Pickups for Les Paul Custom

[JimmyMoorby]

Ive just purchased a Gibson Les Paul Custom.  Thinking about slotting in a set of VHII's or Cold Sweat's.  Any one ever try these in a les paul?

[Gibson 1964]

I haven't, but may I suggest swapping out the pots first? I have an '84 LPC and I thought it was dark. I tried darn near everything pickup-wise in it Then I replaced the pots. The Miracle man I had in there, which sounded muffled owing to the pots, suddenly became too bright. I now actually have a much darker pickup in there now, (Not actually a BK, so I will not elaborate at the moment. Just another maker's pickup I had lying around that was darker than a miracle man.) I plan on at some point trying a nailbomb set (which I have, I just need to pull the old covers, swap out the screws, and put the original covers on the nailbombs) in there as that sounds just about perfect to me. (And I love nailbombs)

I'd just really want to make sure I was hearing the guitar at it's full potential through the stock pickups before I decided to change pickups.

LPCs run the whole spectrum from really bright to really dark. I just would hate for you to get stuck in the pickup swapping loop before you swap the pots. It is easier to get a better idea of what would get you the sound you are looking for with new pots IMO. I suspect cold sweats would sound ice picky in mine. Just, it tends to be pretty bright. I would say, your mileage may vary, but I think it is safe to say, your mileage will vary.

[JimmyMoorby]

I haven't, but may I suggest swapping out the pots first? I have an '84 LPC and I thought it was dark. I tried darn near everything pickup-wise in it Then I replaced the pots. The Miracle man I had in there, which sounded muffled owing to the pots, suddenly became too bright. I now actually have a much darker pickup in there now, (Not actually a BK, so I will not elaborate at the moment. Just another maker's pickup I had lying around that was darker than a miracle man.) I plan on at some point trying a nailbomb set (which I have, I just need to pull the old covers, swap out the screws, and put the original covers on the nailbombs) in there as that sounds just about perfect to me. (And I love nailbombs)

I'd just really want to make sure I was hearing the guitar at it's full potential through the stock pickups before I decided to change pickups.

LPCs run the whole spectrum from really bright to really dark. I just would hate for you to get stuck in the pickup swapping loop before you swap the pots. It is easier to get a better idea of what would get you the sound you are looking for with new pots IMO. I suspect cold sweats would sound ice picky in mine. Just, it tends to be pretty bright. I would say, your mileage may vary, but I think it is safe to say, your mileage will vary.

Thanks for that. I can really see where youre coming from with all that actually

[JJretroTONEGOD]

meh, I'd only ever put something like Mules or Black Dogs in an LP custom. If you get the 4 wire version you could wire it to be in/out of phase AND coil tap, which gives you a lot of options for tones. What is it like by the way? I've always wanted an LP Custom

[darkbluemurder]

I like the Rebel Yell set in my LPC. Does everything from Foreigner to Sykes and Rhoads. I guess the Cold Sweat would work for that as well.

As for the VHII I really like the neck pickup whereas I found the bridge pickup too bright and thin. That could have been a bad guitar-pickup combination though (it was a Les Paul Standard).

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

what are you playing?
both should sound great, but different
what's the year of your custom?

choosing bkps for a les paul really comes down to your personal preferences, since every bkp humbucker set sounds good in les pauls

I had the cold sweats in my '73 custom and my early 90's hurricane lp custom copy (rosewood board, though)
bridge pup is hot, bright and crunch, not much low mids, but a big solid bass
quite focused and articulate
neck pup is medium hot, balanced midrange, like an 80's/early 90's voiced paf descendent

I only had the VHII in the les paul copy, but not in the '73 custom
bridge pup is bright, but not as bright as the cold sweat, punchy bass as well, and also has a slight midscoop, so the overall voicing is similar, but leaning towards a riff raff-like classic paf tone
more open sounding as it's no near as hot as the cs
neck pup is about as hot as the cs neck, but it's a little darker and fatter
not as articulate, but more classic sounding

[JimmyMoorby]

Why the hell did I forget about the rebel yell .....prolly a better choice than either!   

I'm not really a les paul kinda guy at all in terms of playing them but I do really like the look of them and I picked up a very beat up 1978 Les Paul for a steal. I also know a very good luthier who could restore it for me but ill sit and tink on that!

I know the mules would be an obvious choice for many but im not sureh ow much better theyd be than say original bursbuckers which would help the guitar retain or increase its value......gotta think harder on this one i reckon!
Black dog is a very good idea though I know some folk put nailbombs in their les pauls too.

Id want a sound outside of my comfort zone so I guess I want a clean, uncluttered, massive sound without sounding unnatural in the bridge  and something fat, fluid and responsive in the neck......still maybe a cold sweat or vhii for that.....

[ericsabbath]

Why the hell did I forget about the rebel yell .....prolly a better choice than either!   

I'm not really a les paul kinda guy at all in terms of playing them but I do really like the look of them and I picked up a very beat up 1978 Les Paul for a steal. I also know a very good luthier who could restore it for me but ill sit and tink on that!

I know the mules would be an obvious choice for many but im not sureh ow much better theyd be than say original bursbuckers which would help the guitar retain or increase its value......gotta think harder on this one i reckon!
Black dog is a very good idea though I know some folk put nailbombs in their les pauls too.

Id want a sound outside of my comfort zone so I guess I want a clean, uncluttered, massive sound without sounding unnatural in the bridge  and something fat, fluid and responsive in the neck......still maybe a cold sweat or vhii for that.....

there's no such thing as a "better choice" for a lp custom
they all sound great
you just gotta figure what you're looking for primarily

if you have a 78 les paul, no matter how "bad" it looks, do not mess with the finish, unless it's already refinished
you can swap pickups and keep the stock ones, in case you ever decide to sell the guitar
can you post pics of it? :D

I have a black dog bridge/cold sweat neck set in a '78 greco les paul standard (maple neck, like yours, but brazilian rosewood board)
I honestly didn't like the cold sweat in the neck in this particular guitar (the neck pup actually sounded pretty good in the bridge position)
sounds good, but not as good as in my mahogany neck guitars, for some reason
the black dog goes really well with the maple neck (better than in my '73 custom)
big, dense and middy tone
not as 3D and transparent as a mule or riff raff, though

you better play it first and find out how it sounds stock, and then you'll know what you wanna change from there