Swap SE humbuckers for Epiphone ProBucker Custom pickups? what?

[Superlead777]

...I dunno..maybe I'm going nutz...but the humbuckers in my Custom 24 just don't sound/move me. My friend has a Epi Classic LP clone with ProBucker Custom pickups,and it sounds really,really good.....what y'all think of this idea? Soldering and doing the work myself is no big deal...done it 100's of times......

 

[andy474x]

I wouldn’t - not going to change the voice of the guitar significantly with very similar type of pickups.

 

[Glide-bpm]

Might I suggest Seymour Duncan Hades Gates!

 

[d^rren]

I wouldn’t - not going to change the voice of the guitar significantly with very similar type of pickups.

The pickups have perhaps the most influence on the tone of an electric guitar over almost any other factor. You can dramatically change the voice of the guitar with different pickups.

OP, if you want to try them out, give it a shot. They may deliver exactly what you're looking for, but they may also not deliver what you want, considering you'd be putting them in a guitar that's quite different in woods, construction and scale length.

Those two points might seem quite contradictory, but let me explain... Yes, at their core, solid body electric guitars are still "acoustic" instruments, and the wood, scale length, and construction all play a part in how string vibrations are selectively dampened to create what we call "tone".

The wire and magnets we put under the strings just pick up the string vibrations and do further enhancement and suppression of certain frequencies. Sometimes you get magic (like when EVH put a Gibson PAF out of an old ES335 into the bridge position of a parts mutt Strat), and sometimes... you get crap.

But try it out and see if it gives you the response you're looking for.

 

[Superlead777]

...so....I've found out, "possibly".....that PRS and Epi pickups might be made at same factory.....hmmm....anyone else heard of this?

 

[d^rren]

Lots of things are made in the same factory. That doesn't mean those things have the same specifications or performance.

 

[andy474x]

The pickups have perhaps the most influence on the tone of an electric guitar over almost any other factor. You can dramatically change the voice of the guitar with different pickups.

My experience is that's true with different types of pickups, but going from one low output humbucker to another usually yields a very minimal change. If the pickup is like a microphone, it'd be going from, say, an SM57 to another brand's clone of that mic. Especially in this case, with the Epiphone pickups also being an affordably made approximation, I'm not sure that juice is worth the squeeze.

Now, change pickup types, like going from a PAF type to a hot ceramic humbucker, or a P90, or a Filtertron, etc., and that's going to be noticeable. I put a Starla pickup in a guitar and that was a nice change from the stock PAF type pickup.

@Superlead777 , I'd say keep in mind this guitar has a different bridge and construction, and with the same kind of pickups, that's going to have a bigger influence on the sound than the two very similar pickups. You might notice a very small difference, but don't expect the Custom to sound anything like the LP with different pickups. A set of USA PRS pickups might give you a more defined version of the sound you're getting. But I would definitely try different strings first - pure nickel vs nickel plated steel can be a big difference - or a new bridge from John Mann.

 

[dogrocketp]

And don’t forget to try different pickup heights and changing the tone settings on your amp. If it’s a core, the sound should be in there.

 

[Glide-bpm]

And don’t forget to try different pickup heights and changing the tone settings on your amp. If it’s a core, the sound should be in there.

After adjusting the pickup heights, also experiment with screw pole piece heights one string at a time to dial each string in.

 

[Superlead777]

Andy.....one of the first things I did to this guitar was get rid of the steel block on trem,exchanged It for brass.the difference was notable to me,more sustain,mids jumped up...but not in a way that made me think it was "too much"...there's a depth,(..if you will..) to the sound that's missing,...I have Ibanez's with locking trems,so "that" sound I'm used to,...if that makes any sense...
I suppose what I mean is,there's a low mid/high bass response I wish this guitar had.......

i'm about ready to drop a Tone Zone in the bridge just to see what I get outta' it.......ha.

 

[Glide-bpm]

Andy.....one of the first things I did to this guitar was get rid of the steel block on trem,exchanged It for brass.the difference was notable to me,more sustain,mids jumped up...but not in a way that made me think it was "too much"...there's a depth,(..if you will..) to the sound that's missing,...I have Ibanez's with locking trems,so "that" sound I'm used to,...if that makes any sense...
I suppose what I mean is,there's a low mid/high bass response I wish this guitar had.......

i'm about ready to drop a Tone Zone in the bridge just to see what I get outta' it.......ha.

SD Hades Gates bridge!

 

[FatFingerBlues]

I am huge fan of the SD Pearly Gates
but these guys are driving me nuts with the Hades gates
I may be putting a set in the Bernie

 

[Glide-bpm]

I am huge fan of the SD Pearly Gates
but these guys are driving me nuts with the Hades gates
I may be putting a set in the Bernie

You probably won't regret it. Don't forget possible pole piece adjustments when setting the heights.

 

[SinSir]

Give it a shot.. I've e done similar swaps in the past, but these days I'm not one to replace cheap pickups with cheap pickups. It's a linear move and they eventually get pulled. There's too many great pickups out there that don't back the bank, especially used.

 

[Maertl513]

@Superlead777,
I have a question: You mentioned your friend's good sounding Epi.
Did it sound better on his gear or yours without adjusting the EQ?

If it sounded better on your friend's gear, it's less his pickups, it's the whole signal chain.
Guitar - cable (!) - amp (and settings + colouring pedals) - cab + speaker.

Did he play on your gear and it sounded better, try to analyse why.
As mentioned: Pickup height is relevant, probably the string brand counts.
Check the capacity of your and your friend's cable - high capacity, less clarity.
There are more wheels to turn first prior pickup swap.