pickup help?

[Wired]

Hey guys,
So I got my new Les Paul Traditional 2014. What a killer guitar. I've fought with LP's for a decade trying to find one that works for me, and this one is almost there. It's still heavy, like they usually are, but not a back killer, and actually lighter than my RD Custom. It plays well, and its pretty.

The only thing? The bridge pickup is brighter than my tele! Its not icepick, it's just sharp and cutting. I need to smooth it out a bit. I know adjusting the EQ would be ideal, but it makes my other guitars too woody sounding.

It's hard because I love the tone of the B/PU but it's just on the verge of ear pain, so it needs to be changed out. Even rolling the tone down a bit just doesn't get me there.

So the question is? What do I replace with?

The Gibson 500T is the first thing that came to mind as I love my ES-335 with the 500T in it.

Bare Knuckle Crawler comes to mind as well, it's boosted midrange pickup, but will be a lot hotter than the 500T or the stock.

Can never go wrong with a Dimarzio Super Distortion.

I would also entertain the SD Alnico II. Always a great sounding pickup.

My other guitarist says I should shove a SD Invader in there. But then I would probably be too close to his LP in bridge tone as thats what he has in there.

[dylan]

Hello mate, congrats on the new guitar! You didn't mention it in your post but did you adjust the pickup height? Maybe dropping the treble side of the pickup will yield good results!

... Oh, and no pictures? Shame on you!

[Ronnie Robinson]

What pickups are in there? Classic 57 plus?

I have them in the bridge in my LP and on their own they do sound bright but in a band setting really suit the LP and cut through really well and you can coax anything from country to Rock out of it....so I'd leave it and just spend a few weeks to see if your view changes.

I also have the Crawler fitted in my Strat...higher output than the 57 plus and less bright, more mid range but no idea how that would sound in a Les Paul plus Orange Amp combination - it might be too mid rangy and struggle to cut through .

What about using the tone and the volume control to adjust the tone ie put volume knob on 8 will knock off some treble and adjust with tone control

[Randy Bass]

If you like the core tone of the bridge pickup, you might try a different cap and/or pot value for the tone control. Adjusting pickup height can also make a noticeable difference.

[Wired]

"1959 Tribute Humbucker(Alnico #2): The 1959 Tribute Humbucker enhances the highs yet retains classic tone with "unmatched" bobbin windings, Alnico II magnets, and exceptional balance between coils—this is the reincarnation of the classic humbucker."

A new design for the Traditional LP series for the 2014 models.

I guess a pair of Burstbuckers would be well suited too

Amp is a RV50 MKi, sound is heavy rock/progressive.



The problem is it cuts way to well in the band, it still sounds great, but the high end gets taxing after a while on the eardrums. I'd hate to engage an EQ pedal everytime I wanted to use this guitar just to deal with the top end.

I'll try pickup height adjustment first.

[Jondog]

I had a Les Paul Traditional last year. Loved it, but decided to part with it. I had intentioins of changing out the bridge p/u for the same reason. It had a Burstbucker Pro in that was too bright. Sounded good when I'd roll the volume back a touch. Classic 57 in the neck, had no issue with it.

[Wired]

I dropped down the bridge and neck pickup a bit as the neck pickup was getting overdriven too quickly clean as well. This has helped, but the bridge is still really really bright. Turning on my Xotic RC Booster with a treble cut does help, but it's a temporary solution at this time. I'll try it with the band on Monday night and see where that goes.

and because a NGD thread is useless without pics... here is my rig as it' currently stands:

rig-3 by LK_335, on Flickr

rig by LK_335, on Flickr

rig-2 by LK_335, on Flickr

rig-4 by LK_335, on Flickr

rig-5 by LK_335, on Flickr

rig-6 by LK_335, on Flickr

The RD didn't make it onto the guitar stand... I'll need to get a 5 bay rack I think, to include my Tele and RD.


P.S. I need to replace my Emma Reezzafratzitz (you notice its not on the board) because its broken as all crud. I'm going to probably buy the new one. I've tried to replace it with various other boxes including the BB Preamp with mid control, the Mesa Throttle Box, TC Nova Drive, Wampler ACbox...but the RF1 from Emma is still my fav drive. It would replace the Empress Multi-Drive.

[dylan]

Hello mate, that's a whole lot of nice gear you have there! I just thought i would chime in with another pickup suggestion, I have not had personal experience with their humbuckers but I have the woodstock+ pickups in my Strat and I was blown away at how awesome they where, check out Kinman pickups!

http://www.kinman.com/guitar-pickups/humbucker/

[Mystic38]

hi.. great guitar!..

iirc the volume pot is ~300k on a traditional, so while I would normally say swap a 500k for a 250k to dampen the pickup treble response I don't think that will do much.
reducing the pot value for the tone control from the stock 500k will add additional loading to the pup when tone is being rolled off, also increasing the cap value would give greater range.

cant help but think that a 10 band mxr pedal is the way to go.. if you need to convince yourself then consider that this has serious additional value in tuning the rig to a room.

if you are wanting to entertain a pup change, then depending on your tonal needs, I have a Seymour Duncan JB in my DC that I am very impressed with.. not massive hot output though...but balances a SD jazz very well

[Vertikal]

Great rig you have there, Wired! I'm sure it sounds as awesome as it looks!

I'd most probably change the pick-ups if you're still having difficulty getting the right tone. In which case, I'd 100% recommend 'The Creamery' out of Manchester, England. Custom pick-ups, hand built to order and can be specific to your needs. They're normally hand made faithfully to the originals by the likes of Gibson, Gretsch, Fender etc., only much better. I'm ordering a set of Wide-Range pick-ups for my Fender later in the year.

http://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Wired]

Thanks



I'll look into those other pickup options.


On the topic, I'm getting a new Emma reezafratziz pedal in the next little bit as mine died. It has a tighter bottom that and powerful punch I cantfind with any other pedal. Other pedals come close but are either too muddy or too compressed. So I'm going to pull the multidrive. But I'll need something for that ripping distortion that cuts

I was thinking a rat?

[dylan]

I always really loved the T-Rex mudhoney pedal! It really let's your guitar and amp tone shine through. The next distortion pedal I get though will be a T-Rex moller 2, it does not have bags of distortion but it has a great mix knob and a built in boost!

[a.hun]

Sorry if this is too obvious, but have you tried just backing off the tone pot for that p/up?

I always use the tone controls on my guitars (/ basses) and I'd personally consider it a luxury to have a LP where I didn't have to run the p/up tone controls at or near 10 the whole time...


Andy.

[Wired]

Sorry if this is too obvious, but have you tried just backing off the tone pot for that p/up?

I always use the tone controls on my guitars (/ basses) and I'd personally consider it a luxury to have a LP where I didn't have to run the p/up tone controls at or near 10 the whole time...


Andy.

yea, I've done that. loses clarity too which become a problem. So cap/tone pot values could be the way to go here as well.

I may do a full electronics reworking, who knows.

The guitar has such a great tone, just needs a little bit of tweaking.