What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

[Tom12]

Hi. I've got a Epiphone Les Paul standard plus top pro. I want to upgrade the pickups on it but I'm not sure which ones to put in. I'm thinking about the jb for the bridge and the 59' or sh-2 jazz for the neck. Could you say if these would be a good for my les paul or if I should chose different pickups.

I normally play hard rock and classic rock.

Thanks for the help.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

Try this first:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?273142-Aceman-s-Official-Which-PAF-Thread

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

To answer the question of which pups would be good for your Les Paul, I'd say...the ones that sound the best.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

The Whole Lotta Humbucker Set ended my search for the perfect Les Paul pickups. Perfect for hard rock or classic rock.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

Try this first:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?273142-Aceman-s-Official-Which-PAF-Thread

There is some good advice right there.

Any pickup can play most any style. The real question is what tone do YOU want?

Mild, medium, hot output? (and why ????)
Bass - tight, loose, in the middle
Mids - scooped, boosted, flat; Upper, middle, or lower kids?
Highs - sharp or fat, booted or cut?

By the way - what amp?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

Whats your amp? What are some reference sounds/player examples that you can give us? What are the acoustic characteristics of the guitar like and what would you like a set of pickups to accentuate or complement about it?

 

[Artie]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

This is all subjective, of course, but it's hard to beat the PATB-1/2/3 in an EPI LP. I've got the 1n/3b combo in my Epi LP Custom. The 3b is the Blues Saraceno pup.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

The combo's of Duncan awesome are endless…especially hard/classic rock (depending on the amp…)

Neck Bridge:
PG/59*
A2P/59
A2P/A2P
59/59
59/Custom
PG/Custom*

we can go on all day….need some details!

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

The combo's of Duncan awesome are endless…especially hard/classic rock (depending on the amp…)

Neck Bridge:
PG/59*

I have this pair in my Les Paul Studio right now. The '59 bridge is what should have been the factory pickup on all Les Pauls instead of a 498T. It's everything I wish my stock Lester had. It's like the Standard PAF, fixed.

The PG is interesting in the neck/mix with the '59. Mine is kind of fat/bass-heavy so I have to keep it lowered down as far as possible from the strings, but set up right it mixes well and has it's own interesting chime with the bridge, and on it's own has a great, fat vintage Black Keys/Gary Clark Jr/White Stripes/Freddie King growl straight into an amp driving the amp tubes directly without pedals.

(FYI - when I had the PG neck in my solid mahogany SG, it didn't sound good. Fat, muddy, no clarity. The Les Paul studio is chambered. While the PG was made for solid Les Pauls, my experience is it works well in semi-hollows. Or perhaps the maple cap is what is helping it along to clarity?)

 

[Tom12]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

Hi thanks for the feedback
Btw my amp is a orange crush pro cr60c

And anyone got any thoughts on the jb for the bridge.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

And anyone got any thoughts on the jb for the bridge.

Yes there are a couple here who have some very strong thoughts on using JB's with Les Pauls. But lets just cut to the chase. There is a reason why the JB is so popular, there are many who have used it with great effect in a Les Paul. But is it right for you? Thats harder. The JB is the quintessential hair metal pickup. Its not particularly tight but it is loud and it cuts through band mixes extremely well. If your tastes are more vintage inspired it might not be your best choice but if your idea of metal involves spandex and hair spray it might just be exactly what your looking for.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

I think stage vs bedroom is the real driving factor for a JB. Don't hear no complaints from guys coming off the stage with it.

 

[blueman335]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

I think stage vs bedroom is the real driving factor for a JB. Don't hear no complaints from guys coming off the stage with it.

That applies to all genres? Like Edgecrusher just posted: 'If your idea of metal involves spandex and hair spray it might just be exactly what your looking for.'

 

[El Supremo]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

For (classic) rock? '59 bridge and PG neck or Custum 5 bridge and '59 neck or... WLH and be done.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickups for my Epiphone les paul?

That applies to all genres? Like Edgecrusher just posted: 'If your idea of metal involves spandex and hair spray it might just be exactly what your looking for.'

People were using the JB long before Spandex was en vogue. I'd use a JB for classic rock, Heavy Blues, Metal, maybe anything. Pretty versatile IMO, and cuts through like a knife!

But I do despise it in my music room….