seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

[JJGiurano97]

I have recently decided to change the pickups in my Gibson studio 60s deluxe Les Paul. It currently has a burstbucker pro in the bridge and a 490r in the neck. Now I'm trying to decided between the 59 pickups and the seth lover pickups. I play a lot of blues rock like Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Rolling Stones, and The White Stripes. I wany to try to get that classic late 50s les paul sound that has a good crunch but also sounds warm when played clean. I also want it to sound good when I play with more gain like The Foo Fighters or Soundgarden. Can anyone help me decide?

 

[jeremy]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

welcome to the forum!

the 59 is closer to the jimmy page tone than the seths to my ear. there is a whole lotta humbucker set that is made for les pauls to get the pagey tones

 

[El Supremo]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

'59 bridge and Seth Lover neck would be my pick. Whole Lotta Humbuckers would probably get you closer though.

 

[blueman335]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

The concern with a '59 is that they're often boomy/bassy in the neck slot of an LP. That can be fixed with a mag swap if you're up to that.

Seth's are my favorite Duncan PAF, and the favorite PU of a few of the Duncan moderators here too.

There's also a WLH set.

 

[jeremy]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

i love the seths but i think the 59's sound more like page

 

[JJGiurano97]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

Thank you every one for their suggestions. I think I'll go with the 59 in the bridge and the seth lover in the neck. Can anyone tell me if the 59 can do high gain stuff like Soundgarden and the foo fighters?

 

[LogicallyInsane]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

I was thinking the WLH set was sorta Jimmy Page's signature pickups more or less.
The 59 is wax potted, so it should be able to handle high gain. The Seth is not, however, so be careful switching to the neck on high gain.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

59 bridge will do heavy rock (Foo Fighters/Soundgarden/Zeppelin) just fine. I wish '59s were THE stock pickup in Les Pauls from the factory.

I don't know how a Seth neck will mix with a 59b - it's unpotted and Seths have a bit of a mid-honk to them and are a touch soft on the chime/treble side. (I could try it, I have both.)

 

[blueman335]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

Thank you every one for their suggestions. I think I'll go with the 59 in the bridge and the seth lover in the neck.

Keep in mind with the stock A5 magnet, '59B's are bright and mid-scooped. A Seth in the bridge would give a fuller tone with more character. For me, with a Seth in the neck, I'd go with a pair of Seth's. A '59B isn't an improvement over a SethB. Seth's have a great reputation here for being resistant to feedback.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

Definitely 59s. I've never tried the WLH, but when i plug in my R8 with 59s I hear a malleable tone that can be shaped into a very good facsimile. My set is about 20-25 years old, but I feel that the balance is great and it gives me a REALLY fat sound....almost too much at times! Frank Falbo once described the 59s to me as being like "putting the next size string up on your guitar". They just sound bigger.

Luke

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

Depends on the era of Page. 59 would be best all around. Seth for the earlier stuff (used a tele a lot too), WLH would be for later stuff.
I have no experience with the WLH so it is hard for me to describe how it handles Cream and Stones stuff, but likely well considering how it is marketed and the feedback received.

Page usually had the stock pickup in the neck so that would be a Seth. I think you got it right with the 59 or WLH in the bridge and the Seth in the neck. It'll add versatility too since the bridge pickup would be potted and able to handle more gain/effects in case you wanna get freaky.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

if there is such thing as "better" in the realm of tone, then the WLH set is a much better pickup set than the 59s.

 

[mouse ears]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

If you want Jimmy Page in a Les Paul, the Whole Lotta Humbuckers are as close as your going to get. They're vintage output, but have an aggressive feel.

If you want something a little hotter, why not a 59/custom hybrid in the bridge and Pearly Gates or Whole Lotta Humbucker in the neck?

I'd say in the grand scheme of things, any of these will do what you want to do.

I have a set of Whole Lotta Humbuckers; they're excellent, but I don't sound any more like Jimmy Page with them verses any of my other guitars.:dunno:

 

[JimmyO]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

WLH set+50s wiring+Les Paul can get you some Jimmy Page magic. I like the 59s too but if you are going full Zoso then the Whole lotta hums would be excellent.

 

[Uncle Fred]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

I think the 59s sound most like Led Zeppelin II. That tone he had before he started modding his Les Paul.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

A couple of years back I've collaborated with a Zep tribute band to nail a target tone, which was the "Presence" album.

The outcome was an UOA5 modded Seth Lover set in a R9 through an original '72 50W head plexi and an early '70s 1960 cabinet, IIRC.

HTH,

 

[voggin]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

I recently put a set of Seths in my Les Paul, which is a chambered 2008-model. Page isn't one of my holy grail tone gods (don't get me wrong, great player), so it wasn't a tone I was aiming for. However, the other night I was playing through my HR Deville and an overdrive, kinda low-mid gain, and was in total Zep-land. Even did some less than completely accurate bluesy pull-offs, sounded awesome!

My LP had a set of BB Pros in it before the swap. I'm no magnet expert, only have my own experience, but I would lean more toward an AII than V for those tones. Maybe something like a Slash in the bridge and the Seth in the neck?

 

[Simon_F]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

A set of Whole Lotta Humbuckers will cover both the classic bluesy rock and the higher gain stuff. It's a simplistic description but they are like a '59 set with more mids and a little more output. A perfectly enhanced PAF. I've tried most of the SD humbuckers (and a few other brands) in Les Pauls and the WLHs are my absolute favourites. They will do anything from jazz through blues and classic rock to hard rock.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

A couple of years back I've collaborated with a Zep tribute band to nail a target tone, which was the "Presence" album.

The outcome was an UOA5 modded Seth Lover set in a R9 through an original '72 50W head plexi and an early '70s 1960 cabinet, IIRC.

HTH,

I find this interesting, as the Whole Lotta Humbuckers are a variant of PAF with rough cast A5s.

 

[blueman335]

Re: seymour duncan 59 pickups or seth lover pickups for jimmy page like tone?

I think the 59s sound most like Led Zeppelin II.

The downside is the potential for a boomy/bassy '59N in an LP. I wish that PU had less low end.