Hi!
I got this Epiphone junior as a gift. I have other nicer and "better" guitars so I want to mess a little with this one.
I want to change the bridge, tunning knobs, pick guard and pickups. Looking into it I found that there is a possibility to include a switch like on les Paul's.
For the bridge and tunning knobs I want to go golden, but don't know any good brands.
The pickguard is the lesser of the issues. I'd like to have a white creamish look.
My biggest concern is with the guts. Pickups and the possibility of the switch. Do you recommend humbuckers or know about how to do the switch thing? I'd like them to be golden too.
Have to add that i don't want top of the line parts. The guitar doesn't really deserve a ton of money poured into it, it's more like a little project/experiment.
Any advice and recommendations are welcome.
Oh and suggestions for the volume and tone knobs! I guess white but I'm open to anything.
Sorry for the crappy english.
Edit: don't know why the photo is on its side.
Edit 2: For some reason my replys on desktop didn't come through. Thanks a lot to everyone, it's been really helpful. Once I'm done with it I'll update with photos.
Edit 3: It's done! Has a warmer, bassier sound now. After changing the nut and fixing all fret issues plays much better and holds tunning a lot better. Also the bridge gave more sustain. Shame the golden knobs got lost in shipping.
Thanks everyone who chipped in. I have a more enyojable guitar now.
The lighting bolt bridge with post screws is intonatable. Unless there are deep grooves it is fine. The pickups/electronics and tuners are where the big upgrade is. The nut could be a big upgrade too. That could just ne d cut properly.
+1 for guitar fetish.
The bridge is intonatable within a general ballpark, but you're never going to get each string dialed precisely without individual saddles. If you aren't playing anything that requires great intonation, that's cool, but better intonation is never not better.
You can intonate a little flat and adjust your finger pressure. The guitar can never be in perfect intonation for all keys and even if it could I'm not sure you would want to.
So long as you are not doing a standard or drop tunig the lightning bolt will be just as good as a tune o matic or Nashville. The lightning bolt even has advantages. It won't add little kinks to your strings so you will have better intonation on broken in strings if you care about being parts of a cent on. The only issue is if you use a set of strings with a wound g or ballenced for an open tuning. If you do one those you won't be able to correct for it and would need a different shaped bolt.
I think we're arguing semantics here. You are absolutely correct, there is no such thing as perfect intonation on an even temperament guitar (check out true temperament necks theyre trip).
However I will outright disagree with you that the lightning bolt is "just as good" as an adjustable bridge. It is certainly possible to have one with perfect intonation at the 12th fret across all six strings but it is absolutely not the norm. So you have to compromise and split the difference on a few strings.
Frankly, I like the looks of a lightning bolt wrap around over an adjustable one all day. But an adjustable saddle bridge is going to outperform it in achieving best possible intonation every time.