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Burstbuckers

MaxGoldenrodMaxGoldenrod Posts: 1,341
edited June 2011 in Musicians and Gearheads
Ok all you LP players out there...

Found a set of used Gibson Burstbucker Pro pickups for around $100. Thinking about grabbing them up and throwing them in my Epi LP.

Anyone out there use them/have feedback or have recommendations for p/u replacements?

Thanks!
"Then the Spirit of God hovered over the water, and God said, Let there be music, and there was Pearl Jam."

Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • JW42505JW42505 Posts: 113
    save your money, sell that epi and get yourself a used Gibson Les Paul with stock buckers. Used LP studios are around $500. I wouldnt dump any more money into an epiphone if I were you. There are too many things to name that need to be upgraded on an epi.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    JW42505 wrote:
    save your money, sell that epi and get yourself a used Gibson Les Paul with stock buckers. Used LP studios are around $500. I wouldnt dump any more money into an epiphone if I were you. There are too many things to name that need to be upgraded on an epi.


    My Epi Les Paul is offended. But some folks need that logo.

    MaxGoldenrod wrote:
    Found a set of used Gibson Burstbucker Pro pickups for around $100. Thinking about grabbing them up and throwing them in my Epi LP.

    Anyone out there use them/have feedback or have recommendations for p/u replacements?

    First things first, are you currently unhappy with the pups in the Epi, or are you just suffering from headstock deficiency syndrome? If you're going to upgrade, what is it about the stock pups that you want to change? Even if the pups are an upgrade, you need to make sure they're the tone you're chasing, not just more expensive. There are a shit tonne of replacement humbuckers out there, and each of them does a slightly different thing for your overall tone, so without knowing what kind of tone you're chasing, it's hard to say what you should get. I personally love the Seymour Duncan standard LP set, the JB/'59 pair. I also had a guitar once with a Gibby Classic 57 in the neck (covered), and a Duncan '59 in the bridge (open-coil), that was a tone monster; I occasionally punch myself in the stomach for selling that guitar.

    I can also vouch generally for Fralin and Lollar pups, and I've always wanted to spend some cash on Bareknuckle Pickups. But again, without knowing what you're looking for, I can't make any solid recommendations. I can tell you that lots of people are happy with their Burstbuckers; I can also tell you that $100 is a pretty good deal for a pair, assuming they are 100% functional.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • JW42505JW42505 Posts: 113
    $100 is ok for used set, dont forget you will have to pay for install and then set up. Thats atleast another $80, that leaves you at $180 to upgrade an epi? Trust me as a former owner of many, sell the epi and get a real lester, a usa lester.
  • MaxGoldenrodMaxGoldenrod Posts: 1,341
    JW42505 wrote:
    $100 is ok for used set, dont forget you will have to pay for install and then set up. Thats atleast another $80, that leaves you at $180 to upgrade an epi? Trust me as a former owner of many, sell the epi and get a real lester, a usa lester.

    Well the Epi is here to stay, so I was just thinking of some things that I could change out and/or upgrade. Don't want to completely gut it, just want to maybe switch out some pickups or pots to help with the tone, etc.

    Plus, who's to say I can't handle a soldering iron??? :D
    "Then the Spirit of God hovered over the water, and God said, Let there be music, and there was Pearl Jam."

    Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
  • MaxGoldenrodMaxGoldenrod Posts: 1,341
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    JW42505 wrote:
    save your money, sell that epi and get yourself a used Gibson Les Paul with stock buckers. Used LP studios are around $500. I wouldnt dump any more money into an epiphone if I were you. There are too many things to name that need to be upgraded on an epi.


    My Epi Les Paul is offended. But some folks need that logo.

    MaxGoldenrod wrote:
    Found a set of used Gibson Burstbucker Pro pickups for around $100. Thinking about grabbing them up and throwing them in my Epi LP.

    Anyone out there use them/have feedback or have recommendations for p/u replacements?

    First things first, are you currently unhappy with the pups in the Epi, or are you just suffering from headstock deficiency syndrome? If you're going to upgrade, what is it about the stock pups that you want to change? Even if the pups are an upgrade, you need to make sure they're the tone you're chasing, not just more expensive. There are a shit tonne of replacement humbuckers out there, and each of them does a slightly different thing for your overall tone, so without knowing what kind of tone you're chasing, it's hard to say what you should get. I personally love the Seymour Duncan standard LP set, the JB/'59 pair. I also had a guitar once with a Gibby Classic 57 in the neck (covered), and a Duncan '59 in the bridge (open-coil), that was a tone monster; I occasionally punch myself in the stomach for selling that guitar.

