I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

symptom said:
I have nothing against the whole lotta humbucker or the pearly gates. Just pointed out that the clips sounds really nice and a lot of people say they're overly bright. Regarding the whl set, i just wonder if they worth the extra money.
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Tone choices are subjective but the WLH is fatter meaner, louder and generally an upgrade in every department in my experience over the 59 set. Are they worth the extra money? It really depends on if they give you the sound you are after.

PG's: the bridge and neck pickups are a very contrasting pair in terms of sound. The bridge is fairly bright (for an A2 pup) but very sweet and quite inspiring to play if you like vintage tones. The neck is just amazing, but much deeper and mellower.

Don't put too much stock in you tube clips, quite often they are poorly recorded, but when you find the good ones, it is almost impossible to find a player who not only uses a rig similar to yours, but who has a similar playing approach. In the end, its only your ears and your fingers that will tell you if you have got the right set in your axe. Sometimes it takes quite a few set swaps before you find the best tool for your job.
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

9unslin9er said:
There's no getting around P90's if single coil clarity is what you're going for.

I say grab another set of Mean 90's for your Les Paul.

*Better yet,
Install this humbucker -> single coil adapter ring
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Humbucker-Rout-adapter-ring-Fits-Strat-pickup-Straight-THREE-COLORS_p_4348.html

And install a Brighton rock reverse wound
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Brighton-Rock-Reverse-Wound-Alnico-Middle-Pickup-75K_p_1519.html

in the neck position. Creamy Brian May leads and Leslie West rhythm. Mmmm...
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But I don't want nothing like the Mean 90 set for this Les Paul, since I already have that tone in my SG (really nice, by the way)

gibson175 said:
You should reserve making judgements like this until you have actually tried the various sets.

Anyways, what amp are you using?
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You're right. Mostly, I'm using modeling with headphones or a practice amp, like the Vox Pathfinder. Sometimes I go to a studio to do some rehearsal and get bigger and better amps.


Right now, I'm really stuck between the 3 sets I've mentioned in the first post: A2PRO, WLH and the PG. It seems like the A2PRO was the least recommended in the thread, except by Blueman. The information that the pearly gates bridge and neck have this difference in brightness it's something that I don't want, but the clip the other guy posted is really nice. Anyone knows if this brightness difference exists in the A2PRO as well?

Does anyone have a nice clip of the a2pros? (posting slash playing doesn't count, hehehe)

By the way. It's getting difficult to find the regular a2pros, every ebay seller wants to sell the slash set (which I didn't like when I played through it).;
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

symptom said:
From everything I've read here, i would stay away from the pearly gates set. Harsh, sizzle, bright, all words used to describe them are characteristcs I don't want. The thing is in every single clip I watch of this pickups, they sound absolutely amazing, so I'm really confused.
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The PG's are none of those things. They are PAF style pickups which are naturally a bit brighter and lower output than hotter wound models. If you like what you hear then what other people, who may have never even played them, thinks is irrelevant
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

symptom said:
I have nothing against the whole lotta humbucker or the pearly gates. Just pointed out that the clips sounds really nice and a lot of people say they're overly bright. Regarding the whl set, i just wonder if they worth the extra money.

Oh. Another information that may help. A friend of mine have the new slash set in his gibson and i really dislike it (he doesn't like it too). I think they're hot, grainy and kinda harsh.
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Ok, now you need to be careful not to throw in the PG with the WLH set. The former is A2 with an extra low-mids push, the latter is a A5 PAF. That is very different from aph1 and aph2 which are relatively bright A2 PAFs.

What kind of Gibson is that? If it is comparable to yours then I'd say you probably want the Pearly Gates but it can be nearly as boomy in the neck of a LP as the '59.
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

PizzaMaker said:
Personally I think the Alnico II Pro is a little overrated. I have no doubt that slash has a custom wind in his and even then I'm told he runs the pup side with the tone turned right down to get his sound. Without the right everything else (effects, amps etc) his sound will be hard to match with just pickups alone.

People will probably get sick of me saying this but I stand by it - have a look into the Jazz/JB Hotrodded set.
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Apparently you didn't read symptom's post. He doesn't want "high output" and he gave the Custom 5 as an example. You just suggested the JB, a pup that is even higher output than the C5. You may love it, but it's not what the OP wants.

It's already been addressed, but, no, Slash didn't use a custom wound A2Pro.


My suggestion to the OP...if you are concerned about too much "sizzle" in the Pearly set you could try them with 250k pots.

