pre-intonated") bar bridge and the cheap tuners makes it impossible to get/keep in tune. I got a new nut for starters, but am considering a bridge that allows adjustments for each string. I'm wondering if I could find locking tuners that are a more precise fit and don't require drilling. Thanks for your video.
Yeah it didn’t go to plan. The tuners are awesome just don’t buy them for an epiphone haha. Gibson yes. The mistake I made was not knowing there was different sized tuning key holes. Definitely look into this. That’s why I say dont do this. The video didn’t go quite to plan. Just didn’t want to return the tuners. Also I have a lot of guitars so messing with one is fine.
just tin the tip of the iron with a bit of solder and it should desolder much quicker.... I am thinking of getting one of these beginner level LP style guitars, to tinker with and be able to play along with my son as he learns....and as I learn also.... if you're not after metal tones or high gain sounds do you think the stock pickups and electronics are decent?
Oh yeah the stock pickups are fine especially earlier on in your playing. I have a video on here using the stock ones and it worked fine. This was just a project that I wouldn’t recommend to a beginner. Stock works. Just get a setup on it
When swapping tunners. Always put the nuts on the front first so you can get the tunners lined up where you want them. Then sinch the nuts down to hold the tunner in place before you drill for the set screws.
I'm currently going overboard with mine it's a epiphone custom shop limited edition that I've routed for a floyd and I'm installing a emg 61/85 set and also routed for binding. I know what's the point on this cheap guitar, that's my point exactly I got it for free and already had all the parts for a guitar I no longer have so why not
I got an epiphone for free that some one totally vandalized. Had deep gouges and burns where the guy tried to pull off a laminate top Horrific. But. It pissed me off so I'm going for it. I polished the frets. Sneak Several body filler coats. Got stain and layer along with bouffant Body filler primer and white primer. And a entire standard set up for 300 bucks has everything. Not fine with that yet should be easy for color by tomorrow. Dmso I agree, maybe not the best idea but I wanted the experience plus like I said. It pissed me off. Bright or home and the kids told me it looked cool sick Which put high octaine on the fire do get I go. Nasty have a couple questions for you. Lol
I don't know if you have other Epiphones, but it would be a great help if you knew if an Epiphone Les Paul Special neck. Is the same size as the Epiphone Les Paul Studio LT neck. My grandson accidentally bumped one of my guitars off its stand, and one of the tuners of the one that fell hit the neck of the Epiphone Les Paul Studio LT that I was playing at the time. It didnt break or anything like that. It just has a ding in it that you can sort of feel. It doesnt hinder playing. I guess knowing it's there bugs me. It was a complete accident, and I know he feels really bad so I told him it was equally my fault as well since I put the guitar stand so close to where I was sitting. Which was true. He may not have hit it had it not been further over. At any rate I found a great looking Special neck that looks identical to the one that got the ding in it. They want an acceptable price for it so I have been searching around trying to find the specs of the necks to confirm if they match.
Unfortunately I don’t know that. Man that sucks though. It’s the thing about having guitars. Could always have something like that happen. Hopefully you can get that neck. The good thing with these is that they are bolt on necks.
DONT USE A DRILL FOR WIDENING THE HOLES Get a reamer specifically for that, it’s much more controllable and using a drill bit it’s going to be a lot harder to center and can lead to gouging the wood or chipping it. A drill is still nice to have, like if you ever need to refill and refill pickguard or jack plate screw holes, but please use a reamer for tuner holes.
You’re totally right. I didn’t know this or that I was going to have this problem. Thank you for the advice. There’s a reason I said don’t do this. Live and learn on my end. So much to guitar parts that I just didn’t know before attempting stuff. I do appreciate the constructive feedback!
@@BrianBower no problem dude, it was a great video otherwise. I found it because I’m planning to do a similar project for my friends epiphone special II so I was looking for ideas.
@@Droid96 my advice would be to find the correct sized tuners. I didn’t know this was a thing. I think Asian/ European sizing to American sizing changes. I bet in an Gibson from the Us, my tuners would have been a direct swap
Yep. This. Also template, or at least take a bit more time to line up the small screw holes for the new tuners. Freestyling it leaves things a bit wonky.
I don't know if it's the algorithms RUclips has or what but every video I've watched about these Epiphone Specials have been from Canadian RUclipsrs. It's been 3 or 4 different channels so far and all Canadian. I'm not even in Canada. But I don't mind. Love the accent you guys have. On another note, what exactly were you using to polish the frets? Was it sandpaper? Scotch Brite? Just a rag and polish? I have one fret on my Special SG that has a ding on it. I'd like to see if I could smooth that out a bit. It's just deep enough to catch the string slightly but I can still bend beyond it.
Haha well apparently this is popular to do in Canada. Probably cause they’re sold at every Long and McQuade too. Well glad you left a comment. That is the Planet Waves Fret Polishing system. It’s just sold clothes and you use the cardboard cutout to protect the fretboard. That problem you have won’t be solved with these or at least how I think.
Sounds Great if you don't want to drill harbor freight has a reamer tool for 4 bucks I had to buy to install my new tuners tusq nut stock pickup s polished frets with 3000 grit paper fifty times after a leveling baby oil 3-4 times set tailpiece height bridge intonation dadario 08s stretch few time's plays Great and nice and slinky
I need help, i wnat to learn how to play the guitar, would you recommend this one as my 1st guitar? Im on a budget so i can only afford this one or the jackson JS11. Wich one is the best for me. Thank you and keep with the good work!
This would work great as a first guitar. See if you can try them both out. As a beginner guitar, it just needs to play decent and stay in tune. Get a setup though. What I mean is to get them to adjust the neck and strings so they’re close to the fretboard. Might not even need that. Starting out, brand really doesn’t matter. Just gotta get playing! Thanks man!
Let's make this easier. Put some solder on your iron before removing wires. Make it much easier and less chance of burning a pot. Also get a decent hole reamer for enlarging holes. Less chance of wood chips.
Hey Brian, So I bought the Epiphone les Paul Special-1, everything is the same except the bridge. Guess I'm going to have to take it in to be set up as its tuning out across the neck.
@@BrianBower Yeah I don''t know what else to do, it came brand new in the box and there's been no set up done. First electric guitarand yeah I bought a cheap one @$129. I have watched a bunch of these reviews, so I've known I would probably upgrade tuners and pickups, but I'll wait to see if they can intonate it first then maybe tuners. Concerned because it just has the single bridge, there's no middle up and down adjustment unlike the Special II. if they can intonate it I'll be happy, then maybe tuners.
