Green magic question

[Metzropolitan]

Hey folks,

I've got the Green Magic pickups in my Epiphone Les Paul. Ive been enjoying them a lot. Actually recorded an album recently using mostly that guitar. The neck pickup in particular has a nice warmth to it. That said, I find the bridge pickup to be a little anemic, especially when distorted. I could probably EQ it, but I'm thinking of swapping that pickup out.

I know it will maintain the quack because the neck pickup magnet is reversed. That said, will it negatively affect the tone of the middle position if I swap it out with something like a JB? Or is there another pickup I should consider? Thanks!

 

[beaubrummels]

Welcome to the forum

If you put a JB in, it will definitely change the middle position. It will also shift the balance of where you have to have the volumes to get the middle quack. Most anything you put will change the middle position tone also, unless you keep it A2 PAF-ish. I would look for a slightly hotter PAF that has similar tone.

Pickups I tried for the same purpose that worked reasonably well were
Slash
'78 Model
Custom Custom
​Whole Lotta Humbucker
​59/Custom Hybrid

The one non-Duncan that really worked for me also was the Bare Knuckle Black Dog (it's similar to a Whole Lotta Humbucker)

 

[Metzropolitan]

Thanks! I previously eyeballed the WLH so that might be worth a try. Or the 59.

 

[jeremy]

the wlh bridge might suit you well. anything like a jb will be too hot and very much change the middle position sound. im not anti jb, i have one in a telegib thing, and it sounds great. i just dont think the gm/jb pair would be a big winner

 

[idsnowdog]

You could try a roughcast unoriented Alnico V magnet to beef up the bridge.