I am buying a Les Paul Black Beauty and want to do something different

[SIDDHARTHA]

I am buying a Les Paul that has three pickups. I am not locked in on the Les Paul but there are not that many guitars that have 3 full sized humbucker pups. I want to do something different with each pickup. I am thinking something like a P-Rails, a 59 humbucker, and maybe an active pickup. Include on board effects? Also I want to use a Free-Way switch either a 3 way or a 5 way. I want to be able to play everything from BB King, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, to any sounds I can imagine, Has anyone done anything like this?
I am looking for helpful advice, suggestions, links.

Thanks in advance.
Siddhartha

 

[Mincer]

Welcome to the forum!
If you think about it, BB, Johnny Mac, and Beck all used pretty standard vintage-output pickups. So covering all 3 isn't as hard as it sounds. When you get to more modern players, that's where you need either active or just higher output passive pickups.
When you overload the guitar with options, it becomes difficult to get from one sound to another, and several options are either way too similar to one another, or just plain not useful.

So I'd pick 4-5 sounds you absolutely have to have, and go from there.

 

[PFDarkside]

What would you think of a JB, Phat Cat and 59? Freeway switch for:

Side 1: JB / JB+59 / 59
Side 2: Split JB+Phat Cat / Phat Cat / Split 59+Phat Cat

If you wanted an active boost, add an EMG AB Afterburner which is a push/pull to bring it in and out of the circuit. Maybe with the AB you could back the bridge down to something like a Whole Lotta Humbucker?

 

[Aceman]

Let's talk a little more about this guitar, and how you want ti use.

Is it just a guitar for around home to get whatever sound, or is it for live performance?
Are you willing to put holes in the top, or do you want it to appear stock?

I think that three complimentary pickups, and some mini switches could do a lot. But for ultra-flex, it might not be the most play live friendly guitar.

Think BC Rich wiring:

An active preamp on a classic PAF in the bridge, like a 59
- Go Active for Uber-metal. Add a volume for that preamp to go from classic to hot to ultra.
Something opposite in the neck - Like an A2P
Maybe a P-RAil in the middle

Then add taps and phase switches.

 

[Mincer]

What would you think of a JB, Phat Cat and 59? Freeway switch for:

Side 1: JB / JB+59 / 59
Side 2: Split JB+Phat Cat / Phat Cat / Split 59+Phat Cat

If you wanted an active boost, add an EMG AB Afterburner which is a push/pull to bring it in and out of the circuit. Maybe with the AB you could back the bridge down to something like a Whole Lotta Humbucker?

Yes adding an active boost (a Blackout preamp works, too) is a good way to add the active sound. It is much easier than integrating an active pickup, as you don't need different-value pots. As far as pickups, the above is good suggestion. You can go crazy with Triple Shot rings on the Humbuckers to get lots of different sounds, too.
Thinking about this, I had written a blog about this very idea of having a lot of controls on a guitar. It might be useful to check out.

 

[Bogner]

In my experience I have learned that a jack of all trades ends up being a master of none. Find some complimentary pickups that are versatile enough for your core tones and work your volume and tone knobs for the rest. You also have to be aware of the natural attributes (sonically) of the guitar in question. You may be able to help steer it in certain directions but you will never change the DNA of that guitar (sonically) with pots and pickups. To me, a lot of things would have to line up perfectly for everything to be to your liking in every possible scenario. Not saying it can't be done and I am not saying it wouldn't be a fun project. I just want to be honest with you before you get started that it is a heavy lift. Good luck!

 

[Gtrjunior]

Yes adding an active boost (a Blackout preamp works, too) is a good way to add the active sound. It is much easier than integrating an active pickup, as you don't need different-value pots. As far as pickups, the above is good suggestion. You can go crazy with Triple Shot rings on the Humbuckers to get lots of different sounds, too.
Thinking about this, I had written a blog about this very idea of having a lot of controls on a guitar. It might be useful to check out.

How are you inserting those links in your post....I can’t figure that out!!
I love that you do that!!!

 

[Mincer]

Highlight the word, and hit the link button..insert the link in the dialog box.

 

[zizyphus]

Sounds like a fun project. What are you trying to accomplish with this guitar?
I'd like to echo what some other have said, that you can forge yourself a solid swiss army knife, but it won't replace your entire tool box.

I had some fun with a garage-sale Chibson a while back that turned out great

I put in a 3x3-07 freeway switch (6-way switching), had two mini toggle switches for flip between parallel and series for the neck and bridge hummers, and had 4 pairs of stacked / concentric knobs - independent volume / treble roll-off for each pickup, and the last pair of concentric knobs was a bass rolloff for the neck or bridge

I put a humbucker sized P90 in the middle spot, so it was in H/P90/H configuration.

