I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

J

J.LaGrassa

New member
Ok...my Les Paul is definitely on the bright side what would be a good set of pickups to tame a bright guitar would the Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro 2 be worth trying I also dont want strong mids.

I like the mellow tone that my PRS McCarty gets and would like to find something similar...maybe a set of McCarty pickups in a Les Paul....fire away and give me some Ideas with out spending a fortune!

Thanks for your help!
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

I use a 250k tone pot on the bridge pickup's circuit in my LP with a set Of PG's.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

A bright les paul is virtually impossible.
I'd likle to hear that what kind of les paul is it ? A Gibson or...... ?
Does it have a maple cap of fingerboard ?
What pickups does it have ?
Usually mellower than a Les Paul means your sound turns to a total mud and doesn't cut trough at all. 90% people here try to get a brighter sond, less muddy.

Anyways, many people just change the tone and volume pots to tame the highs.
Original gibsons pots are 300k, others are 500k. 250k is warmer an remove part of the treble / Brightness.
 
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Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

I'd have to second the Seth Lovers. A bright Les Paul is basically an SG, and I'm absolutely amazed with them in my SG right now. I just posted a review you can check out. Keep in mind the bridge pickup will be darker in a LP than in an SG as its a different distance from the bridge.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

I had a really bright LP Custom that now has a Duncan Custom Custom and APII. It still has a good amount of bite but the midrange is much sweeter and musical.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Benjy_26 said:
I use a 250k tone pot on the bridge pickup's circuit in my LP with a set Of PG's.
Click to expand...


I've got a set of PG's tucked away I wonder if I should just go back to the original 300k pots that came with my guitar, I swapped out the electronics with the RS Guitarworks upgrade kit (all 500k pots) when I first got my Les Paul!
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Orange said:
A bright les paul is virtually impossible.
I'd likle to hear that what kind of les paul is it ? A Gibson or...... ?
Does it have a maple cap of fingerboard ?
What pickups does it have ?
Usually mellower than a Les Paul means your sound turns to a total mud and doesn't cut trough at all. 90% people here try to get a brighter sond, less muddy.

Anyways, many people just change the tone and volume pots to tame the highs.
Original gibsons pots are 300k, others are 500k. 250k is warmer an remove part of the treble / Brightness.
Click to expand...

I've got an 05 Les Paul Classic but did change out the pots for 500k maybe that's not a good thing with this Les Paul, I also dont have the original pickups which were way to hot and was using a set of SD-59's, PG's and right now I have the 59N/C5 in there and still not crazy about this Les Paul.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

The pot change seems the most straightforward.

If you soldered 500 k resistors across those pots, you'd make them 250k. You would not retain the taper, but when they are full open to 10, it would definitely work to see if you liked a move in that direction.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

My Epi Elitist Les Paul was bright siunding. Tried a few measurements on the pots, it was the PUPs. Sounds great with an AProII in the neck and the bridge is home to my Brobucker.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Any of the Duncan a2 pickups, with the exception of the PGs should tame the highs a bit. I would say try either the A2Pros, Seths, or Antiquities if you want vintage output humbuckers, or the Custom Custom if you want something hotter.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Are you sure turning the tone knob down doesn't do it? After 35 years, I just started using mine and the damn thing works. If not, the CC is a good choice.

Also, a long coiled cord has lots of capacitance and will roll of some highs.
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Did you see my post on the LP forum about WCR Goodwoods and a bright LP?

-Mark
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Fiesta Red said:
Did you see my post on the LP forum about WCR Goodwoods and a bright LP?

-Mark
Click to expand...

Yes I did thanks! but I'm trying to avoid spending big bucks i will convert my C5 to a CC but I might try 300k pots first with the PG's I have!
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

Well I put back in the 300k volume pots and left the tone pots as is 500k I also put in a .033uF cap on the bridge tone pot and kept the .015uF on the neck both orange drop caps.

I think this may have done the trick and this is with SD Pearly Gates installed what i noticed is that it actually sounds a little bit thicker now and doesnt sound harsh on the high notes like it did. It still has the PG bite but more enjoyable to play!

I will see how it goes after a few days of playing and hopefully I wont have to make any more changes!
 
Re: I need Pickups to tame a bright Les Paul!

I find the 59s to be nice warm pickups. I hear nothing but good stuff about the Seths though.
 
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