Looking to replace the WLHs in my Les Paul... eyeing up PGs.

[TheGreatRedDragon]

When I bought my Les Paul Standard a few years back it came with a set of white EMG 81s. Needing new pickups in a pinch, I put the SH-18n I had on hand in the neck position and, seeking a quick and easy bridge solution, I bought a SH-18b to complete the set.

It's served me OK, it does the Zeppelin thing pretty well when I feel like playing Zeppelin, but they've never sat that well with me for other stuff. The bridge pickup doesn't have enough warmth for my taste and I have to fight it to get a really raunchy hard rock sound (running through an SD-1 into a slightly modded 2203), it just feels like there are some guts missing and I find myself leaning on my GE-7 to bump up the mids. The neck pickup on the other hand is doing the job better than the bridge IMO, but I think it's got the opposite problem of having a little too much gas in the tank. For dirty lead work it's fucking amazing, but it's tough tracking down the sweet spot to clean it up, and as someone with a single-channel amp this is pretty critical.

This guitar in particular is quite resonant and bright (even the EMG 81s were significantly brighter and tighter than the set I have is another guitar), and I think overall what I'm looking for is something with Alnico 2s.

My go-to Les Paul (a Bacchus Goldtop copy) has an APH-1 in the neck and an APH-2 in the bridge. That guitar, as expected, nails that thick-yet-articulate sound I love and the neck pickup cleans up absolutely beautifully. But in that guitar what I always struggled with was getting more of that Zeppelin sound. It's just a little too thick and warm to pull it off. So what's keeping me from just replicating that set (other than how boring that would be) is wanting just a little more top and a little more tightness than the Slash set, while still having more balls and more grease than the WLH.

What I'm leaning towards are the Pearly Gates, which to me seem like a good candidate. Maybe PG in the bridge with an APH1 in the neck. But really I'm open to anything and looking for any wisdom you can throw at me.

 

[Mincer]

Well, the PG isn't going to have the warmth you want in the bridge. I'd look more at the Alnico II Pro for that warmth.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Swap the WLH set into your goldtop and put the APH set into the Standard.
WLHs will give the Bacchus more bite & attitude, and the APHs will fatten and sweeten the Gibson.

 

[playas]

don't know. From the descriptions I thought you were on the right track in what you wrote in your OP.

Full disclosure: I haven't yet been able to compare those pickups in person (apart from the PGs and not in an LP style.
I have a set of Seths in my Hamer equivalent.)

 

[Gtrjunior]

Custom Custom for the bridge.

 

[Securb]

The good thing is you should be able to get rid of the WLHs quickly and for a decent price if you want. They are sought-after pickups.

 

[Demanic]

A2P neck. UOA5 Jazz bridge. In the neck and bridge respectively.

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[bigcupholder]

Warmth, more mids and more output from the bridge: custom custom

If the neck WLH sounds good for distorted parts and you only need help with cleans, consider adding a switch for parallel wiring.

The suggestion of swapping the pickups in the two guitars so each one is more balanced is also a good idea.

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[BluesIsBlood12]

A magnet swap could get you where you want for $10 and 5 minutes of work.

 

[misterwhizzy]

A magnet swap could get you where you want for $10 and 5 minutes of work.

I agree. Put a roughcast Alnico 2 in the bridge WLH. It fixed what small problems I had with mine in my Les Paul.

 

[Ascension]

Custom Custom for the bridge.

This may be a good solution. The PG will make your situation much worse as they tend to be on the bright and crunchy side. Work VERY well in a darker guitar but can be harsh and overly bright in a brighter guitar. The Custom Custom is a solid pickup and if it's to warm and soft for you you could easily swap the A 2 for a A 5 and make it a Custom 5. Also may want to consider the Saturday Night Specials. I'm personally a big fan and have a set in my Carvin AE 185 and stupidly left them in another guitar I sold.

 

[chadd]

SNS set will get you between the WLH and APH. They worked great for pretty much everything.

 

[Aceman]

So I did PG's, 59's, and A2P's every which way for a period of my life.

#1 The PG bridge, A2P neck is the farthest out there combo. The PG in the bridge is bright, the A2P in the neck is fat. In between is a cool third sound. But...You may find the PG thin relative to the A2P.

#2 The A2P bridge, and the PG neck is the closest combo. The A2P fattens the bridge considerably, and the PG offers a cut that the A2P doesn't have.

#3 An A2P neck and CC bridge is fat city on the highs. You may find the mids too much.

#4 A PG neck and CC bridge is a very cool combo. Especially for cleans.

 

[ErikH]

The CC in a Les Paul is a thing of beauty, especially if the LP is a little on the bright side naturally. I had one in mine for a good while when I was in a tribute band but since went back to the stock BB3. The WLH is a great neck pickup but I like the Gibson '57 Classic better, and even more than the PG and A2P.

 

[chadd]

The CC in a Les Paul is a thing of beauty, especially if the LP is a little on the bright side naturally. I had one in mine for a good while when I was in a tribute band but since went back to the stock BB3. The WLH is a great neck pickup but I like the Gibson '57 Classic better, and even more than the PG and A2P.

I actually like the BB3 in my Trad Pro and put another one in my 335. They're decent sounding pickups that have their own thing going on.

 

[ErikH]

I actually like the BB3 in my Trad Pro and put another one in my 335. They're decent sounding pickups that have their own thing going on.

Mine is a Trad Pro as well. I didn't like the BB3 at first too much but have grown to like it a lot.

 

[chadd]

Mine is a Trad Pro as well. I didn't like the BB3 at first too much but have grown to like it a lot.

I tried a few different things as well but came back to it. I prefer my R7 with the slash set, but the Trad Pro/BB3 gets in the same ballpark

 

[Gtrjunior]

The CC in a Les Paul is a thing of beauty, especially if the LP is a little on the bright side naturally. I had one in mine for a good while when I was in a tribute band but since went back to the stock BB3. The WLH is a great neck pickup but I like the Gibson '57 Classic better, and even more than the PG and A2P.

Agreed. I put a CC in my LP shortly after you put one in yours. Mine is still in the guitar. Right now I can’t think of one good reason to take it out. It’s a workhorse of a pickup.
There isn’t much it won’t do for my playing style.

 

[Ascension]

Here is another suggestion for the bridge pickup. This is one no one has mentioned but is one of my favorites. Like you I love a good responsive single channel amp. I ran a JCM 900 MK III Dual Master Marshall for years and used touch and my guitar volume to clean up. The Perpetual Burn is one of my all time favorite bridge pickups. Not as compressed and hot as the Customs or Hybrid. The Perpet is one of my favorites for a super versatile touch sensitive articulate pickup. Have one now in my Purple Quilt Carvin DC 127 running a Jazz in the neck and it kills. Sounds amazing through my PRS Archon in particular and I rarely drop off the crunch channel with this set up. Would match very well with the WLH in the neck and maybe if you just drop the WLH a little to clean it up and loose a little output would solve your issue.
Here is the only demo of the Perpet I can find that comes close to showing how well it responds to touch through a tube amp. Would absolutely kill in a good Les Paul.

 

[Ascension]

Here is a Perpet in my Kiesel DC through my PRS MT 15 live at my Church only effects are Verb and Delay in the loop.