Re: Attn Gibson Les Paul Historic owners:
As a matter of fact, I just switched the BB's out of my 57' Goldtop Reissue. Mine had been switched to a 3 in the bridge and a 2 in the neck. For a while I thought I had them dialed in, but in the end they just weren't right.
I replaced them with a set of Seth Lovers. Very nice change. The neck position still retained the clarity of the BB2, but gained some welcome added warmth and smoothness. The bridge position was the biggest change. Gone were the harsh and almost too crunchy highs and lows, and they were replaced with just the right amount of crunch...low and high, with more midrange added to balance the pickup just right.
If I can just get the bridge to quit squeeling under high gain, I'll be set. I bought mine second hand, and judging by the solder joints, I believe the cover had been removed at one point...I think this accounts for the squeeling. I have heard many say that they have no issues with squeel. I will say that with the gain on my Marshall set at noon to 1 oclock, there are no issues....only when I get close to diming the pre-amp gain. I'll continue to work on it.
I would suggest either Seths or Antiquities for your Historic, unless you feel the tone is somewhat dark. In that case, I would go with a 59' in the bridge to add some top end and clarity, and either a Seth or Antquity in the neck.