I need HONEST answers

benji657

New member
from people who've tinkered with pickups in their Gibson Les Pauls.

I have had all kinds of pickups in my LP....the original burstbucker pro, CC, C5, 59, Marshallhead, Seth, JB. I currently have the seth in there, because frankly, i'm tired of tinkering.

Truth is, I really don't hear a dramatic eq difference in playing situations, be it through a laney lc15, marshall 1974X, or a JVM.

My ears aren't crap, I can point out a few differences listening to the clips on the duncan website. Not only that, my dad has a few pieces of high end audio equipment, and I consider myself to have a keen sense of hearing.

It's like my gibson les paul's inherent tone dominates so much that pickups aren't really big determinants in my tone. It's a very raunchy thick tone.

In the neck, i've tried the marshallhead, 59, and the seth. Again, little, if any differences.

Now, the question is, are most LP neck positions inherently thick? Sometimes overly so?

I went with my friend to pick him out a strat, we played a bunch of strats, and finally found a john mayer sig that totally destroyed the others, including a clapton sig. The neck position especially, was untouchable. My friend bought that one on the spot.

I realize that strats and les pauls are different animals, and I think my main problem is trying to make my les paul neck sound like a fender single coil neck. Ideally, my setup would be a fender single coil neck and a les paul bridge hb.

Maybe some people will say it was due to the Big Dipper pickups in the strat. It brings up the question, then why could I distinguish differences between various pickups in various strats? Maybe the john mayer guitar had the "it" factor and could sound great even with 'big crapper' pickups. And then, why is my les paul immune to pickup changes? Is its fundamental tone that dominating? To confuse matters more, in my strat with a CC in the bridge, I can tell the difference between an alnico 5 and an alnico 2.

Thanks for reading and dealing with the confusing questions.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

I do find some Les Pauls to be rather militant in their tone. Swapping pickups in those particular LP's becomes more about subtle nuances than large differences.

The first thing I would recommend doing is installing high quality 500k pots. Les Pauls are 250k by nature, but that could be shaving off the high end component that makes those pickup changes more noticable. Plus your problem seems to be in the lack of top end clarity anyway. So that's a plus. If you've got the stock Gibson pots in there, get them out.

Next, with "thick and congested" LP's it could be time for a Phat Cat in the neck. The Humbucker (by design) listens to the string over a long section. Single coils are focused, and listen to a smaller section, and cancel less overtones. I predict you would love the Phat Cat in there. If you need more versatility go with a set of P-Rails and some switches. They would give you some strattiness, too. But the Phat Cat is very sweet and juicy sounding, and would be my first choice based on what you're saying.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

hi Frank, thanks for replying!

I do have quality cts 550k+ pots in there.

Describing tone is a very finicky thing...my tone is still bright...and i like it that way..i just wish the lp neck wasn't so thick..it has all the highs mind you..

I was just thinking phat cats as well..i will do some more thinking...
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

If you listen carefully ,you can hear a difference in the neck. I did right away when I replaced
the 490 with a 59' in my LP. You should hear a difference with 'good' pups. As far as a sc sound
in an LP. No. Maybe the closest you'll get is with a clear pup split and mucho processing.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

what frank f. said hit what i was thinking right on the money. however, you might not like the stock a2/a2 magnet combo. it's very thick, warm, all that stuff you're trying to avoid. i'd say swap the magnets for an a5 and a3 or a4 to liven things up.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

Have you tried a Jazz in the neck position? Of all the neck humbuckers I've played in a Les Paul the Jazz is the clearest and most Strat-like.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

In a live situation, you will not notice a "big" difference in tone. subtle differences, but not "night and day" differences.

In the studio, you should. If not you should start shopping for a new LP as the wood in your guitar is probably the problem.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

What amp and settings are you playing through?

A high gain amp with the preamp gain pushed to "11" and eq'd to the max could make a nail wrapped in wire sound pretty close to a JB. Ton of fuzz and mega compression just kills all the differences.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

What amp and settings are you playing through?

