Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

CanadianShredder

CanadianShredder

New member
So I haven't been all that happy with the tone from the stock Burstbucker Pros in my 2016 Gibson Les Paul Standard T (Desertburst). Love the feel and weight (I previously had one of those '08 chambered bodied LPs which I didn't care for) but the pickups have got to go. I was thinking of swapping for a Jazz/Custom set until I opened up and saw that crazy circuit board business. I'm more of a metal guy and like the responsiveness of active pickups. So thinking of yanking out all the electronics and putting in a Blackouts AH-1 set. I mentioned this to a store clerk at my local Long & McQuade and he said "You can't do that to a Les Paul Man!". Or he meant it would be sacrilege or something for me to do such a thing. Since the days of Zakk Wylde installing EMGs in his LP Customs, why do the "vintage" lovers still think it's so bad to put active pickups in a Les Paul? LOL!
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

^%$%$ that guy.

Many a player (besides Zakk) has put actives in a Les Paul and rocked righteously.

If it sounds good, and feels good, it is good. It's your guitar. OWN THE TONE! Or be "the Long & McQuade" dude's b!tch. Your choice...

Me? I hate actives generally speaking, but I love me some Blackout. And I'm no one's b!tch. Especially not some guy from some store I never heard of.
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

I was told I was commiting heresy by a local guitar tech when I mentioned I had a master tone control in my Strat for all three single coils.
"STRATS ARE SUPPOSED TO NOT HAVE A TONE CONTROL IN THE BRIDGE PICKUP! THAT'S THEIR SOUND!".

Oh, so I gotta have it a bit shrill and spiky if the guitar feels like it then? In the spikiest/thinnest of all positions? Come on.
Feel free to do whatever the **** you want with your guitar, man. Drop actives if you like them. Sacrilege my ass!
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

If you are a metal guy, Blackouts will do you just fine.

For a short time, I had the Blackouts set in an LP-type guitar (LTD Truckster), and it sounded great. Especially the neck pickup - guttural, throaty goodness.

I will caution that the Blackouts bridge pickup doesn't have the high mid spike you often get with high output bridge humbuckers like the 81 or JB or 498T. The Blackouts bridge pickup has a lot of low mids. It is a pretty dark-sounding pickup by itself. (Come to think of it, it's in the ballpark of an 85. And come to think of it, the Blackouts set is probably like a better version of an 85/85 pairing). But you could always get high mids from your amp, like a Marshall.

The Blackouts have a lot of clarity for being so hot. They are really friggin' hot. I am just not that kind of player (see the EMG Retro Actives thread); I am an old-school passives player at heart. But if you are that kind of player, you should try Blackouts, especially since you can just swap in EMGs with the 3-pin connector if the Blackouts don't suit you.
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

Yeah, vintage
Overstate their own taste, that's fine. But I wouldn't discourage mods. If it's their guitar its their guitar. It's nit like their molding a 10,000 USD museum piece guitar. Or a famous guitar either signed or belonging to a famous artist.

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

RandomToneGuy said:
Yeah, vintage
Overstate their own taste, that's fine. But I wouldn't discourage mods. If it's their guitar its their guitar. It's nit like their molding a 10,000 USD museum piece guitar. Or a famous guitar either signed or belonging to a famous artist.

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I meant vintage lovers.

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

IMG_4025.jpg

That's my les paulish guitar, mohagany body (not chambered) and maple cap. It's not a gibson (it's a vgs) but sounds really good with the zakk wylde set. if you like the tone, it's ok. IMO if there is something to be changed to improve then we must do it. And the Gibson label on the headstock is not always synonymous with perfection. Swapping pickups is a reversible mod so if you want to try the blackout set, do it. I you don't like the tone you can always go back with the stock pickups
 
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Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

Go with those Blackouts if you love them. We don't care if guys who work at music stores approve. If he was smart, he'd be happy if he got a chance to sell them to you.
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

Now THAT is a good question!!!!!
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

Back in the day (1950s - 1960s), it was sacrilege to pull the covers off humbuckers in a Les Paul, even though Les Paul himself recommended removing the covers because he was against covers interfering with the sound and magnetic field in the first place. A bunch of guys did it, became famous for their sound using it that way, and now it's a stock configuration.
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

I'm sure there are people who like the new stock burstbucker pickups, but I personally can't stand them at all. They're thin, fizzy, and harsh compared to the older burstbucker 1 and 2 models or the Classic 57s.

So I would say go for it! Haha, Duncan pickups never fail, and so what if it's active or modern or whatever! The new LP standard isn't meant to be a vintage instrument anyways, nothing sacrilege about dropping in some upgraded pickups in it.
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

CanadianShredder said:
Wait do I need to order Long Shaft pots too or do they come in the kit?
Click to expand...

I'm sure you know by now, but for the thread's sake I
ll just post that;;;; Yes, that set includes the long-shaft pots.

Also, Duncan has many variations now within the Blackout series.
 
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Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

Picked up the Blackouts and discovered they DO NOT come with long shaft pots. So I ended up ordering the EMG E-Z Solderless Long Shaft Kit of eBay. (Stated in the ad info that they work with the Blackout set). Just gotta wait for it to arrive now then I can start the big swap.
 
Re: Blackouts Set in a New Gibson Les Paul Standard?

Let us know what you think of the Blackouts once they are installed for a week or so!
 
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