Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

[krm27]

A couple days ago, I read some article or blog or whatever, by some one who supposedly analyzed where electric guitar tones come from and concluded it's 90% pickups and 10% everything else -- strings, pick, attack technique, guitar shape, woods, tuners, bridge, etc. So the conclusion was that the choice of pickups matters a lot more than the guitar.

I had been looking for a Les Paul replica, preferably vintage Japanese set neck, and had been planning to swap out the pickups with Seth Lovers, but those replicas are kind of pricey and hard to find. I have a vintage Japanese Telecaster-shaped guitar with double humbuckers that I don't play much -- love the neck, not so crazy about the pickups. I think the body is basswood. Now I'm wondering if I popped Seth Lovers in there, would I get 90% of the same tone I'd get if I popped them in a Les Paul. So this faux-Telecaster could become my faux-Les Paul?

Ken

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

The problem is defining what is "les paul tone" As there is no standard and its interpretation is subjective you will always find those that say yes its easily possible and those that say that no its impossible.

If you use the rule that close is good enough then it certainly is possible but you have to decide if close is good enough for you.

But keep a few things in mind. ive had exact same sets of pickups installed in relatively similar guitars that sounded wildly different. If that difference is only 10% it can be a hugely important difference.

Their importance of pick attack and technique are way understated... just pass a guitar around a few friends and listen to it.

I know for me the bridge arrangement on a les paul does effect how I hit the strings because of the way my arm sits... but this might not be true for others...

So at the end... Is it possible your tele could satisfy your LP desire? it possible but only you can decide it.

For my opinion ive never been one to try and make a guitar into something it wasnt... let it be good at what its good at.

If acoustically without pups you think it sounds like a LP should unplugged.. .then it probably will after a swap... it its the opposite of what you think a LP shoudl sound like... probably not

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

Meh... that's a BS conclusion. I've owned a LOT of different guitars over the past 30+ years. LPs sound like LPs, Strats sound like Strats, PRS' sound like PRS', etc. I've used the tried and JB/59 combo in every body style and they still didn't sound the same across platforms. Body/neck woods, thickness, density, construction techniques, etc all play roles of varying degrees. EVERYTHING in the tone chain is a factor, from guitar to the speaker.

Btw... my Tom Anderson Drop Top is such a Swiss Army Knife of tone that it gets the vast majority of my play as of late. It can do a great job of getting most tones. But still... when I pick up one of my LPs and play a power chord -- that thick, fat crunch and sustain of a heavy piece of mahogany is obvious to me. If I had to choose just ONE to play for the rest of my life, it would be the Anderson. Because it does a better job of simulating LP tones than my LPs do of simulating superstrat tones. But the LPs definitely do what they do better than the Anderson does.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

Well, I've played different Les Pauls that did not sound alike...so its more like what type of tone are you going after? The Gibson scale is shorter than the Fender so I would say the scale plays a significant factor (I have a Gibson 496R & 500T set in a Strat and it doesn't sound like the ones in my former Les Paul Studio)

EDIT: My Gibson Studio was Mahogany (no maple cap) body and neck with a Rosewood board and my Strat is Mahogany body and neck with a Rosewood board with a Fender Scale.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

Meh... that's a BS conclusion. I've owned a LOT of different guitars over the past 30+ years. LPs sound like LPs, Strats sound like Strats, P

You arent the only one who has owned lots of guitars many around this forum have owned dozens, For my experience at this moment I own 3 LP's and they sound NOTHING alike. One is outright bright and clangy... the other 2 are more balanced but one is definitely more livelier than the other.

Most of the defining characteristics of LP's and strats are actually their pickups. Wasnt it Quencho around here who got BLASTED by the peanut gallery in this place when he posted clips of his LP, strat and something else and people couldnt tell them apart.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

If I had to choose just ONE to play for the rest of my life, it would be the Anderson. Because it does a better job of simulating LP tones

and this is EXACTLY why i said "if close is good enough for you it might be possible"

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

What they said... I had a lot of pickups rotating in different guitars last year as I wanted to clean out the drawer. I can tell you the guitar matters a lot (unless your playing some modeling amp stuff).

