Suggestions for new pups on a Les Paul please

[Red2112]

Greetings folks,

New to this forum and must say, way cool!

I have a 2004 Gibson Les Paul Standard with Burstbucker Proīs. I just donīt seem to like the BBP pups, specialy on the low end. Its my first LP, and yes it dose sound awsome at first, but now I find them harsh and poor definition on the low end.

My amp is a ENGL Screemer 50 and a moded Epiphone Valve Junior. My stompboxes are all TC Electronic (Tubeprimer, Booster +Distortion and XXI Phaser). The TC Tubeprimer has a boost thats always on, at least for now.

The music I play is rock oriented and blues.  I like the tones of Bill Gibbins, Gary Moore, Scott Gorham, Page, Pat Travers and Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. These last two being my fav, Alex Lifeson is in there too. As you can see, classic dudes of the 70-80īs.

I belive (correct me if aim wrong) that if I go with a low output pickup I will have a vinatge tone and a very clear one. I could always add more grit from my amp and boxes if needed. The Idea of high output pupīs, gives me the impresion of a wall of compresed sound with its signature all over the tone, which I would not want.

Your oppinions are very much welcome!


Care,

Mike

[ericsabbath]

sounds like a mule set

[Red2112]

sounds like a mule set

Hi Eric,

Thank you for your reply and interest.

Yes, I do have the Mule in mind, as well as the Black Dog. Then I also thought about a mix like, Riff Raff (bridge) Mule (neck), or Mule bridge, Stormy Monday neck. So many options aarggg! But the Mule and Black Dog keep coming up.

Letīs see if I can explain the tone I like, itīs kind of nasal and brown :roll: Donīt know if its a right way to put it. I really like the tone of Frank Marino, well and his playing too! Yes I know, he played an SG at that time.

Why dose the chat window (scroll bar) keeps going back up? Itīs a pain to write like this. I cant see what aim typing LOL.

Thanks again Eric.


Best regards,

Mike

[Doadman]

I don't think you can go wrong with a Mule set.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Hi, I have the Mule set in my PRS and they are excellent and very versatile, very musical yet clean up nicely from the guitar- harsh is not a word u would ever associate with the mule. Neck tones ....just thick of the Sweet Child intro..

[PhilKing]

If you put your browser into compatabilty mode the scrolling will work properly.  As for pickups, with your liking of Thin Lizzy and ZZ Top, you have a couple of very different sounds there.  I would look at Emeralds as they will probably get you most of what you want.  If you want to have a bit more bluesy tone, pair an Emerald bridge with a Mule neck.

[Red2112]

If you put your browser into compatabilty mode the scrolling will work properly.  As for pickups, with your liking of Thin Lizzy and ZZ Top, you have a couple of very different sounds there.  I would look at Emeralds as they will probably get you most of what you want.  If you want to have a bit more bluesy tone, pair an Emerald bridge with a Mule neck.

Thank you all so far, great feedback for now.

Thanks PK, the Emerald/Mule combo sounds like a cool Idea too. Would DC ratings effect in any way. The Mule neck is 7.3k and the Emerald bridge is 12.7k, would I get a balanced volume?

BTW chat window works fine now in compatabilty mode, thanks!

More Ideas welcome, thanks!

Care,


Mike

[PhilKing]

Hi, I have a couple of Les Pauls with Emeralds, one is the full set on a custom with ebony fingerboard and all mahogany body, the other set is a bridge emerald with a mule neck (this is the first set of pickups I got from BK back in 2004).  When I spoke with Tim at the time I wanted to get Paul Kossoff, Peter Green & Gary Moore's Thin Lizzy tones.  This is what we came up with.  The Emerald is A5 and the Mule is A4, which gives a little more of the Peter Green tone with both pickups.  They balance fine.

[Red2112]

Hi, I have a couple of Les Pauls with Emeralds, one is the full set on a custom with ebony fingerboard and all mahogany body, the other set is a bridge emerald with a mule neck (this is the first set of pickups I got from BK back in 2004).  When I spoke with Tim at the time I wanted to get Paul Kossoff, Peter Green & Gary Moore's Thin Lizzy tones.  This is what we came up with.  The Emerald is A5 and the Mule is A4, which gives a little more of the Peter Green tone with both pickups.  They balance fine.

Thanks so much PK for your feedback. Its good to see you have hands-on road test with this combination. I think this is gonna be a good option  8)

I sent Tim a mail regading prices and I also asked him what pups did Scott Gorham use, he said "Painkillers", but I think he means thatīs what heīs using now and not in the golden years of Thin Lizzyīs "Bad Reputation" LP. He said Scott likeīs hot pups. I guess thatīs what he likes now.

I also searched to see what Frank Marino was using back then, and his no.1 guitar was/is, a 61 Gibson SG Les Paul which fitted original PAFīs. He did produce his LPīs, so heīs a bit sientific too, like Page. You never know with these two guys how they got there sound, either way I love there tone too. Canīt wait till next month to place my order!

Thanks PK,

Best,

Mike

[gordiji]

hi red ,i've a screamer 50 and a tokai lp(good one) with a vh11 bridge & stormy m neck, which is quite an unusual combination but would cover all the styles you mention.i don't doubt the advice by the previous posters though.
i love the uniqueness of the vh11 but it does make you work quite hard for legato style leads with an amp like the screamer.the extra push of the emerald might be useful here but i wonder if it will be too bright with the screamer. the holydiver maybe worth a look.(i finally had a toss up between the diver and vh11).
the stormy neck sounds great clean so if you have the urge for jazzy tones or bb king sounds it's great, but is equally at home with gary moore.
it's a few decades since i've listened to frank marino, used to have fm 'live' great player , great album.
happy shopping   
 

[Red2112]

hi red ,i've a screamer 50 and a tokai lp(good one) with a vh11 bridge & stormy m neck, which is quite an unusual combination but would cover all the styles you mention.i don't doubt the advice by the previous posters though.
i love the uniqueness of the vh11 but it does make you work quite hard for legato style leads with an amp like the screamer.the extra push of the emerald might be useful here but i wonder if it will be too bright with the screamer. the holydiver maybe worth a look.(i finally had a toss up between the diver and vh11).
the stormy neck sounds great clean so if you have the urge for jazzy tones or bb king sounds it's great, but is equally at home with gary moore.
it's a few decades since i've listened to frank marino, used to have fm 'live' great player , great album.
happy shopping  
 

Thanks Gordiji,

Yep, tuff desicion I guess. I have been looking at some vids on Youtube. From the vids on Youtube, which donīt realy give justice to the BKīs, the Mule sounded good in the neck position, I liked that one. I could not find much on the Emerald. I still have till next month to make up my mind.

It all goes with age I guess, now that aim 47, I get more into the classic stuff and things I listen to when I was 16. I saw Frank in Florida when I was 16, it was my second concert and he opend for Aerosmith, great show that I still remember. I listen to LPīs (vinyl) and the older they are, the better they sound to me. LPīs are more organic and alive to me. I will get an SG some day  8)

BTW Iam replacing my bridge and stopbar on my LP with a Faber ABRL and a TP-59 tail piece with Tone-Lock. (Tokai-Faber)

Thanks for the feedback Gordiji, will keep in mind.

Best,

Mike

[Telerocker]

Mules will get you there.