@@seandowney5549 get the setup done. Don’t worry about the pickups and the tuners right now. That can be done later down the road and you might even just want another guitar at that point. It’s up to you. That’s just my best advice.
@@BrianBower Cool Brian, It came with strings on it, are there strings you'd recommend? Still consider me a beginner, I've had an acoustic for about 3yrs and let's just say I've played it about half that time and my 1st electric. Thanks for all the input. SWD
Tonewoods only matter in acoustics. With acoustics I can justify boutique builders(I own a Santa Cruz vintage jumbo and a bill bonanzinga) oh and I have two bespoke lap steels. Only because there ain't many lap steel builders.
Newbs! do not dispair if you fuck up drilling the hole no worries: holes can be filled a variety of ways (tooth picks, clamp, glue and time FTW) - CRACKS are a serious problem however - Always drill the hole out never hammer the hardware home. anyway nice work on the mod, i'm in the middle of repairing a botched repair on one of these instruments =]
I think you’re right! However it was good to do this video so maybe someone learned. I bet these work flawless with the Gibson USA models. I am sure I saw a guy do it with an SG on here. Gibson and locking tuners would be awesome. They get hated on but I still love a good Les Paul. Thanks man!!
I have an Epi LP special ii as well that I got as a mod project as well. Already did the setup, actually plays pretty well, but it also has tuning stability issues and the pickups are a bit muddy. So, new tuners, nut, pickups, pots, jack, etc....on the way. Probably will refinish as well just for kicks
It seems to me that it would be a fair trade if Epiphone would delete the neck pickup in exchange for halfway decent tuners as a cost-saving measure. Get sort of an LP Junior thing going on.
Dude I bought kluson tuners for my Cort cr250 and the fittings are too big. Gotta Reem the holes! I loved the pickups in the special 2 but my mine was from 05 so maybe they've changed.
Be careful. Maybe tape the holes before drilling. Just be careful before getting the drill out. The special 2 pickups were passable. However these are a lot better. I feel like this guitar is probably from around 04 or 05 as well. I just don’t remember right now. Man it doesn’t seem like that long ago.....
Yes and no! Having a platform to learn on is great though. Just want to make sure people don’t run into problems with their only guitar as playing is still king. You’re absolutely right on setups too. It’s all perspective. Upgrades can be fun too.
@@BrianBower I have come to think of doing upgrades on a guitar and learning how to do setups as part of the learning process at this point honestly. Practicing playing is fun, but it can become a bit of a grind, so learning how to do a setup or finding something on the guitar to upgrade can be a way of breaking up that grind. Though when people are brand new to playing, its probably best they pay for a good setup and just focus on learning to play, but once that grind sets in, that is when learning how to set up a guitar or doing upgrades comes in handy.. Oh and tuners tend to come in a couple difference sizes shaft wise, so there would of been a drop in upgrade of locking tuners that you wouldn't have had to make the holes bigger... I know this video isn't exactly knew, but Since you responded to me, I figured i would mention it.
@@BrianBower Oh and the guitar looked great, I use MusicNomad F-one Oil on my fretboard, it cleans the fretboard so you don't have those areas that look dirty even after putting on fresh oil.. I don't know, everyone likes there own kind, but so far for me it seems to do the best out of all the types I have tried so far... Worth a try at least in the future...
@@BrianBower "Dunlop Fingerboard 01 Cleaner & Prep" That is the name of the dunlop stuff according to Musicains Friends / Guitar Centers Website. The stuff didn't work as well for me when I used to use it, but maybe they have adjusted it to be better now days.. I am not big into brand loyalty, I find that all brands can be a waste of time sometimes lol. These oils and fretboard products are cheap when bought alone, like the Dunlop stuff is like 8 dollars and the Music Nomad stuff is 9 dollars, plus what ever shipping you do of course. Now the kits you can buy for this stuff can get pretty pricey, depending on the kit its self and what all it comes with.... Holy crap, I just noticed I was sounding like a salesman... that is scary, sorry its the affect of being old and having been subjected to trillions of advertisements over the years lol.
I recorded one of my last videos with this one and it’s a nice guitar playing wise! Little heavy during the long jams. Honestly even stock, it was good.
I’ve had this guitar for like 8+ years now, the toggle switch broke the first day I got it and I was too afraid to tell my parents. I’m 22 now and just busted that bad boy open and managed to fix the broken guide piece with a toothpick (after thinking I broke the guitar entirely when I closed it up without a complete circuit and nothing was going through the amp) it now works like it should lol, now I’m tempted to do exactly what you’re explicitly stating do not do.
I got one of these to upgrade for my girlfriend (our anniversary is coming up) it was beat up and missing parts so an upgrade is the only way to save it
You do NOT need to redrill holes for tuners on an Epiphone LP special. The tuner holes are to vintage spec, with a diameter of 8mm. Modern tuners have a bushing diameter of 10mm. You simply need to buy the right tuners.
Its honestly a shame that a lot of forums and videos i see don't specify that information. there is an entire market of tuners that work with epiphones and squires, just people always get the wrong info and risk damaging their instruments as a result.
Doesn't actual lemon oil dry the guitar fretboard out? I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that real/rich lemon oil shouldn't be used on guitars. Don't really know why Dunlop and other companies call their products lemon oil, since it only makes up like 1% or less of the product
I never had an issue with it. I am not sure really. I have heard a few people say this before. I needed to use something to clean it better though. I will eventually get a bottle of the Dunlop fretboard cleaner
yes lemon oil can dry out fretboard & may loosen frets by breaking down adhesives holding frets in place. You can buy proper oil for rosewood fretboards from guitar shops or just use plain mineral spirits that is what is recommended for rosewood
Yes lemon oil is a cleaner, great for VOS finishes, and mineral spirits for the fretboard never vegetable oil unless you want your guitar to stink. You can also use ronson fluid (lighter fluid) on the fretboard.
God damn it Bower! You clean the fret board with Dunlap 01 to get the crud off, you polish the frets and then you apply the oil! And for the tuners, next time check the kind of tuners you want to use. You wanted to install 10mm tuners into 6mm holes. Just talk to me next time before doing that. But you did a good job anyway. Congrats on the 1k
I never tried the Dunlop cleaner but I will! Haha I didn’t realize these were gonna be too big and this was a cheaper guitar so I’m like let’s do it. Wouldn’t have done that to something of higher value. I had fun though. Also thanks!
