2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Sounds like that dude needs to sell the '76 and buy something more like the '94!
A mahogany neck model would be a good starting point.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

The guy went about it all wrong. Since the guitars are so different, he should go with different electronics/pickups in the 76 to try to bring it close to the 94. He'll probably never get it to sound the same, but he might be able to get it close enough for government work. It'll probably be a fair amount of trial and error.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Aceman said:
3 piece neck, pancake, blah blah blah....

As for "usable" as a backup up....it makes sound and has strings, right? It works? You just need a slightly different set of pickups.
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BluesIsBlood12 said:
The guy went about it all wrong. Since the guitars are so different, he should go with different electronics/pickups in the 76 to try to bring it close to the 94. He'll probably never get it to sound the same, but he might be able to get it close enough for government work. It'll probably be a fair amount of trial and error.
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I once tried to do something similar with my '77 Custom (now sold) and '01 Standard. Different pickups in the '77 helped, and in hindsight swapping pots or possibly magnets may have helped further.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

If you're so exacting (read obsessed) with the two tones matching precisely, then there is really a potentially problematic situation for you as the person doing the work. Of course if the client wants to throw money endlessly at it then maybe thats a good wicket to be on as the 'tech'

But in an honest scenario its a case of the player spending time finding an instrument that fits the needs.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Yeah, thanks guys. I think trial and error is the way to go if he intends to keep the 70's guitar, or else selling it and buying something more similar to what he already has.

But I have enjoyed the deep dive this situation has provided me with. I can't say my experience has been empirical as I haven't been the one doing the tinkering, (I just got to do some set up work for him, he enjoys the electronic tinkering) but seeing in person how much difference there can be between two "similar" but different guitars has been a great learning experience and one I'll be able to use moving forward.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

I'll say this, getting two different guitars to sound and play as close to each other as possible is fun to do, but only once. There is little to no practical value to it unless the copy is for someone who really really really likes your guitar.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

I personally never really cared about my backup guitar. For years I didn't have one, because LP was invincible. Then, I had an Epiphone with Duncans for a while afterwards, but it was not intended to be a tone match. Just happy it worked until I could change a string on #1.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Chistopher said:
I'll say this, getting two different guitars to sound and play as close to each other as possible is fun to do, but only once. There is little to no practical value to it unless the copy is for someone who really really really likes your guitar.
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Good timing on this thread. In my old age I'm starting to realize that there are some variables I shouldn't be ignoring.

I've played heavy strings most of my career and have had a wide variety of amps that will reproduce 'my' sound but I got a reminder recently that I can only go so far from my comfort zone before I get in trouble.

I teach once a week at a little music shop that had a perfectly fine ASAT tele and perky little 6 Watt tube amp and I decided to leave all of my gear home for the day.

Big mistake. Although I can find my sound with a wide variety of variables, the lighter gauge strings, the reduced mid-range of the amp, and relatively low gain pickups just didn't work last week.

I probably could have survived any single change but with all the gear changes I was so out of sorts and I literally fell back on simple stuff and ended up talking more than playing. Don't know if my student notice the difference.

Obviously, a lot of our confidence comes from tones that we know so I get the idea of wanting to clone a bit of our sound.

Perhaps more important I've worked with touring musicians who need multiple copies of the same instrument to cover live and recording gigs. Of course we're working apples to apples with those guitars and it's pretty simple to get a similar tone and feel when you have the time and money (and it's easier with PRSs;)

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

I can understand wanting a backup that sounds and feels similar to one's main guitar, but to try to get it "exact" is a whole other thing.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

ICTGoober said:
You just answered your own question, Conor. It's NOT the pickups, it's the AXE.

I suggest you sit down and play them side by side, unplugged. Tell me how different they sound then.

See you back over on the OLF.
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exactly it!!!

get 2 LPs that sound similar unplugged and you will get closer to a reasonable backup. I have 7 LPs and the closest in tone is a 90 standard and a 91 standard. The rest, all over the map. my 89 standard is nothing like the 90 or 91. this is all unplugged analysis.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

That's a great story "Zionstrat". I can definitely relate. It's not that you can't play the notes anymore, but it can be such an uncomfortable and weirdly anxious feeling when everything you expect from a guitar/amp/rig just isn't there.

It reminds me of one of those rig rundowns I watched on youtube a while ago. It was Joe Perry and his flexibility blew me away. I'm sure we've seen countless guitarists use specific guitars/amp combinations fro specific songs. But Joe Perry's live rig was a ridiculous array of amps all switched on, and he'd ask his tech for random guitars as the inspiration struck, it didn't matter which guitar he used on the recording, or even the night before. I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan, but that seemed like a really cool approach.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

conorsearl said:
I think you may be the first person I've ever heard say this. ;)
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No backup, or LP is invincible? I played with no backup for quite a while. Only a broken string early is a set changed my mind about that.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

I use three distinctly different Les Pauls for my gig (Memphis, Custom Lite, Traditional). Not once have I switched guitars and someone said: "hey weren't your mids more pronounced a minute ago?" I think you are overthinking this just plug in the Les Paul and rock. The bottom line is yes they sound different but if they sound great who gives a hoot.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

It's already been mentioned but yeah, the woods are vastly different. One is pancakes the other is waffles. ;) Getting it close can be done but not exact. Unless you are Slash or an A-list artist that tours with multiples of the same guitars (and by this I mean construction, wood, etc.), there will be noticeable differences. Slash had his sig A2P pickup done to get his stage guitars to sound as close as possible to old-faithful. Are they exact? Hell no. Are they close? Close enough that he's happy about it.

My backups are rarely the same as my main. If I can play the same stuff, great. Don't care of they sound the same or not.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Securb said:
I use three distinctly different Les Pauls for my gig (Memphis, Custom Lite, Traditional). Not once have I switched guitars and someone said: "hey weren't your mids more pronounced a minute ago?" I think you are overthinking this just plug in the Les Paul and rock. The bottom line is yes they sound different but if they sound great who gives a hoot.
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Yup I agree 100%, and that's what I'd do too. Its not me that needs to be happy though, it's the guy that owns these guitars.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

I'm talking a heavy Norlins Les Paul with 3 piece Maple Neck. And I never/rarely broke a string.

No need or reason to have anything else.
 
Re: 2 les pauls identical pickup drastically different tone...

Dave Locher said:
Maple neck Gibsons are like tanks!
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Even more with a maple neck and fretboard........76 custom
This guitar sucked with t tops, jb so so, Dimarzio transitions mud, 59 pretty good, WLH set perfect IMG_0027.jpg
 
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