Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

[Butch Snyder]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

My LP Deluxe, with its minihumbuckers, used to twang pretty good. Of course, it was 50% right hand technique....

My Fred sounded alot like a Tele bridge pickup.

 

[Jazz Rock]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Tele rules. Just get one!

 

[DesertRat]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

I put Phat Cats in my LP studio and it definitely can get some twang now. My bass player keeps doing a double take and saying, "that's just not right".

 

[Elrond39]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

I'm very much leaning toward the SH2n SH3(b) setup. As such, I've also come to the decision that my Epi Les Paul would "require" some visual mods, while I'm at it. So, have a look at the options and vote for your favorite! (Also, let me know why you like that particular one) Bear in mind that the Klusons are just stand-ins for the standard Gold tuners. I'm quite partial to number 4, as it stands.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Dangly's on to something. Why not wire the guitar so you can use the humbuckers in parallel? That would CERTAINLY give you more twang.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and suggest a SET of Jazz pups.

Luke

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

I have a Les Paul Standard with a '59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge, both with single-coil taps. I can get some pretty good twang, but if I want the Tele snap, I still reach for my Tele. However, I'm glad I did this mod on my Les Paul. The single-coil option is a lot of fun and offers some cool combinations.

This Les Paul also has the Jimmy Page wiring to give additional series/parallel combinations and that sort of thing.

- Keith

 

[The Usual]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

If I can offer my experience with this very subject, you are on a long time and money wasting course. I spent the better part of 2 years trying to do what you are doing - EXACTLY what you are doing!! It won't work.

I hate to sound like I am pissing on your picnic, but I lost a lot of time and money learning that LPs never sound like Teles. Never. Never. Never. I can speak to all of the pups suggested to you in a LP because I tried them for this very reason, and they don't sound like Teles. Even spit, parallel, phased.....The only one that was close, was the Seth Lover bridge, and only because it wasn't potted. If you pot it, you may as well have a 59.

Scale length, bridge type (HUGE!), wood type, headstock, neck joint etc. are WAY more important than pup type. It aint gonna happen. Make your LP sound like a great LP, and get a Tele.

Take Jimi Page. He stopped using his Tele onstage because he couldn't control it. He then went on to try to make his LPs sound like the Tele. They sounded great, but not like the Tele.

The price of swapping and selling half a dozen pups, will get you on your way to getting a great sounding tele. You don't need a lot of dough to get a workable tele. Besides, who doesn't want more guitars???

My $.02, hopefully so you save yours.

 

[Elrond39]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

I get what you're saying The Usual, and I agree as well. What I'm doing isn't trying to convert my LP to a Tele, but rather trying to get my LP's sound in the ballpark of the Tele - mainly because I want more versatility from this guitar, and because I want to develop a bit of a style... I figured that getting tips on getting to the ballpark would give me some options to mull over, which it has.

And, to be completely honest, I don't really need/want another guitar at this point. It'd be either keeping the LP and tweaking it to suit me (and I already know what I want tweaked), or trading in for a Tele (and then going through the learning process of what I'd want to tweak on that). I think I'm actually saving myself some time, I guess.

At any rate, thanks everyone for your input on pickups (I think I've settled on the SH2n and SH3(b) with push-pulls). Now, any feedback on the cosmetics? (see a few posts up)

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

My suggestion is to just find a way to mount a Tele bridge pu in the LP. You could bottom mount it by drilling three mount holes in the bottom of the pu cavity and have the pickup ring over the top just for show.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

(Also, let me know why you like that particular one) Bear in mind that the Klusons are just stand-ins for the standard Gold tuners.

I'm extremely partial for the "as is" configuration. Black plastic and gold hardware with gold covers is the way a black Custom was MEANT to look. There are no substitutes.

I also like the Gibson headstock these Epi's have...

 

[LJ King]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

I'm very much leaning toward the SH2n SH3(b) setup. As such, I've also come to the decision that my Epi Les Paul would "require" some visual mods, while I'm at it. So, have a look at the options and vote for your favorite! (Also, let me know why you like that particular one) Bear in mind that the Klusons are just stand-ins for the standard Gold tuners. I'm quite partial to number 4, as it stands.

Warning: I am told by many people that I have no taste.