The pickups made only a slight difference to my ears and not necessarily better. I liked the sound of the stock pickups better at the beginning of your comparison. The tuner replacement is the mod to do, for sure, if you want better intonation. But the pickup swap doesn't seem worth it, even if you just play master of puppets.
You can get aftermarket tuners designed for Epiphone guitars. Epiphone uses a 6mm peg hole while Gibson uses a 10mm hole so as you found out you will have to enlarge the holes to fit Gibson spec tuners on an Epiphone.
You got the wrong tuner's they have ones for the Epiphone import and the Epiphone USA models. The USA models have a thinner hole. And the imports use 10 mm. You just got the wrong size ones but you can drill them out no big deal
Or maybe you did the wrong modifications? You could just bought cheap better locking tuner and cheap better humbuckers... Like they do with the squiers, just scallop, change the tuners and put a set of wilkinson alnico V thats around 35 bucks.
So i should have bought different sized tuners but never knew there were differences. I am learning that with pots too. Mike from my recent video on pickups knows all of it well. The pickups were laying around here in the house. I just wanted to use them. Theyre good pickups so no regrets.
Night and day in clarity and sound with new pickups. The stock pickups in that guitar..... meh... muddy and not enough high in clarity. Seymour Duncans JB bridge would have cleaned it up in bridge for $60.
They absolutely did. I would like more of these pickups. Now in saying that, the reason I used these is cause they were just sitting here in my house not used. A JB would be stellar in the bridge. I have one of those as well. Sadly in Canada, it would be more than 60 dollars. Maybe if you found a used one, it would be
Fair but really I am just trying to prevent a novice from spending more money and possibly wrecking their only guitar. You're right on practice though. I have made mistakes before and this one turned out good. I just have a lot of guitars so one not working is fine. I have to fix a few other ones
Your wife is not going to like the dents in the washing machine lid. I would solder in a room with more ventilation. I’ll try doing my next project in the bed room and see how that goes.
Literally every electric guitar I own is a "project" with the exception of one man, boutique builders, there is no correlation whatsoever between price and quality. I have not bought any of my electric guitars new. They are all pawn shop specials, thrift store funds, yard sale , or some combination of the 3. People who get snobby about guitars are the worst. Furthermore there are 3 factors , only 3. That impact sound quality. 1) player 2)setup 3) pickups. End of.
Tell me about your guitar projects!
@Lee WOOD haha I’m using it though
Currently upgrading a Epiphone 2014 Custom Pro silverburst with either Fishman Fluency Modern pickups or maybe new CTS pots and some Duncan Distortions. I've taken it down to no electronics, polished the frets to a chrome like polish, fret board looks like a million bucks, and soon to order parts. Tuners are Grovers so not changing them now.
Too many to keep track of!
Modding a DS-1, and an MT-2. Refurbishing a Squier Strat, Fender amps, a Marshall amp, DIY pedals, upgrading an Epiphone G-400 with new tuners and nut, and many more. Epiphones are perfect platforms for upgrades, experimentation and luthier practice.
I have an 04 Les Paul special 2, wife got it for my 50th, at music go round, it was set off in the back, it has locking Grover's on it, sounds absolutely phenomenal, it's heavy, full mahogany, think she got a diamond in the rough
@@brianglade848 That is awesome. Sometimes we just are in the right place at the right time
Love the workbench. Lots of us have those multi-purpose tables!
Hell yeah! Some diy stuff is always great. Looking forward for more
Thanks man! I had fun doing this one. It was a lot of work too with the filming and editing
Thanks so much for this video Brian and for the warning about the tuners. People shouldn’t mess with them if the standard ones are functional. This video and some of the comments have inspired me to tweak my wine red Epi LP Spec II. Thanks to you guys I am inspired to make this guitar as good as it can be. It was a gift so I have no money invested yet. So some new tuners, new pickups, and maybe a cream colored pickguard to give it that classic look may be the way to go. Thanks again for the video and the helpful content.
Thanks for watching and I hope this video actually helps people from making the mistakes I did! This guitar still plays great though! Good luck with your project.
Thank you M8! I got same guitar but the Sg version. I was planning on changing the tuners cause the stock ones are pretty much garbage! I think I was going to buy Gotoh tuners and I let the stock pickups for now! Things are kind of expensive in Argentina nowadays. You saved me a lot of money! Thanks for the tips! Cheers!
Just make sure to get the right size tuners so you don't have to drill like I did.
I have the Epiphone Les Paul Special II Deluxe model, which is a bit different than the basic Epiphone Les Paul Special II.
It cost me a bit more, but I consider it was well worth the Price difference. Have never had a problem with it staying in tune.
I have thought about changing out the Ceramic Pickup Magnets to Alnico 5's for a bit more range, but I do like the sound of it,
as it is. I did have a professional Luthier set it up in the beginning and it was well worth it. In the beginning, I did buy it
to gig with, as I almost had another more expensive Guitar stolen off the stage (security caught him with it), but now I would hate to lose it.
Now being semi-retired, I have time to customize my Guitars as well as play them, so the time customizing is just well spent.
Mine is Studio LT version. The stock pickup was too weak for me so I changed it to active EMG pickups. Then I changed the tuners to Gotoh brand tuners. Another special project is that I custom create the guitar nut using brass for sustain.
Now my guitar got good tone!
The stock pickups are really mostly for beginners who wouldn’t notice the difference. The EMG would be sweet for metal. Used to not like them but revisited and quite like them. The nut would be a big improvement I feel. I have never replaced one
Very nice updates! Nice and shiny in the end and the pickups were clearly an upgrade. I thought you were excited to see me when I first got here but I guess it was just the locking tuners in your pocket. 😢
I think so too. Just give me the locking tuners. Oh before you go, can I borrow $5 dollars?
Thanks. At least you gave some advance warning of what not to do. You've provided reasonable advice. A good lesson. Much appreciated.
Oh yeah man, I am not perfect and I tried to show what you shouldn't do. I don't want to deliver the wrong message to anyone.
I wish I had a firend like you who would mentor me to do geeky guitar stuffs like this.
My Ibanez got Crunch Lab pickup too! Cool video, Epi sounds really nice!
