I had a '67 Epiphone Rivoli, the bass in my profile pic, which I sold in '22, but I miss having a short scale and I'd like to have another one. Right now I'm looking for something to buy cheap and mod so the Epi SG E1 (EB-0) is on my radar because when I sold my Rivoli I took off the Hipshot lightweight tuners and Hipshot bridge and put the originals back on it, so I have those to upgrade the cheezy parts that come on the modern Epiphones. Before I sold my Rivoli I installed a Curtis Novak EB-BSx pickup and it absolutely transformed that bass from a muddy novelty I rarely played to something really wonderful I could play regularly. This has me thinking about what pickups to use with a GS/EB-0. I always wondered what my Rivoli would sound like with a second pickup in the "sweet spot" but I didnt dare route a pickup hole in my near mint '67, then Epi did basically what I had thought of doing with the Jack Cassidy, which confirmed my suspicion that it would sound great. I've thought for decades that I'd like to do something along the lines of Mike Watt's modded Gibsons. I dont want to spend $300 for a Novak pickup for an SG E1 I will probably pay less than $150 for, so I'm thinking of cool relatively cheap two pickup options. I'm thinking a Guild BS-1 in the neck to replace the stock pickup and maybe a thunderbird in the sweet spot? Or a DiMarzio Model One in the neck and a J pickup in the sweet spot? Maybe even a pair of EMG actives with a preamp? I'm not trying to create a vintage sound, or any sound in particular, I'm just thinking about what would be something unique and cool that would also sound good, ideally for less than $200 in parts over the price of the bass. I'm open to any ideas.
