Epi LP Jr. mod thread

[newey]

Rather than continue to hijack ux's thread on this here, I'm starting a mod thread here on this job.

I've got the Epiphone LP Jr. all wired up and ready for the tech. Here's the new pickup, a GFS "Memphis" Retrotron, and the Stew-Mac adjustable bridge.



The new heads are GFS vintage-style LP. As was speculated previously in the other thread, these are for a 9mm hole, the stock size is 8mm. Rather than drill the headstock, I re-used the stock 8mm ferrules, as the new posts fit nicely through them. I haven't strung this up yet (it's going to the tech for setup), but the new tuners feel much more stout than the stock ones.

The old mounting screw holes were right next to the edge of the cover, really unnoticeable, so I didn't bother to fill the holes.



Here's the obligatory gut shot, unfortunately not a very clear one. I decided to use the P/P for series/parallel on the volume pot instead of the tone for easier access, and so as to avoid potentially moving the tone knob (and thereby potentially switching to SC or HB) when switching.

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One problem, I was thinking "LP" (which I've never owned), and figured I'd need a long-shaft P/P pot, so I ordered one when I got the bridge from Stew-Mac. I wasn't thinking that this is a flat top, it doesn't need the longer shaft, so the knob sticks up a bit. I can't shorten the shaft up with a nut on the inside, as I've got the P/P switch body right up against the cover plate at the back, so no more room.

I may rewire it with the correct pot in the future, but for now, I'm getting this to the tech guy. All the wiring checks out with a "brainscan through the nostril", so it ought to be good to go at this point.

[b4nj0]

I cut down an over-length push-push that I purchased a good while back for an Esquire project (don't ask!)
It was just a case of being gentle with a junior hacksaw through the threaded part (left a nut on so "restoring" the thread after the cut was straightforward) and then reducing the length of the shaft to suit. Unfortunately, I was not gentle enough while cutting down the shaft. Everything still works, including the P-P, but there is now some slack in the rotation, rather like play in gears. You could easily do better than this armed with my caveat over being "gentle"...

[ux4484]

Nice.
Decided against the chrome trim ring eh?
Are your machine ferrules metal, they look an entirely different type from mine?
How much higher was the new bridge?

[newey]

I don't think the new bridge was higher at all, seems to be about the same, although I didn't measure it. The pickup came with a black ring, so I used that, it at least looks better than the stock cream one. The new one is a lot thinner than the stock one, but I compensated by raising the pup quite a bit.

Yes, the stock ferrules are metal, although they seem to be more like a nickel finish than chrome. The 1mm larger ones that came with the tuners are much more a shiny chrome than the stock ones. But they look fine, not noticeably different from the posts.

Too much glare on that picture to really se the pickup, I'll try to get a better one in natural light tomorrow.

[ux4484]

Did you get it back yet?

[newey]

Not back yet, my tech guy was down with the flu for a few days, then I went out of town. I'll probably pick it up tomorrow.

[newey]

ux, you're spot on here about the height of that Stew-Mac replacement bridge. I went in to pick up the guitar today, and the tech had it all done, but wanted me to look at the action. He knows I like it a bit higher than most folks do, so he wanted me to look at it, but it's too high even for me.

So I left it with him for a shim job on the neck. It looks like just a minor tweak will be good enough.

Eyeballing the bridge, I had thought it would be OK but it's tough to tell for sure until it's strung up.

[ux4484]

I've got a bundle of 18" long shims my dad gave me DECADES ago. They are almost paper thin at the end. It was the perfect width, I trimmed it with a utility knife, sanded it a bit and all was good.

[newey]

I sort of forgot to update this thread. My tech started playing the "Shim Game" and it took a few go-rounds before he got it right. It actually took quite a bit of shimming.

But all is well now. I've been playing it for a week or so now, and the tuning stability is improved, it's properly intonated, the action is good, and the new pickup sounds nice and bright for a HB.

Well, not quite all is well. The tone control works to cut the pickup to SC mode when the P/P is in the series setting, but I get no output when the P/P is in parallel. But even in the series setting, the SC sound is pretty useless, it's too low output. It's been said before, but it remains true that splitting coils on lower-output HBs doesn't work very well, the mod works much better with higher gain pups.

So, rather than worry about fixing the P/P wiring, my temptation is to scrap the SC thing altogether, just go with the series/parallel switch.

But it plays well and sounds much better than it did. I put a set of .11s on it. and it's loud and proud, and downright twangy.

I'll have to get some pix and clips up.