Members FenderPusher Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 I know, never been done here before. The previous owner installed Gibby '57s and strap locks. I'm looking to upgrade the pots & caps, bridge and tailpiece, maybe the nut and maybe the tuners. Suggestions? Things I should avoid? Obligatory pics for reference: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Locking, tusq, graphite, whiskey, and a hot wife. What was the question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Nice. The pots and nuts are Epi's biggest weakness if you ask me. Just get some CTS jobbers and you're good. They're gonna be a pain to swap, though. Ugh. It already has Grovers on it. You could just put on some 18 to 1 Grovers. You wouldn't have to drill new holes or anything. Have fun. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 You couldn't have picked an easier guitar to do electronics mods on. For pots, I'd go with CTS 500k pots. No real advice on caps. I've always just used the cheap stuff for that. It looks like it already has a graphite nut. Do you have tuning problems with it now? I probably wouldn't replace the bridge/tailpiece or tuners. If it's having tuning problems, I'd look to the nut first. If the nut is cut right and it still won't stay in tune, then maybe replace the tuners. I honestly wouldn't worry about the bridge/tailpiece unless you just want to spend money on the guitar. I'm not really a modder though. Most of my guitars stay stock, though I've replaced all the electronics in my semi-hollow too, and I've done a pickup swap on a guitar that I bought used with a non-original pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FenderPusher Posted January 26, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 You couldn't have picked an easier guitar to do electronics mods on. For pots, I'd go with CTS 500k pots. No real advice on caps. I've always just used the cheap stuff for that. It looks like it already has a graphite nut. Do you have tuning problems with it now? I probably wouldn't replace the bridge/tailpiece or tuners. If it's having tuning problems, I'd look to the nut first. If the nut is cut right and it still won't stay in tune, then maybe replace the tuners. I honestly wouldn't worry about the bridge/tailpiece unless you just want to spend money on the guitar. I'm not really a modder though. Most of my guitars stay stock, though I've replaced all the electronics in my semi-hollow too, and I've done a pickup swap on a guitar that I bought used with a non-original pickup. No tuning issues really, I believe the nut is plastic. Probably won't touch the tuners, they're fine. Don't you have to drill for the CTS pots since the guitar is metric? I always heard one of the best mods to do to Dots was upgrade the bridge and tailpiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Yep, you'll have to drill. The openings on the metrics are smaller. I would take a small block of wood and work it in through the pickup openings and keep it tight under the holes if you use a drill. A reamer will be less likely to damage the top though. A drill can tear up the top easily if you aren't careful. Not sure how changing the bridge or tailpiece would make much difference unless you just want to upgrade for the hell of it. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 I don't remember having to ream out the holes on my Agile when I changed those pots, but it's been a while and I may have just forgotten. As for replacing the bridge and tailpiece, I've never done it, so I can't say if there's a real benefit to it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Depending on how much love you have for that guitar and your budget, I would suggest getting a fret dressing... done by a good tech. It can make a world of difference in how it plays. In answer to your questions:Bone nutKeystone tuners (something like these http://www.allparts.com/Gotoh-Vintage-Style-Keys-Nickel-p/tk-0770-001.htm)Gotoh bridge and tailpiece (brass saddles, if you can find them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zerostreet Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Beautiful! HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FenderPusher Posted January 26, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Beautiful! HNGD! I've had it for years but... thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FenderPusher Posted January 26, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Also, which type of bridge specifically? There are a couple different kinds that look alike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members super56k Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Looks good, and with 57's in it I'm sure it sounds great. Do the pots have a bad sweep on them or anything like that? If not I wouldn't mess with it because potentiometers are simple things. If the sweep is already good then new pots would make little to no difference (potentially even having a negative effect if the sweep is worse on any of the new pots). Different value tone caps or a treble bleed mod are worth considering if you want to alter any of that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benricci Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Also, which type of bridge specifically? There are a couple different kinds that look alike. What's wrong with the bridge that's on it now? Is there something you don't like about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FenderPusher Posted January 26, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 What's wrong with the bridge that's on it now? Is there something you don't like about it? One of the saddle screws is broken, and the tailpiece feels cheap and thin. Nothing is wrong with it besides that, I've just heard it's a good upgrade for Dots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 That's a lovely DOT. IMO, a new nut should be your first priority. Personally I like tusq. It's cheap, easy to cut and polish, and will sound better than the stock plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members igge Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 That Dot looks sexy! Too bad I had to sell mine in february '04. It was a gorgeous antique nature finish. Basically just loads of layers of clearcoating. I swear I could see down between the grain in the wood,that's how good the finish was. :love: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 That's a lovely DOT. IMO, a new nut should be your first priority. Personally I like tusq. It's cheap, easy to cut and polish, and will sound better than the stock plastic. +1 The Tusq nut will sound better.I put one on my Sheraton II. I had it on for a while and one day I decided to file the slots a little to lower the action in the lower register a bit. I screwed up, cut one slot too deep, and put the original plastic nut back on temporarily.The guitar sounded like crap (comparatively). I could really hear a difference in the guitar's overall tone and it was much weaker with the plastic nut.When I got a new Tusq nut, all was good again. That sold me on Tusq and I put them on everything now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Bigsby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FenderPusher Posted January 26, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Interesting, didn't realize Tusq made that much of a difference... Bigsby? Blasphemy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 +1The Tusq nut will sound better.I put one on my Sheraton II. I had it on for a while and one day I decided to file the slots a little to lower the action in the lower register a bit. I screwed up, cut one slot too deep, and put the original plastic nut back on temporarily.The guitar sounded like crap (comparatively). I could really hear a difference in the guitar's overall tone and it was much weaker with the plastic nut.When I got a new Tusq nut, all was good again. That sold me on Tusq and I put them on everything now. I had almost the exact experience when I was first trying my hand at making nuts. It doesn't seem like it should make that much difference, but it really does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FenderPusher Posted January 27, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 27, 2010 What all would I need to cut a new nut? Seems like something I could very easily {censored} up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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