Pickup question but for a very specific guitar issue

[blakejcan]

Maybe this belongs in the pickup forum but the way I'm seeing it my questions are more around the specific guitar. Adjust if needed mods.

I have a 2013 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro. It's one of those models specifically made for guitar center. Glossy top but satin back and sides. Has 57 classics in it. Zebra set with a bunch of switching options. Tap to single coil either or both humbuckers and a boost in there too. Kinda fun but also I kinda never use all the different fancy doo-dads.

I never really loved the 57's in there. Or maybe I just never really took the time to figure them out? Great for rocking out and good distortion from what I've seen but seem hard to clean-up. I think I likely need to play with the volume a bit more. Also over time I was not in love w/ the zebra look.

I bought a set of double cream bareknuckle stormy mondays to test out in there. I love my other BKP mules and Mother's milk sets. I'm hopeful that the stormys will get me to the sound I want in my head of a more vintage, less juiced up vibe.


Ok. That's the context. Here are the questions:

Are the Stormy Monday's different enough sonically to warrant swapping out for the 57's?

If I do swap them out.....should I just ditch all of the fancy wiring? My concern is that if I do that and I don't like the swap I might just sell the guitar altogether.......might kill the re-sale value? Cuz there is no way I am going to put that humpty dumpty wiring back together again.


Thanks internet friends!

[Mincer]

I'd keep the wiring- it is part of the guitar, and it would hurt the resale value if you get rid of it. Just add connectors to the new pickups, and you should be able to swap pickups in a few minutes. If you don't like them, swap back...only you will know if the new pickups are the right ones for you. But I believe you can add the connectors to any pickups you want to try.

[blakejcan]

help me understand connectors? huh?

[Mincer]

Aren't the electronics of your guitar connected with wiring harnesses? Pickups just plug into the the rest of the circuit. I thought most modern LPs had those...

[blakejcan]

nope! just a hot mess of regular old wires

[Mincer]

Oh! I thought it might have a PC Board like a lot of new Gibsons.

[ErikH]

My 2009 Trad Pro Exclusive has coil taps on the bridge and neck but not the phase and "blower" switch options that the Trad Pro II and III have. Mine came with a BB3 and '57 Classic set. I left the '57 Classic in there but removed the tone control from it, just disconnected the wire from the volume pot that leads to the tone pot. Problem solved there. It sounds beautiful and cleans up just fine. I'm not a big fan of the BB3 so I swapped it out and it took the third swap to get the bridge to sound how I like it, a Custom Custom.

Even if you don't use all the options, I'd leave that all in there and wire what you want in there. If you don't want to wire up splits and all, then don't. You can wire the pickups up in series and not worry about the other stuff. The blower switch is pretty cool but not something I would personally use.

[blakejcan]

Thanks for the feedback. I think that's where I'm leaning. Just go slow, swap out the many wires one by one and even though it would be a pain in the ass it would be totally reversible if I hate it for some reason.

[Bogner]

I would think the pickups are a better fit and worth changing. The fancy switching options and such only you can decide if you use them or not. Usually I prefer simple. YMMV

[blakejcan]

yea worth a shot right? I'm handy with the iron so should be ok. Nothing is worse than the 9 way switch I did.

[blakejcan]

Took a good long time and swapped it out lat night. Starting to fiddle around with it and happy with it so far. Definitely a cleaner, more vintage sound which is what I was after.

Only bummer is that the double cream humbuckers don't match the "antique" rings and binding. Not terrible but could be better.