Les Paul pickup replacement

[johnyclash]

Hey fellas.

I have a les Paul faded I love. It has a burstbucker in the neck that I like but I swapped out the bridge cause it seemed to be going out with very low output.

I got a SD 36th anniversary PAF which has a higher ohm output (7.6 vs 8) but it still sounds thin and weak and squacky. I've definitely played with height but it still sounds weak. I use overdrives, tube amps. I use clean and edge of breakup type sounds. Rock, pop, rnb mostly leaning towards fat darker/warmer sounds.



A couple of q's

Is thr squack inherent with clean or low to mid gain on a les Paul bridge? Rock and power chords sound ok but not when I dig in and play lines.

Why is the volume lower if the ohm is higher?

What pickup do you recommend? I have a discernible ear and some other nice guitar so I think I know what sounds good. But I don't need fancy just fat and full.

I did buy a new magnet for the 36th but seems like a reasonable bit of work? No luthiers around me do it.


Thanks

 

[jeremy]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

welcome to the forum!

the dc resistance of a pup (ohm reading) isnt a good measure of output since there are other factors involved as well.

swapping a magnet is fairly easy and there are tutorials on how to do it, just be careful since you can kill your pup if you arent.

i dont know exactly what you mean by squack but something like a custom 5 is a great choice in a les paul bridge for a tone that will cover lots of styles, fat but still sounds ok clean

 

[blueman335]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

You can get an A8 magnet for several dollars and put it in the DiMarzio and that will give you a warm, full, fat bridge tone with more output.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

I'd be looking to the electric components as well.....switch pots etc to see if there is any issue there. 2 pickups doing the same thing leads me to believe the wiring harness is more the culprit.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

I don't think the Alnico II Pros or the Slash pickups have 'squack'...they certainly don't sound thin.

 

[johnyclash]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

welcome to the forum!

the dc resistance of a pup (ohm reading) isnt a good measure of output since there are other factors involved as well.

swapping a magnet is fairly easy and there are tutorials on how to do it, just be careful since you can kill your pup if you arent.

i dont know exactly what you mean by squack but something like a custom 5 is a great choice in a les paul bridge for a tone that will cover lots of styles, fat but still sounds ok clean

Thanks for the welcome! And the reply.


Ok, I figured that was directly tied to output.


Do you recommend a tutorial? I definitely don't want to follow the wrong advice. I bough a magnet based on some research just wondering if I should experiment on a nice pickup. Will a new magnet improve my epiphone pickups to where they're comprable than a burst-bucker.


The squack is a strong attack and quick decays I suppose. Lol. But just kind of like a duck? I can't think of how else to describe it. The

 

[johnyclash]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

You can get an A8 magnet for several dollars and put it in the DiMarzio and that will give you a warm, full, fat bridge tone with more output.

Cool. That's what I've heard I just didn't want to or I guess I'm afraid to damaged my pick up. Any recommendations on the best source to follow to do this

 

[johnyclash]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

I just replaced with all parts kit and similar issue

 

[johnyclash]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

Are these good for clean, low and mid gain?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

Are these good for clean, low and mid gain?

Which ones? The ones I recommended certainly are.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

A SD 36th Anniv. PAF.

I wonder....:22:

But anyhow, it was wired for series & not parallel mode to give a duck mating call/ sqwak sound?

If its a Dimarzio 36th then it must have their Air Tech stuff in it, want to de-air it too while mag swapping?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Les Paul pickup replacement

I find this thread confusing.

SD never made a 36th anniversary PAF

Higher ohm resistance does not equal lower output in most cases, but is not a definitive measure of output in any case. And 7.6 is not a higher number than 8.

I don't know what thr squack is.

If you just need a thick and full humbucker for a Les Paul bridge, "leaning toward fat darker/warmer" for rock, pop and RnB, then conventional wisdom on the forum tends to point to:

Alnico II Pro
Custom Custom
Whole Lotta Humbucker

Or maybe a JB with an A2 or an RTM if you really need more output.