    I can also vouch generally for Fralin and Lollar pups, and I've always wanted to spend some cash on Bareknuckle Pickups. But again, without knowing what you're looking for, I can't make any solid recommendations. I can tell you that lots of people are happy with their Burstbuckers; I can also tell you that $100 is a pretty good deal for a pair, assuming they are 100% functional.

    I could care less about the logo, with a few upgrades, an Epi LP is just a good as a lower end Gibson IMO. While I would love to have a 100% made in America LP (not that faded LP either) the bank account says otherwise
    "Then the Spirit of God hovered over the water, and God said, Let there be music, and there was Pearl Jam."

    Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
  • JW42505JW42505 Posts: 113
    ok if you are keeping it...new pickups, new pots, new nut, new tuners, and would bet those frets need to be plecked. All these things change tone and playability. Epi is lacking in all the above mentioned, thats why i say dont pour purfume on a pig, its still a pig. Sorry but compared to a USA lester those epi are crap. Bad electronics, bad fret jobs...ect. I have owned many and they all were built like utter shit comapared to a Gibson Les Paul
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    JW42505 wrote:
    ok if you are keeping it...new pickups, new pots, new nut, new tuners, and would bet those frets need to be plecked. All these things change tone and playability. Epi is lacking in all the above mentioned, thats why i say dont pour purfume on a pig, its still a pig. Sorry but compared to a USA lester those epi are crap. Bad electronics, bad fret jobs...ect. I have owned many and they all were built like utter shit comapared to a Gibson Les Paul

    I kinda agree. I mean, you can get an Epi to sound and play very good, but they just feel different to pick up. I dunno that all of them need that much work put into them to be nice guitars, but the best Epi's aren't gonna touch the quality of 95% of Gibsons out there. I'd put my money towards a Gibson 10/10x. Just goin by my experience with both.


    To the op......Burstbuckers are a pretty common upgrade....Check out Bareknuckle pickups also
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    JW42505 wrote:
    Bad electronics, bad fret jobs...ect. I have owned many and they all were built like utter shit comapared to a Gibson Les Paul


    That's all fine and well, until you spend $1600-2400 on a real Gibson USA Les Paul, and you get.... bad electronics, bad fret jobs, warped necks, binding that's coming loose, tuners that rattle or won't hold tune, bridge saddles that snap strings like a bowie knife... Gibson has been trading on its name for entirely too long, and they've got the corporate ego to prove it. Custom shop models are near flawless, but the main line is full of lemons.

    There's no doubt that Epiphones are cheaper, which is usually an indication of the quality of their craftsmanship. But if you sit and play a dozen Epiphones, you will usually find two or three that have good resonance and are put together well. There are even Epi models that have decent pups and pots and tuners. And with the money you save off a comparable Gibson, you can put in the pups you want, upgrade pots and caps (Gibson ain't all CTS pots and Orange Drop caps, either), and get some locking tuners and a Tonepros bridge, replace the nut with a luthier-cut bone piece... and have a BETTER guitar than a Gibson, and still be cheaper. For those among us who would upgrade all of those pieces, regardless of the name on the headstock, starting with a Gibson is almost entirely about the name on the headstock. If you're willing to spend the time to find a solid Epi sled to start with, or if you've got one already that you've established a relationship with (like the OP has), then Epi is a much better value than the Gibson equivalent.

    No doubt, if you want a Gibson Custom Shop model, then there's no way to replace that with an Epiphone. A guitar that is hand-crafted by a master luthier can't be reproduced by a factory line. But comparing guitars made by the Gibson factory to the guitars made by the Epiphone factory, the name on the headstock is the biggest overall difference.

    And don't get me started on the Tokai, Greco, ESP, and Ibanez LP's out there that kick Gibson's ass.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • RedMosquito22RedMosquito22 Posts: 8,158
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    JW42505 wrote:
    Bad electronics, bad fret jobs...ect. I have owned many and they all were built like utter shit comapared to a Gibson Les Paul


    That's all fine and well, until you spend $1600-2400 on a real Gibson USA Les Paul, and you get.... bad electronics, bad fret jobs, warped necks, binding that's coming loose, tuners that rattle or won't hold tune, bridge saddles that snap strings like a bowie knife... Gibson has been trading on its name for entirely too long, and they've got the corporate ego to prove it. Custom shop models are near flawless, but the main line is full of lemons.

