Changing pickups on a G-400

[nbeersiii]

Rewiring is the cheapest thing you can do. Go buy some american or canadian made pots from all parts and you dont even have to do that right off the bat. Hell just move a couple wires to 50s style and leave everything else and see how it sounds. I mean if you are comfortable doing it yourself. You dont have to go buy an expensive wiring kit just to experiment.

 

[Barcham]

Rewiring seems pricey (and then maybe swapping the pup on top of that). It makes me consider just getting a Gibson (when a good deal comes up) and selling the Epi to help pay for it rather than pour that much money into it. Lots to think about.

Unless you plan on getting a low end Gibson, you'll still be paying well over $1000 to go from your Epi to a Gibby SG Standard, even with the money you make from selling your Epi. You can change your pots and caps yourself for a lot less money than that and used pickups are easy to find on ebay.

If you do the work yourself, and it is not difficult to do at all, you could probably pick up a prewired harness and a set of pickups for around $200 total. Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded pup sets go for around $120 new, and you could probably find a used set for less than that. Or you could spend less and get a set of GFS pups which are a great bargain. A set of their pro series Alnico II pups will cost about $80.

If you contact one of the advertisers here, or over on the My Les Paul forum - Jonesy or Martinsixstring, I'm sure you could find someone to set you up with a wiring kit to fit your budget. And either of those guys will be more than happy to guide you right through the installation if you have any difficulties.

When you're done, you'll have a great sense of pride in the guitar that you had such a huge part in getting the sound you want. If you don't trust your own ability to do the work, then if you buy the pots and caps loose instead of prewired, any decent small shop should install them for around $100 or less.

So if you go with GFS pups at about $80, loose pots and caps - under $50, and installation at say $100 at the high end, you're still well under $300 and will have a great sounding guitar when you're done.

 

[stdio]

I'm not sure where everyone is getting their price quotes from, but if you're looking to get into a good used SG Standard, and are willing to shop around a little, you'll have no problem getting one for $800 MAX. And you can probably get one for $100 or so less than that, these days. Good luck.

 

[Barcham]

I'm not sure where everyone is getting their price quotes from, but if you're looking to get into a good used SG Standard, and are willing to shop around a little, you'll have no problem getting one for $800 MAX. And you can probably get one for $100 or so less than that, these days. Good luck.

I just looked on eBay, and unless you want a black SG or one with considerable wear on it or that has been repaired, you will pay over $1000 for a Cherry SG in decent condition. And this will be a guitar that you have no idea as to whether or not you will bond with it. I cannot understand why anyone would part with a guitar that they enjoy, that feels and plays great to them because they are afraid to spend a bit of money to improve the sound only to buy another guitar that may not meet the grade in any way for them.

I've tried out a lot of Gibsons over the last couple of years since I bought my Vintage G-400 and my Elitist. To date, I have yet to find even one at any price that I would swap either of my SGs for. In fact, the only Gibson SG I really liked was a Faded Tribute with P90s and while I would consider picking one up in the future, I would not trade one of mine for it or to make money to buy it. If I buy one, it will join my others, not replace one.

Anyone who buys a guitar with the resale price as a consideration is buying it for the wrong reasons. When I buy a guitar, I buy it because it feels right to me and for no other reason.

 

[stdio]

I just looked on eBay, and unless you want a black SG or one with considerable wear on it or that has been repaired, you will pay over $1000 for a Cherry SG in decent condition.
...

You're welcome to believe this if you want.

 

[Biddlin]

I just looked on eBay, and unless you want a black SG or one with considerable wear on it or that has been repaired, you will pay over $1000 for a Cherry SG in decent condition...

I call shenanigans:
Here are eight that I found in less than two minutes .
Gibson SG Standard Candy Apple Red | eBay
Gibson SG Standard Guitar | eBay
2011 Gibson SG Standard P90 Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry with OHSC | eBay
Gibson SG Standard Limited Edition Cream 2011 USA | eBay
Gibson SG Standard Cherry with OHSC | eBay
Gibson SG Standard | eBay
1974 Gibson SG Standard Players Vintage Guitar | eBay
2000 Gibson SG Classic Custom Standard Red Cherry Mahogany w Hard Case | eBay

Not a Black in the pack !
Biddlin ;>)/

 

[iblive]

eBay SG Standard - Buy It Now - Gibson SG Standard Guitar | eBay

and if one would consider a Faded - Gibson SG Faded 2006 Heritage Cherry Very Nice w Bag No Reserve 3Days $1 00 | eBay

oddly enough both well less than $1000.

 

[Barcham]

I believe what I see, not what people post without proof. And like I said, no matter what the price may be, there is no guarantee that you will bond with the guitar or like the way it plays. Just having Gibson on the headstock is no guarantee of anything.

2013 Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry 100 UNPLAYED Save Big | eBay

2013 Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar Natural Burst 100 UNPLAYED Save Big | eBay

Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar Natural Burst 886830716775 | eBay

2008 Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar w OHSC Ebony | eBay

2006 Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar w OHSC Ebony | eBay

 

[Barcham]

In regards to the two posts above...

Did you even read my post? I mentioned that I was looking for a Standard in excellent condition. Not a player that has been stripped or something with dot inlays that is not considered a Standard in my book. Not a faded model or a P90 model.

In any case, it's a buyer's choice and I only look for guitars that are up to my standards. I don't think the OP is looking for something that has a worse appearance than they already own. If so, I doubt they would have bought a Silver burst to begin with.

We all have different ideas of what we want. The OP has more than enough info to make an informed decision.


EDIT: I should also clarify that when I made my original post, I was talking about a NEW Gibson SG Standard, not used prices.

