"The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

[blueman335]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

Gibson said "**** it, give them a good guitar they can put in their pickups, they will anyways." They've released some good ones, so that it doesn't always come down to that, but I feel that that's how Gibson is working now.

Probably true. But guitars that cost 2 or 3 grand, or more, should have excellent PU's in them. If Gibson's long since lost interest in making PU's and only going thru the motions to have something to stick in a guitar, then they should buy them from a company that is passionate about it, like Duncan. Even though the great tones from the original PAF's were partially due to chance, there are many companies much more interested in recreating those than Gibson. As a high-end guitar maker (their focus) there's a disproportionate number of owners with less-than-flattering comments here about the consisitency and quality control of their guitars.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

Probably true. But guitars that cost 2 or 3 grand, or more, should have excellent PU's in them. If Gibson's long since lost interest in making PU's and only going thru the motions to have something to stick in a guitar, then they should buy them from a company that is passionate about it, like Duncan. Even though the great tones from the original PAF's were partially due to chance, there are many companies much more interested in recreating those than Gibson. As a high-end guitar maker (their focus) there's a disproportionate number of owners with less-than-flattering comments here about the consisitency and quality control of their guitars.

I agree that Gibson should put a decent set of pickups in their guitars. I think for the most part they've done so, but for them to do like Aceman said and put a certain high end pickup in their guitars, pickups that not everyone likes I might add, then they're wasting money. They'd rather put in a set of decent house pickups and then get the guitars out the door, which is where they make their real money. I know if I bought a Gibson Explorer with a PG set, then I'd be taking them out promptly to put in a Distortion and 59. It's not cost effective for me to pay for an increase in pickup quality, when I'm going to rip them out in 10 minutes to put in the ones that I like.

I agree that if you're paying for a $4000 Les Paul Custom, you deserve more than a Richlite fretboard and a 490R and 498T in there, but at the same time, most people have a specific pickup that they are faithful to, and it's ineffective to put in a 59 set, when the guy buying it might be a hardcore metal fan.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

Hmm... How do the Antiquity and Seths compare?

The thing I'd be worried about is feedback from the Seths (are the Ants potted? I can't remember)
and too loose of a bass response in my fairly dark LP.

.

I have both Ants and Seths. There's no problem with feedback from either one. Both sound great. The Seth may have a bit more mids to them, but both of them are as close to an original PAF IMO. I have the Ants in an '87 LP Custom and the Seths in a Hamer Archtop Custom.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

Brobucker bridge, Jazz neck. Aces for that kind of music.

 

[baritone]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

interesting discussion - the first guy to mention the Jazz

 

[Bludave]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

Personally in a Les Paul I prefer the Alnico II Pro set. If you want to go a bit hotter get the Slash aIi's they are awesome

 

[75lespaul]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

interesting discussion - the first guy to mention the Jazz

I think someone else mentioned the Jazz, but I love that pickup in the neck. I'm kind of surprised the Brobucker hasn't been mentioned more.

 

[ajeffcote]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

Don't see Zhangbuckers mentioned, so I'll add the PageyIIs to the list. Great classic LP tones.

 

[RoccoFunnyMan]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

The thing is there is NO SINGLE classic LP sound.

And ok - Seth's are awesome, but:

PG's will do ZZ better
A2's will do Slash better
I assume Whole Lotta Humbucker is more Page.

So they may be very "classic" but there is a better pup for each of those sounds, and the Seths may not do any one of them satisfactorily.

OP's ears have to decide. I'm sticking with:
PG neck is most awesome LP neck pup period overall. Bridge is your call. 59, A2P's and PG's can be mixed-matched for all sorts of greatness. My understanding (from reading here) is that a Seth might be a great neck choice with any of them.

Of course, your experience may vary depending on the specific guitar.

I have an Epi LP I am thinking of doing some experimentation on. It has stock 57s in it. I am considering a Seth in the neck and a Distortion at the bridge. I am thinking the combination could be interesting. My Gold Top has a PG neck and JB bridge and it is a great combo for ZZ Top and crunchy stuff.

 

[tonaholic]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

After trying 59s, Bonamassas, Ants, Burstbucker Pros, Classic 57's, Wolfetonr DrV, Lollar Imperials and Slash A2s, the Dimarzio 36th set really surprised me in that they give me all of the characteristics I liked best from the various PAFs that I've tried and their EQ is perfect for what I was looking for in my head. So happy I gave them a shot.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

I have both Ants and Seths. There's no problem with feedback from either one. Both sound great. The Seth may have a bit more mids to them, but both of them are as close to an original PAF IMO. I have the Ants in an '87 LP Custom and the Seths in a Hamer Archtop Custom.

I have a set of Seths in my LP Custom. I don't get too much problem with feedback with the Soldano-y amp I was just modding. Crunch and grind for days, and they don't really get out of control unless I want them to.

 

[blueman335]

Re: "The" Classic Les Paul Pickup?

I have a set of Seths in my LP Custom. I don't get too much problem with feedback with the Soldano-y amp I was just modding. Crunch and grind for days, and they don't really get out of control unless I want them to.

I've never had Seth's feedback on stage. But then, I don't play gigs standing in front of several Marshall stacks.