Was thinking of swapping out the 245 stock pickups for a pair of Gibson 490's or 57's. On a les Paul that I used to own I thought the pickups were more powerful and "thicker" sounding. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience of doing this? Incidentally, my amp is a stock Epi valve junior which is not the best amp out their but can give a good sound.
245 pickup swap
- Thread starter Tony789
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watelessness
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- Apr 26, 2012
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Timely topic. I used to have a older singlecut and I didn't care for the #7 in the bridge but found the Suhr Aldrich more suitable.
I recently picked up an older SC 245 and have to change the pickups, as the 245's are just too muddy for me. I love them with the covers off (Miras) but it's not where I want to go with this guitar. I think I'm going to be dropping lots of solder until I can score some 85/15's.
I recently picked up an older SC 245 and have to change the pickups, as the 245's are just too muddy for me. I love them with the covers off (Miras) but it's not where I want to go with this guitar. I think I'm going to be dropping lots of solder until I can score some 85/15's.
What year is your SC245?
If it has 57/08s, before swapping in Gibson pickups, try adjusting the pickup height a tiny bit.
Also, the 57/08s sound fantastic with amps that can take advantage of their dynamic range. Unfortunately the little Valve Jr. can't do that (I have a lot of experience with that amp, as my son had one when he was in high school, and we messed around with it quite a bit in my studio before he left for college; he also had a Mesa Stiletto, and used my old Mesa Tremoverb for his gigs).
Before you blow off the 57/08s, take the guitar to a place where you can hear what they can do with a higher end amp.
andy474x
Knows the Drill
Regardless of what you do with those pickups, get yourself a Bitmo Trio mod kit, and a Hammond 125 ESE output transformer for that Valve Jr. It will add a ton of clarity and depth to the sound of your amp! I've done so on mine, and it's a great pedal platform now (and sounds pretty righteous cranked up for dirty tones too). I take mine anywhere that calls for a smaller amp and it gets a lot of compliments!
