New pups for an LP Studio

[scuzzy]

Hi Everyone, just joined today but always been in and around here lurking for many years.
So i've just bought my first ever Les Paul (Studio), second hand at a reasonable price here in Scotland, it's a 2016 traditional and comes stock with the Gibson 490R/498T set but i have to say I am not impressed with them at all, the 490R is very dark & muddy, I've heard that may be the 300k pots gibson use and a lot of people change these up for a 500k pot, the 498 is a bit better but nothing to write home about. I've always been very happy with seymours pups in my other super strat guitars HM Livewire II and blackouts.
But i'm looking for something a wee bit different for this guitar, I'm considering a Custom 5 for the bridge and either a Pearly Gates or a Jazz for the neck.
I'm trying to achieve sounds like the Gary Moore bluesy sound, and the Dio (Holy Diver/Last in Line) and Dave Meniketti (Y & T Black Tiger/Earthshaker) sound.
Any advice on either anyone using these pups or recommendations to get near these types of sounds would be much obliged.
regards
scuzzy

 

[Mincer]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

Welcome to the forum!

A Jazz and Custom 5 (or even a regular Custom) would sound great in that guitar. You should easily be able to get the sounds you are after with those. The Custom 5 is more scooped than the Custom (same wind, different magnet) so decide if you have enough natural mids in that guitar.

 

[EmiAba]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

Hi
if I am not wrong your Les Paul comes with both 500K push/pull volume pots. So no chance to brighten up the neck pick up with pot replacement. The problem with the pair 490R/498T is essentially the impossibility to have the amp regulated with a defined EQ. Because once you have set the EQ for one pick up, it should not work for the other one. Mincer gave you a good idea but before I would want to go with a magnet swap. Put the A5 of the 498T in the 490R and a UOA5 in 498T. a couple of euro and half an hour of funny work.

 

[justFred]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

congratulations on the Les Paul!!!remember when got my first, a Studio also, what an amazing rush to finally have one...
been thru a bunch of pickups in Les Pauls....Pearly Gates is what finally stuck...

 

[Archer250]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

Hi Everyone, just joined today but always been in and around here lurking for many years.
So i've just bought my first ever Les Paul (Studio), second hand at a reasonable price here in Scotland, it's a 2016 traditional and comes stock with the Gibson 490R/498T set but i have to say I am not impressed with them at all, the 490R is very dark & muddy, I've heard that may be the 300k pots gibson use and a lot of people change these up for a 500k pot, the 498 is a bit better but nothing to write home about. I've always been very happy with seymours pups in my other super strat guitars HM Livewire II and blackouts.
But i'm looking for something a wee bit different for this guitar, I'm considering a Custom 5 for the bridge and either a Pearly Gates or a Jazz for the neck.
I'm trying to achieve sounds like the Gary Moore bluesy sound, and the Dio (Holy Diver/Last in Line) and Dave Meniketti (Y & T Black Tiger/Earthshaker) sound.
Any advice on either anyone using these pups or recommendations to get near these types of sounds would be much obliged.
regards
scuzzy

Get the Pearly Gates set, 59 set, or seeing as you're in the UK, a pair of Bareknuckle Mules.

These options may seem underwhelming in output, but with good technique and modern amps (or even vintage spec amps with modern tech like attenuators), they'll get you in the ballpark real close.

Vivian Campbell of Dio fame has been using a pair of custom-ordered 59s for a few years now in his Les Paul and he sounds killer.

I own a Les Paul-type guitar (a 2009 Tokai Love Rock) and I use a pair of low output 'buckers on them and it sounds killer, able to cover any ground from country to pop to blues to thrash metal. IMO it's more in the picking and the amp, and a low output p'up will allow you to impart more of yourself in your tone.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

I have a 2016 Studio. I swapped pickups a lot (look at my post history) but settled on a regular custom bridge and pg neck. If I did it all over again I'd go slash or jazz neck for leads though. PG is good but a bit too warm and soft for me.

In a LP the regular custom is much fuller and certainly much punchier than the C5. The C5 is more organic to a degree, but really loses its punch. The c8 is clangy sounding imo though people here will fight me on it.

