Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

[Bubba Z]

Hello!

First, I'd like to introduce myself. I've been playing guitar for over 15 years. My current #1 is my 2005 Gibson Les Paul Studio and I also am a member of the My Les Paul Forum (I also go by Bubba Z on that board if there are any members here). I joined the Seymour Duncan forums because I just recently bought and installed my first pair of Seymour Duncan pickups into the Les Paul; the Black Winter set. I liked the 498/490 pickups that came stock in the guitar, but my curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to try something new. Overall, I'm very happy with the Black Winter set! They're much tighter and clearer than the old set and highly versatile. Here are some videos giving a taste of how they sound:

Clean

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Dirty

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Welcome to the forum, the Black Winters are definitely a pretty solid choice for a Gibby. I had some in an SG and almost bought an Explorer with a set. And as a coincidence, I just joined the My Les Paul Forum today!

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Yup, original post is now editted to include more flavorful text.

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Welcome to the forum, the Black Winters are definitely a pretty solid choice for a Gibby. I had some in an SG and almost bought an Explorer with a set. And as a coincidence, I just joined the My Les Paul Forum today!

Thanks for the welcome! I agree, these pickups are nice and clear and mesh well with the big bottom end of Gibsons. Also, welcome to the My Les Paul Forum! It's a great community and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Thank you for doing these videos!

And giving us your review- the Black Winters can do a ton of things well. I know someone who uses them in an LP and never uses distortion of any kind....and he sounds great.

 

[Starman]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

I put a set in my ‘68 RI LPC and fell in love. My other LPC had 490/498 and just yesterday I swapped them out with another set of Black Winters (SDCS MJ version I had made for me). Now both of my LPC’s have this set and it’s fantastic. My bursts all run lower output PAF types but these BW in the LPC’s are just perfect for that type guitar.

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Thank you for doing these videos!

And giving us your review- the Black Winters can do a ton of things well. I know someone who uses them in an LP and never uses distortion of any kind....and he sounds great.

Thanks for checking them out, I'm glad they were helpful! The Black Winter set is extremely versatile. I like playing clean just as much as I like playing distorted (depends on the day and my mood), so it was important to me that these pickups could take me from jazz to death metal. Seymour Duncan delivered an amazing pickup set.

I put a set in my ‘68 RI LPC and fell in love. My other LPC had 490/498 and just yesterday I swapped them out with another set of Black Winters (SDCS MJ version I had made for me). Now both of my LPC’s have this set and it’s fantastic. My bursts all run lower output PAF types but these BW in the LPC’s are just perfect for that type guitar.

Sounds like a great combination! I did enjoy the 498/490, specifically when playing blues/jazz or stoner/doom metal on the heavier side of things. However, there was just something about the Black Winter set that piqued my interest and I had to test them out. Glad I caved, because these pickups are going to be staying in that guitar for a while.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Yep, the Black Winter set, along with the Screamin Demon, Full Shred, and a few others, are definitely very misunderstood. I'll admit that I didn't try the Black Winter set at first because of the name, but I got an excellent trade deal on them a while back, so I couldn't resist. The only production models left for me to try are the Alpha and Omega, guess I best get on that sooner or later.

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Yep, the Black Winter set, along with the Screamin Demon, Full Shred, and a few others, are definitely very misunderstood. I'll admit that I didn't try the Black Winter set at first because of the name, but I got an excellent trade deal on them a while back, so I couldn't resist. The only production models left for me to try are the Alpha and Omega, guess I best get on that sooner or later.

I'm new to Seymour Duncan, but I have heard great things about the ones you mentioned, specifically the Full Shred. I considered going with the Full Shred for the bridge, but I'm very content with the Black Winters. Maybe in the future I'll give it a try!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Full Shreds are brighter than Black Winters, and not as versatile. I think you made the right choice here....

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Full Shreds are brighter than Black Winters, and not as versatile. I think you made the right choice here....

Oh, that's good info to have. Thanks for the heads up! Speaking of versatility, I was playing around with some chicken pickin' on the Les Paul today and the Black Winter bridge can be very good for that snappy/twangy country guitar sound. If a person is so inclined to play Black Metal and Country in the same show, these pickups would do the trick for them haha.

 

[Jeff5]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Black Winters are great pick ups and way more versatile than their name would imply.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

I put a set in my ‘68 RI LPC and fell in love. My other LPC had 490/498 and just yesterday I swapped them out with another set of Black Winters (SDCS MJ version I had made for me). Now both of my LPC’s have this set and it’s fantastic. My bursts all run lower output PAF types but these BW in the LPC’s are just perfect for that type guitar.

What did you have done differently from the CS?

BubbaZ,
Welcome aboard!! Cant check your clips right now, (blocked at work) but will soon as I can. I do appreciate the feedback on the BW set. Keep hearing the same and have been quite tempted to snag a set . Gonna have to break down and do it..

 

[Starman]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

What did you have done differently from the CS?
..

Lightly aged gold covers and screws/poles, long leg baseplate, single conductor wire, a “special colored” bobbins requested.

They are “wolf in sheeps clothing” Les Paul Custom BW’s.

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

BubbaZ,
Welcome aboard!! Cant check your clips right now, (blocked at work) but will soon as I can. I do appreciate the feedback on the BW set. Keep hearing the same and have been quite tempted to snag a set . Gonna have to break down and do it..

Thanks for the welcome! I'm glad the feedback is helpful. I know prior to taking the plunge and buying them, I was concerned about how versatile a set called "Black Winter" could be, but I'm very happy with how they sound.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Welcome, and congrats!

I've had a Black Winter set since shortly after they were released. My curiosity has made me try them in several guitars (including my Epiphone Les Paul Custom). Great pickups, and like you say, they're very versatile.

 

[Bubba Z]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Welcome, and congrats!

I've had a Black Winter set since shortly after they were released. My curiosity has made me try them in several guitars (including my Epiphone Les Paul Custom). Great pickups, and like you say, they're very versatile.

Thanks for the welcome! It was a toss-up for me to try them in my SG or Les Paul. I opted for the Les Paul since I wasn't certain the SG needed anymore mids and it sounds great at the low-gain tones. They sure sound sweet in the Les Paul, though!

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Black Winter Pickups in Gibson Les Paul (And Introduction)

Thanks for the welcome! It was a toss-up for me to try them in my SG or Les Paul. I opted for the Les Paul since I wasn't certain the SG needed anymore mids and it sounds great at the low-gain tones. They sure sound sweet in the Les Paul, though!

Yep. One thing that alot of us that own Black Winters have noticed is that they give you what your guitar gives them. Very even response, and they do bring out the nuances in the host guitar's tone.

I don't know of you found it in your research, but here's a really good and comprehensive thread about BWs.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?262447-Black-Winter-owner-Feedback-so-far