# Epiphone Restore



## carpart67 (Jun 10, 2011)

I'm wondering if someone can help me with the restoration of an Epiphone that used to be my uncles. I am unsure of the model, and can't find any identifying markings on it other than the neck plate. (Which says "steel adjustable neck, made in japan). I think it's part if the EA series. The guitar plays well but has some loose tuners and the POTs and Switch are noisy.

My budget is tight, very tight, and I don't play as often as I used to. I don't need professional quality components, just affordable reliable ones. I'm going to try to do most of the labour myself. I was wondering if anyone could direct me to a Canadian source to find the electronics and some replacement tuners. I'm hoping someone with Epiphone experiance will chime in as I don't know what POT resistance I need, and I can't find any tuners online that have 2 mounting holes, diagonal to each other, like mine.

Any info on the guitar or advice on the resto would be appreciated. Pictures of the guitar are attached.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

EA-250. MIJ from 1970-75. Bolt on neck. It is also know as the Riviera or Casino sometimes. You can by the electrical spray/cleaner/lubricant that you can spray into the pots. It is usually dirt that gets in and causes the scratchy noise when to adjust the pots. This stuff works quite well. The problem you will have is targeting the pots right. Removing the pots from a semi hollow body is quite the task and require mountains of patience. I would google removing pots from a semi-hollowbody. 

I have a late 70s version of this guitar with a set neck.

Serial numbers were on stickers on the back of the headstock. Only one of a hundred of those ever survive.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Correction - EA-255


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

hello.

that is a nice looking guitar.

for the tuners, you probably won't find decent ones with matching screw holes. I'd suggest getting some Grover tuners of your choice. they are about $45. I hear Gotoh ones are decent too, and a little less money.

there are not a lot of Canadian online sources, pretty much none actually, for guitar parts.

I use Guitarpartsresource and stewmac a lot. both have reasonable shipping.

if you remove the pots, you can measure the resistance with a multimeter. just turn it to the value above 500k ohm and measure between the 2 outer lugs with the pots turned all the way up.

chances are they are 500k. id recommend 4 500k pots regardless. they are $6 each for CTS pots (industry standard) or somewhere around $3 for the cheaper alpha pots epiphone currently uses. they're not terrible.

with CTS pots you'll have to enlarge the holes slightly to 3/8"

the switch, switchcraft is the brand every one goes to insanely reliable. they are $25

wiring that sucker is going to be a journey. i recently re-wired my epiphone dot...fun times!

with full hollow bodies you can feed all the electronics through the humbucker routing. if its a semi hollow you have to go through the f holes.

i know this says les paul, but this kit has EVERYTHING you need.
STEWMAC.COM : Wiring Kit for Les Paul

it has similar components to what epiphones are shipping with now.

if you want to go with the nicer stuff CTS and switchcraft, you'll be looking at ~$70

additionally, if you can find someone that just chucked their stock stuff you could probably score a harness for ~10$ and lengthen the wires as needed.

i'd ship you mine, but I'm piecing it out for another project.

before you buy tuners, pull one of the existing ones. measure the hole. it will either be 9 or 10mm and buy your tuners accordingly.


edit: i forgot to mention. you could try an electronics cleaner and give the pots a spray. they might be full of crap which is making them sound scratchy. cheapest and easiest solution!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I would remove the covers from the tuners and see if the screws holding the gears to the posts are loose. Chances are, a few turns of a screwdriver and a few squirts of good contact cleaner will fix that Epi up nicels.

Oh, and naturally a new set of strings and a set up.

I always like to try those things before pulling out the power tools and soldering gun.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Strange. Duplicate post. See above comment.

Oh but by the way, that IS a very pretty old guitar.


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## carpart67 (Jun 10, 2011)

Milkman said:


> I would remove the covers from the tuners and see if the screws holding the gears to the posts are loose. Chances are, a few turns of a screwdriver and a few squirts of good contact cleaner will fix that Epi up nicels.
> 
> Oh, and naturally a new set of strings and a set up.
> 
> I always like to try those things before pulling out the power tools and soldering gun.


I didn't even know the covers came off the tuners. (Thanks!) After reading your post I took each tuner off, rebuilt, lubricated and reinstalled it. They are good and tight now, we'll see how long they stay that way.

Perhaps I'll try to clean the POTs and switch another day.

I'm going to take it to the local tech to set up the neck and bridge, that's beyond my skill set.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

you may or may not be able to easily pull the pots. my recommendation is get some rubber tubing for fish tanks and attach it to the pot shafts before pulling them out. same goes for the 3 way toggle. the hardest part is not tangling everything up while you're working blindly inside the guitar.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I wouldn't even pull the pots or the toggle. Just take the knobs off and spray the shit out of them down the shafts while rotating them open and closed. The stuff evaporates quickly and the good stuff leaves no residue.

Those tuners will stay tight. No worries.

Enjoy the guitar. Like I said, it's a very pretty old guitar and I think it can be made very functional without replacing or removing anything.


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## carpart67 (Jun 10, 2011)

Well I took the strings off today to clean the body and fretboard. I noticed what looked like a dab of glue on the end of the nut. I decided to free the nut and got quite a surprise. Someone went a little (or a lot) crazy with the super glue. Long story short, I now have no nut (unless you count the the shattered pieces) and a broken truss rod cover. What a mess, I pretty much had to gently chisel everything apart. I guess I won't be playing it now until it visits the repair shop (don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to fit a nut). Definitely a bummer. 

If there's one thing I absolutely hate it's having to fix someone else's half ass repair!


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

shitty deal. these don't need a lot of glue to hold in place. the string tension does most of the work. just a couple drops works fine!


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Rare Japanese 1972 Epiphone Semi-Hollow Body 
Heres another one. Looks very similar to me.


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## carpart67 (Jun 10, 2011)

Looks almost identical to mine. Mine has a pickguard but it's possible that was added by someone.


Guitar101 said:


> Rare Japanese 1972 Epiphone Semi-Hollow Body
> Heres another one. Looks very similar to me.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

*bust a nut*



carpart67 said:


> Well I took the strings off today to clean the body and fretboard. I noticed what looked like a dab of glue on the end of the nut. I decided to free the nut and got quite a surprise. Someone went a little (or a lot) crazy with the super glue. Long story short, I now have no nut (unless you count the the shattered pieces) and a broken truss rod cover. What a mess, I pretty much had to gently chisel everything apart. I guess I won't be playing it now until it visits the repair shop (don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to fit a nut). Definitely a bummer.
> 
> If there's one thing I absolutely hate it's having to fix someone else's half ass repair!


Nows your chance to upgrade to a bone or tusk nut.


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## carpart67 (Jun 10, 2011)

Got the guitar back from the shop last week. I'm pleased. The tech replaced the nut, strings and one of the POTs, gave it a set up, and cleaned it up very well. It was just over $100. Money well spent, and I know he undercharged me for labour, especialy considering the story he told me about the difficulties of replacing the POT.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

that's a great price. glad you got it all sorted out.

the pots alone is about an hour work.


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