BTW I can't recommend the PG bridge. I know people here love it, but it was brittle and weak for me. I would really recommend the custom for a heavy but authentic LP sound

 

[scuzzy]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

Many thanks for the welcome and quick replies, when Mincer and Nagisa are referring to the regular Custom I assume you mean the SH-5 (Not the sh-11) ?
I've been trawling the web looking at as many examples of these pups above as i can find, and i'm deffi gravitating towards the SH-5 and Jazz neck, they both sound really good in the examples i've found so far.
The LP Studio I have just seems really dark to me so the original pups don't seem to get a good tone at all with gain.

-Nagisa- I'm curious as to what kind of amp your running your studio through, I'm going through a Marshall 9100 with 5881 tubes and a jmp1 preamp perhaps it's the EL34 sound i'm missing i dunno, but it sounds fine with all my other guitars.

I'm considering getting one of the new Marshall 20/5 watt heads to hook up to my 4 x 12 but dunno what one to go for, jcm 800, 1959 SLP or the Studio Jubilee they all have the EL34's

 

[blueman335]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

The problem with the pair 490R/498T is essentially the impossibility to have the amp regulated with a defined EQ. Because once you have set the EQ for one pick up, it should not work for the other one. Mincer gave you a good idea but before I would want to go with a magnet swap. Put the A5 of the 498T in the 490R and a UOA5 in 498T. a couple of euro and half an hour of funny work.

+1. The 498T/490R pair has frustrated many players over the decades. I'm baffled Gibson why Gibson ever put it in any of their guitars, let alone continues to use it

But...a magnet swap makes a world of difference. An A5 in the 490R clears up the neck slot and takes away the dark muddy tones, and an UOA5 in the 498T takes off the worst of the treble and fill in some mids. MUCH better sounding like that.

What kind of music are you playing? The WLH set is great for a lot of genres. Seth's are excellent for blues, jazz, and classic rock. If you're playing metal a Custom (SH-5) in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck. Two pickups that occasionally bomb out in LP's: JB's are usually a great choice in Strats, but can sometimes get squirrely in warm woods and get an 'ice pick spike' and a 'flabby' low end. '59N's are sometimes bassy/boomy in LP's.

 

[scuzzy]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

+1. The 498T/490R pair has frustrated many players over the decades. I'm baffled Gibson why Gibson ever put it in any of their guitars, let alone continues to use it

But...a magnet swap makes a world of difference. An A5 in the 490R clears up the neck slot and takes away the dark muddy tones, and an UOA5 in the 498T takes off the worst of the treble and fill in some mids. MUCH better sounding like that.

What kind of music are you playing? The WLH set is great for a lot of genres. Seth's are excellent for blues, jazz, and classic rock. If you're playing metal a Custom (SH-5) in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck. Two pickups that occasionally bomb out in LP's: JB's are usually a great choice in Strats, but can sometimes get squirrely in warm woods and get an 'ice pick spike' and a 'flabby' low end. '59N's are sometimes bassy/boomy in LP's.

I don't know if even a magnet swap would do anything for these to be honest, it might help them a bit but I just don't trust them now, also it's something I never even knew was an option until i started wondering what was wrong with these pups.
Trying to define the music I play, well that's a bit more difficult as there are so many different names people call it, people these days seem to call pop music rock...sheesh never, I'm into early Dio, early Y & T, early Ozzy, those were called Hard Rock back in my day so to some that may be classic rock now. That's the kinda thing I like so i guess you could say 80's Hard Rock, more grittier than say ac/dc, but i'd like to be able to play good rocky blues too if the need comes on me.
I don't play Metal with all the drop tunings and stuff, tho I have other guitars with actives that can cover those sounds quite easily.

 

[justFred]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

If ya want something that covers a lot of territory AP2s are about the best...

 

[Nagisa]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

I have a Kemper, and usually use 5150 and Marshall jcm800 profiles.

The SH-5 is what I meant. I think that and a Jazz would be the safest bet. Be sure to change at least your cap to .022 . I use 500k pots too

 

[SFW]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

Custom in the bridge and a 59 in the neck. Instant rock happiness.

 

[Aceman]

Re: New pups for an LP Studio

You are asking for a large range there...Gary to Dio.

The Jazz/C5 combo is great all around. My call is a little different though.

I'm gonna say A2P neck (or Slash) and a Distortion Bridge