Modifying an Epiphone Les Paul Special | Mythos Mods 

Would have been nice to of heard it originally out of the box first to have an a b comparison

Epiphone be like we gave you cts pots and you still ripped them out lol

Definitely sold! Always wanted a special! This machine sounds deluxe! Thank you Zach for sharing and showing us the process!

This was a splendid video! Very well done in all regards. Cheers to you and Mythos pedals!

I really appreciated the explanations you gave on what you were doing, and I was very impressed with how it sounded in the demo.

This was a great video Zach, educational and enjoyable! Looking forward to your soldering tutorial vid as well

Love fralin pickups. I did an electronic/pickup upgrade with them in my Revstar and really brought the guitar to life. Thanks for sharing the process of making a good guitar great!!! Really enjoyed the tool recs

Awesome video! Learned a lot that I didn’t know I needed. Very useful tips. Thanks guys!

really enjoying these build videos!

I love the trick of using a pedal housing as a holder for the switch while you do the soldering!

Finally! Thak you for this clear, detailed demonstrationand explantion. The new "go to" video for wiring a Les Paul Standard :)

Great video! The Epi sounded amazing in every position.

Thanks for showing this upgrade !

Really cool video Zach. Very informative and makes me more confident about doing some maintance and mods

That towel / knob pull technique is really good, thank you!!

Great video! I got one of these when they came out in 2020. I swapped out the bridge for a tone pro’s vintage style, and the posts too, getting the Philadelphia Luthiers ones like Zach used here. After polishing frets and linseed oil on the board, it’s a damn good guitar.

Super video. Fret rounding was great - don’t see that in many videos. Totally changing out the pots and wiring and telling what they are and where you got them was on point. In fact, the whole wiring portion of this was good. Auto-focus is a blessing and a curse, haha.

I own one of these and I love it so much, the thing plays like a dream. Awesome video and tricks

Loved all of this. Been thinking about hot rodding one of these and it was great to see everything you did!

I have same guitar. It ROCKS right out of the box but WOW...even BETTER with your upgrades!

This was really good information! Thanks for sharing.

What a fun, informative video. The polishing cloth knob removal trick is great! Thanks!

Snow day video! Excellent.

So much great general upgrading information as well! Thank You!

I am old and probably couldn't do this, but it's a really cool video. Nice to see how this all works.

loved this vid, looking forward to more stuff like this on the mythos channel. thanks!

Best and most informative DIY guitar upgrade walk thru ever. My hunt for a - lightweight - Epiphone LP Special is on...👍!

My favorite Les Paul, light, honest and straight guitar, like a Tele. I’ve got the ‘57 reissue Gibson custom shop Special, pricey but a world of feeling and tone different than the Gibson regular one and of course the Epiphone version. Thanks for the video!

Awesome bang for the buck guitar! I didn't replace the electronics, just bought the Epi connector from Ebay & swapped in Monty's P90's. Cheers, J

Thanks so much for this. You made it very easy to understand. Love these kinds of videos.

I love this guitar…I have a few les Paul’s including a Gibson and I always pick up this guitar…the p90s are just so good…it plays great. I would like to up grade a few things as well, but I’m loving this axe. Rock on 🤘🏼

Nice. I did a similar project on an 2011 Epi LP Jr. - Hanging in our local shop, I kept playing it and it felt great in my hands. Single P90 up-grade, premium wiring loom, nut and Kluson style vintage tuners with white buttons - gotta have the white buttons. Great little guitar now.

Soldering demo was very good. I know how to solder, but I love learning new tricks. Very well done !

Such a good video. I love stuff like this.

Really enjoyed this and great mods. 😃

Very watchable nice delivery and pace of tuition

That’s awesome, great video! Keep it up guys!

Great way to end the work week! Thanks fellas, fun to enter into the Mythos world!

Awesome!! Cheers from Brazil Zack!!

Really loving this. Thanks!

Great video! I love the chop stick trick.this will help me alot with my soldering.thanks!

I love watching upgrade videos, thanks

I love this stuff! Thank you!

Very well done, l use to do similar work on my guitars! But now l just watch others do it! Epi's are a good choice for this type of mod!👍

Smart approach! Lots for learning.

Love the soldering technique!

This was way more informative than you think. My buddy is a soldering phenom, might have to pair up with him so on an epiphone someday soon

You did a great job of being thorough and keeping it fun. This covered about everything that’s easy to do at home except setup and there’s plenty of videos on that. Everything you did except the pickups are pretty cheap upgrades that make most guitars better. That Epi had surprisingly nice pots and jack. Low end Fenders and my old Epi Les Paul had ALPS clones and the flimsiest jacks I’ve ever seen. Such a weird corner to cut… maybe $5… but everyone has to make their money I guess. I got into this stuff from buying inexpensive guitars like this. Now I’m better at working on them than playing them 😂. But I still love watching people work. There’s not 1 right way to do anything and I pick up ideas most of the time.

Holy god - that sounded so good!

