banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Pickup advice, a two part question.

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Pickup advice, a two part question.

    Firstly apologies for the length of the post but I didn't want to start two threads where one would do.

    I already have an Epiphone Les Paul Custom which serves as my main stage guitar. Currently I am in a position where I am having to take three guitars to gigs for alternate tuning and backup etc. For my other guitars I have some quite mediocre Les Paul copies which TBH aint great. I'm now financially in a position to get myself another couple of Epiphones and it is my intention to replace the bridge pickup in all three with the same Seymour Duncan so as to have as consistent a tone as possible across all three guitars. This way I don't have to change amp and tone settings upon guitar changes. But I have a couple of questions...

    1:
    A friend has an Epiphone Les Paul Gold Top that he is selling and I have shown an interest in. I've only been able to communicate via text with him so far and he was unable to tell me whether it's the Standard model with the humbuckers, or whether it's the 56 model with the P90s and I'm currently awaiting photos. As I know he'll do me a good price I want to go for it but if it's the P90 model my plans to have the same pickup across all three guitars is out of the window. Or so I thought. I've been reading online that you can get an uncovered humbucker into a P90 cavity with a little trimming of or removing the base plate. Has anyone had any experience of doing this? How easy would a base plate be to "trim?"

    2:
    Which pickup? I'm having a real hard time deciding. I play heavy industrial metal, a la Nine Inch Nails & Rammstein etc so I was thinking of something high gain. However I have a couple of Teles that I put Duncan Hotrails in the bridge positions of which sound great for uber distortion but I have found it hard to get a nice clean tone out of them which I do need. They're so high gain there always seems to be a hint of overdrive. Also on the less important visual side, I do like the look of an uncovered humbucker on a Les Paul but I would want a fairly traditional look to it, which would rule out things like hotrails or the Invader pickups etc. I was thinking Duncan Distortion but I just can't make my mind up.

    Any help on either point would be great.

    Thank you,
    Andy.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

    I'm not sure on question 1, but as for question 2, I would go with the Duncan Distortion. Despite it's name, it is a very versatile pickup. It can so all sorts of music, so I would start there.

    On a side note, I know you said you are looking for two other guitars to upgrade over the other two you have. I just wanted to advise you to take a peek at the new Pelham Blue Epiphone Les Paul. They are running $399 on just about every site. That would be an awesome upgrade and still be a Les Paul to match your other one (just in another color.) I personally have been wanting one, but look at my list of guitars below. Do I really need another one? Have fun with whatever you decide to do.
    1998 Dean Select ML, Dean Bubinga ML, Dean Icon, Dean Custom 450, Luna Andromeda, DBZ Bolero, Guild Bluesbird, Gretsch G5420TG, 4 Strats, BC Rich Mockingbird Special, PMC/ Cort Archtop, Agile 7 string, 2 Custom Made, Walden D710, Dean Juggernaut Bass, Squier Classic 60's Jazz Bass, Sunn Alpha 212R, Genz-Benz El Diablo, Laney GH-100L, Crate Blue Voodoo, Univox 1051, 1987 Erich Phretchner Cello, Custom Built Electric Cello

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

      I never change any settings on anything I have in my chain or on my amp for any different guitar , don't understand that but maybe it is me ? For question #1 that would be a tough bit of work not really easy and I wouldn't do it myself unless I had some pretty good skills with guitar work. You could always put a STK-1 in there good sounding P 90 sized humbucker , takes well to running it in series/parallel for both sounds. (humbucker/P90) Haven't wired my set that way yet but will be doing it soon!
      Originally posted by Oinkus
      I had Big Flannel over here the other night , cleaned up his Tele and did some setup on it , took out the camera and set it down on the desk. I am easily distrac

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

        1) Does not work on most guitars. I would strongly caution you not to do that. There is a slight variance in some guitars where if the p90 route were larger than normal and the humbucker smaller, it could work. Notable exception is the Wilde L500 series which does fit in a p90 route. I assume you would direct mount?
        2) Thought about the black winter? I think it has better cleans than a distortion and the distorted sound is top notch.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

          Thanks for the tips comments.

          I've read a bit more into the whole humbucker in a P90 slot and it seems the base plate adjusting is only required on pickups where the base plate is slightly wider than the pickup itself. In the case of the Duncan pickups the base plate tends to be flush with the edge of the pickup so therefore the trimming/removal wouldn't be required. The black winter did catch my eye, however I think I probably will go for the Duncan Distortion, mainly because my local music store has it in stock and I would rather buy locally that order online. I think how I'll proceed will be to get myself one of the pickups, see if it fits into the P90 slot on the Gold Top, if not I can then put it into my Les Paul custom and come up with a plan b for the Gold Top.

          Plus the gold top may turn out to be the Standard humbucker model anyway so this discussion may be rendered redundant when it all comes down to it.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

            As an owner of maybe 6 p90 equipped guitars, Duncans don't fit any of them. Just fair warning. the only ones I have seen that fit are the Wilde l500s, or there is space under some dogear covers. (Dogears sometimes have a larger route than soapbars)

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

              On an Epi LP, it makes much more sense to do a little routing on the guitar rather than adjusting the pup baseplate. You're not concerned with resale value, just tone.
              Originally Posted by IanBallard
              Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

                Yeah I didn't think that it would be to big a deal to "embiggen" the cavity, were it a Gibson I wouldn't consider it but an Epiphone wouldn't concern me too much. Plus if I did it would only need a fraction of an inch so could probably do it with a bit a sanding and a lot of patience.

                Here's a couple of pics from the thread I've been reading where someone has gotten a humbucker into a p90 cavity without any routing required. I realise it's not a les paul like I would be modding but the soap bar cavity should be pretty much the same.

                Click image for larger version Name: image.jpg Views: 1 Size: 96.8 KB ID: 5777899

                Click image for larger version Name: image.jpg Views: 1 Size: 133.9 KB ID: 5777900
                Last edited by andygifted; 06-12-2014, 04:14 AM.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

                  Ok so I now have the Gold Top and it is the P90 model. I picked up the Duncan Distortion and can confirm it DOES NOT FIT. So I have installed it in my Les Paul Custom as was my intention to do so eventually anyway. My plan b had then been to go onto the Seymour Duncan Custom shop and go with their "build a pickup" option where I could have a Duncan Distortion built into a soap bar, I'd just have to pay a bit extra. Only to find out they are unable to ship to me in the UK because of electrical regulations. So I now need a plan C. As my Custom now has the Duncan Distortion I want something to put into the Gold Top that will be as close in output and tone as possible. I've now seen Dimarzio do a soap bar sized Super Distortion and was curious if anyone was familiar with how distinct the sound of the two pickups were. I'm not looking for exact spot on match, I just want to know that if I were to change guitars on stage would I find a volume dip or gain between them or any drastic tone difference that would require I adjust my amp or pedal settings.

                  Thanks.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Pickup advice, a two part question.

                    Have you considered keeping it a P-90 and putting in an SP90-3, or even a mini like the SM-2?
                    Originally Posted by IanBallard
                    Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

                    Comment

                    Previous template Next
                    Working...
                    X