A high gain amp with the preamp gain pushed to "11" and eq'd to the max could make a nail wrapped in wire sound pretty close to a JB. Ton of fuzz and mega compression just kills all the differences.

cmon...you know I don't mean that..:scratchch

preamp 4, bass 2 / mids 4/ highs 4
boost with my plexitone is far as i'll go...
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

Now, the question is, are most LP neck positions inherently thick? Sometimes overly so?

Yes. Thick like syrup.

I know many like a 59n in the neck position. I can't stand them in Les Pauls. Just too thick, and a little muddy sounding. (I do love the 59b in the bridge though).

My favorite two neck humbuckers in Paul's are the Jazz neck, and the Pearly Gates neck.

The Jazz is just clean and pure sounding. Sterile to some, but it's usually a good pickup for a thick sounding Les Paul.

I'm really surprised how much I liked the PGn. Most alnico II mag pickups can be too smooth in Les Paul's. The PGn seems to have a bright sparkle for an AII pickup.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

I'm really surprised how much I liked the PGn. Most alnico II mag pickups can be too smooth in Les Paul's. The PGn seems to have a bright sparkle for an AII pickup.

my first thought was PG

a 59n/Jazz hybrid may also be nice

. . . come to think of it, I have a hybrid (4 conductor) but no longer own a Gibson to test it with (it has the longer Gibson-style tabs on the baseplate).

if you want to test it out for me we could work something out . . .
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

Great post benji. It sounds to me like you have good ears, and are discovering the truth about pups and axes. Pups, pots, etc, will shape the sound of your guitar, but will never make a guitar sound like something it's not.

My first really good guitar was a LP and I went trough all the common Duncans and other options before discovering that a LP sounds like a LP, and nothing else. Part of that sound is a beefy neck.

There are a lot of factors in the construction of guitars that determine their sound. These impact the tone far more than pickups.

Keep what you have and enjoy it for what it is, or if you don't like it, sell it and get a better version. Then, get a strat, then a tele, then a hollow body, then.......

That's the fun part, and the reason that professional studios don't have one guitar and a bunch of pickups laying around.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

Have you tried a Jazz in the neck position? Of all the neck humbuckers I've played in a Les Paul the Jazz is the clearest and most Strat-like.
I have currently a covered jazz in the neck of an LP, but an Seth Lover with a A5 was the clearest, period.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

Yes, make sure those pots are 500k and if the 59' dosn't work for you, go Jazz.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

Have you tried a Seth bridge in the neck slot? That and a Bro in the bridge solved my problems with my LP.... it's stunning now! Honestly... the Seth bridge in the neck was a recommendation by Jumpmarine... what a revelation, a near do it all LP without any fancy switching.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

I do find some Les Pauls to be rather militant in their tone. Swapping pickups in those particular LP's becomes more about subtle nuances than large differences...If you've got the stock Gibson pots in there, get them out...Next, with "thick and congested" LP's it could be time for a Phat Cat in the neck.

+1. HB's cover a smaller EQ range than single coils, all the more so in a fat mahogany LP. Changing PU's won't be as obvious as in a Strat, but then all your little mistakes won't be as obvious either. A neck HB in a LP, yep, thick, dark, and bassy. The JazzN is a great choice for clarity, so is a DiMarzio Bluesbucker (ceramic magnet). 500K's are a must.

Thinking along these lines, I've recently put a pair of Phat Cats in a LP Std. The stock A2 magnets didn't do the PC's justice (neck dark, bridge thin), so I went with an A5/A3 neck, and A8/A4 bridge, and now the outputs are equalized, and the tones raw and gutsy; sounds like P-90's should. If any guitar is a made for P-90's, its a LP. Open single coil tones warmed by a thick mahogany body. Good stuff.
 
Re: I need HONEST answers

put a jazz in the neck, wire it with push/pulls for split and phase, and be done with it

the jazz split in my schecter tempest sounded strattier than the last MIM strat i had, which had ssl-1's in it

or i guess you could get a p-rails, but i don't have any personal experience with them
 
Back
Top