Great video. Couple tricks I hadnt seen before 👍

Huge improvement! Sounds incredible guys.

Excellent video. Thanks.

Powerful tone great job!

Like how u did the cardboard to mark the pot placement. Ill do tht nxt time . U reccomended a hakko soldering station to me long time ago . Got it and still love it . Boys n girls whatever Zach says , do it . Hats off to u sir .

Got that same guitar a while back, plays real nice, needs a good once over like this, love the bulletproof set up. It is hard to beat.

Those one piece aluminum wrap around bridge / tailpieces from Philadelphia Luthier Supply are fantastic - Gibson got that design right the first time back in the 1950s, notes really sing on those bridges.

Thank you. I have to go thru fixing a guitar I have and this is very applicable to what I need to do.

Really great clear video! Thanks for sharing this! Next up a basic soldering video because damn you’re good at it :)

Great video, and mods. Well done! I just subscribed

Super fun video!!! Sounds great too!!!

Awesome video Zach

This video is outstanding! The chopstick trick was hysterical. I think I have a twin brother by another mother. Excellent!!!!!

Sweet video.! I had this guitar n my wishlist, I might need to get me one soon now.

Gonna be honest. This rules.

Great video; nice upgrades. The guitar sounds awesome. I think I’d also put a set if locking tuners on it and possibly a bone or graphite nut. Epiphone and Squire are both putting out some great guitars for the money, I’ve done the same type of upgrades to both a new Squire 60s CV Strat and a new 60s CV Tele. With Fender American pups, the upgrades cost me between $300 and $350 per guitar. I spent quite a bit of time on the frets, too, and now both guitars quite literally feel/play/sound as good as my American Fender guitars. Fun projects, too. Thanks for the video; cool stuff.

That’s a beautiful guitar. You knew it had greatness at the music store. Mid position was such a nice clear and fat sound. Can’t wait to finish my masters. I’ll get something with P90s. This was a neat eye opener. I play a Larose JM. previously played a Joe Pass Epiphone hollow body. I threw some Lollar Low winds in it. Sounded so good.

I updated pots and pickups in my Epiphone Les Paul limited edition standard years ago-to this day, it plays as good if not better than other more expensive guitars I own.

Nice work. I dig your mission to Pluto moonswatch

I’m 30 seconds in and already stoked!

Thank you so much for this!

Great video. I want to do a project like this sometime. As soon as I saw a chopstick I got hungry. Watched your video, then ordered some Sushi..... Cheers!

I have the bolt-on version of this Epiphone. It's not my best guitar but it's one of my favorites. Lightweight and stays in tune.

That was awesome! One day I’ll get the stuff to upgrade my 20 year old epiphone and I’ll rewatch when I’m not at work to learn how to do it.

Those pickups do sound good!

Thanks I have a set of custom wound p-90s for around 4 years that i have not used. Have been thinking about doing something like this for a while with a less expensive guitar as my Gibson special sounds great.

great video brother, very informative

Got my hands on a used 2020 Epi Special for $275, have not changed a thing yet but I will be honest I dig her. She sounds great out of the Fender Pro Jr. If I were to change anything it would be the bridge, I prefer adjustable saddles but she stays in tunes and has a great feel and tone as she is. Cool Video. Subscribed

Great video. I've just found your channel. I've got one of those guitars and they're great, I already did the frets and fingerboard stuff but am now considering a wiring harness and pickup swap too.

You can use that wrap around tailpiece with offset studs and still have some decent intonation like all the jrs and specials were back in the 50s, but that epiphone having equidistant studs, the lightningbar is ideal for intonation, Good video regardless!

Dude you rock. You explained (and demonstrated) how to wire a Gibson sooooooo much better than anyone else. You took into account I am a dumb dumb who has never done it before and I appreciate that more than you know!! I request you help me understand the witchery that is Stratocaster wiring 😅 lmao thank you!!!

Zach, thank you for this demonstration. I'm looking at purchasing an Epiphone SG Special and much of this will apply to that guitar. I already have a Gibson LP Special that is a great sounding/playing guitar I was lucky to find used for a good price. I still would like the SG with P90s, though, and this gives me more confidence the Epiphone would be a good choice.

Thanks for your video 👍🏻

Great video Zach ! I modded one of these too. I kept all the electronic, rounded frets, replaced plastic nut for bone, replaced the bridge for a tonepros with adjustable saddles (I’m picky with tuning😅), remove all the finish, shaped the neck for a slimmer profile and sprayed it with black nitro. I finally gave it a heavy relic look ! This is one of the best guitar in my possession : light, resonant and easy to play, with a great tone ! These epiphone series are great for experimenting with mods 😊

cool video and nice upgrades. as long as you are not spending the difference of buying the USA Gibson. When I sold Gibson and Fender in the early 2000's, Mexican made Fenders were around $350-$400. An American Strat in black was $799 at that time. With a hardshell and better overall quality then (Mexi Fenders have gone up big time in quality since) Guys would say to me "I am not paying $800 for a strat. Then they would put new pick ups, new harness, tuners even different pick guards. So their $400 Fender now cost as much or more than buying the American Standard. I know prices have changed, but I think the USA Gibson is around $1700 so I am sure you are nowhere near that with the upgrades. My former bandmate had this guitar. We tracked with it. Stock, no mods and it sounded fantastic! Enjoy

Wow... Now, take this for what it's worth, coming from someone who has only been modding his guitars for maybe 2 years. In this one video, Zach provided more helpful tips and tricks than I have picked up in those 2 years. The chopstick and the Cap leg bend are going to save me a good 15-30 minutes of work, and closer to an hour of muffled swearing and stress the next time I upgrade one of my instruments.

