Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

[BlueSnMettle]

Hey guys and gals! Been away from the forum for awhile but I'm back and I need your help.
Just purchased a 2017 Gibby LP Tribute in Satin Gold. Love the guitar, hate the 490's. Cleans aren't bad, but distorted they have me wallowing in mud. My favorite bucker boys are JP, Angus & Slash. Want something that will give me some good grind, cut and chug but with clarity. I play mostly classic rock. Cleans are very important as well. Most of my guitars are Seymour equipped and I'm a devout fan of his pups. It's good to be back and I hope you're all doing well. Thanks in advance!

Peace,

Darrin

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

I'd suggest the Alnico II Pro (Slash's neck pickup) and a Custom Custom. I don't know if you are in to mag swaps, but a UOA5 would work in the Custom Custom if you want more clarity.

Another suggestion would be have a covered neck and an uncovered bridge. This will have a minor effect on tone, opening it up a bit, but on gold satin, the main reason is looks.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Hey Darrin...all I can really recommend are what I like best.

And that is Seth Lovers with the covers removed.

They get great rock clean tones and a killer, slightly raw overdriven tone.

They've become my favorite "stock" Duncan pickups for rock.

I also like the Antiquitys for blues.

The Uncovered Seths and the covered Antiquitys are what are in my PRS Custom 22's and two of my PRS SE Singlecuts as well.

I prefer them to the Slash set, APH-1 set, PG set, Custom Shop PG set and RCA5 modded 59 set...all of which are also excellent.

But the uncovered Seths are just more FUN to play.

 

[BlueSnMettle]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Hey Darrin...all I can really recommend are what I like best.

And that is Seth Lovers with the covers removed.

They get great rock clean tones and a killer, slightly raw overdriven tone.

They've become my favorite "stock" Duncan pickups for rock.

I also like the Antiquitys for blues.

The Uncovered Seths and the covered Antiquitys are what are in my PRS Custom 22's and two of my PRS SE Singlecuts as well.

I prefer them to the Slash set, APH-1 set, PG set, Custom Shop PG set and RCA5 modded 59 set...all of which are also excellent.

But the uncovered Seths are just more FUN to play.

Hey Lew! Glad to see you old friend! I hope you are doing extremely well. Never played the Seth's. Had the Antiquities in a LP Standard, liked them. Open and airy. Want a little more balls for this LP. Not high gain but crunch & clarity. You still in Colorado? Man, really good to hear from you!

Peace,

Darrin

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Pearly Gates (brighter)
Whole Lotta Humbucker (sweeter)
Custom bridge / Jazz neck might get here also

How does the guitar sound acoustically? Thin, bright, dark, warm?

 

[AZ Picker]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Check out the Saturday Night Special set, Relatively fat bridge that still sounds great clean and a very versatile neck pickup.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Hey Lew! Glad to see you old friend! I hope you are doing extremely well. Never played the Seth's. Had the Antiquities in a LP Standard, liked them. Open and airy. Want a little more balls for this LP. Not high gain but crunch & clarity. You still in Colorado? Man, really good to hear from you!

Peace,

Darrin

Really good to connect with you too Darrin! Yes, still in Colorado. No longer in the mountains but still just 30 minutes from wilderness and mountain lions. . Still healthy too.

If you liked the Antiquitys but want more drive, crunch and balls (but without losing that vintage clarity) removing the covers from a set of Seth Lovers will do that.

To me, they become a very different pickup when I do that. Much more balls and raw driving mids. More crunchy sizzle on top too.

I have a set in a USA made PRS Custom 22 and a set in a PRS Singlecut.

I compared the covered Seths and Uncovered Seths side by side in two identical PRS SE Singlecuts for several weeks and for rock tones, the uncovered Seths were much louder and "better".

At least to me.

Great Gary Moore type overdrive with a cranked amp or TS 808 pedal.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Hey guys and gals! Been away from the forum for awhile but I'm back and I need your help.
Just purchased a 2017 Gibby LP Tribute in Satin Gold. Love the guitar, hate the 490's. Cleans aren't bad, but distorted they have me wallowing in mud. My favorite bucker boys are JP, Angus & Slash. Want something that will give me some good grind, cut and chug but with clarity. I play mostly classic rock. Cleans are very important as well. Most of my guitars are Seymour equipped and I'm a devout fan of his pups. It's good to be back and I hope you're all doing well. Thanks in advance!

Peace,

Darrin

You have choices, as we have a few that might work:
Slash APH-2
Whole Lotta Humbucker: JP inspired
High Voltage set: AY inspired

Feel free to mix and match, and the Whole Lotta set is good middle ground between all 3 sets.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

For an LP playing classic rock/blues, Seth's and A2P's are hard to beat. Haven't tried Seth's without covers yet, but am tempted by Lew's recommendation.

There are some Custom variants that work well in mahogany for a hotter bridge PU, my favorite for classic rock is with an UOA5. C8 and C4 are popular here too. Some members have said CC's are too warm and rounded in their LP's, I'd stay away from them unless you have a pretty bright LP.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

For an LP playing classic rock/blues, Seth's and A2P's are hard to beat. Haven't tried Seth's without covers yet, but am tempted by Lew's recommendation.

There are some Custom variants that work well in mahogany for a hotter bridge PU, my favorite for classic rock is with an UOA5. C8 and C4 are popular here too. Some members have said CC's are too warm and rounded in their LP's, I'd stay away from them unless you have a pretty bright LP.

Try it. You might get lucky. I have three sets without covers and found double zebras in one set, double cream in another and a neck zebra and double cream in another.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Hey man - welcome back! Without knowing the amp setup...

I'm gonna throw out:
PG neck, which will Slash up with a little tone control mojo and,
The 59/Custom Hybrid for all your more classic classic rock tones. With balls. But can clean up...It will crunch clearly!

Alternate selection:

Whole Lotta Humbucker/59-Custom Hybrid

 

[blueman335]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Try it. You might get lucky. I have three sets without covers and found double zebras in one set, double cream in another and a neck zebra and double cream in another.

That's cool, like the originals. I wonder if they did that on purpose?

 

[blueman335]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

Back to the first post: I'm not a big fan of most Gibson HB's with the stock magnets, but the 490 set can be significantly improved with an A5 (or A4) in the neck, and an A8 in the bridge. Much better, gives clarity to the neck and fills in the bridge and gives some muscle. Likewise, the bizarre 498T/490R set is also upgraded tonally with an A8 or UOA5 in the bridge and an A5 in the neck. The only Gibson HB's that I've left the stock magnets in are BB's. Moral of the story is Gibson's PU's are decent quality, and if you aren't thrilled with their tone, a mag swap may make them worth keeping.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Need some pups for my LP Tribute!!!

That's cool, like the originals. I wonder if they did that on purpose?

my understanding is they grab coils randomly for antiquitys and seths so its like the old days. ya never know what youll get