I'll also say that the Les Paul sound differs a lot. I've heard some of those '59 reissues that actually kinda reminded me of really beefy Tele tones. The Les Paul Customs I've heard and played sound nothing like that.

If your really after Les Paul tones, I'd at least go for something that has that scale length and a mahogany body and set neck construction. Having said that, some Pafs in a Tele would sound cool too.

 

[donaldr]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

I have a Peavey Vandenberg which has a 24.75" scale lenght with a bridge humbucker but doesn't sound like my LP. I think construction (set neck vs bolt-on), wood and bridge (and locking nut) make for a lot more than 10% in the sound of a guitar.

 

[chadd]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

For me, scale length seems to be a pretty big factor in the sound. I really prefer a Gibson scale for heavy stuff and a Fender scale for cleaner and more open sounds. That said, I think you can get in the ballpark with just about any guitar. At that point, it's up to you to decide if that's good enough.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

While the sound of LP's vary, there is the 'classic' LP tones many of us associate with that guitar. To me, while some other models can come close to it, nothing sounds quite like an LP. There's a combination of design features that come together to make the tones we associate with LP's: fat mahogany slab, maple top, short neck, single cutaway, stop bar, etc. I wouldn't expect a Tele to sound like an LP, no matter what PU's were in it.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

You arent the only one who has owned lots of guitars many around this forum have owned dozens, For my experience at this moment I own 3 LP's and they sound NOTHING alike. One is outright bright and clangy... the other 2 are more balanced but one is definitely more livelier than the other.

Most of the defining characteristics of LP's and strats are actually their pickups. Wasnt it Quencho around here who got BLASTED by the peanut gallery in this place when he posted clips of his LP, strat and something else and people couldnt tell them apart.

My post wasn't aimed at yours, it was a response to the premise that pickups are the biggest difference. Obviously, if you go from a vintage single to something like an X2N... there's going to be a HUGE difference in sound on the same instrument. But I'm looking more at feel and subtleties of the instrument itself. In other words... the feel and tone of the actual instrument that transcends the tonal/drive character of the pickups. A lightweight, alder strat with maple neck is going to sound and feel different than a heavy mahogany LP or Explorer... even if the pickups are the same. And I'm not talking about blind sound sample testing... I'm talking about being in the room with the instrument and amp.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

and this is EXACTLY why i said "if close is good enough for you it might be possible"

And no disagreement there. Much of the time, "close enough" is fine with me. Especially if I have a show that covers a variety of ground and want to get away with using one guitar for it all. But on days when I'm just in the mood for that big, sustainy rock crunch... nothing quenches like an LP.

 

[phred]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

Not being an asshat, but list a song or two with classic LP tone just so that I know. Are we talking REO, Boston, KISS, Bad Co, Zeppelin?

 

[blueman335]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

Not being an asshat, but list a song or two with classic LP tone just so that I know. Are we talking REO, Boston, KISS, Bad Co, Zeppelin?

How about Gary Moore (solo career), most Zeppelin, early Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green/Danny Kirwan), Jeff Beck Group (Rod Stewart on vocals), & Duane Allman.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

I thought a lot of recorded Zeppelin was a telecaster?

 

[LLL]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

I don't know about pickups, but the right DAW EQing can get LP tones from most guitars.

 

[LLL]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

I thought a lot of recorded Zeppelin was a telecaster?

1st album.

And IIRC, Stairway solo.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

I thought a lot of recorded Zeppelin was a telecaster?

1st album only !

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

How about Gary Moore (solo career), most Zeppelin, early Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green/Danny Kirwan), Jeff Beck Group (Rod Stewart on vocals), & Duane Allman.

i'll add : Slash (GN'R live, not album), Warren Haynes, Les Paul (the man himself), and Beano era Clapton.

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: Can the right pickups get Les Paul tones from any guitar?

I've got and had teles and strats with humbuckers and they still sound like teles and strats just with humbuckers! A few weeks ago I was playing a gig and as I first arrived and approached the venue, I could hear the guitarist of another band sound checking, I instantly recognised his tone as a telecaster and when I got in what guitar did I see? A telecaster, WITH humbuckers.