It was very cool how many sounds you could get out of the guitar, it was a lot of fun to do, and it was a great learning experience. HOWEVER, the various tones were kind of like varying shades of the same grey. At the end of the day, the different tones were just variations on a theme. It's NOT like the neck pickup in parallel suddenly sounded like a strat, or the the bridge pickup in parallel sounded like a tele. It sounded like a Les Paul that was doing something a little different, and was (for instance) spankier and brighter than your typical Paul, but I still reached for my strat or my tele when I wanted those kinds of sounds

__PRESENT

 

[alex1fly]

Welcome to the forum!
If you think about it, BB, Johnny Mac, and Beck all used pretty standard vintage-output pickups. So covering all 3 isn't as hard as it sounds. When you get to more modern players, that's where you need either active or just higher output passive pickups.
When you overload the guitar with options, it becomes difficult to get from one sound to another, and several options are either way too similar to one another, or just plain not useful.

So I'd pick 4-5 sounds you absolutely have to have, and go from there.

+1. IMO far better/easier to expand your tonal palette with pedals, amps, and cabs/speakers. There's a world of tones to be found with two humbucker guitars if you're willing to look (for heaven's sake explore your volume and tone knobs!), and a middle humbucker already expands that palette. There is a point where more options on a guitar becomes gimmicky, fussy, distracting, and honestly not useful once you get past the novelty factor. Everything you add crowds your control cavity which can severely hamper your guitar's long term reliability... same goes for every time you get in there to change something. Then if you mess something up, techs are less willing (and knowledgeable) to fix it for you because it's a custom job that they didn't think up.

If you aren't locked in on a Les Paul - have you played some to know it's the guitar you want? - consider looking at some of the HSH guitars out there. There's a ton of them, and I'd argue that a middle single coil gives you more tones than a middle humbucker. A nice HSH guitar that feels great in your hands plus a small pedalboard would be vastly more useful, versatile, and preferable than an HHH guitar with a bunch of switches.

You might also look into PRS SE two-humbucker guitars with coil taps. PRS wires some of these guitars to get great single coil tapped sounds and untapped humbucker sounds. The SE Custom and SE Mira have the 85/15 pickups which are made specifically for this purpose. I love mine and it absolutely mimics my SG and my Tele both.

 

[AlexR]

Your amp settings will determine more where your tone sits in the modern vs vintage spectrum.....not to mention that its your technique that will get you to the feel.

If you want some versatility, consider maybe a slightly hotter humbucker for the bridge (to edge into the modern stuff), and then maybe a p90 and a Filtertron (both in humbucker shape) as your other pickups.

 

[Artie]

What would you think of a JB, Phat Cat and 59?

I love the idea of a Phat Cat between two chrome covered humbuckers on a Black Beauty. The symmetry would be very sweet. It's what I'd like to do someday.

 

[Aceman]

H/P90/H is a very popular combo as the P90 just "works" in the middle.

 

[SIDDHARTHA]

Let's talk a little more about this guitar, and how you want ti use.

Is it just a guitar for around home to get whatever sound, or is it for live performance?
Are you willing to put holes in the top, or do you want it to appear stock?

I think that three complimentary pickups, and some mini switches could do a lot. But for ultra-flex, it might not be the most play live friendly guitar.

Think BC Rich wiring:

An active preamp on a classic PAF in the bridge, like a 59
- Go Active for Uber-metal. Add a volume for that preamp to go from classic to hot to ultra.
Something opposite in the neck - Like an A2P
Maybe a P-RAil in the middle

Then add taps and phase switches.

The guitar I have in mind is not meant for live performances\gigging. I have some musical ideas and I need an instrument that offers the most options\sounds possible. I do not have trouble with drilling holes.

Thank you
Siddhartha

 

[Securb]

I have a Memphis Black Beauty with stock MHS pickups. I use it for everything from Anthrax to Jazz. Like Alex said it is more about your amp settings

 

[Aceman]

I have a Memphis Black Beauty with stock MHS pickups. I use it for everything from Anthrax to Jazz. Like Alex said it is more about your amp settings

Yeah - but it can't do Stevie Ray single coils, or anything close.
And it can't do wicked fat cutting P90 tones
And it can't do out of phase Peter Green

Want me to continue? While I agree a good amp will take you far, there are some things it won't do.

 

[SIDDHARTHA]

Update:
I have been experiencing extreme jonesing for a new guitar and had the choice down to an Epi Black Beauty, Epi BB King Lucille, or a Sheraton Pro II. When I started this thread I had been in communication with a store to buy a Black Beauty. I started this thread to explore what I could do with the Black Beauty's three pickups.

I decided to avoid getting another guitar, I have five and live in a small apartment I still have my first guitar they gave me when I started taking lessons 50+ years ago. I am putting a pair of P-Rails[SUP]®[/SUP] Triple Shots and maybe a new nut in my Epi Les Paul Standard. And I have a Positive Grid Spark Guitar Amplifier due here in a week too.

If this does not take care of my new guitar needs, I will do some work on my Fender Stratocaster but that is another story.

I want to thank anyone for their help and suggestions on this.

Siddhartha

 

[Mincer]

I'd love to hear how the P-Rails/Triple Shot project turns out.