Anyone have experience changing Pickups out of an Epiphone Explorer

[Kilkmaru]

Any help would be very apreatiated.

[mako_kimura]

Dumb question: why EMG's?

[GAR]

First thing you'll run into is the fact you must change the potentiomenters and jack.

Basically you change all the electronics. Why do you want EMG's, for the preamp? I can do

[Kilkmaru]

Iv heard smaples of them and i like the tone. Do you know Which electronics i have to get to go with the Emg's?

[BrownSound1]

EMGs....dude, save your money and buy some Seymour Duncans.

[Don Corleone]

I wouldn't go with EMG's myself. I've used them in the past, didn't like them. You'd be better off following Brownsounds advice and getting some Duncans.

[jackassrock]

Any pups you buy will come with installation instructions. But if you don't know how to solder well, you'd be better off taking it to someone who does. You could ruin the pots or caps by getting them too hot.

Oh, and you have to replace the jack too.

As for preference, it's taste baby. I F'in LOVE the sound of an EMG 81 for balls out rock and metal, but my experience is that the tone is not much good for anything but that. My main guitar for The Murder Junkies is a Les Paul with an 81, but when I'm going out to do a bar band gig I always take something with passive pups. They are just far more flexible.

[jhale667]

EMG's supply all the electronics and jack needed....the pots are 25k...but yeah, I'm over them too. Getting ready to pull them out of a couple of my guitars....

[Kilkmaru]

Thanks guys.

[Nitro Express]

I could live with the pickups in my Epiphone. I just put in a Switchcraft switch and better pots. The original ones were shit. I left the pickups stock and they do the job.

[mako_kimura]

I'm guessing this guy wants to get the "Metallica" sound. That's usually the case when someone puts EMG's in an Explorer

[Hardrock69]

Note that you will also have to get new knobs. The pots that come with EMGs have larger posts than a standard pot.

I usually use the knurled chrome-dome knobs like this:




The pickups in my Epi Korina V suck shit, but I have yet to replace them.

When I do it will be with some kind of PAF replacement with gold covers.

EMGs are what I prefer for my main axes, and I have four guitars (and my Jazz Bass) with EMGs installed.

I personally do not get them solely for any kind of "sound". I just want them to have strong output, and no mic feedback.

[Nitro Express]

I have two Epiphones. An SG-400 and a Les Paul Standard. The pickups on the Les Paul suck but on the SG, I can live with them.

[Kilkmaru]

I decided against doing it. Don't want to fuck up my guitar and shit.

[ELVIS]

Put some Gibson Tony Iommi pups in that piece of crap...

Buy new pots, a switch and a jack, follow the directions and practice soldering by both removing and reattaching the leads on the old pots...

Simple...