Epiphone 1958 Explorer Ebony

Seymour Duncan Invader SH-8
Seymour Duncan ‘59 SH-1n

As you may have already noticed, I’m a big fan of the Epiphones. Here’s another good reason. The 1958 Explorer model is not only a few pounds lighter than the Gibson version, but it sounds and plays just as well after a few modifications. I added a Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader in the bridge position and the Seymour Duncan SH-1n ‘59 in the neck to make this a sweet guitar thats all about the rock.

 ***Thanks Michael for your question***

 The most obvious mod was swapping the pickups. But I also replaced the 2 volume pots and the single tone pot with CTS 500k’s. It suprises most, but the pots in any guitar can make a big difference in sound. The stock Epiphone pots are genearally ok, but in this year/model they were extremely small and even visually didn’t look like they were of much quality.

Another mod that I’ve done previously in guitars (and will when time permits to the Explorer) is the treble-bleed mod I first heard about on the Seymour Duncan site. Check it out. I also replaced the pickup selector switch with a much sturdier one while I was in there, but it’s hard to tell the effect it had.

Lastly, replace the bridge with a TonePros (and the tail piece if you have the cash). It’s so much easier to intonate and it really helps tighten up the natural tones of the guitar, while adding lots of sustain.