Epiphone Dot P'ups

[jumpwin]

Anyone know what p'ups come as stock with the Epiphone 335 Dot? I've searched but can't find any info on them at all. They came with a sticker on them saying USA designed, alnico magnets etc, but no names or specifications. The only mention I found said they were called SH-55's, and made by Seymour Duncan, which is obviously a fairytale! Any help would be great.

[BoneNut]

Anyone know what p'ups come as stock with the Epiphone 335 Dot? I've searched but can't find any info on them at all. They came with a sticker on them saying USA designed, alnico magnets etc, but no names or specifications. The only mention I found said they were called SH-55's, and made by Seymour Duncan, which is obviously a fairytale! Any help would be great.

 

 

Doesn't matter. They're just cheap, {censored}ty pups, although a few guys here manage to make 'em sound fantastic. The great thing is that installing a new set of pups, pots and caps is easy (yes, even on a semi) and will improve the Dot about 12,348%.

[jumpwin]

:confused:It matters to me

[scolfax]

I would guess that they were OEM'd by an Asian manufacturer. Doesn't mean they're "bad" at all. "USA designed, Alnico"... sounds good to me. Guitar Fetish's pickups are made in Asia but they do a great job of marketing them so people aren't as turned off by where they are made.

[bruto]

They're low output, low-mid heavy pups made by Samick (at least until Epi moved to China.) Not bad, but not great either.

BTW, this pup sounds excellent in a Dot: Eden Paf Pro I've put these in 2 Dots, and an Artcore 335 clone. There was a marked improvement in all cases. They have a beautiful warm vintage tone that's just right for the Dot.

[goosefartfan]

why don't you email epiphone????????

[BoneNut]

:confused:It matters to me

No offense meant.
Why? Just curious.

[walrus1]

They're crap. Put in some real pafs and it'll sound a lot better.

[Zig al-din]

 

They're low output, low-mid heavy pups made by Samick (at least until Epi moved to China.) Not bad, but not great either. BTW, this pup sounds excellent in a Dot: Eden Paf Pro I've put these in 2 Dots, and an Artcore 335 clone. There was a marked improvement in all cases. They have a beautiful warm vintage tone that's just right for the Dot.

 

 

Do they fit with the covers? I don't care for the look of open humbuckers on an ES-style guitar.

[GAS Man]

I wouldn't say Epiphone pickups are crap, but the tone of them tends to be a bit more bland and not as complex and chimey as better pickups. Gibson engineers a bit of inferiority into them so that there's still a tonal difference between their Epiphone line and the USA Gibson line. But they usually just state that they are a Classic Alnico pickup. I believe the sometimes use Alnico IIs and Alnico Vs depending upon the guitar. You certainly don't need to change them out since some EQ adjustments or a BBE Sonic Stomp box can liven things up, but most Epiphone guitars do indeed benefit quite a bit from an upgrade. I just dropped a set of gold covered Gibson BurstBucker Pros into a new Epiphone G400 w Maestro trem and it really put some vibe and chime into that guitar. The guitar is still maybe not as deep and resonant as an upper end SG, but it's definitely got tone to be reckoned with now.

[jumpwin]

I got my dot about a month ago and just like to know the in's and out's of what I got. I'm not a tech-head, I know what I know. But these pups have no life in them at all! i thought alnico was meant to be the magnet of choice? I will replace them, and the pots as and when finances allow, but dont want to put another set of lifeless, generic buckers in their place. And where do you start when deciding what to replace them with?? Would merely changing the pots (the least expensive option) breath some life into them?

[walrus1]

I wouldn't say Epiphone pickups are crap, but the tone of them tends to be a bit more bland and not as complex and chimey as better pickups. Gibson engineers a bit of inferiority into them so that there's still a tonal difference between their Epiphone line and the USA Gibson line. But they usually just state that they are a Classic Alnico pickup. I believe the sometimes use Alnico IIs and Alnico Vs depending upon the guitar. You certainly don't need to change them out since some EQ adjustments or a BBE Sonic Stomp box can liven things up, but most Epiphone guitars do indeed benefit quite a bit from an upgrade. I just dropped a set of gold covered Gibson BurstBucker Pros into a new Epiphone G400 w Maestro trem and it really put some vibe and chime into that guitar. The guitar is still maybe not as deep and resonant as an upper end SG, but it's definitely got tone to be reckoned with now.

