Members mi55mi55 Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Just picked up my first LP. a 1990 ebony Studio for $675 on EBay. He says its not super heavy. Please suggest upgrades.Should I replace PU's or bridge? He says one of the tuners is stiff. How do these and what PU's came stock with the 1990 Gibson Studio?I am thinking of putting SD 55 Seth Lovers in this and for heavier songs turn up my mids on my Tone King Meteor II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 It's not bad guitar if you like that neck. The only thing I would do is put a nice binding on it, black knurled knobs with tops to match the neck inlays and a 5 way switch to widen out the tone selection. Actually, if it were me, I would change all the hardware to gold because gold looks killer against the black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 I'd leave it stock, except for maybe straplocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rand-O-Monium Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 -Straplocks On-P/G OffCongrats!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members craigny Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Honestly like the others have stated, id put on a set of straplocks (a MUST for ANY LP)...and call it a day...the pickups should be a 490R in the neck and 498T in the bridge i believe, and i wouldnt change them, and unless the bridge is damaged or giving you a problem, of which neither seems to be the case id leave that too...the tuners may be Grovers...easily replaceable if one is giving you a tough time...thats a kick ass LP ya got there... just put some new strings on, get a good setup and rock n roll! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mav64 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 I've got that exact same guitar albiet from 2003 and I didn't change a thing other than lower the bridge pickup a bit. They are 490Rs and 498T's as mentioned above and I love it just the way it is. I'm just a garage wanker though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WhatDoIKnow Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 It's already 20+ years old. Leave it the way it is, and in another 20 years it will be "vintage". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members almightycrunch Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Yep, dont change a thing,. its a Les Paul, just turn it up and enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mi55mi55 Posted November 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 awesome. I'm breakin a sweat just waitin for it....What is a 5 way LP switch? I might get some PIO caps and tuners (18:1). I was wondering about a harness, so that get's me a thinkin' there might be some cool 5 way harness out there? Any recomendations on a OD/Boost pedal that fits LP's? I have my rig set up for single coil guitars.... I hope this LP rips. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Originally Posted by mi55mi55 What is a 5 way LP switch? Thanks! Here's a couple different ones to pick from. You can get them from many guitar parts suppliers.http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...and_knobs.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 i like it, congrats...plug it into a marshall and don't change anything... seriously, we are a crazy bunch with all our upgrades, i'm guilty too.... play it like it is for a while, see what you think.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 Try it out first. I personally would prefer the Seth Lovers. I think it probably is indeed the 490/498 p'up combo. The SLs would give you a bit more vintage vibe to the tones and soften the bridge tone. 498s (with Alnico V magnets) can be a rather hard hitting mid pronounced p'up. I think they're better for harder rock. They straddle the fence between vintage PAF and more modern high gain. But indeed, let your ears not preconceptions make that choice for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mockchoi Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 I'll never understand people planning upgrades for guitars they've never even played Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tone Deaf Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 Originally Posted by mockchoi I'll never understand people planning upgrades for guitars they've never even played +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 My first "real" guitar was a 92 Les Paul Studio I got for Christmas in 96. Over time I beat it to hell by playing it non-stop. First thing I did was take off the pickguard just for personal preference. Over time the tuners got bad, one actually broke off, and I replaced with a set of Grovers. I also swapped the pickups for a 59/JB combo around 2000. I was very happy with the swap. I remember my Mom even commented "wow... you can actually hear a difference". One of the wires on the inside somehow came loose and that guy got fixed up nice by the same guy who did the pickups. I'm not sure what he did, but it also made an improvement. I never really liked the look of the volume knobs, but they always worked well so I never changed them. I need to take some pictures of that guitar. These days I usually keep it in a case. It's my only irreplaceable piece of musical equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members codecontra Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 Does it have an ebony fretboard? I would take off the pickguard because IMO it looks cooler without one. I would install strap locks and locking Schaller tuners. Maybe a bone nut. I installed a bone nut on mine and love it. That's about it. The pups are great in this guitar and I would leave stock. {censored}ing with binding would be a bad idea IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicalpeace Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 Change the tuners to Grover's for sure. The stock Gibson deluxe tuners are pretty fragile, and they started dropping like flies after about a year on mine. The '90 probably doesn't have the pcb circuit board in the pot cavity like some of the later lp studios, but if by any chance it does, I would recommend taking that crap out and rewiring it with a soldering gun. It makes everything quickly serviceable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members supa_scoopa Posted November 19, 2012 Members Share Posted November 19, 2012 Baked maple fretboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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