updrading an epiphone les paul

[jimbob]

my epiphone les paul is currently ALL stock. as it was out the factory....I was wondering what parts apart from the pickup are upgradeable? i.e apart from pickups is anything really worth upgrading?
I considered upgerading the machine heads as they seem quite delicate and plasticy but heck they have never really failed me in 8 years! altho maybe their gear ratio is a bit not too precise? I realy dunno...they are "tulip" shaped tops which I think looks nice but apart from that....any ideas?! help..
j

[WezV]

Nut, tuners, bridge and all electrics.  they can all be improved - how worthwhile it is will be debatable

[jimbob]

would you care to elaborate slightly..... put it this way...I love the guitar and dont wanna sell it....so anything that can make it nicer would be great

[Afghan Dave]

Epis are massivly worth investing in but you MUST remember one thing...

Gibsons are imperial - inches

Epis are metric - centimetres

Upgrade the pots + pickups + switch + caps first.

Then you could get a new bridge but only ever look at metric parts - never Gibson as they will NOT fit...

You can end up with a gem if you do it right.

Good luck and enjoy!

Read this:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/

and

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/14714-complete-epi-custom-setup.html

[WezV]

well they are built to a price... and thats often noticable in the hardware choice.   My Epiphone les paul has been totally upgraded and i think all the things i mentioned made a big difference

a well cut nut can make a difference to tone and tuning stability.  On mine it was quite soft and plasticy... it got changed for bone which i am prefering these days over most plastics... but stuff like delrin or graphtech is pretty close

I changed the tuners on mine as it didnt hold tune well... but if yours isnt too bad then its not a priority.

The bridge on mine felt really cheap and had a habit of rattling at certain frequencies.  I replaced it with a standard gotoh unit and it was massively better.  very solid and made the guitar feel higher quality.  I think it sounded better too.

The electrics came out because they were small alpha pots, cheap wire and the switch had broke anyway - it all got replaced with CTS pots, orange drop caps and a better quality wire.  The controls are now much more usable.

I also did a reprofile and refret  as mine had a bit of a buzzy hump at the body join and i wnated chunkier wire.  

obviously pickups were changed too

But then i only put that much 'money' into the guitar because i had the parts lying around and could do my own refret... i probably wouldnt do it all if i had to pay for it!

[PhilKing]

I upgraded my Epiphone 55 Oxblood LP - it seems to have some imperial measurements, because I was able to put some old Gibson parts onto it.  see this thread http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=22478.15

[hunter]

This is what I would do in that order (assuming intonation, frets, nut, all are in order, otherwise these would go first):

Pickups (BKP)

Pots/Electrics (CTS or an RS Kit)

Stop Tailpiece and studs (Faber Aluminum TP and solid steel locking studs)

ABR (Faber Locking ABR with brass saddles)

[vinchester]

Yeah I would go with what others suggested. Those cheap stock switch and electronics WILL have a very short life. Also putting a decent pup in makes a guitar sounds much better. Good luck!

[Sifu Ben]

I'm in the process of completely rebuilding my epi SG, I'm hoping to put up a thread on it next week (I just need to do the soldering and take it in for a pro setup). I really like this bridge http://store.guitarfetish.com/Wilkinson-Brass-Roller-Bridge-Locking-Studs-Chrome_p_866.html as it's not expensive, it locks to the body, it's low friction, very comfortable and very adjustable. Changing the bridge is probably the easiest mod to make (I also recommend deglossing the neck, which is the second easiest).

[hunter]

I'm in the process of completely rebuilding my epi SG, I'm hoping to put up a thread on it next week (I just need to do the soldering and take it in for a pro setup). I really like this bridge http://store.guitarfetish.com/Wilkinson-Brass-Roller-Bridge-Locking-Studs-Chrome_p_866.html as it's not expensive, it locks to the body, it's low friction, very comfortable and very adjustable. Changing the bridge is probably the easiest mod to make (I also recommend deglossing the neck, which is the second easiest).

You can buy my Schaller Roller Bridge.

TBH I think there is something about a sharp edge bridge adding to tone or sth ... I prefer the tone of the ABR to the rollers.

[FELINEGUITARS]

One easy upgrade is to swap the tulip heads to something similar but way better quality like ToneProse Kluson heads
(just check whether you need the ferule fitting or bolt variety)

See here: http://www.toneproskluson.com/models.html

Other than that a change of pots, switch, jack and capacitors will give the most bonus - especially if you choose to upgrade pickups to something nice (BKPs are nice)

[gwEm]

i would agree with hunter.. but look at the nut before the tail piece.