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Seymour Duncan Gretsch

Seymour Duncan Gretsch

Which guitar out of these two is better?

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gretsch-Guitars-Electromatic-Pro-Jet-with-Bigsby-511587-i1147134.gc

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone-Les-Paul-1956-Goldtop-Electric-Guitar-101392173-i1149978.gc

I own the Grestch, is it worth sailing my guitar and getting the Epiphone? it looks really nice?

or should i just keep my Gretsch and install these pickups on it?

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Seymour-Duncan-Alnico-II-Pro-Pickup-with-Gold-Cover-301059-i1127504.gc

i really want a GNRS sound.

I think that Gretsch looks like a gorgeous guitar... I bet it plays like a dream when its been properly set up!

What I don't get is why you'd want to sell it to get a lower price point guitar...?

The biggest problem that I see with the Epi is that it comes with single coil pickups! Single coil = lots of nice treble and a very responsive open sound, but it also means hum... sometimes a lot of hum! The reason they came up with humbuckers is because two coils wired in opposite ways can be tuned to cancel out that hum... which is one of the reasons why humbuckers aren't as noisy as single coil pickups... and also why they're higher output, too... that cancelling out thing does cancel out some of the higher end, which means that humbuckers in general won't have that same clarity and upper treble snap and response that single coil pups will....

But I digress. Personally, I wouldn't get rid of the Gretsch. I'm a fan of the semihollowbody thing, I think it gives the guitar a really nice "woody" character, a good halfway point between an electric and an acoustic.

I think your pickup choice is excellent. The link below is to Seymour Duncan's product page for the Alnico II Pro - and it specifically mentions it working well with a semi-hollowbody. I think it's a no-brainer, personally.

I actually have an A2P in the neck position of my LTD... I coupled it with an Alternative 8... it's like a match made in heaven for me! Both pups are Alnico, which tends to have a rounder, chimey quality to them. You can hear it a little on the Alt 8, which sounds similar to the JB, if that helps, albeit a little higher output and a tighter low end, much better for power chording. I like the heavy stuff, and the Alt 8 is great for that kind of thing, but also cleans up real well.... sweet cleans, good chunk. Great for tube amps - it pushes a lot of mids. The A2P has a lot of that chime, and I absolutely love it for soloing... even on the LTD I get a very "Sweet Child o' Mine" tone, very bell-like, very chimey once you get into the upper fretboard.

I had never really appreciated what a neck pickup could do until I got this pickup... I'm incredibly happy with it. Slash actually uses these, so if you're looking for that kind of tone, this is a good place to start.

Again, I prefer high output pickups in the bridge because I really like a fierce chuggy distortion - an Alnico II Pro in the bridge won't have a really tight lower end, but it will have a lot of responsiveness and dynamics - you probably notice that Slash doesn't sit around palm-muting a lot of power chords, he's more concerned with the tone in the midrange and treble.

So, since both guitars have the same tone wood, the tonal difference isn't going to be big enough (in my humble opinion!) to warrant swapping guitars. Get those pups and rock out!

Good luck!

EDIT: I think that a Bigsby could work really well in this kind of music - the Bigsby isn't for divebombing, it's for adding vibrato, its more about subtlety and texture than being about the self-indulgent metal whammy crap. So don't change a thing.... except the pickups, of course. You won't regret it! And don't forget to get your guitar intonated and setup, if you haven't done it yourself! The difference a good setup makes is crazy - your guitar "plays" better, it becomes easier to make it happen. It also means no buzz or going out of tune as easily vs not being setup.... Oh yeah, and your high notes actually sound *in tune* with your lower ones. That's pretty dang important, especially if you're going to be copping some Slash riffs and leads!

Saul

"Anniversary Waltz" on Gretsch 6118-125 Anniversary