Quest for the ultimate versatile set for vintage blues/rock tone in a Les Paul

[WhiteKeys]

Hi,

I'm in the market for new pickups to replace the stock ones of my 2010 Epiphone Les Paul Custom Silverburst Limited Edition (Mahogany body and neck/rosewood fingerboard) which lutherie, I think, is pretty decent. Stock pickups are Epiphone Alnico Classic humbuckers which can sound really muddy and weak.

I play it through a Hugues&Kettner Tubemeister 18 amp ( 2*12AX7 / 2*EL84 ) with various dirt pedals (boost/stacked ODs /dist / vintage fuzzes) usually at low to medium gain settings except for fuzzes that I can use at high settings too. I also use various effects and can have a quite long effect chain.

I use this setup mainly for rehearsal and recording (so I don't push the amp really loud) and occasionally for small gigs.

I play those styles (by order of priority):
-Modern Blues rock (White Stripes/Black Keys),
-Modern rock/Indies (Radiohead, Muse, Sonic Youth)
-Classic blues rock/classic rock (George Harrison/AC DC/Led Zep/GNR)
-Blues (Clapton/Cream)
-and sometimes grunge (Nirvana), classic metal (black sabbath), punk (Sex Pistols) or brit-pop (Oasis/Blur)

So I'm interested in a set of humbuckers (with nickel cover) to complement my Strat single coils tones, in particular in higher output and thicker tone area. I think I'm looking for a vintage PAF tone but maybe with a little more bite at least at the bridge...

It's really hard to make up its mind based on online samples with laptop's speakers...

Well, here's what I expect from my future pickup set.

For both neck and bridge:
-Versatility
-Definition and Clarity
-Rich Harmonics

For bridge:
-enough output for above higher gain applications
-Sustain
-Balanced eq with mids that cut through the mix

For neck:
-Sweet vintage creamy bluesy tone (slight to medium crunch tone)...
-Good dynamics and ability to clean up well
-Brightness
-(killer sparkling clean tone!)

As far as I went on my quest for the ultimate pickup set, my first shortlist would be:
Neck: Stormy Monday/Mule/Riff raff/Blackdog (Even though I love the tone of the blues sound clip of the PG Blues but I'm not sure it is the best choice for a versatile set...)
Bridge: Mule/Riff raff/Blackdog.
Maybe a couple of Mules are the best option for me but I would like to be sure that they have enough output for all listed applications.
I'm open to any other suggestions.

I'm a newbie with pickups matters and it would be kind to help me choose my ultimate set and configuration by sharing your knowledge, experience and opinions on these few questions:

A/Which pickups set do you recommend to me?
A bis/What do I miss if I take unmatched pickups? Is it possible to recalibrate an unmatched set?

B/Which wiring  (2 Hum, 2 Vol, 2 Tone, 3 Way Toggle) do you recommend for improved versatility giving that I'm not really interested in coil splitting as I can rely on my Strat for single coil tones? Out of phase wiring? Which caps should I use? Which pots?

C/Should I go for unpotted pickups for increased dynamics (as I don't push the amp to crazy volume level) ? or is it definitely not compatible with fuzz tones?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

PS: I hope my English is correct. Forgive me if not, I'm learning...

[BigB]

Hi and welcome

So I'm interested in a set of humbuckers (with nickel cover) to complement my Strat single coils tones, in particular in higher output and thicker tone area. I think I'm looking for a vintage PAF tone but maybe with a little more bite at least at the bridge...
(...)

Well, here's what I expect from my future pickup set.

For both neck and bridge:
-Versatility
-Definition and Clarity
-Rich Harmonics

All BKPs should get you definition and clarity (possibly more than you hoped) on a LP (given it sounds good unplugged). wrt/ versatility, no pickup will be equally good from pure clean to bluesy crunch to hard rock overdrive to modern hi-gain tones, but most of the vintage / vintage-hot range should work fine for most of your styles.

For bridge:
-enough output for above higher gain applications
-Sustain
-Balanced eq with mids that cut through the mix

Sustain mostly come from the guitar.

For neck:
-Sweet vintage creamy bluesy tone (slight to medium crunch tone)...
-Good dynamics and ability to clean up well
-Brightness
-(killer sparkling clean tone!)

