Need Les Paul Help: Custom/Jazz Good Combo?

[Gooch]

I have a 2017 LP Classic with the 57s and they're ok for me, but the neck is especially boomy. Dropped the height and that helped, but I want something that hands rock, hard rock, 90s grunge well and in the neck is not so boomy.

I play Friedman amps and some other modded-marshall types and usually roll volume for clean tones and boost the amps OD with a pedal to get heavier chugg tones for rhythm. I do like to play some leads on the neck pickup.

I play Custom-8's in the bridges of all my guitars (strats, teles, charvels) and want to just try the regular Custom SH-5 and the JazzN. I read a lot how the Jazz neck handles leads well in a LP, but reduces some of that boominess.

Or what about the the PGn instead of the Jazz?

Thoughts? Thanks!

[Jeff5]

That will be a great combo! The Custom will sound huge and the Jazz will sound great with cleans and clear and defined for leads. Some folks prefer the 59, but I always found it too boomy.

[dystrust]

Love the Custom / Jazz combo, and especially the Jazz in the neck position of a Les Paul. The Custom ended up being a bit bass-heavy for my LP, but YMMV. I'm happy with the '59/Custom Hybrid in there now, but it's nowhere near as hot as the Custom.

[EmiAba]

I have always preferred the 59 over the jazz. That glassy sound of the latter let me think it's too synthetic to my ears. Said that my Les Paul have 59A4 in the neck and the custom 8 in the bridge. They soundd fantastic to me. I think you can go with the jazz/regular custom. It is a safe bet. If you don't like the result you can always swap magnets and adjust what you dislike. And you get rid of 57, the worst Gibson pickup I played IMO

[Mincer]

Comparing the PG & Jazz, the Jazz has more treble and less bass. Think of the PG as a PAF-type with slightly more treble, the Jazz doesn't sound like a PAF pickup at all being so bright. Lots of people like that sound, though, so you have to decide what your guitar needs, or what types of frequencies you want to hear.

[Lewguitar]

I used to use a Duncan Custom and PGn in a MIJ Fender Stratocaster. I liked that combination quite a bit for a while.

The Custom is my favorite of the three Customs.

Eventually I realized I prefer what I hear as being the more "organic" tone of an alnico magnet.

The Custom uses a ceramic magnet.

So I put a set of Pearly Gates in that guitar and liked that even better.

Made me realize once and for all that I'm most comfortable with PAF style humbuckers.

Eventually I started putting Antiquitys in my favorite humbucker guitars (PRS) and sold that particular Strat .