My LP is sort of like your #1. But I have black locking tuners, totally black pickups (pickups, mountings rings, screws and pole pieces) and 3 gold dome knobs instead of the speed/top-hat knobs (the other position for a tone control was replaced with a switch). The pickup selector is gold with a black tip, and I kept the gold strap buttons, bridge, tailpiece, screws for the pickguard - and yeah, the pickguard.

The controls are 2-vol and a master tone - I never could get used to juggling two tone knobs. The switch is to bypass the tone control.

<start of invisible post>

Check your guitar for the twang you want. Play it unamplified and put your ear on the upper bout. If that sounds good to you then continue reading. If it doesn't, then no pickup will be able to give you what you want with that guitar.

If you really want to retain a twangy clean sound out of your LP but you love a nice distortion gain sound when you boost the volume, switch the channels or stomp on the fuzz pedal...

Take a serious look at the GFS Dream 180s. Don't do any splits or parallel or any other complicated wiring. Just simple series humbucker... well, like humbuckers should be wired.

And the hum level will be lower than what you are currently considering.

<end of invisible post>

 

[LJ King]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

My suggestion is to just find a way to mount a Tele bridge pu in the LP. You could bottom mount it by drilling three mount holes in the bottom of the pu cavity and have the pickup ring over the top just for show.

I know you said bottom mount...

But I have seen humbucker sized "thingies" (sorry for the technical term) that allowed a single coil to be mounted in a humbucker sized opening. But they all seem to be for a strat sized and mounted single coil, not for the tele bridge.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

A Duncan JB in parallel gives a nice snappy Tele-esque tone...at least in a Strat.

Sounds great in a Les Paul too.

Split (rather than in parallel) should sound a little stronger than parallel.

Try it both ways.

The JB is a 16.6K pickup and split you'll have a 8.3K single coil. Nice and strong.

 

[Orange]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Let's face it, you will NEVER get any kind of bright or twangy sound out of a les paul.
Not even close. Not even in the ball park.
That' s because:

- It has a mahogamy body
- In most cases it has a rosewood fingerboard
- It doesn't have true single coils
- It has a tunomatic bridge

No matter what pickup you throw in the les paul will still have a fat, dark, round sound.

Having said that, there is a pickup seymour duncan produces that is very trebly and designed for bright instruments, the custom custom.
People use it in a LP when they want to avoid this muddy fat sound and focus on the bright side.
I didn't try it but it sounds like it's the closest match to *get in the ballpark*

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

...there is a pickup seymour duncan produces that is very trebly and designed for bright instruments, the custom custom.
People use it in a LP when they want to avoid this muddy fat sound and focus on the bright side.
I didn't try it but it sounds like it's the closest match to *get in the ballpark*

You are completely misinformed, the Custom Custom is a very thick pickup with lots of midrange and they are actually used mostly to thicken up a Strat in the bridge position or to tame a VERY bright guitar, I have and use a Custom Custom in the bridge of a fairly bright guitar to get some thickness to it...using a Custom Custom to fake a telecaster twang is simply not gonna work.

 

[baritone]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

For getting the most versatility out of your LP, the pickups and wiring you are talking about sound fine.

For the aesthetics, here's my preference: black pickups, chrome hardware, and no pickguard. I really don't like how LP pickguards look.

 

[msplines]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Phat cats, harmonic design Z90s or BN mississippi queens (quietest of the bunch) and you won't have to worry anymore, unless you sit on yer amp and use shedloads'a gain.
Been there, done that, no probs.

 

[BRHGM]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Not all Les Pauls are dark and middy. In the 1970s Gibson experimented with maple necks and went to 300k pots to tame bright sounding Les Pauls. I also would not consider a Custom Custom to be bright sounding. There were guitarists who got twangy sounds out of Les Pauls during the 1950s. So you are indeed incorrect. Les Paul himself was one such artist.

 

[gregory]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Whoa, this thread has been dead for over 10 years, but I suppose the guy might come back after a 1.5 year hiatus.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Bright-twangy (Tele) sound in a Les Paul: Pickup suggestions?

Old thread...

I've always thought the JB in parallel gave a tone that reminded me of a Tele.

Only problem is I prefer Seth Lovers, 59's and PG's.