My Ibanez S has a D Sonic. I think this one is nicer. Thanks man and it plays really nice too! I like it a lot
I have one of these guitars with those crappy tuners. Here’s the deal- Modern sealed gear tuners use a 10 mm hole. Those sh!t tuners we had use a 8mm hole, which are considered a vintage style tuner. Vintage 8mm tuners use a (push in style bushing). Modern 10mm tuners have a nut and washer. There seems to be only the two sizes too. It’s either a 10mm hole or an 8mm hole. If you follow this rule of thumb there will be no surprises when you go to swap tuners.
I bought Gotoh vintage style locking tuners for mine. They dropped right in the original bushings. Gotoh even gives you a special little punch tool to remove your old bushings if you want to change them. If reading this, follow what I’m saying and you won’t have to ream the holes. Order the correct size tuner for your headstock. Again, it’s either a modern 10mm or a vintage 8mm.
The Gotoh locking tuners I bought on Amazon were only 50 dollars. I bought the vintage style locking tuners for my telecaster too. They both look exactly like old school tuners. There is no thumb screws in the back of the tuner. The mechanism they use is quite clever the way they designed it.
I also recommend getting a digital veneer caliper if your going to do your own guitar work. It’s super easy and handy to use. Get one on Amazon for like 25 or 30 dollars.
Okay good luck everyone 👌
Just saw this video and I have that exact model, color and everything! By far my favorite guitar to play other than my ibanez artist 120 series.
They are a really good guitar for the money. Mine is pretty stable. Just hard on the back haha
I had bought a 90s Epi. Les Paul Standard, and i was dissatisfied as most will be with sound and tone of the stock axe. However, when i replaced the P Ups w/ a Seymour D. JB set, new wiring, new 500k pots, new switchcraft toggle. bone nut, intonation check, polished frets, and it was a totally changed guitar. So much tone and sustain. My friend had 3 Gibby LP's and frankly the Epi has a more distinct sound and i like the neck on the Epi better. I did the rebuild about 6 years ago now. The Les Paul Standard model is a great build guitar.
i upgraded the tuners, bridge/trem block and a loaded pickguard on a strat SE. It was great because it didnt cost a lot (maybe $120 cdn) and it taught me a lot about my guitar and i also learned polished/leveled the frets. i got lucky with the tuners and pickguard fitting correctly without modification.
You did well then! I didn't know tuners had different sizes. The more you know
Mine is rattling? Got a Guitar Center LP special ii player pack for $220 because they matched Amazon’s price. Would it be a nut upgrade or the truss to fix it? Keep in mind I know nothing about guitars so maybe I’ll watch a video on RUclips. I’ll probably just play it like it is but if there’s a simple mod to help the rattle I’d be all for it… heard people talking about truss tightening or something. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! ✊ It’s so fun playing this
@@greg6162 this sounds like the truss rod isn’t even engaged. You should give it a tighten up. Not too much to start. Just enough to engage it. It’s not as tough as you think.
What tuners did you use?
@@ravindramesh1397 Wilkinson 18:1 tuners. They aren't locking, but I was trying to keep costs down. I think they were less than $40 CDN. Big upgrade over what it came with, though and thankfully didn't require any re-drilling.
If you have a guitar that plays well built with decent wood nothing wrong with upgrading it. better to learn on a cheap guitar. This special II was my first guitar as a beginner have since got more expensive guitars but still like the way this guitar plays. I put in hipshot locking tuners (had to enlarge the holes use a hand reaming tool not a drill go slow no damage to head stock) replaced pots and switch, leveled & polished frets and slapped in zebra seymour duncan pearly gates pickups. Sounds and plays great. I could always use these parts on another guitar down the road (saved original pups & could always swap out tuners for cheap ones (10mm pretty standard hole size except on cheap & chinese guitars) if I decide to sell the guitar.
Mmoran64…….sounds like you had some pretty good ideas for the upgrades. I may borrow/steal some of them. I think the zebra coil pickups look great in about any guitar even though I don’t think the color of the bobbin has anything to do with tone but the cool factor goes up to a 10 out of 10! The Pearly Gates pickups are pretty good from what I understand and what I have heard. Of course Billy Gibbons is bad…..and nation-wide. As far as tuners, I am kind of a traditional guy and like the old tulip tuners, maybe cream colored for me and I want them to be light in weight so the guitar stays balanced. My Epiphone Les Paul Special II is a dark red color so maybe those tuners I mentioned, cream colored plastic frames around the pickups, and zebra coils would give it a sharp look. Maybe even adding a cream pickguard to make it look like a more expensive Les Paul. This video and your comment inspired me!
I upgraded my pups in mine, I originally put Seymore Duncan phat cat p90s in them, but ended up switching the bridge one for one of the SD Slash Alnico2 humbuckers. I liked the warm bluesy tone of the phat cat in the neck. Cool combo. Rewired the mess of electronics with gavitt braided wire. New pots and switch. Need new tuning pegs now. Not sure what to get.
I totally agree more I got a squire starter pack 20+ years ago. I have since bought 2 other guitars. My main go to is a telecaster but I can’t lie I still find myself going back to my squire strat. IT STILL PAYS VERY WELL
I'm an old-fart, metal head, and I enjoyed this video til the end. Yeah I had one of these a few years ago. Worn cherry finish. I liked that little guitar. I gave it away. Got me a Gibson Les Paul Tribute satin cherryburst finish. Its nice. Anyway, this was a great video brother. God bless you and yours. Happy pickin'!☺👍
Thanks man and I am glad you enjoyed this one. The Gibson would be a nice upgrade. I feel like someday I'll end up with a Les Paul. I like the ESP Eclipse a lot too. About to practice some now.
Does anyone know of a perfectly fitting, drop in replacement for the tuners?
I'm upgrading my Slash AFD Epi LPs-ii as well. Just changed the pickups for vintage probuckers and did a coil split for the heck of it. The guitar sounds creamy and divine now compared to the original tone which was a little screechy to my ears. Haven't been able to put down the guitar since the upgrade. I'm in love again.
This might inspire me to pick up a soldering gun for a couple of projects I've never seriously considered before now. I've got a couple of guitars sitting around that are already unplayable in their current state, can't hurt to practice a new skill on 'em.
