New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

S

savage8190

New member
I have an Epi Les Paul that I absolutely love the feel of, the the pickups leave something to be desired. I have actually owned a Gibson Les Paul Standard, and a Gibson Les Paul Studio as well, but this Epi, for some reason or another just feels more right than they ever did (plus I like the Solid body).

Anyway, the Gibson standard had Burstbuckers, which I hated. They sounded to bright and chimey for what I want in a Lester. The Studio with the 498/490 was actually almost bang on sound wise for me. I really liked the tight bass, but it didnt clean up as much as Id like, and tended to get a little bit muddy. The Epi pups that are in it now are pretty weak, and they get very muddy.

I primarily play my Strat and my Jazz box, but when I want to flat out rock I turn to the Lester. Im looking for some pups that'll do a nice smooth blues, to clear rock leads, and chugging metal rhythm. Tight bass, cut mids, smooth highs....not to brittle.

I DO NOT like ceramics. Would maybe prefer an Alnico 5/2 combo. I was thinking maybe a Custom 5 in the bridge with maybe a Pearly gates or A2P in the neck? Thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

The PG or A2P are great for the neck. Good choice.
For the bridge, I really like P90s...rich mids, with lots of bite and edge. A terific LP rock lead pup. However, if you want to stay full hummer, I'd recommend either the '59 or the Screamin Demon. The '59 is just so versatile, with mag swaps you can get it to do anything you'd want a LP to do.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

Oh, one more thing...
Stay away from the Custom 5, the '59 is so much better. To me, the C5 just doesn't have much character in a LP. Very blah. The only Custom worth considering would be the C8, imho.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

A couple PAF's always work in an LP, and the PGN is a great choice for the neck. PAF's, being relatively underwound (by today's standards), are usually fairly bright. You can warm them with a mag swap or warmer caps (250K's).

If you go for a hot bridge, I like the 498T or C5 in an LP, but prefer both with an UOA5 in them.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

the pgn/c5 combo is great in gibsons. my last sg had that combo and i was very happy with it
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

Burstbucker 1,2,3 or Burstbucker Pro?

I have used the 59, Custom 5, and Alinco II in the bridge. All are great, but the Alnico II isn't that tight (think Slash) so I would go with a 59 or custom 5 if you want more output. In the neck I really like the 59, but love the Alnico II.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

The custom 5 plays a little too nice if you ask me. Great cleans, super tight for metal but not loose/warm/gritty enough for the medium gain classic rock or blues. I don't mind bright pickups but the Custom 5 goes a little too far in the treble. You'd might be surprised by the ceramic custom, it sounds more classic rock to my ears than the custom 5. If you're willing to do a magnet swap the UOA5 and A8 are great ways to warm up the custom.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

Franknfilms said:
The custom 5 plays a little too nice if you ask me. Great cleans, super tight for metal but not loose/warm/gritty enough for the medium gain classic rock or blues.If you're willing to do a magnet swap the UOA5 and A8 are great ways to warm up the custom.
Click to expand...

+1. Both mags are great in a C5.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

i have an epi les paul standard that i recently put in the pearly gates neck and custom 5 bridge. i couldn't be happier with it. i mainly play southern rock but i can get just about any tone out of it. the pearly gates n is great in the neck, you can get some really cool sounds out of it. also the harmonics are great. you wont be disappointed with that combo.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

Well, just to update, after doing a lot of thinking and reading I will be going with a Custom 5 in the bridge and a 59 in the neck. That pair just seems to, on paper, fit the bill for me...I hope they're as good as I think they'll be. If for some reason its not quite there I'll try a magnet swap. I've ordered up all the parts to gut the Epi, now I just need to hear back from SD about a possible custom color. I would think they could easily do them in all cream instead of zebra....

Oh and to answer a previous post, I was refering to the Burstbucker Pro's in my initial post.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

savage8190 said:
I would think they could easily do them in all cream instead of zebra....
Click to expand...

The lovely folks at Dimarzio own the double cream patent, so you can't get them like that. If I remember, SD used to do custom shop orders where the bobbins were cream but they had covers lightly soldered so you could remove them...but I think that practice has been stopped as well.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

Jay 77 said:
The lovely folks at Dimarzio own the double cream patent, so you can't get them like that. If I remember, SD used to do custom shop orders where the bobbins were cream but they had covers lightly soldered so you could remove them...but I think that practice has been stopped as well.
Click to expand...

Bummer. Oh well, I might grab them in dark blue then. That might look pretty sweet with the blue flame top. Everything else is cream or chrome so I dont really want black and the nickel would look off.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

savage8190 said:
I have an Epi Les Paul that I absolutely love the feel of, the the pickups leave something to be desired. I have actually owned a Gibson Les Paul Standard, and a Gibson Les Paul Studio as well, but this Epi, for some reason or another just feels more right than they ever did (plus I like the Solid body).

Anyway, the Gibson standard had Burstbuckers, which I hated. They sounded to bright and chimey for what I want in a Lester. The Studio with the 498/490 was actually almost bang on sound wise for me. I really liked the tight bass, but it didnt clean up as much as Id like, and tended to get a little bit muddy. The Epi pups that are in it now are pretty weak, and they get very muddy.

I primarily play my Strat and my Jazz box, but when I want to flat out rock I turn to the Lester. Im looking for some pups that'll do a nice smooth blues, to clear rock leads, and chugging metal rhythm. Tight bass, cut mids, smooth highs....not to brittle.

I DO NOT like ceramics. Would maybe prefer an Alnico 5/2 combo. I was thinking maybe a Custom 5 in the bridge with maybe a Pearly gates or A2P in the neck? Thoughts?

Thanks!
Click to expand...



can't go wrong with 59s in a lp
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

you answered your own question, pal.

You said the 490/498 combo in the LP studio gave you what you wanted... so why not try that set out on the Epiphone? I've had great success on my Epi Lesters.

you can pick a used set for cheap on ebay

... and re-sell them for what you spent (or more, sometimes)!
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

The '59n sounds pretty bright in the neck of a LP. If that's your final decision, at least put a UOA5 magnet in it to soften that high end and fill in some of the mids (the '59 is pretty scooped in the mids). Another option is a '59b in the neck. It has a bit more mids than the '59n and a tiny bit more output. Otherwise, the '59 is a great sounding pup.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

icantbuyafender said:
you answered your own question, pal.

You said the 490/498 combo in the LP studio gave you what you wanted... so why not try that set out on the Epiphone? I've had great success on my Epi Lesters.

you can pick a used set for cheap on ebay

... and re-sell them for what you spent (or more, sometimes)!
Click to expand...

I was tempted, but like I said in my OP they ALMOST gave me what I wanted. Im looking to try something new and see how it goes.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

GuitarDoc said:
The '59n sounds pretty bright in the neck of a LP. If that's your final decision, at least put a UOA5 magnet in it to soften that high end and fill in some of the mids (the '59 is pretty scooped in the mids). Another option is a '59b in the neck. It has a bit more mids than the '59n and a tiny bit more output. Otherwise, the '59 is a great sounding pup.
Click to expand...

Is it really that bright? I was thinking the 59 would better because its less bright than the pgn, am I mistaken? An overly bright neck is something Id like to avoid.
 
Re: New PUPS For Epi Les Paul??

savage8190 said:
Im looking for some pups that'll do a nice smooth blues, to clear rock leads, and chugging metal rhythm. Tight bass, cut mids, smooth highs....not to brittle.
Click to expand...
That sounds exactly like a set of Alnico II Pros to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top