Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

H

Havik

New member
Hello there!

I’m new on this forum and even quite new in the trade but I’ve recently fell in love with the good old vintage PAF tone.
I’m planning to order a set of new pickups for my Epiphone Les Paul Standard and I’m having a hard time choosing which one. I’m considering the PGneck / PGbridge or ’59neck/C5bridge. Basically they are needed for blues (slow&dynamic), classic rock, hard rock (like Zeppelin, Aerosmith), southern rock (like Skynyrd) and a little bit of early heavy metal. I’ve read loads of reviews about these pickups and for me, it seems like that the PGs are a very good choice but in decent instruments they can be very trebly and too bright. About the ’59/C5, well the ’59 is superproof but I’m unsure about the C5 and its output lvl & sound. ( I don’t wanna get far away from the PAF sound)
So I’m in a search for the original 1959 Gibson Les Paul sound, sadly with low budget. I’m using my semi-own made, originally 40 yrs old tube amplifier with its true, tube overdrive head, usually no effects.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

Welcome aboard! I've got a few Epi LP Stds myself, good guitars for the money. You're on the right track, LP's are made for PAF's.

Any one of Duncan's PAF's (PG, APH, Seth, and '59) are excellent choices, and will give you vintage PAF tones. To my ears, any PAF is a little bright in the bridge, so I use two 250K pots (volume & tone), and a roughcast magnet. These take off the harsh parts of the treble & smooth out the top end, and make the mids more prominent. Balances better with the neck too.

I like C5's a lot, but they're 14K, compared to 8 to 8.5K for a PAF bridge. While a C5 sounds very good in mahogany, they're not 'vintage' by any means.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

i have pearly gates bridge and 59n.

the 59 neck is great is every guitar, ive got one in a strat too.

the PG bridge has turned out to be really nice, but it took a lot of height adjustment and knob turning on the amp before i was really happy with it.

it sounds fine on its own, but when you dial the amp in so the front pickup sounds good, the PG is a little sharp, however, that does get you in the jimmy page live ballpark.

part of this is my amp too

mike
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

hmm I see, then I'll stick to the '59 & PG. Now I only have to decide which one will be the bridge and which one will be the neck, or maybe just use a set of them... can't really decide : (
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

I totally respect Blueman's knowledge and understanding of guitar tone and always appreciate his input. (I have learned so much since I have been involved with this forum.) But I think I will always disagree with him on 2 things due to our slightly different tastes (which is good): I like to get all the treble out of a pickup that it was designed to generate, therefore I use 500k pots (even at the bridge) and adjust the tone if needed with the guitar tone control and/or my amp; and I really dislike the C5 in any guitar. C8 is ok in some guitars and it's even excellent in a few (SG bridge for example).

So, for vintage tone in a LP I love Pearly Gates and P-90s. I suppose that in some LPs a '59 would work well, but I generally don't like the scooped sound (yes, I know that IS the vintage PAF sound). And I also like "57 Classics and Burstbucker Pros in LPs.

My favorite P/U set for LP, and perfect for the type of music you do, is a Pearly Gates neck and a P-90 or PG bridge. I really think that you can't go wrong with the PG.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

j9fd3s said:
the PG bridge has turned out to be really nice, but it took a lot of height adjustment and knob turning on the amp before i was really happy with it.

it sounds fine on its own, but when you dial the amp in so the front pickup sounds good, the PG is a little sharp, however, that does get you in the jimmy page live ballpark.
Click to expand...

As a new PG owner, I just went thru this too, and a roughcast A2 fixed the bridge tone issues.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

Havik said:
hmm I see, then I'll stick to the '59 & PG. Now I only have to decide which one will be the bridge and which one will be the neck, or maybe just use a set of them... can't really decide : (
Click to expand...

Either way is a good choice. That's the nice thing about PAF's. Whichever one is in the bridge turns out to be a bit bright or thin, that's fixed in minutes with a roughcast magnet. Don't sweat it. Duncan has great PAF's. You can't go wrong.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

#1 set of PG's
#2 Pg neck / 59 bridge

Can't lose either way.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

I second Aceman. PG and don't mess with them. Amps have eq for a reason.
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

I am not a pickup con a sewer(whoa) but from the music that you describe that you are looking to play I think a set of AII pros would be a great choice!
 
Re: Vintage pups for Epiphone LP

PG in the neck for sure but with my Les Paul I found the PG in the bright too bitey in the highs. For me when I think of a PAF bridge I think of smoother tone than the PG provided so I put me A2P back in the bridge.
 
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