You should try it out. It is a solid skill to have and you might bring some new life to an old guitar
Use a tapered reamer to widen tuner holes, drills risk splitting the headstock
Your contents gets better and better! Great video. And congrats again for your 1k subs! 🥳
Thank you! I try to make it less crap. Also thank you for subbing the channel. Your prize is a Gyoza and 30 cents off your next purchase of Shake n Bake
@@BrianBower oh I’m glad the prize isn’t 50 cent off at OPB Garbage day! 😃
@@wardance5846 you’re lucky and you’d never claim the prize. It’s too awful
@@BrianBower I’m the worst... I only deserve soggy buns filled with sadness and boiled onions
@@wardance5846 Well unfortunately you missed garbage day deals. We could have went and watched the crows pick at the garbage
Oh man... Liquifire is my fav pickup by far, its just so good.
I really like this set! The Liquifire sat here way too long not being used.
I’m going to be starting a similar project. I just bought one of these, with the black trans flame top. It plays great, neck is dead flat. I have extra parts/pickups laying around from other projects. I think I’m going to throw a dimarzio PAF master in the neck and a Fender Shawbucker 2 in the bridge.
I think that would be a cool pickup combo
@@BrianBower in thinking about it further. I’m thinking about slapping a LP junior pickguard on it and running it as a single pickup guitar. Just a solid rock machine. Idk. I can’t do anything yet, because I can’t actually take the guitar home for another 3 weeks. Lol
I've had two of those I got one right now beautiful blue one I thought about putting fishman fluence in them Grover locking tuners upgrading the pots
Oh man, fluence would be cool. I think that is going to require some more work and possible routing. I have no experience though so make sure you look into it how they are installed. The tuners are easy. Just be careful with the drill.
i only added tusq nut and locking turners for my entry level LP. Also did some copper shielding.
Those are solid upgrades especially the nut. Cheap guitars only have a plastic nut. Shielding is a smart idea as well
Ah, the "rent-to-own" special washer and dryer!!! Got the same ones, lol.
Hahah well I don't have this washer anymore. It broke. I went with a new Maytag and it is a lot better.
The space between the washer and dryer is just salivating for any small part to drop inside 🤣
Oh yes. It hasn’t happened though. I used it today too and still good. Just being resourceful haha
I have an new Epiphone Les Paul IiI for now just strings and intonation.
Reemer tool £7 Amazon, or if you drill the headstock use scrap piece of wood at the back of the head stock which stops the wood splitting and ruining your guitar, although a Piller drill is brilliant for this job
I just bought a used epi LP special 2 simply as a learning platform to putz around on. It was cheaper than going with a kit from harley benton or something like that, and all the upgrades can be used on something else or resold. Should be fun.
Oh yes! You’ll have fun with it for sure. It’s an easy enough platform.
Great video.
Thank you!
Something like this, if you love a good project that is, is always worth it. Why is it worth it? If you don't think it is, then it isn't but for those that like to personalize/customize their gear, I don't need to explain why ;)
You also don't need expensive pickups and hardware, there are a lot of great affordable alternatives if all you want is to change things up and personalize your gear. Covered pickups? Rails? All the options can be had for $50 or less a set if you are willing to try them out. It's how I stumbled on Vanson pickups, great tones at a great price. I needed a cheap set for a project build I didn't want to spend too much on and now I have multiple Vanson pickup sets in a number of my guitars. Worth a look if you don't want to fork out for "known brands".
I upgraded one. the playability is great so I replaced the tuners and bridge pickup. big difference. The nut is a cheap piece of plastic with deep grooves which stuck a lot. some sort of nut lubrication helped with that, but still not as nice as a higher quality guitar. I paid $50 for the guitar and another $150 on parts and now take it to every show as a backup guitar. If someone steals it from the bar, I"m only out $200.
And for that 150, you have a much nicer guitar. They do the job. Hard on the back though
Nice video!
Thanks man!
Just got one in a yard sale for $25. Ordered pickups and new internal parts.
OMG That is awesome
I would love to see this the other way around:
Ibanez Prestige S-series, DiMarzio out - Gibson '59,/'60 Humbuckers_Burstbuckers in.😊
A super comfortable fast guitar with high class sound.... will this work ?
I have a black version of this same guitar, I am going to jazz up for fun. I also noticed in-between starting and finishing your project, you got new monitor speakers! I have the KRK's, like you had originally, but I see you swapped out for something else.
That is cool and it is a fun project. As for the monitors. I probably wouldn't have ever changed them but one of the KRK's died and I needed a set of monitors for mixing and playing when not using a cab (or playing bass) so I replaced them with the Kali Audio LP6's I like the Kali's more too. This video was filmed in pieces and I think I didn't touch that guitar for a month so there you go!
I was stubborn modded the guitar(added a kill switch) refinished it changed every single piece in the guitar and paid for a professional setup/fret job. Was it cost efficient? No . Was it worth it? yes
I have a lp special series 1 ruby with black hardware. Sounds great but I would like to put Grover's on but it's hard to get black. I have replaced the output jack with a switch craft and I want to replace the rhythm/lead switch but have yet to find a good black one! I am happy with the pickups on it.
My Epi sg is cherry red and chrome hardware, I just don't like it. The body has terrible plywood with too much glue so It doesn't resonate and the chromed tuners suck!
I should have replaced the Jack on this too but it wasn’t really necessary. There a bunch of things you could do. I feel like I’m done with this project though. Sucks that your SG is like that. I like my friends Epiphone SG.
Talk about a mixed message!! LOL, "Don't do this" "This guitar sounds great and has a lot of "potential" "The locking tuners feel amazing!" HAHAHA. I actually like the pickups on my LP Special, but the combo of the wrap-around ("pre-intonated") bar bridge and the cheap tuners makes it impossible to get/keep in tune. I got a new nut for starters, but am considering a bridge that allows adjustments for each string. I'm wondering if I could find locking tuners that are a more precise fit and don't require drilling. Thanks for your video.
Yeah it didn’t go to plan. The tuners are awesome just don’t buy them for an epiphone haha. Gibson yes. The mistake I made was not knowing there was different sized tuning key holes. Definitely look into this. That’s why I say dont do this. The video didn’t go quite to plan. Just didn’t want to return the tuners. Also I have a lot of guitars so messing with one is fine.
you could get vintage style tuners that will fit the hole
grovers and modern tuners have bigger pegs
Hey algorithm! This guy ☝️ is awesome!!
Thanks man! I appreciate it
just tin the tip of the iron with a bit of solder and it should desolder much quicker.... I am thinking of getting one of these beginner level LP style guitars, to tinker with and be able to play along with my son as he learns....and as I learn also.... if you're not after metal tones or high gain sounds do you think the stock pickups and electronics are decent?