 

They're definitely better than stock Artcore pickups, unless you want a thinner, brighter more modern sound. The epi pups are more vintage vibed, but the problem is that they're just so muddy and like you said lack complexity. Dull and bland. Changing them really brings the epis to life, and imho is the single most important thing you can do to improve the tone of these guitars, even more than electronics, effects, EQing, strings, or even the amp.

[GAS Man]

 

I got my dot about a month ago and just like to know the in's and out's of what I got. I'm not a tech-head, I know what I know. But these pups have no life in them at all! i thought alnico was meant to be the magnet of choice? I will replace them, and the pots as and when finances allow, but dont want to put another set of lifeless, generic buckers in their place. And where do you start when deciding what to replace them with?? Would merely changing the pots (the least expensive option) breath some life into them?

 

 

I haven't played around with swapping out pots yet, so I can't really say, but I think the improvement might be minimal compared to the new pickups. Unfortunately, unless you are able to do the work yourself, guitar techs charge a bit of a premium for changing out pickups on semi-hollow guitars, usually at least $100. But plenty of folks here have offered up good "how to" instructions involving magical dental floss and stuff like that, so if your soldering skills are honed, the semi-hollow aspect shouldn't deter you. Heck, my stepson was able to do it on his Oscar Schmidt.

 

But I'm a big fan of the Gibson Burstbucker 1 and 2 pickups. Also, you can't go wrong with Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. A lot of folks would recommend the Gibson '57 Classics since that's what a Gibson version uses, but I prefer the extra warmth and complexity of the Bustbucker 1 & 2. (just my 2 cents)

[cratz2]

 

I wouldn't say Epiphone pickups are crap, but the tone of them tends to be a bit more bland and not as complex and chimey as better pickups.

 

 

This is my take as well.

 

I had a Dot from about 2002 that had the knockoff 57 Classics... the ones that say 57 something something. They were farm from the worst sounding pickups out there, but it does really strike me as odd how relatively lackluster they sound. I absolutely believe they deliberately hold back the pickup quality on the Epis so that if someone is truly in the market for a sub $2,500 335 style guitar, and they play a Gibson 335 and an Epi Dot, the difference in tone will amaze the prospective buyer enough to possibly prompt them to ante up for the Gibson.

 

Having said that, when I plugged my Epi dot into my older Twin... I got enjoyable tones out of it to the point that I forgot that they weren't the best in the world... but when I plugged my guitar with Seth Lovers into the same amp... whoa momma.

 

The good thing is the pickups they put into the Dots are at least reasonably mild. The pickups that have been in my two lower end Ibanez AS guitars were hot to the point of being ridiculous. Sure you can roll the volume down a bit on the guitar and get some very decent tones, but the fact that they'd put some over the top bridge position pickup makes me scratch my head. I had a Parker with a JB in the bridge at the time and I swear the pickup in the Ibanez was hotter than the JB. Fuller as well and better sounding for smooth type tones, but I bet it was hotter than the JB.

[GAS Man]

The only time that I've really been impressed by an Epiphone pickup is the bridge pickup in my Epi Korina V. Vs tend to be a bit more shallow and bright sounding since there's less wood behind the bridge (that's my theory and I'm sticking to it after having bought 5 Vs) but the characteristics of the Epi pickups really shine in that spot on that guitar. I can pick that guitar up and it sounds all nice and warm, deep, bluesy and with a good amount of vibe from that bridge pickup. It just seems to be a good combination of bland/dull meets little tone wood and produces a very nice balance. The neck pickup on the other hand, leaves a bit to be desired. I may indeed still change them both out for my favorite BB1&2 combination, but I'm in no hurry with that bridge p'up.

