JimmyO
New member
So I recently gave my old 80s GTX 36 Les Paul copy the TLC it deserved. GTX was a Korean line from Kaman the folks who make Ovation guitars. It was my first proper electric guitar growing up in England in the early 90s. I was about 14 and knew I'd never be able to get a real Gibson so I delivered newspapers until I'd saved up enough money to afford the GTX, used for £250. The original pickups were horribly microphonic and I was young and put in a JB and 59, played it at all my high school garage band gigs, birthday parties and fireworks displays. Fast forward almost 20 years and I got it out here to California from my parents place, all oxidized from the damp weather but with awesomely yellowed and aged plastic parts and binding.
The 59 in the neck was nice but the JB in the bridge was just a bit too hot for the more bluesy classic styles I play these days. So the pickups went into a Kramer Pacer Classic where they are doing just great. Awesome for those 80s rock moments. Anyways so the search for my perfect Les Paul pickups began, and I got some great advice on this forum and from Emailing Duncan. I pretty much narrowed it down to either the Seth Lovers and the WLH set. I ended up going for the WLHs as a big chunk of my guitar hero's are from the 60s/early 70s British blues rock scene, or bands influenced by it like Aerosmith.
I also upgraded all the hardware and electronics, including Gotoh Tuners and Bridge, awesome Mojotone 50s wiring kit. I had my local guitar tech help with this one as I didn't want to mess up this old guitar.
So this week I got the guitar back and damn, it sounds amazing. I think a big factor is the WLH pickups. I'm not so good at describing guitar tone with words but here goes.
Close your eyes and take a moment to imagine in your head the tone of a vintage Les Paul plugged straight into a cranked JTM 45. Your in a nice size room with natural reverb. Imagine Paul Kossof, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Peter Green are there taking turns playing the Les Paul. They then hand you the guitar and ask you to take a turn and play a few licks.
That is how it sounds and makes me feel. At least to me. These are amazing pickups, and it's been a nice project getting my old guitar into the best shape it's been in. I would totally recommend these pickups to anyone with a Les Paul. Seymour Duncan has done an awesome job with these.
The 59 in the neck was nice but the JB in the bridge was just a bit too hot for the more bluesy classic styles I play these days. So the pickups went into a Kramer Pacer Classic where they are doing just great. Awesome for those 80s rock moments. Anyways so the search for my perfect Les Paul pickups began, and I got some great advice on this forum and from Emailing Duncan. I pretty much narrowed it down to either the Seth Lovers and the WLH set. I ended up going for the WLHs as a big chunk of my guitar hero's are from the 60s/early 70s British blues rock scene, or bands influenced by it like Aerosmith.
I also upgraded all the hardware and electronics, including Gotoh Tuners and Bridge, awesome Mojotone 50s wiring kit. I had my local guitar tech help with this one as I didn't want to mess up this old guitar.
So this week I got the guitar back and damn, it sounds amazing. I think a big factor is the WLH pickups. I'm not so good at describing guitar tone with words but here goes.
Close your eyes and take a moment to imagine in your head the tone of a vintage Les Paul plugged straight into a cranked JTM 45. Your in a nice size room with natural reverb. Imagine Paul Kossof, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Peter Green are there taking turns playing the Les Paul. They then hand you the guitar and ask you to take a turn and play a few licks.
That is how it sounds and makes me feel. At least to me. These are amazing pickups, and it's been a nice project getting my old guitar into the best shape it's been in. I would totally recommend these pickups to anyone with a Les Paul. Seymour Duncan has done an awesome job with these.