Oh yeah the stock pickups are fine especially earlier on in your playing. I have a video on here using the stock ones and it worked fine. This was just a project that I wouldn’t recommend to a beginner. Stock works. Just get a setup on it
Or you could buy tuners that fit. Take a tuner out. Measure everything. Match measurements when buying tuners.
When swapping tunners. Always put the nuts on the front first so you can get the tunners lined up where you want them. Then sinch the nuts down to hold the tunner in place before you drill for the set screws.
Great tip! I definitely learned a few things not to do with this project.
I'm currently going overboard with mine it's a epiphone custom shop limited edition that I've routed for a floyd and I'm installing a emg 61/85 set and also routed for binding. I know what's the point on this cheap guitar, that's my point exactly I got it for free and already had all the parts for a guitar I no longer have so why not
Anyone find tuners that swap right over?
I got an epiphone for free that some one totally vandalized. Had deep gouges and burns where the guy tried to pull off a laminate top
Horrific. But. It pissed me off so I'm going for it. I polished the frets. Sneak
Several body filler coats. Got stain and layer along with bouffant
Body filler primer and white primer. And a entire standard set up for 300 bucks has everything. Not fine with that yet should be easy for color by tomorrow. Dmso I agree, maybe not the best idea but I wanted the experience plus like I said. It pissed me off. Bright or home and the kids told me it looked cool sick
Which put high octaine on the fire do get I go. Nasty have a couple questions for you. Lol
That sounds like an intense project. Just don't do what I did with the tuners and find the right sized ones.
I don't know if you have other Epiphones, but it would be a great help if you knew if an Epiphone Les Paul Special neck. Is the same size as the Epiphone Les Paul Studio LT neck.
My grandson accidentally bumped one of my guitars off its stand, and one of the tuners of the one that fell hit the neck of the Epiphone Les Paul Studio LT that I was playing at the time. It didnt break or anything like that. It just has a ding in it that you can sort of feel. It doesnt hinder playing. I guess knowing it's there bugs me. It was a complete accident, and I know he feels really bad so I told him it was equally my fault as well since I put the guitar stand so close to where I was sitting. Which was true. He may not have hit it had it not been further over. At any rate I found a great looking Special neck that looks identical to the one that got the ding in it. They want an acceptable price for it so I have been searching around trying to find the specs of the necks to confirm if they match.
Unfortunately I don’t know that. Man that sucks though. It’s the thing about having guitars. Could always have something like that happen. Hopefully you can get that neck. The good thing with these is that they are bolt on necks.
Can someone pls tell me what song this is at 12:27
Just found you, subbed and agree, some likes and shares are always appreciated.
Upgraded and refurbished my share of guitars, good video.
Thank you for the sub for sure. I have too with varying results but it is all about the learning!
DONT USE A DRILL FOR WIDENING THE HOLES
Get a reamer specifically for that, it’s much more controllable and using a drill bit it’s going to be a lot harder to center and can lead to gouging the wood or chipping it.
A drill is still nice to have, like if you ever need to refill and refill pickguard or jack plate screw holes, but please use a reamer for tuner holes.
You’re totally right. I didn’t know this or that I was going to have this problem. Thank you for the advice. There’s a reason I said don’t do this. Live and learn on my end. So much to guitar parts that I just didn’t know before attempting stuff. I do appreciate the constructive feedback!
@@BrianBower no problem dude, it was a great video otherwise. I found it because I’m planning to do a similar project for my friends epiphone special II so I was looking for ideas.
@@Droid96 my advice would be to find the correct sized tuners. I didn’t know this was a thing. I think Asian/ European sizing to American sizing changes. I bet in an Gibson from the Us, my tuners would have been a direct swap
Yep. This. Also template, or at least take a bit more time to line up the small screw holes for the new tuners. Freestyling it leaves things a bit wonky.
a fellow reaper user, like
There are many of us
My go-to strings are nyxl also
Theyre awesome strings. I recommend them
Yes they are I play I think they are 11-58 if I'm not mistaken
I don't know if it's the algorithms RUclips has or what but every video I've watched about these Epiphone Specials have been from Canadian RUclipsrs. It's been 3 or 4 different channels so far and all Canadian. I'm not even in Canada. But I don't mind. Love the accent you guys have. On another note, what exactly were you using to polish the frets? Was it sandpaper? Scotch Brite? Just a rag and polish? I have one fret on my Special SG that has a ding on it. I'd like to see if I could smooth that out a bit. It's just deep enough to catch the string slightly but I can still bend beyond it.
Haha well apparently this is popular to do in Canada. Probably cause they’re sold at every Long and McQuade too. Well glad you left a comment. That is the Planet Waves Fret Polishing system. It’s just sold clothes and you use the cardboard cutout to protect the fretboard. That problem you have won’t be solved with these or at least how I think.
Sounds Great if you don't want to drill harbor freight has a reamer tool for 4 bucks I had to buy to install my new tuners tusq nut stock pickup s polished frets with 3000 grit paper fifty times after a leveling baby oil 3-4 times set tailpiece height bridge intonation dadario 08s stretch few time's plays Great and nice and slinky
Yeah don’t drill! That was my mistake
However it sounds like you have an awesome mod now!!
I need help, i wnat to learn how to play the guitar, would you recommend this one as my 1st guitar? Im on a budget so i can only afford this one or the jackson JS11. Wich one is the best for me. Thank you and keep with the good work!
This would work great as a first guitar. See if you can try them both out. As a beginner guitar, it just needs to play decent and stay in tune. Get a setup though. What I mean is to get them to adjust the neck and strings so they’re close to the fretboard. Might not even need that. Starting out, brand really doesn’t matter. Just gotta get playing! Thanks man!
Let's make this easier. Put some solder on your iron before removing wires. Make it much easier and less chance of burning a pot. Also get a decent hole reamer for enlarging holes. Less chance of wood chips.
I could really do better at it!
Ditched ceramics and put Seymour Duncan perley gates. Tuners ok, just tighten, Find this model not setup properly. Even truss was off
Hey Brian,
So I bought the Epiphone les Paul Special-1, everything is the same except the bridge. Guess I'm going to have to take it in to be set up as its tuning out across the neck.
Great idea! That’s more important than any upgrade and not enough people do this. I wish I knew that 18 years ago haha
@@BrianBower Yeah I don''t know what else to do, it came brand new in the box and there's been no set up done. First electric guitarand yeah I bought a cheap one @$129.