    There's no doubt that Epiphones are cheaper, which is usually an indication of the quality of their craftsmanship. But if you sit and play a dozen Epiphones, you will usually find two or three that have good resonance and are put together well. There are even Epi models that have decent pups and pots and tuners. And with the money you save off a comparable Gibson, you can put in the pups you want, upgrade pots and caps (Gibson ain't all CTS pots and Orange Drop caps, either), and get some locking tuners and a Tonepros bridge, replace the nut with a luthier-cut bone piece... and have a BETTER guitar than a Gibson, and still be cheaper. For those among us who would upgrade all of those pieces, regardless of the name on the headstock, starting with a Gibson is almost entirely about the name on the headstock. If you're willing to spend the time to find a solid Epi sled to start with, or if you've got one already that you've established a relationship with (like the OP has), then Epi is a much better value than the Gibson equivalent.

    No doubt, if you want a Gibson Custom Shop model, then there's no way to replace that with an Epiphone. A guitar that is hand-crafted by a master luthier can't be reproduced by a factory line. But comparing guitars made by the Gibson factory to the guitars made by the Epiphone factory, the name on the headstock is the biggest overall difference.

    And don't get me started on the Tokai, Greco, ESP, and Ibanez LP's out there that kick Gibson's ass.

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  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    JW42505 wrote:
    Bad electronics, bad fret jobs...ect. I have owned many and they all were built like utter shit comapared to a Gibson Les Paul


    That's all fine and well, until you spend $1600-2400 on a real Gibson USA Les Paul, and you get.... bad electronics, bad fret jobs, warped necks, binding that's coming loose, tuners that rattle or won't hold tune, bridge saddles that snap strings like a bowie knife... Gibson has been trading on its name for entirely too long, and they've got the corporate ego to prove it. Custom shop models are near flawless, but the main line is full of lemons.

    There's no doubt that Epiphones are cheaper, which is usually an indication of the quality of their craftsmanship. But if you sit and play a dozen Epiphones, you will usually find two or three that have good resonance and are put together well. There are even Epi models that have decent pups and pots and tuners. And with the money you save off a comparable Gibson, you can put in the pups you want, upgrade pots and caps (Gibson ain't all CTS pots and Orange Drop caps, either), and get some locking tuners and a Tonepros bridge, replace the nut with a luthier-cut bone piece... and have a BETTER guitar than a Gibson, and still be cheaper. For those among us who would upgrade all of those pieces, regardless of the name on the headstock, starting with a Gibson is almost entirely about the name on the headstock. If you're willing to spend the time to find a solid Epi sled to start with, or if you've got one already that you've established a relationship with (like the OP has), then Epi is a much better value than the Gibson equivalent.

    No doubt, if you want a Gibson Custom Shop model, then there's no way to replace that with an Epiphone. A guitar that is hand-crafted by a master luthier can't be reproduced by a factory line. But comparing guitars made by the Gibson factory to the guitars made by the Epiphone factory, the name on the headstock is the biggest overall difference.

    And don't get me started on the Tokai, Greco, ESP, and Ibanez LP's out there that kick Gibson's ass.
    To piggy back on this, the PRS SE One kicks the shit out of any new Junior I've played.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • opsopcopolisopsopcopolis Posts: 1,197
    JW42505 wrote:
    ok if you are keeping it...new pickups, new pots, new nut, new tuners, and would bet those frets need to be plecked. All these things change tone and playability. Epi is lacking in all the above mentioned, thats why i say dont pour purfume on a pig, its still a pig. Sorry but compared to a USA lester those epi are crap. Bad electronics, bad fret jobs...ect. I have owned many and they all were built like utter shit comapared to a Gibson Les Paul

    Not necessarily true. High end Epis are great compared to low end Gibsons (and I should know, I have both.) I'm not sure what model he has, but the tuners on the Epis are almost always better than the Gibson ones from my experience. The hold a tune much better and just feel better put together.
    MaxGoldenrod wrote:
    Well the Epi is here to stay, so I was just thinking of some things that I could change out and/or upgrade. Don't want to completely gut it, just want to maybe switch out some pickups or pots to help with the tone, etc.

    Plus, who's to say I can't handle a soldering iron??? :D

    If you're gonna do all the work yourself then I'd say upgrade the pickups and the electronics. For the pickups definitely try to try a few out before you go ahead and put some in your guitar. I'd say that SDs are probably better than Burstbuckers (I'm not really a fan of the BBs that came in my LP) and with SD you have so many choices! You could even do the Jimmy Page wiring with the push pull pots for some added fun! ;)
    Doing the work yourself is an added bonus too if you're not scared of it. I just built a strat, and I gotta say, its much more fulfilling playing a guitar you've worked on than one that somebody else did for you
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