 

[happy_tom]

My advice: for 20 bucks, you get 4 audio taper 500K pots and some caps (you may try different values, .22 is the standard, but also try .47 and .10),

wire them 50s style and see the difference.
That's all I did and that's all I needed. True, stock pickups could still be better, but it made a huge difference.

Besides, even if you do change the pups eventually, you'll still have to change the wiring, otherwise it's like mouting worn out scooter tyres on a ferrari.

Although you might prefer darker sound (50s style brightens it a bit), you may still like the results, becouse the sound is much less muddy. And tone controls become actually usable, unlike stock.
Or maybe try modern gibson wiring. There are a lot of oprions. Epis stock is probably the worst one of them all. unless you really need independent volume controls in middle position...

 

[Biddlin]

" one with considerable wear on it or that has been repaired,"

The best two players in my stable are used instruments with considerable wear and one has a nicely repaired neck heel and will never break there again . The latter is my '03 Epi Vintage G-400 . For any of its cosmetic deficits, it more than compensates with performance, having the lowest action and only bound fretboard among my SGs . My '03 Gibson Faded Special has lots of wear and was improperly stored in an outdoor locker in the Sacramento Valley for three years . It is the guitar my professional friends most lust after, offering me far costlier instruments in trade when I refuse cash . I have only just purchased my first brand new Gibson at 60 years of age . I don't think I've had more than 4 new guitars in my lifetime, though I have setup and worked on others'. I believe there is great joy and wisdom to be found in restoring and upgrading used instruments, not to mention the practical skills gained . I also find romance in the scars of a life well lived, by the instruments and their owners, so my advice to the OP is to keep your Limited Edition Epi stock and buy yourself a used g-400 to mod . I think you'll find it rewarding and you'll have a much broader perspective on your instruments. Please post a Vid with that Morte and avoid blatherskitery at all costs !

Biddlin ;>)/

 

[iblive]

Did you even read my post?

Actually, I did read that post AND the next one. In the second post you mentioned eBay.... which would be why a couple of us went there.

You are absolutely correct if ones plans is to purchase a brand new Standard from MF or Sweetwater or wherever... it'll set you back 1200 bucks or so. But, you can get a darn nice used one lots cheaper. If one isn't available on eBay check Craigslist. There's a bunch of folk here that swears by Craigslist. They've found some extremely nice guitars for next to nothing.

Personally, I won't purchase another new guitar... acoustic or electric. I want one that already has "character." While I bought my used G400 via ebay... I won't buy another guitar without playing it first.... that means from a store or local individual. So basically, what new guitars sell for means nothing to me.

 

[Barcham]

I've never and I doubt I will ever buy a brand new guitar. But the OP seems to be very concerned with resale value and I would not expect a used guitar to be in the OP's thoughts. Nor would I expect a real player's guitar to be either. If they were, I can't see how anyone would have a problem modding their guitar to get it to where they want it to be.

I've been lucky in finding two used guitars that were already upgraded to where I would have done myself. My Vintage G-400 with upgraded SD pups, caps and pots and my Elitist Gold Top with Seth Lovers and a RS Guitarworks Vintage harness that I got for the bargain price of $650. My Elitist SG sounds great stock but I might upgrade the harness down the line, my Ultra II needs no changes and I keep my LP Standard stock as I don't play it much and it's usually on loan to one friend or another.

 

[Krosis]

I guess I'm trying to say that I could get rewiring done and new pups on my G-400 or I could troll craigslist and GC for a used Gibson model anywhere from $500 to $600 which would be a great deal anyway. Right now on my local CL there is a couple of faded Gibson Specials for great prices if I were so inclined. I'd be more likely to keep the stock pups of a Gibson than switch them out, and even if I did I would save the old pups and the resale value for a Gibson would still be pretty high.

But this thread has helped a lot because if I do mod the Epi, I know better what to do. Rewiring never even crossed my mind, but that sounds like a great way to improve the guitar.

 

[Barcham]

Or you could look for something like this instead. Much better quality than a Gibson Special. I wouldn't pay this guy's asking price however as it doesn't come with the original case. They do come up often enough, though, and it shouldn't be a long wait for one.

Epiphone Elitist 1961 SG Standard Electric Guitar w Bag 61 Elite | eBay

 

[Krosis]

Yeah, those are really nice. I definitely wouldn't pay that price though.

 

[Barcham]

It's well worth the price, I just like having the original Elitist case. A Gibson of comparable quality would cost considerably more. No Gibson SG short of a Custom Shop would compare to my Elitist Faded '61 in quality. At least none that I've had in my hands.

 

[stdio]

...
The best two players in my stable are used instruments with considerable wear and one has a nicely repaired neck heel and will never break there again . The latter is my '03 Epi Vintage G-400 . For any of its cosmetic deficits, it more than compensates with performance, having the lowest action and only bound fretboard among my SGs .
...
/

Right before I got my my '86 SG '62 reissue, I came very close to getting one of those Vintage G-400s. Could tell they were great guitars for the price, from memory I think the ones from 2003-4 looked like the special ones.

It's my own personal thing, but for import guitars I stick to either MIJ and MIK models. Somehow I determined the Korean Epi factory codes (before they went to numeric factory codes) spelled "PRIUS", which was a handy mnemonic device when determining country of origin for a given guitar, based on serial#.

I think I'm resigned now to the fact that it can take months (or even years) to find the right Gibson. It used to bother me, but now I realize that people pick up on a lot of small differences between guitars, and everyone has different prefs for neck profiles and everything else. So it's all part of the fun. And once I got my first "never sell Gibson", I immediately understood a lot of things.