I have watched a bunch of these reviews, so I've known I would probably upgrade tuners and pickups, but I'll wait to see if they can intonate it first then maybe tuners.
Concerned because it just has the single bridge, there's no middle up and down adjustment unlike the Special II.
if they can intonate it I'll be happy, then maybe tuners.
@@seandowney5549 get the setup done. Don’t worry about the pickups and the tuners right now. That can be done later down the road and you might even just want another guitar at that point. It’s up to you. That’s just my best advice.
@@BrianBower Cool Brian,
It came with strings on it, are there strings you'd recommend?
Still consider me a beginner, I've had an acoustic for about 3yrs and let's just say I've played it about half that time and my 1st electric.
Thanks for all the input.
SWD
Tonewoods only matter in acoustics. With acoustics I can justify boutique builders(I own a Santa Cruz vintage jumbo and a bill bonanzinga) oh and I have two bespoke lap steels. Only because there ain't many lap steel builders.
You’re right. The issue with this one is weight but it’s fine. Made of plywood lol. Now lap steel is a cool project. I bet that’s a fun instrument
Just picked one up black special II, 60$! wana add a tremolo as
how are you not at 100k rn
There is a lot of competition out here for that. Also time is an issue. I appreciate the kind words though :)
Newbs! do not dispair if you fuck up drilling the hole no worries: holes can be filled a variety of ways (tooth picks, clamp, glue and time FTW) - CRACKS are a serious problem however - Always drill the hole out never hammer the hardware home. anyway nice work on the mod, i'm in the middle of repairing a botched repair on one of these instruments =]
I like this comment!! Cracks do suck a lot. Great advice. Thank you and good luck!
what model guitar is that black one in the background?
That is an Ibanez RGA 7 string with BKP Nailbombs which I installed terribly lol.
Nice video buddy. I think the Gibson, being made in the US has different dimensions. Epiphone being made in China may have European dimensions.
I think you’re right! However it was good to do this video so maybe someone learned. I bet these work flawless with the Gibson USA models. I am sure I saw a guy do it with an SG on here. Gibson and locking tuners would be awesome. They get hated on but I still love a good Les Paul. Thanks man!!
@@BrianBower Well they get hated on by people who hasn't tried a good one. Even by people who hasn't tried a Gibson... Its just stupid
@@Fredlund666 I still think they’re over priced!
I have an Epi LP special ii as well that I got as a mod project as well. Already did the setup, actually plays pretty well, but it also has tuning stability issues and the pickups are a bit muddy. So, new tuners, nut, pickups, pots, jack, etc....on the way. Probably will refinish as well just for kicks
It seems to me that it would be a fair trade if Epiphone would delete the neck pickup in exchange for halfway decent tuners as a cost-saving measure. Get sort of an LP Junior thing going on.
Dude I bought kluson tuners for my Cort cr250 and the fittings are too big. Gotta Reem the holes!
I loved the pickups in the special 2 but my mine was from 05 so maybe they've changed.
Be careful. Maybe tape the holes before drilling. Just be careful before getting the drill out. The special 2 pickups were passable. However these are a lot better. I feel like this guitar is probably from around 04 or 05 as well. I just don’t remember right now. Man it doesn’t seem like that long ago.....
Haha thanks man and yea 05 was a long time ago. A thinner time for me lol. Congrats on 1K subs!
Glad you can use a drill! Hahahah! epic man
Hahha drills are life
I think folks should always buy cheap and upgrade what needs to be upgraded, and I think folks should learn how to do their own setups as well..
Yes and no! Having a platform to learn on is great though. Just want to make sure people don’t run into problems with their only guitar as playing is still king. You’re absolutely right on setups too. It’s all perspective. Upgrades can be fun too.
@@BrianBower
I have come to think of doing upgrades on a guitar and learning how to do setups as part of the learning process at this point honestly. Practicing playing is fun, but it can become a bit of a grind, so learning how to do a setup or finding something on the guitar to upgrade can be a way of breaking up that grind.
Though when people are brand new to playing, its probably best they pay for a good setup and just focus on learning to play, but once that grind sets in, that is when learning how to set up a guitar or doing upgrades comes in handy..
Oh and tuners tend to come in a couple difference sizes shaft wise, so there would of been a drop in upgrade of locking tuners that you wouldn't have had to make the holes bigger... I know this video isn't exactly knew, but Since you responded to me, I figured i would mention it.
@@BrianBower
Oh and the guitar looked great, I use MusicNomad F-one Oil on my fretboard, it cleans the fretboard so you don't have those areas that look dirty even after putting on fresh oil.. I don't know, everyone likes there own kind, but so far for me it seems to do the best out of all the types I have tried so far... Worth a try at least in the future...
@@lfaf9509 That is what I have been meaning to get. Thank you for suggesting that. I was looking for a dunlop one that I cannot seem to find.
@@BrianBower
"Dunlop Fingerboard 01 Cleaner & Prep"
That is the name of the dunlop stuff according to Musicains Friends / Guitar Centers Website. The stuff didn't work as well for me when I used to use it, but maybe they have adjusted it to be better now days.. I am not big into brand loyalty, I find that all brands can be a waste of time sometimes lol. These oils and fretboard products are cheap when bought alone, like the Dunlop stuff is like 8 dollars and the Music Nomad stuff is 9 dollars, plus what ever shipping you do of course. Now the kits you can buy for this stuff can get pretty pricey, depending on the kit its self and what all it comes with....
Holy crap, I just noticed I was sounding like a salesman... that is scary, sorry its the affect of being old and having been subjected to trillions of advertisements over the years lol.
Hey yo!!! I have exactly same guitar
These are very common! How do you like yours?
@@BrianBower Certainly, Very much
I just bought one of those guitars only because my good one is backordered 😂
I recorded one of my last videos with this one and it’s a nice guitar playing wise! Little heavy during the long jams. Honestly even stock, it was good.
@@BrianBower Have you considered putting a Floyd Rose FRX on any of the cheaper LPs?
It could be a fun video 😂
I’ve had this guitar for like 8+ years now, the toggle switch broke the first day I got it and I was too afraid to tell my parents. I’m 22 now and just busted that bad boy open and managed to fix the broken guide piece with a toothpick (after thinking I broke the guitar entirely when I closed it up without a complete circuit and nothing was going through the amp) it now works like it should lol, now I’m tempted to do exactly what you’re explicitly stating do not do.
