Modifying My Epiphone Emperor
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 9:26 a.m. Dan:
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- Rated: 66 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 10:36 a.m. Walter Broes:
Dan, picukps like the CC's have low resistance, high capacitance. It has a lot to do with a very fat coil of bigger than usual wire, and results in a loud pickup with a low resistance reading.
Guitar looks absolutely great, you have impeccable taste!
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- Rated: 40 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 10:41 a.m. JC:
That looks class Dan
I'd love to hear it.
God, i wish i could do this, but i'm just not that adventurous,and my nerves would be wrecked!
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- Rated: 73 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 10:47 a.m. sassy:
Fantastic Job Dan !!!I can't imagine trying to do a mod like that...Thanks for all the pics
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 11:00 a.m. Dan:
Thanks Walter, JC and Sassy
The harness proved to be a larger task than I imagined it would be...but it worked first time out. Walter, I appreciate your imput on the CC technical info.
Now for the inlays to cover the old floating pup mounting holes (on the neck)...fitting for a new Gibson L-5 style (black) pickguard (4-5 ply beveled edge)and new Gibson gold tuners. (white knobs).
Dan
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Apr 23, 2008 11:04 a.m. Dan:
These tuners will really finish it off nicely :-)
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Apr 23, 2008 11:05 a.m. Dan:
the white knobs will nicely compliment the headstock design/inlays
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Apr 23, 2008 11:25 a.m. 57 Chet :
Great job Dan!
She's a beauty...
Please post some sound samples when you get a chance. I'm curious to hear those pups.
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 11:28 a.m. Dan:
Thanks Nick, will do.
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- Rated: 25 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 11:51 a.m. Dawg:
Looks fantastic Dan - all credit to you. That's got to be one great sounding instrument.
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- Rated: 14 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 2:11 p.m. ThePolecats:
I read thru the thread but may have missed it if someone posted this link so here it is (again if someone did) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuXRAAJHGzc
It's a guy playing a Gibby Hollow with a Charlie Christian pickup. Nice sounding guitar.
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 3:21 p.m. Dan:
Thanks Dawg and PC, I've seen that video...that Gibson sounds great. When I put the 3-way switch in the middle on this guitar...you can still hear the difference in the pups...usually, on my other guitars, I just notice the guitar as being louder, a little difference, but not a BIG difference like this CC/P90 duo.
A buddy of mine (a personal friend of the late great Hank Garland) summed it up below ...
"Big, fat, full spectrum, and hotter than a soldering iron. Hank (Garland) said it was the best pickup ever, and no one could figure out why they stopped making it. It's the "Hammond B3" of pickups!"
"So the combo works? I had some doubt from a spec point of view, but there had to be a reason why Hank (et al) was swearing by it. There's only one way to find out, and you just did it."
He probably installed the bridge P-90 out of curiousity and discovered just what you're describing. After 50+ years, it still holds water. He wanted all Byrdlands to have the CC/P-90 setup, and never really liked the humbucker version. Now we know why."
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- Rated: 14 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 4:10 p.m. ThePolecats:
Dan, how do you think if compares to a Gibson Alnico V staple magent pickup? The same type that Dawg installed in his guitar?
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Apr 23, 2008 4:13 p.m. ThePolecats:
How do you think this Lollar is? It isn't as authentic as your pickup is. Yours is an authentic repro of the pickup and Lollar isn't quite because it doesn't have the big part that you screw into the guitar under belly. But his has that vibe. Wonder how his is?
http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&P...
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 6:21 p.m. Dan:
PC...I really dont know as I havent heard a guitar played with the Staple P90s on board. I've heard they sound great (Staples) I'm only assuming those pups would sound better than P90s.
I dont think the Staple sound would be that close to the CC (original design) as they are assembled much differently. Maybe Walter could comment on this...
I believe Dawg indicated the outputs of his Staples were in the 9.0 ohm range...the CC resistance level is less than 4.0 ohms.
Just a different pup for a different sound. One must remember the CC pups were somewhat elementary/crude in their design ...as they were essentially the first guys on the block.
Just a few years before this model of the CC pup came out...there were NO electrified guitars...the first electrics were Lap steels I've heard.
As far as the Lollar...I believe to get close to the original sound you would need to build one like Seymour does...an exact replica --including all those huge steel bars/springs etc below the surface of the pup...Lollar does make great pickups and I would like to hear one of these installed in an archtop.
There are several guys making look alike CC pups...but the resemblance may be limited to just the pickup cover- as far as I know.
The Lollar in the picture link above looks quite a bit like the old lap steel versions of the CC pup.
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Apr 23, 2008 6:27 p.m. Dan:
Seymour Duncan remake...look at all that stuff going on under the pup
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Apr 23, 2008 6:37 p.m. Dan:
Dawg's interior shot of the Staple looks MUCH different than a P90
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Apr 23, 2008 6:41 p.m. Dan:
P90 view from below
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Apr 23, 2008 10:43 p.m. catman:
This post has been deleted
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- Rated: 6 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 10:54 p.m. catman:
Dan, Do you know anythig about these guys? http://www.ccpickups.co.uk/index.html Beautiful guitars you have. Hank Garland is my #2 guitar hero of all time.
1 being Jimmy Bryant.
I really need to listen to Hank Garland at least once a day. HUGE inspiration. Good work.
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 23, 2008 11:44 p.m. Dan:
I've heard these CC pups are well made too...but the cost + shipping was more to the US than a Seymour Duncan CC, I believe.
I've heard a lot of good reports about SD and not much on this company.
Hank Garland played it all---jazz, country and rock...and any music ever hummed, played or sung :-)
Chet Atkins once said if you dont want Hank to play it...you'd better not let him hear it. :-)
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- Rated: 66 ↑
Apr 24, 2008 4:51 a.m. Walter Broes:
A staple-pole P90 is a completely different animal, it has alnico V polepieces, just like a DeArmond 200. ("Dynasonic"). From what I've read, it was Gibson's answer to the Dynasonic pickup.
Modern incarnations of the CC pickup have the overwound coil with the bigger wire gauge, but a more modern (alnico)magnet. I bet a good pickup builder like Lollar knows what he's doing, and that wire gauge and coil is responsible for more than half of the sound of a CC pickup. a larger coil with small wire results in a typical overwound, loud, overly midrangey pickup, and the highs dissappear as the coil gets larger, but the bigger gauge in CC pickups somehow makes for a loud pickup with a full-range sound, and the treble intact.
I'm not sure what the magnet material on the original (and Seymour replicas) was, but it was huge, and pre-alnico. (that's the big metal thing that the Lollars don't have).
There are some transitional Gibson pickups with the CC look and coil, but a different magnet. CC pickups really compare more to various pre-war lapsteel pickups than anything else. I've heard Bigsby pickups have the bigger wire/lower resistance too, but I've never even seen one up close.
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Apr 24, 2008 8:35 a.m. Dan:
Thanks Walter!
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May 18, 2008 11:20 p.m. Dan:
Its finished! (Except for new Tuners, on order).
And...I've got to get that E off the truss rod cover :-)
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May 18, 2008 11:26 p.m. Dan:
A long way from the beginning -
