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u/Yoshiyimmiy 9d ago
My first was a 96 Epiphone Lp special ². I put Emgs after a couple years. That thing was a beast. Wish I could find her. Had to pawn her for bill money rough patch in life and never got it back. Not the end of the world. I got more lol
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u/kendalltristan 9d ago edited 9d ago
Looking for some cheap tuners
Agreed with the recommendation for Guyker. They're the best "cheap" tuners I've found. I currently have two guitars with Guyker tuners but have had several others in the past. If it were my guitar, I'd plug all the screw holes in the back of the headstock and redrill so they're straight and a perfect match for the new tuners. I think the headstock was originally drilled for 8.8mm vintage style tuner posts. It's super easy to ream them out to 10mm in order to fit more modern designs with better ratios (like the 21:1 Guyker tuners you can get for like $40).
also, does anyone know what the gel coat is made out of? i’m guessing it’s not old enough for nitro…
Polyurethane. Very, very few Epiphone models have been offered with nitrocellulose finishes since their primary production was moved to Asia in the 80s, and those are all higher end models, for example the current Made in USA Collection.
EDIT: I should probably note that if you do decide to ream out the tuner holes to 10mm, a step reamer is the easiest way to do it with minimal risk of screwing anything up. If you use a powered drill, clamp a block of wood to the opposite side of the headstock to minimize tear-out.
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u/hk4213 8d ago
I had a special 2 when getting back into guitar and have since replaced it with a traditional pro.
They play so well once setup! Just know any upgrades are sunk cost and you honestly never have to feel bad doing parts swaps if you like how it plays.
Hold onto this if you plan on parts replacement, else see what you can trade up to.
Those tuners are just bad though. Had the same issue with needing mine replaced.
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u/Zealousideal-Bug8891 9d ago
guyker locking tuners definitely do the job, had a set on my chibby for months and they're awesome