Haha well the main thing not to do is get the same tuners. Get the right sized ones.
I got one of these to upgrade for my girlfriend (our anniversary is coming up) it was beat up and missing parts so an upgrade is the only way to save it
What did you replace on it?
@@BrianBower tuners, bridge, pickups, wiring, pots, and the selector switch
@@BrianBower if the Guitar's neck wasn't so nice it wouldn't have been worth restoring
i have the blue les paul 2 and the tuners are not very good i agree. I just gonna change the tuners to better ones.
Nice man! Just don’t make my mistake. Get the right sized tuners.
Well done! I had a Special ii from 2012 that I modified. I used SD pickups and Grover Rotos. I got a video on my channel if ya wanna check it out!
That is super cool. I’ll do that in a bit
You do NOT need to redrill holes for tuners on an Epiphone LP special. The tuner holes are to vintage spec, with a diameter of 8mm. Modern tuners have a bushing diameter of 10mm. You simply need to buy the right tuners.
I learned that after the fact. The more you know lol. This is why I say to not do this. Lesson learned.
Its honestly a shame that a lot of forums and videos i see don't specify that information. there is an entire market of tuners that work with epiphones and squires, just people always get the wrong info and risk damaging their instruments as a result.
Use a fan when you're soldering.
Good idea!
There’s no use of upgrading the perfection :)
Oh these aren’t perfection haha.
The tuners are standard IE; American the les paul special II is metric IE; Foreign
Correct and I wish I knew this before :P
Doesn't actual lemon oil dry the guitar fretboard out? I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that real/rich lemon oil shouldn't be used on guitars. Don't really know why Dunlop and other companies call their products lemon oil, since it only makes up like 1% or less of the product
I never had an issue with it. I am not sure really. I have heard a few people say this before. I needed to use something to clean it better though. I will eventually get a bottle of the Dunlop fretboard cleaner
yes lemon oil can dry out fretboard & may loosen frets by breaking down adhesives holding frets in place. You can buy proper oil for rosewood fretboards from guitar shops or just use plain mineral spirits that is what is recommended for rosewood
Yes lemon oil is a cleaner, great for VOS finishes, and mineral spirits for the fretboard never vegetable oil unless you want your guitar to stink. You can also use ronson fluid (lighter fluid) on the fretboard.
Newer Epis , well , they have the necks right now
True Slim Taper Profiles
Older ones are hit or miss
Boat oar to baseball bat
I tried one with one of those necks and it was awesome.
DEWALT FTW!
Oh yes bud!
God damn it Bower! You clean the fret board with Dunlap 01 to get the crud off, you polish the frets and then you apply the oil! And for the tuners, next time check the kind of tuners you want to use. You wanted to install 10mm tuners into 6mm holes. Just talk to me next time before doing that. But you did a good job anyway. Congrats on the 1k
I never tried the Dunlop cleaner but I will! Haha I didn’t realize these were gonna be too big and this was a cheaper guitar so I’m like let’s do it. Wouldn’t have done that to something of higher value. I had fun though. Also thanks!
The pickups made only a slight difference to my ears and not necessarily better. I liked the sound of the stock pickups better at the beginning of your comparison. The tuner replacement is the mod to do, for sure, if you want better intonation. But the pickup swap doesn't seem worth it, even if you just play master of puppets.
In hindsight, I mostly agree with you.
You can get aftermarket tuners designed for Epiphone guitars. Epiphone uses a 6mm peg hole while Gibson uses a 10mm hole so as you found out you will have to enlarge the holes to fit Gibson spec tuners on an Epiphone.
Something I definitely didn't know before doing this. One of my mistakes. Live and learn here.
The Gibson Kluson tuners would be a better fit.
Gibson problems haha
Don't tell me what to do 🤣
I have a stock epi lp standard Ltd ed and want to grab a cheap special ii specifically to mod
In this case, do it!!!
NEVER use a drill to enlarge tuner hole. Use a hand reamer.
I wish I knew that! This is why I say don’t do what I do.
@@BrianBower I put a bone nut on mine also. Left the stock pickups as I play more clean.
12:28 sounds like 10000 bees in a garbage can
You got the wrong tuner's they have ones for the Epiphone import and the Epiphone USA models. The USA models have a thinner hole. And the imports use 10 mm. You just got the wrong size ones but you can drill them out no big deal
Don’t use a drill, use a reamer.
Free hand drill those tuner holes ?
At least clamp the guitar head down
Or get ready for drill bit run , and a cracked headstock
I’ve gotten a lot of comments on this and learned what not to do. I did not crack the headstock though.
Or maybe you did the wrong modifications? You could just bought cheap better locking tuner and cheap better humbuckers... Like they do with the squiers, just scallop, change the tuners and put a set of wilkinson alnico V thats around 35 bucks.
So i should have bought different sized tuners but never knew there were differences. I am learning that with pots too. Mike from my recent video on pickups knows all of it well. The pickups were laying around here in the house. I just wanted to use them. Theyre good pickups so no regrets.
Night and day in clarity and sound with new pickups. The stock pickups in that guitar..... meh... muddy and not enough high in clarity. Seymour Duncans JB bridge would have cleaned it up in bridge for $60.
They absolutely did. I would like more of these pickups. Now in saying that, the reason I used these is cause they were just sitting here in my house not used. A JB would be stellar in the bridge. I have one of those as well. Sadly in Canada, it would be more than 60 dollars. Maybe if you found a used one, it would be
Don’t do this??!?! No! No! No! Do this!! Do this over and over again! How will we ever get better and make progress without practice and work?
Fair but really I am just trying to prevent a novice from spending more money and possibly wrecking their only guitar. You're right on practice though. I have made mistakes before and this one turned out good. I just have a lot of guitars so one not working is fine. I have to fix a few other ones
Your wife is not going to like the dents in the washing machine lid. I would solder in a room with more ventilation. I’ll try doing my next project in the bed room and see how that goes.
I got rid of her hahah. Actually that one has been replaced
Literally every electric guitar I own is a "project" with the exception of one man, boutique builders, there is no correlation whatsoever between price and quality. I have not bought any of my electric guitars new. They are all pawn shop specials, thrift store funds, yard sale , or some combination of the 3. People who get snobby about guitars are the worst. Furthermore there are 3 factors , only 3. That impact sound quality. 1) player 2)setup 3) pickups. End of.
Before better 😂
For some folks. Not for me haha. This was just for fun