I think I found my sound - now what pickups get me there?

[maverickf1jockey]

There was a fair bit of guesswork in there I'm afraid so don't take what I said as gospel but I would stand by Fender and Marshall amps having a similar midrange emphasis as Marshall amps generally derive from the same circuit as the Fender Bassman.

[Prawnik]

There was a fair bit of guesswork in there I'm afraid so don't take what I said as gospel but I would stand by Fender and Marshall amps having a similar midrange emphasis as Marshall amps generally derive from the same circuit as the Fender Bassman.

All true - the biggest difference between the basic Marshall circuit and the Fender Bassman is in the power transformers and power amp tubes.

[Prawnik]

So I have the guitar now, been playing it for a while, wondering where to go next.

The tone is full and reasonably balanced.  The stock Burstbucker pickups are decent, a little hot, even.  I still crave the harmonic richness and complexity I get from my BK-equipped Strats.

Like a lot of recent-production Les Pauls, this guitar tends to be muddy in the lower-mid registers, and the bass is seriously tinky-sounding if you don't get the amp eq just right.

I am not sure whether the mid-range muddiness is a problem with the guitar, the pickups, or my perception.  The bass seems to be part of the guitar's acoustic qualities.

Going to heavier strings would help the bass, but might make the mid-range muddiness even worse.

I could also change out the tailpiece and see if that helps.

I am not trying to clone the AC/DC sound, but that is the general direction where I am trying to go.

Do I start by playing with strings and tailpieces to improve the acoustic qualities of the guitar, and then choose pickups?  

What say ye?

[ericsabbath]

riff raffs and 500k potentiometers

[kellar]

+1

To remedy a seriously dark and muddy Les Paul, I installed a Stormy Monday/Riff Raff set, replaced the 300K pots with 500K, and disconnected the tone pots. Now she's a classic rock monster!  :lol:

[Prawnik]

Thanks for the insights, Eric and Kellar.  

Honestly speaking, I haven't opened the backplate to see what pots are in it, but good 500K pots are a logical start.  

FYI: I probably made the guitar seem worse than it is.  It really is not that much of a mud machine.  It's darker than my Strats, but it's a Lester, it's supposed to be that way.  

The only problem is the flabby bass and some mud in the lower mids.

Since I don't know of a pickup that cures flabby bass, I probably should start by messing with the setup and strings.  Once that is optimized, then I can choose pickups.