Need new pickups for les paul

[Hunter1974]

Hello everyone I have a 1991 les paul classic with emg 81 in bridge and 85 in neck.I don't really like them anymore I want some pickups that still scream with high gain but have good cleans too.I want a bridge pickup that can come close to the custom custom I have in my strat.I love that pickup it is not shrill or ice picky like other bridge pickups I've used.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

'78 in the bridge and Antiquity in the neck.

It'll be brighter than the CC, but you can't put the CC into a Paul and expect it to work similar than in a tremolo guitar.

 

[Schappy]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Get a Custom and put an A8 magnet in it for the bridge.

PG or 59 in the neck.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Since CC's can be a little dark in LP's, I like a C5 (same thing with an A5 magent) and 250K pots. The warmer pots take off some treble and give a fuller sound. A lot of players here like the good cleans from C5's. It's a high out PU that still has good tones. I pair that with a '59N in the neck.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

He said not shrill or ice picky. That pretty much rules out C5 and C8. The C8 will also be too loud and go on a crusade to kill the neck pickup.

The Duncan Custom (ceramic magnet) might be a candidate when PAFs don't do. It starts out sounding similar to the C5 when played lightly, but then compresses nicely as you play harder.

 

[Invader09]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Duncan Distortion, Custom 5, Dimebucker... all good choices...

 

[Thunder]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

A lot of people have said they liked the Custom in the bridge position of an LP.

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Custom (bridge)
'59 (neck)

??

 

[Aceman]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the 81/85 combo. Obviously you have no chops so a new pup won't help.


Just kidding! Distortion set or Custom plus whatever you want in the neck. I like a PG.

 

[Lawless 67]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the 81/85 combo. Obviously you have no chops so a new pup won't help.


Just kidding! Distortion set or Custom plus whatever you want in the neck. I like a PG.

^ nothing mentioned about the rig or amp..I like the 81/85 on what I do or have, so I agree.I always see these threads started with I need suggestion on pup's but what ever amp/style or effects along with the pup/pup's are going to change everythig. So JMO, take it with a grain a salt and it's all about try it buy it and love it or leave it.

 

[jafo]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Why not a CC? You already know it's a thing of beauty, after all. Just swap parts with your Strat and give it a test. Simple, easy, and costs only time. If you need more highs, lower the pup slightly and raise the screws; you could also look into a pot upgrade (higher ohm = brighter sound). Or maybe a JB with A2?

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

If you have a Custom Custom in a Strat and like it, I'd go with a C5 for the Les Paul. Right away the LP is going to have a lot more mids and a boomier low end compared to the Strat so by getting C5 the alnico 5 magnet will tighten it up a bit and the lack of mids in the pickup will match well with the CC in the Strat because of the mids from the A2 in the CC.

They won't sound exactly the same as eachother but its definitely a step in the right direction.

 

[bluefrog]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

I like this SD's most f. LPs:
for Classic/Southern/Blues

PGN Neck
SH-1 Bridge
or
AntN / SH-55N Neck
SH-55 Bridge AP-1B

 

[jafo]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Right away the LP is going to have a lot more mids and a boomier low end compared to the Strat so by getting C5 the alnico 5 magnet will tighten it up a bit and the lack of mids in the pickup will match well with the CC in the Strat because of the mids from the A2 in the CC.

Hmmm... I'd say that's an argument in favor of the CC in the Lester, actually: boomy lows from the guitar plus boomy lows from the pup equals, well, really boomy lows. If you add in a bass guitar or a kick drum, you've got a recipe for mud -- too much happening in the low end.

Of course, it also depends on how middy the Les Paul in question is, too. Yay for magnet swaps!

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

As well, you're not saying what type of music you're doing. Each pickup will lend itself better to a given style - Distortion/High-Gain pickups will be better for Metal/Thrash/Speed, whereas PAF-types go better with Blues/Rock/etc.

Or are you one of the millions of people who believe you can get a pickup that has crushingly high gain and sweet jangly cleans with no dirt?

If your pickup is driving the amp's front end so that you don't need a pedal to do it, there's no way it's going to sound as good clean as a lower-output pickup.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Hmmm... I'd say that's an argument in favor of the CC in the Lester, actually: boomy lows from the guitar plus boomy lows from the pup equals, well, really boomy lows. If you add in a bass guitar or a kick drum, you've got a recipe for mud -- too much happening in the low end.

Of course, it also depends on how middy the Les Paul in question is, too. Yay for magnet swaps!

The lack of midrange in the A5 magnet pretty much compensates for the boomy lows.

 

[jafo]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

The lack of midrange in the A5 magnet pretty much compensates for the boomy lows.

Could be, could be; that's what experiments are for, after all. It'd certainly focus the lows more sharply, having little mids to balance. It could even sound magical. Just pointing out that it offers your mixing engineer a challenge, is all.

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

i know this is seymour duncan land and i use them and love them,but you cannot go wrong with gibson 500t in the bridge,and gibson 496r in the neck,if you want to go s.d....drop in a jb in the bridge,and a sd..jazz in the neck,or pearly gates in the neck

 

[Ninja Monkey]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

Since CC's can be a little dark in LP's, I like a C5 (same thing with an A5 magent) and 250K pots. The warmer pots take off some treble and give a fuller sound. A lot of players here like the good cleans from C5's. It's a high out PU that still has good tones. I pair that with a '59N in the neck.

I agree. except for 250K pots, but that's because I like my bridge pickups to be somewhat trebley. It's really hard to go wrong with a C5 bridge and '59 neck for most styles, although, if you play a lot of high-gain stuff, swapping a custom type pickup's magnet out for an A8 might be a good idea.
/0.02$

 

[blueman335]

Re: Need new pickups for les paul

He said not shrill or ice picky. That pretty much rules out C5 and C8. The C8 will also be too loud and go on a crusade to kill the neck pickup.

In my LP's, SG's, and 335's, a C5 or C8 with 250K pots is not at all thin or ice picky. Full body, with just enough treble on top for bite. My C8's don't overpower the neck PU's, and if they did, all I'd have to do is lower them a little.