Les Paul Tone Help

[Stone]

I just installed Tonerider Alnico II classic in the neck and the Birmingham in the bridge
I really love the neck pickup, and while the Birmingham does sound slightly better than the Original Yamaha
they are not exactly what I'm looking for, so ima gonna try one more type
have 3 contenders so far but the Thornbucker + looks to be ahead of the other 2
DiMarzio Norton and SD Saturday Night Special

 

[spawnofthesith]

Well I got offered an 2007 Gibson LP Custom for my Les Paul here and my Silver Sky

Can you test out the pickups in it first? lol

 

[Mongillo19]

Can you test out the pickups in it first? lol

I probably could and might. I'll have to see it first but he has already says it's not in mint condition so it could go either way what this thing looks like

 

[spawnofthesith]

I probably could and might. I'll have to see it first but he has already says it's not in mint condition so it could go either way what this thing looks like

An LPC sounds cool, but just knowing how I feel about most Gibson pickups I personally would still be hesitant about it being a “fix” so to speak, especially since you already love everything else about your current LP. I’d love an LPC but I love my standard too much that I wouldn’t let it go in a trade for one

Ironically, the only stock LP pickups I ever really liked were whatever was in my ‘09 studio

Cheesy high school senior pic of said studio

 

[dk_ace]

My JB/57s in the other LP

Just checking. I’ve seen people say that a guitar sounds thin, and they didn’t actually compare it to another guitar through the same rig lol.

Those are pretty beefy pickups you’re comparing it to. I’d let them be different and dial the amp to work with both if at all possible, maybe you need to boost this one a little to get it closer to the other.

You could always swap the pups between them and see if it is just the pickups you don’t like.

D

 

[Mongillo19]

Just checking. I’ve seen people say that a guitar sounds thin, and they didn’t actually compare it to another guitar through the same rig lol.

Those are pretty beefy pickups you’re comparing it to. I’d let them be different and dial the amp to work with both if at all possible, maybe you need to boost this one a little to get it closer to the other.

You could always swap the pups between them and see if it is just the pickups you don’t like.

D

Totally agree!

 

[Mongillo19]

An LPC sounds cool, but just knowing how I feel about most Gibson pickups I personally would still be hesitant about it being a “fix” so to speak, especially since you already love everything else about your current LP. I’d love an LPC but I love my standard too much that I wouldn’t let it go in a trade for one

Ironically, the only stock LP pickups I ever really liked were whatever was in my ‘09 studio

Cheesy high school senior pic of said studio

View attachment 8444

That's awesome! Yeah I'll probably just hold....for now

 

[FuzzyAce]

If it were mine, I'd install a Humbucker From Hell and a Super Distortion.
But it's not mine so you do what you want.

 

[laxu]

How are you setting your amp and how are you using your guitar volume/tone controls?

If the guitar is bright, just roll back the tone knob until it isn't. Now you have room to make it brighter if needed.

If you still feel that it's difficult to make it work, consider swapping the pickups. I wouldn't bother looking for some super fancy boutique stuff but just buy something like a Seymour Duncan '59 Model/JB combo or whatever on the used market and see if that does it for you.

 

[EOengineer]

I’d want to know more about how OP is using this guitar. Is it going through a stack of Marshalls? A Fender Mustang Micro? Plugins?

It would also be helpful to have some idea of the expectations or examples of what you want to achieve sonically.

 

[Zodiac]

I’d want to know more about how OP is using this guitar. Is it going through a stack of Marshalls? A Fender Mustang Micro? Plugins?

It would also be helpful to have some idea of the expectations or examples of what you want to achieve sonically.

Hit the nail on the head

 

[TubeStack]

Maybe stating the obvious, but using your tone and volume knobs can help a lot with Gibsons and PAFs.

Also, play with pickup height and polepiece adjustment: small amounts can make big differences.

If that doesn't help, than I'd say a pickup swap or two is worth a try, though it is a pain if you can't do it yourself (like me). Thankfully, any time I had it done, I was very happy with the results (Lollars, usually).

Agree with others that, in a general sense, Gibson PAFs are very meh, and usually anything Lollar/Seymour/Bare Knuckle has been a huge improvement, in my experience. But I always suggest adjusting height, etc, first, as it can really transform the pickup/sound.