Help! Need Luke advice

[Exodus5]

I just bought a used Luke. I knew the previous owner had replaced the EMGs with Dimarzios, but I was not told that it had finish cracks by both trem posts. It is Red, which is important to me as I don't want yet another black guitar, but I wonder if I'm missing something with the EMGs being gone and if the cracks by the trem posts could be an issue?
Side note: They changed out the pickups, but kept the 25K pots and tiny little tone cap....Jeeze what a woofy mess.

 

[Exodus5]

The crack in the bass side post

Flickr

 

[DrKev]

If teh cracks are only in the finish, they are of no consequence other than cosmetic and will be mostly invisible to anybody but you.

The EMGs are, well, just different. It's like asking if you're missing anything by not putting Seymour Dunacans in there instead of the DiMarzios. Or different DiMarzios. Definitely, put either 500kΩ or 250kΩ pots in there will open up the DiMarzios to where they should be. Should you splash out on a set of EMGs? Only you can answer that.

 

[Exodus5]

If teh cracks are only in the finish, they are of no consequence other than cosmetic and will be mostly invisible to anybody but you.

The EMGs are, well, just different. It's like asking if you're missing anything by not putting Seymour Dunacans in there instead of the DiMarzios. Or different DiMarzios. Definitely, put either 500kΩ or 250kΩ pots in there will open up the DiMarzios to where they should be. Should you splash out on a set of EMGs? Only you can answer that.

Honestly, I'm torn. On the one hand, I don't have much use for single coils....never have...but I always think I need to have at least one guitar with them for those clean "in-between" Strat sounds. I may just get a H-H version and use the splits there, since that is essentially what I am doing with this one with the dual blade Dimarzio in the neck. Sounds great, btw.

 

[tbonesullivan]

That's a stress crack, and common around things like bridge bushings, as well as the neck pocket. It doesn't look structural at all, just cosmetic. Many people, like the seller, do not even notice them.

As for the single coil sounds, there are sounds you can get that you just can't get with a humbucker in the neck.

 

[Mick]

Invest a few bucks in a solid 500kOhms audio taper pot and then give it another try before going back to EMGs - only then you can really compare. Even if it´s up in volume fully clockwise it´s a different load.

 

[Exodus5]

I replaced the potentiometers with a couple of CTS pots that I had laying around. Much better sound. However, it’s a humbucking DiMarzio at the neck and bridge, so it’s not really a HSS set up.