Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

[oilpit]

Playing guitar used to be like my entire life when I was younger, I spent all my time, money, etc on it (including being *very* active on this and several other forums). However unfortunately it's been about two years since I've really played hardly at all, between school and currently in the middle of trying to get my British fiancee American citizenship I just haven't had the time.

But the last weekend I had the whole day free and I decided to completely overhaul my main guitar, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul reissue. I stripped it all down, cleaned everything up, set it up, totally replaced the wiring, and I also threw a Custom 5/Jazz set in it.

I've always been *very* traditional about the pickups that go in this guitar. For the longest time it had some really high end boutique PAFs that I got years ago I don't even remember who made them. Then up until last week it had a Seth Lover/Brobucker (amazing combo in a Les Paul btw).
So it was a big departure for me to get a high output bridge pickup and a non-PAF neck pickup. And OH BOY do I love it.

The Custom 5 is fantastic, really great, punchy, aggressive bridge pickup that screams. But the real star of the show is the Jazz in the neck. I know that the it's usually paired with a JB in superstrat style guitars but in the neck of my Les Paul this pickup has a vocal tone like I have never heard out of a neck pickup. It's a really bright, clear pickup so the neck position of a giant chunk of mahogany and rosewood is just perfect.

With the tone at half way you can get a great Slash neck solo tone. Tone all the way up and you've got this crazy harmonic rich upper midrange that just sounds and feels incredible.


I'm not sure if I'm late to the party and this is common knowledge, but anybody with a Les Paul that wants to try something new should definitely consider the SH-2!

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

I'm a Jazz fan. I have a Jazzb/Jazzn pickguard I swap on/off my Strats when I feel like it, as you mention they don't have a traditional humbucker sound to my ears, but that's part of why I like them. The Jazz neck is a very versatile pickup somehow, not the usual one-trick-pony neck for sure...

 

[Aceman]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

Jolly is a big fan of the Jazz set...

Very cool Oilpit! Rock on!!!!!

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

I've always been *very* traditional about the pickups that go in this guitar. For the longest time it had some really high end boutique PAFs that I got years ago I don't even remember who made them.

Hi Oilpit, good to have you back here again. Didn't you sell me a Will Boggs Hot Vintage PAF some years ago?

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

I have a Custom 5 and a Jazz in an Epiphone Les Paul I keep at school. I have an UOA5 Magnet in both of them. I think the UOA5 warms them both up a bit and makes them sound a little less sterile. Its a good combo.

 

[oilpit]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

Hi Oilpit, good to have you back here again. Didn't you sell me a Will Boggs Hot Vintage PAF some years ago?

Wow, very good memory! That was me, those are great pickups and were actually the first aftermarket set I ever got. It was before I knew how to change pickups myself and I remember I spent like $50 to have them put into my guitar.

It's so wild to be back on here after all these years. After such a long hiatus playing guitar it's great to be back. I'm already planning a Warmoth strat and a few magnet swaps!

I have a Custom 5 and a Jazz in an Epiphone Les Paul I keep at school. I have an UOA5 Magnet in both of them. I think the UOA5 warms them both up a bit and makes them sound a little less sterile. Its a good combo.

I am definitely going to this, I like the C5 but it has a serious lack of midrange, I struggle to make it sound good with out lots of gain.
Where do people buy magnets now days?

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

Philaluthiertools or Addiction-FX on Ebay is where I get most of mine.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Surprised by how great the Jazz works in the neck of my Les Paul

I am not a Jazz fan, but man, does it work in my poplar Music Man. On some darker sounding guitars, it is perfect (the other pickup in my Music Man is a Custom 5, which I usually wouldn't like, either). But on some guitars, prejudices aside, the right pickup is the right pickup.