Two recommended mods to the electronics: 1) It drives me up the wall that manufacturers have been using the *same* tone cap values for neck and bridge tone controls for the last 70 years. Name me ONE player who switches to their bridge pickup when they want a duller darker sound. And yet the tone cap value somehow aims for that. I recommend changing it to a value roughly 1/4 to 1/5 the original value. So if it was .022uf, change it to .0056 or even .0047uf. This will let that tone control "sand down the edges" of the bridge pickup tone without ever making it dull and dark. 2) I cannot recommend, highly enough, the "half out of phase" (HOOP) mod, that Bill Lawrence invented. Normally, putting a bridge and neck pickup out of phase results in a thin nasal tone with a big volume drop. Overlap in spectral content produces those cancellations, but so does equal level. Players of dual-pickup guitars that have dual volume controls, in addition to phase-reverse, will know that adjusting the volume of either neck or bridge, when in opposite phase, will bring the level back up. The HOOP mod, used well in the old Fender Jerry Donahue Telecaster, simply shaves off some of the bass content of the neck pickup, when phase is reversed; restoring it when the pickups are put back in phase. In that guitar, it results in a tone strikingly similar to neck+middle on a Strat, without any middle pickup or volume drop. I've installed it on several of my guitars and it can do just that. BUT, I also installed it on a dual humbucker guitar. It obviously can't replicate Strat tone on an HB-equipped guitar, but it does add another distinct N+B tone that is *very* usable, without any nasal qualities or volume drop. I see no reason why implementing it on a dual P-90 guitar would not expand the available tonal palette. Probably most easily installed by use of a push-pull tone pot for the neck pickup, to do the phase-switching. Personally, I find a .01uf series cap shaves off the right amount of bass in phase-reverse mode, but feel free to experiment.

I've down a similar route with mine, the electrics are absolutely fine and the pickups are more than good enough but to get the best out of it switch wiring to 50's. Far cheaper and well worth doing first before spending loads on new pickups and wiring loom.

i took a squier strat classic vibe and put eric johnson pickups in it the same way robbie robertson did to his , sound and plays fantastic and beautiful also.

man that overdrive tone is super rad

Loved the video Zach, only one thing I would disagree with. Fralins are nice, but the Seymour Duncan P-90's made mine a killer machine!

Muy buen trabajo saludos, gracias por compartir

Super helpful video

Bought a fairly expensive pedal last year and got it home to find out it was defective. Brought it back and noticed a Special on sale so I think for the pedal return and 30 bux I was out the door with it. I own all Gibsons but until I buy it’s big brother these are great! Unlike my grammar and sentence structure sorry. I do have a yellow Jr Gibson single though. That thing is a beast!

It sounded really great with that open e chord just how you want it too.

Philadelphia Luthier is my go-to for TOM/stop and wrap bridges on my gibsons. Usually the first upgrade I do with a new set of string after the set up. Sounds great.

Thank you!

Thank You!

Great video and Moonswatch.

Cut a bone nut cause the ones Epiphone uses binds up. Then change them awful crappy tuners. Now we got a gorgeous playing, staying in tune guitar for gigging and playing live. Love the video Bro...

Great video. I sort of went through it quickly. Although I have been playing for 40 years not as my occupation but with professional diligence (daily practice routine typically focusing on keeping acquired lead chops, vibrato and bending precise with clean articulation, relaxed tension free hands and arms, good posture, acquiring a new skill or improving a technique that I don't use often when I gig (Travis picking, bebop improvisation, flamenco or classical for example), jamming over backing tracks, loops, chord work and theory and then writing and having fun. I typically spend between 10-30 hours per week maybe taking 2-3 weeks off per year not intentionally but as life happens. Interestingly, I only recently (last month began learning to set up my guitar (adjust action, truss rod, intonation). So far so good but I am no where near the level of doing serious fretwork (like a re-fret) or installing new electronics. Having said that I am interested in learning and this video was a great introduction. You may have compared the before and after tones but I didn't catch it. I know just from the fralin pick ups (I tend to have my more traditional guitars modified using Fralin pick ups-his Pure PAFs that a tech put on my Gibson LP Standard are wonderful as are his p90s on my Gibson SG). I would be interested to know what the total cost of upgrades were compared to the price of a stock Epiphone and stock Gibson. I would also be interested in total time in personal labor. Perhaps you mentioned this but I missed it.