But, what you are really after judging by your description in your first post is the Screamin' Demon...bridge and, especially, neck. An extremely versatile and underrated pup with an even EQ (not boomy bass or mid-scooped like the '59, not bright/piercing highs like the PG bridge). Can handle beautiful cleans, overdriven blues, classic rock crunch, and even hard rock distortion. Very articulate, never muddy. Works wonderfully in a LP, although I haven't found a guitar that it doesn't work great in. Plus it's very amenable to magnet changes.
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

Ignoring the hype and the hate…..

I would have recommended PG's; They are the cure for a dark boomy LP where 59's don't work, especially in the neck. Confession - I am a huge fan.

Next call: Try Seths if you are asked of PGs. Based on reading/clips/etc. Haven't owned any.

Deep answer: The new A2p in the bridge and a PG in the neck. put 500k pots in both neck and bridge. Seriously. You'll love it. No boom + Slash tones.

Whole Lotta's - can't say, don't know personally. But I trust those who dig it. Yet that "can get the same tones with standard pickups cheaper" speaks to me.


And as mentioned - the amp is important. And since modeling is involved, I'd say learning the amp better is gonna do more for you. Those things can really twist the tone if you use them well….
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

symptom said:
The information that the pearly gates bridge and neck have this difference in brightness it's something that I don't want, but the clip the other guy posted is really nice. Anyone knows if this brightness difference exists in the A2PRO as well?
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That's why I prefer A2P's over PG's. With A2P's, the bridge and neck are more balanced; the bridge is warmer and fuller than a PGB, and the neck has more treble than a PGN. That's what I look for. If you like PU's with a bigger difference in EQ between the bridge and neck, PG's would be a good choice (Gibson175 just posted on the EQ difference in the PG bridge and neck, and it's been discussed here many times over the years). No 'hate' for PG's here, but of the assortment of about 24 PAF models I own and have owned, I'm just not impressed by PG's and '57's. That's my opinion; some guys here love PG's and '57's, & react like I've insulted their mothers when I express my view. But this is supposed to be a candid site, and you're asking for our opinions and experience. No one's going to like every PU.
 
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Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

gibson175 said:
You should reserve making judgements like this until you have actually tried the various sets.
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Doesn't the WLH aim to emulate a tone that was achieved with typical wound PAFs? Sort of like how Texas Specials try to mimic a tone that was achieved with stock Strat pickups (along with countless other artist-specific pickups)?
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

symptom said:
- As I said, I didn't like the 59 set in this guitar.
- Since the 59 neck was kinda boomy, I guess this guitar is not bright. Acoustically, it' considerally darker than my sg.
- I don't want high output (this is the main reason I don't want to use the custom 5 or do a mag swap in it.
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Are you opposed to custom wiring your guitar? There are at least two highly effective wiring mods for reducing mud, a bass reduction knob or a "spin a split" knob. Both have the effect of reducing bass as you turn them down, the main difference sound wise is that the "spin a split" will push the treble peak up higher at the same time, while the bass reduction knob would keep the treble right where it's at, and only cut the bass back. The nice thing about these mods is that you still have access to the muddy tone, if you want it. When I think of Slash's lead tone, I think muddy. You could make one tone knob a global tone, and the other a "spin a split" or a bass cut knob.
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

symptom said:
- As I said, I didn't like the 59 set in this guitar.
- Since the 59 neck was kinda boomy, I guess this guitar is not bright. Acoustically, it' considerally darker than my sg.
- I don't want high output (this is the main reason I don't want to use the custom 5 or do a mag swap in it.
- I play classic rock, blues and a little hard rock
- I already have an SG with a Mean 90 set.

My number one choice would be the Alnico 2 pro set.
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I think you are on the money with your first choice.
 
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Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

Worth mentioning string type as well? I wonder if some differences people find with the same pups, on similar guitars, could be down to that in part perhaps? Amp rigs aside, obviously.

SD told me that the Slash AP2s were aimed at guitars with chambering, though what that translates into(?) I've got a pair in a Mockingbird, and the bridge is a little harsh sounding to me on first listen (now that I've got the darn cover on i, finally!), but rolling off some tone brings it into line. That said, as it's currently 2.30am here, it's yet to go through an amp :-P
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

Pickup height can change a lot as well. I put Seths in a 'weight relieved' Les Paul Studio and moving the pickups up or down by 2mm can do wonders to tame undesirable qualities in the sound or change the guitar sound from one 'famous person' to another.
 
Re: I've finaly got a Les Paul. And now?

Here is my opinion, and I have 6 Gibson LPs and have been playing one of them for 35 years. There is nothing better than a set of PGs for a dark Les Paul. I would not suggest 500k pots for the PGs. This will make the bridge pup way to bright. Of course if your LP is still dark after you install a PGb, then go to 500k pots. My '79 custom has been sporting a PGb for over 20 years. Just listen to Billy F Gibbons and ask yourself, is his tone thin? Remember Billy also uses .007s on his guitars!
 
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