[walrus1]

x2 on the Seth Lovers. Those would be guaranteed to sound awesome. If you don't want to spend as much, you can try the stewart mac Parsons Street humbuckers, which are also unpotted and come in your choice of Alnico magnet (Alnico 2 would be more Seth-ish). That's what I would go with, I have their "Golden Age" humbuckers and they are awesome, exactly like if not better than SD 59s. The Golden Ages would sound great too, it just depends on what tonal characteristic you want. But for a guitar of this level imho it's not really worth spending more for real SDs when you can get such good tones out of these other pups for half price. But if you want the real thing, of course that would not be a bad choice. I would just stay away from the cheaper GFS, tonerider, etc. for this application. Nothing really against them, but for a semi-hollow I think you'll be glad you went a step up.

[datru]

They are called "57 CH" which I assume to be an Epi version of the Gibson Classic 57.

Here's a pic from my Dot (see avatar):

[dcooper830]

I love the tone I get with stock Epiphone pickups. I'll never change 'em.

[jumpwin]

They are called "57 CH" which I assume to be an Epi version of the Gibson Classic 57. Here's a pic from my Dot (see avatar):

 

Thanks a million! I didn't even think to pop them out! Had no idea they were named underneath! I'm guessing they are only '57 in name, and not in the same ball park tonally?

[cratz2]

 

Thanks a million! I didn't even think to pop them out! Had no idea they were named underneath! I'm guessing they are only '57 in name, and not in the same ball park tonally?

 

 

I'd say they are in the same ballpark, but that the actual Gibson 57 Classics are more complex and are better executed.

 

They both are going for a smooth, even tone more conducive for jazz stuff than rip roarin' country licks or mega brutal death metal.

 

In the entire realm of humbucker tonalities, they are very similar, but if you play them back to back through a decent amp, there are obvious differences.

[datru]

I've heard some back to back comparisons online. I think they are close to a Classic 57, though with less clarity. While not bad pickups by any means, I think a switch to the Gibson pickups is a noticeable improvement. Whether it's worth the over $200 price to buy new pickups, I don't know.

However, I did ask Santa to bring me some Classic 57's for Christmas. We'll have to see if my wife...um, I mean Santa...remembers. :lol:

[BoneNut]

I got my dot about a month ago and just like to know the in's and out's of what I got. I'm not a tech-head, I know what I know. But these pups have no life in them at all! i thought alnico was meant to be the magnet of choice? I will replace them, and the pots as and when finances allow, but dont want to put another set of lifeless, generic buckers in their place. And where do you start when deciding what to replace them with?? Would merely changing the pots (the least expensive option) breath some life into them?

Save up a little cash and go to BG Pups. Buy the Pure 90 model. Believe me, you'll never go back. You can get sweet HB smoothness or go to P90 raunchiness, along with everything in between. Very articulate and touch sensitive pups. It will be more than worth the wait and trouble of switching them out.

Yeah, when you install them, go ahead and change everything else too... switch, jack, pots and caps.

In the meantime, listen to DCooper wail on his stock pups. He was who I was thinking about when I mentioned some guys manage to get great sound out of stock pups.
:thu:

[datru]

I love BG Pups, but the Pure 90 is a departure from the Classic 57 sound. Pure 90's are great, but I think Bryan does make a "Classic 57" type humbucker if that's what you want.

[jumpwin]

For a swap I was thinking humbucker sized p90 in neck, humbucker in bridge. But I'll be honest. I don't know what would go well together, what would go well in a semi, or whether one pup is better than the next. I have no desire to pump shed loads into this guitar, good sound on a budget is what I'm aiming for.

[GAS Man]

 

Thanks a million! I didn't even think to pop them out! Had no idea they were named underneath! I'm guessing they are only '57 in name, and not in the same ball park tonally?

 

 

I'd say that's again exactly the tone ball park they would be going for, but then they'd just hold back a bit on the magical Gibson pixie mojo dust. I wonder if the CH is for "Chinese"?