Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

[Jeff_H]

Below is a list of the upgrades I've made or already have the parts for in my quest to upgrade the components of my new Lester:

Callaham ABR-1 and tailpiece upgrade set in nickel
Locking Keystone style tuners (in progress)
All new electronics with bourns pots/wiring/PIO caps from Tone Man
Custom Shop Greenie pickups
Historically correct pickup rings in cream
Strap locks

What else do I need besides maybe a bone or nylon nut? I think the current nut is Graphtec or Tusk, but not sure.

Am I missing anything? I'm not going to have the top re-carved and refinished or have the thing relic'd. I just wanted the nicest, best hardware changes to bring all of the tone out of this guitar, while having some nicer modern features.

I'm also storing all of the stock parts so I can return it to original if ever necessary. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Bone is the worst possible material to use for a nut. Tusq plastic is pretty good. If you want to swap it, I recommend corian. It has a nice, balanced, creamy tone. Warmoth has Gibson sized corian blanks.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Thanks for that tip Clint. I was out of the guitar scene for a few years, so I thought bone was still a good nut option. I'll take a look at corian if I decide to upgrade.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Tusq is the best choice for a nut, but unless the nut needs replacing, don’t bother.

If you haven’t already, I would also wait on the bridge swap. The Callaham will add some brightness and that may or may not be a good thing. With so much being swapped at once, it makes it harder to determine what are actual improvements

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

You're welcome. I agree with Ayrton that a Tusq nut seated and cut well is good to go.

I get hyped up about bone because of how well it's regarded, but when I tried it I was taken aback at how terrible it sounded. Tusq and corian are the best and most well rounded I believe.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

I don’t get too caught up in nut material. A properly cut nut is far more important than the material. I like bone for how it looks, and you can get quality blanks. However, the Tusq material is consistent, and self lubricating.

Eric Johnson actually prefers plastic.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Tusq plastic sounds good. So does regular plastic. Bone sounds like shet.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Tusq is the best choice for a nut, but unless the nut needs replacing, don’t bother.

If you haven’t already, I would also wait on the bridge swap. The Callaham will add some brightness and that may or may not be a good thing. With so much being swapped at once, it makes it harder to determine what are actual improvements

I am actually going to go back and swap the parts one by one to make sure I like what they add. I have the Callaham bridge on now, but only because it's at my luthier having the slots cut. I haven't changed the tailpiece yet, and I am going to wait. I have already confirmed that I don't really care for the stock BB pups, but I sort of knew that. I'll play it a while with the new tuners and pickups (and pots/wiring) for a while to see what I like and don't like. Then I can swap tailpieces and then bridge if necessary.

The quality of TonePros isn't that bad and 10 years ago it was my go to upgrade for all TOM'S. But is still made of pot metal, so I'll have to see.

Thanks for the info on the nut. I'm having my tech reshape it for my preferred 9-46 string gauge and to make sure the slots are shaped and cut correctly. I didn't have plans to replace it unless it was really needed. The old nylon nuts have me intrigued, but they may just be the current flavor.

Thanks for all of the help so far.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Biggest upgrade I see it needs is some serious play wear

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Bone is the worst possible material to use for a nut. Tusq plastic is pretty good. If you want to swap it, I recommend corian. It has a nice, balanced, creamy tone. Warmoth has Gibson sized corian blanks.

There you go again, stating your opinion as "facts".

How about try saying..."I don't prefer bone nuts". Because, actually, bone is one of the preferred/better materials for nuts...for tone, function, and longevity. But it's harder to work than plastic, Tusq, etc. I've never tried Corian, but in all fairness, I've heard some good things about it.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Bone sounds like shet.

Again, your flimsy opinion!

My opinion is that a good bone nut sounds terrific. But I agree with Ayrton that the most important thing is the proper cutting/slotting of the nut. Besides, the tone of the nut only comes into play when you're playing open. Once your finger is pushing down on the string, the fret material is contributing to the tone and the nut is essentially taken out of the equation.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Besides, the tone of the nut only comes into play when you're playing open. Once your finger is pushing down on the string, the fret material is contributing to the tone and the nut is essentially taken out of the equation.

Oh jeez, now you’ve done it...

 

[esandes]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

How did the Callaham stuff change things?

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

“GM” ?

Oh Gary Moore?

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

Biggest upgrade I see it needs is some serious play wear

Yup, I agree. I always have to feed my OCD to a certain extent. I'm never happy with a guitar until I upgrade a few things. It doesn't make any real sense, even to me sometimes, but its a compulsion. My wife just smiles and nods.....

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

How did the Callaham stuff change things?

I haven't been able to play it yet with the new Callaham bridge, because the saddles are not cut. My hope is that it will add some extra clarity to the tone and give tighter bass, without making the overall tone too bright. I bought an extra set of saddles direct from Callaham, as a $30 insurance policy. If I don't like the way the bridge and tailpiece sound, I can put the new uncut saddles back in and return the bridge and tailpiece for the $250 they cost me.

I'll report back once I have made the permanent change.

“GM” ?

Oh Gary Moore?

Yes, Gary Moore Les Paul Standard. I never imagined that this would be the Les Paul I would buy. I had my mind set on a traditional or an older early 2000's standard. But when I saw the top on this guitar and the great one piece back, I was intrigued. After talking with the prior owner about it in depth, I decided to take a leap of faith and wound up with a guitar that is not only pretty, but one that has a very nice natural tone.

 

[esandes]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

I'm actually surprised how light and flimsy Gibson's tailpieces are. That must translate something less than desirable into the tone. Or should I even question the wizards at Gibson. You sure are.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

I'm actually surprised how light and flimsy Gibson's tailpieces are. That must translate something less than desirable into the tone. Or should I even question the wizards at Gibson. You sure are.

Well, I think over the years Gibson has proven they cut costs in a number of ways. There are also arguments that on the real 50's bursts they chose the hardware metal for cost reasons alone and not to enhance tone. The original bursts supposedly had aluminum tailpieces and Zamak bridges, a cast material. The one thing I question, maybe because I'm ignorant, is the affordability of aluminum in the 50's. It had just been adapted to airplanes during WW II I believe, so I thought it was still a relatively scarce commodity; but I could be completely wrong.

As for replacing your Gibson hardware... it's a purely personal choice. Some people swear by lightweight aluminum stop tails as the vintage correct material. I did for years because that was what I learned here and on the net. It was the wisdom of the time. Why did I choose the more expensive Callaham steel hardware? Because I like his strat products so much and his reasoning for using steel makes sense to me. It may be complete hooey, who knows.

The fact is that a good majority of people leave the stock hardware on their Gibson's the entire time they own them, and are perfectly happy loving the tone of their guitar. Only you can decide where to spend your money and you can only tell if a hardware upgrade is worth it if you try it. Hell, I'm taking a complete set of TonePros hardware off my guitar. For some people that's the ultimate upgrade.

I'm probably closer to the nutty side of the spectrum honestly. I just like to put "my stamp" on my guitars so I feel a more personal connection to them. It feeds and satisfies my OCD as much as anything.

With all that said, and in my opinion only, I think there are better hardware choices than the stock Gibson parts. At least a quality ABR-1 to replace the Nashville bridge and a quality stop tail. Aluminum or steel, that's up to you.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Upgrades to my GM Les Paul Std....What Else?

i havent used a callaham lp bridge but if i needed a replacement, id probably go that way too. i have their strat and tele bridges and they are top notch