Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

[weepingminotaur]

Hi all,

Been lurking here for a while, first time starting a thread. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro (set neck, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard), but want to swap out the stock pickups for something that’s a better fit for the music I want to play. On this guitar, it’s mostly:

• Classic thrash (Megadeth, Testament, Slayer)
• ‘80s hard rock / metal (primarily Hysteria-era Def Leppard, but also a bit of Dokken, Whitesnake, and Judas Priest)
• Radiohead and Pink Floyd
• Some blues and jazz

I run the LP through a Fullbore MRX distortion pedal into a Marshall MG30CFX. Here are the options I’m considering:

1. Black Winter set
2. JB + ’59
3. BW bridge + ’59 neck
4. Super Distortion
5. Super 3

Thoughts, opinions, advice? I’m intrigued by the Black Winter set because of everything I’ve read here and elsewhere, but I’m worried that the neck pup may be a bit unruly for the clean tones I want. Hence the option of pairing the BW bridge with a ’59 neck. On the other hand, I’m afraid that putting a JB in an all-mahogany guitar won’t give me the bite and crunch I need for the ‘80s hard rock. Then I have the DiMarzio options, which seem like they’d be great for the hard rock but maybe not as versatile as the others? I’m in a fog.

I know that no pickup combo is going to be a magic bullet, especially since this guitar is called upon to play a fairly wide variety of genres, but the feedback of knowledgeable folk here would be greatly appreciated. If you think another pickup or pickup set would be a better fit for my needs, please do chime in. Don’t be afraid to school me, either: I am pretty new to the world of swapping in pickups on guitars!

Many thanks!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

Of the sets you listed, I'd certainly go for the Black Winter set, which can cover a lot of ground. Outside of what you listed, a set like a 59 & 59/Custom Hybrid may work, too. It can do heavy rock as well as hair metal, and is great for blues as well.

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

Of the sets you listed, I'd certainly go for the Black Winter set, which can cover a lot of ground. Outside of what you listed, a set like a 59 & 59/Custom Hybrid may work, too. It can do heavy rock as well as hair metal, and is great for blues as well.

Thanks so much for the advice. I had been thinking about Custom, but was a bit wary because I've heard its mids are a bit scooped, and I like mid-heavy pickups. But I'll definitely add it to the list of options.

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

I have the JB in a cheap Chinese l.p. copy and I think it's versatile to cover all you need. Some say the upper mid bump is too much, those upper mods will make you heard though

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

A Black Winter neck pickup is cleaner and more even than a 59N, IME.

I don't play all the music you play, but if it were me trying to get from Megadeth to Leppard to Floyd in a mahogany Epi through an MG30, I might consider a Custom bridge and Pearly Gates or Jazz neck, or 59/Custom bridge with maybe a Whole Lotta Humbucker neck. I'm suggesting these by just guessing the guitar and amp may be on the darker side, and not so full range with the 10" speaker, and to get versatility it usually takes lower output pickups while getting your gain sounds from the amp/pedals.

The pickups I'm suggesting are brighter than your target sound to compensate for the gear, and lower output to allow some flexibility. But others who live in Megadeth/Testament territory might have a better idea.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

Are you happy with the basic tone you're getting now? $200 (roughly the cost of a set of pickups) goes a long way towards a better amp.


I know, I know... you asked about pickups. I only recommend the amp because I spent years on this board swapping in this and that pickup, never satisfied with anything, all the while playing through a crappy amp. Whenever anyone recommended I save for a better amp, I ignored it and kept going for pickups. Once I got a good amp, I realized I should've done it years before.

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

I have the JB in a cheap Chinese l.p. copy and I think it's versatile to cover all you need. Some say the upper mid bump is too much, those upper mods will make you heard though

Awesome, thanks for the JB insight. And yeah, I am not someone who will ever say a mid bump is too much, upper or lower. It's bizarre, because I love my '80s thrash, but I absolutely cannot scoop my mids, even for what is currently a bedroom sound. The guitar is a midrange instrument.

A Black Winter neck pickup is cleaner and more even than a 59N, IME.

I don't play all the music you play, but if it were me trying to get from Megadeth to Leppard to Floyd in a mahogany Epi through an MG30, I might consider a Custom bridge and Pearly Gates or Jazz neck, or 59/Custom bridge with maybe a Whole Lotta Humbucker neck. I'm suggesting these by just guessing the guitar and amp may be on the darker side, and not so full range with the 10" speaker, and to get versatility it usually takes lower output pickups while getting your gain sounds from the amp/pedals.

The pickups I'm suggesting are brighter than your target sound to compensate for the gear, and lower output to allow some flexibility. But others who live in Megadeth/Testament territory might have a better idea.

This is such an informative post. Thank you! I do have concerns about being able to get the chug I need for the thrash riffing, but I definitely get what you're saying about how to acquire versatility, especially when dealing with an all-mahogany LP and its associated dark tones.

Are you happy with the basic tone you're getting now? $200 (roughly the cost of a set of pickups) goes a long way towards a better amp.


I know, I know... you asked about pickups. I only recommend the amp because I spent years on this board swapping in this and that pickup, never satisfied with anything, all the while playing through a crappy amp. Whenever anyone recommended I save for a better amp, I ignored it and kept going for pickups. Once I got a good amp, I realized I should've done it years before.

Hey, no worries! The long answer is: I'm happy with my amp when playing my other guitar (Schecter Omen Extreme S-II with Nazgul/Sentient pickups, tuned a half-step down), but not with this Epi LP. I can do OK hard rock, and clean tones, but there is simply not enough chug and bottom end for the metal side of things. To compensate, I have to dial up the gain from the pedal a lot more than I want to (I'm a low-gain metal guy -- I want just enough distortion to sound crushing and not a whit more; otherwise I lose definition). This is why I want new pickups. Long term, though, I definitely want to get a higher-tier metal amp (Blackstar, etc.), but right now, upgrading the Epi is the first priority.

 

[Diego]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

I've got your exact same guitar.

I think it would benefit from a Custom or a Black Winter in the bridge. Something open and crisp.

The Super Distortion is IMO a one trick pony in a Les Paul, which I know is pure blasphemy, but I don't care.

Keep in mind you'll have to use new pots, since those use the Gibson solderless system. So you'll want to keep those push pulls to make things versatile.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

JB and something PAF-ey in the neck, for sure

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

I've got your exact same guitar.

I think it would benefit from a Custom or a Black Winter in the bridge. Something open and crisp.

The Super Distortion is IMO a one trick pony in a Les Paul, which I know is pure blasphemy, but I don't care.

Keep in mind you'll have to use new pots, since those use the Gibson solderless system. So you'll want to keep those push pulls to make things versatile.

Ah, thanks for the info! Yeah, open and crisp accurately describes how I want this guitar to sound. You're not the first person to suggest Custom -- I am going to give it serious consideration. Black Winter is where I'm currently leaning, but I might change my mind.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

I'm going to go rouge here and suggest a Distortion set. If it has too much hair on top, use your tone controls.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

One more question, folks: pickup covers on or off? From an aesthetic standpoint, I'd lean toward keeping them on, because I like the silver on this particular guitar, but wouldn't that muffle the treble just a bit? Or maybe it doesn't matter? Thank you!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Versatile pickups for an Epi Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

One more question, folks: pickup covers on or off? From an aesthetic standpoint, I'd lean toward keeping them on, because I like the silver on this particular guitar, but wouldn't that muffle the treble just a bit? Or maybe it doesn't matter? Thank you!

While it does matter, it isn't enough (to me) to matter. I'd keep 'em on.