As far as I went on my quest for the ultimate pickup set, my first shortlist would be:
Neck: Stormy Monday/Mule/Riff raff/Blackdog (Even though I love the tone of the blues sound clip of the PG Blues but I'm not sure it is the best choice for a versatile set...)
Bridge: Mule/Riff raff/Blackdog.
Maybe a couple of Mules are the best option for me but I would like to be sure that they have enough output for all listed applications.
I'm open to any other suggestions.

Except possibly for stuff like Radiohead and Muse (which I'm not interested in so I can't tell) there's nothing requiring high output pups in the bands you listed.

I'm a newbie with pickups matters and it would be kind to help me choose my ultimate set and configuration by sharing your knowledge, experience and opinions

My "knowledge, experience and opinions" on the matter starts with a simple observation: there's nothing like a "ultimate set and configuration" (except possibly the current one when you die, which is one possible definition of "ultimate" :mrgreen:), and you have to make your own experience thru trial and errors to find out what works for you.

Now for more practical considerations:

on these few questions:

A/Which pickups set do you recommend to me?

RR bridge / Mule neck would be a safe bet. The RR bridge is very punchy, has enough bite to cut thru and stays well defined under gain,  clear highs that works fine for indie and brit-pop stuff and way enough of the vintage PAF/Patent n° vibe for more laidback blues / blues-rock material. The RR neck is one of my favs and is really bright and articulate but I think the sweeter/creamier Mule will be more to your tastes. Both have stellar cleans and singing lead tones.

A bis/What do I miss if I take unmatched pickups? Is it possible to recalibrate an unmatched set?

BKPs "matched sets" are really two different pups, bridge and neck, designed to work well together wrt/ tone and output. On the vintage range specs are usually close, but they can be totally different on the vintage-hot and contemporary ranges (like a AV bridge / AIV neck or even ceramic bridge / AV neck, different wires, different windings etc), so what you miss is mostly the assurance that both pups will be designed as a coherent whole, but mixing and matching is a popular sport here. FWIW the RR bridge / Mule neck combo is one of Tim's personnal favorite and a very common choice.

And no, there's no way to "recalibrate" a pickup (except by rewinding it), but if you go for a "mixed" set the guys will match them as well as possible output-wise.

B/Which wiring  (2 Hum, 2 Vol, 2 Tone, 3 Way Toggle) do you recommend for improved versatility giving that I'm not really interested in coil splitting as I can rely on my Strat for single coil tones? Out of phase wiring? Which caps should I use? Which pots?

serie/parallel switching (requires a 4-braided pup and a push-pull pot) can be interesting, specially on the neck. I don't care much about phase inversion as far as I'm concerned but YMMV.  wrt/ pots and caps you want 500K pots  and 0.015 or 0.022 cap (and NOT the cheap ceramic ones) for the neck, 300K to 500K pots and 0.022 cap for the bridge. How it works : higher values for the pots will give you more highs, and lower values for the caps will raise the cutoff frequency of the tone control.

C/Should I go for unpotted pickups for increased dynamics (as I don't push the amp to crazy volume level) ? or is it definitely not compatible with fuzz tones?

I don't have a clue on this one, sorry ;)

[richard]

I think this combo sounds great. This is what I'd go for in an LP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaqEET376-I

[BigB]

I think this combo sounds great. This is what I'd go for in an LP.

(snip Bruce Dickinson's vid)

I sure like Bruce's tone (and his incredible LP), but while the BD bridge / RR neck could possibly work for the OP I still think the RR bridge / Mule neck would be closer to his specs and a better match for the kind of tones he's after. 

[Kiichi]

So I will just add my thoughts in on a few things here:

I think to recall one of Radioheads guitar players uses a set of Mules nowerdays.
Also those are incredibly amazing and versatile PUs. Could not go wrong with them, but maybe the RR bridge is a tad of a better choice for the bridge still.

Personally I really like coil splits. I find them to be able to add nice flavours to low to mid gain playing. A push pull to split your HBs might not hurt. Canīt comment on series / parallel.
You could always go crazy and do the insane Jimmy Page wiring xD

For pots we can just recommend 500k pots or the BKP 550ks with decent caps for the tones, like Orange Drops or at best the BKP Jensen ones. Proven to work beautifully many a time.

If I recall you can go suprisingly high gain with unpotted PUs, but I cannot tell exactly how high. What I do know is that with my potted BKPs I was never feeling like I was missing dynamics. Compared to every other PU I have tried they all are astonishing in that regard to me. Maybe unpotted ones are even greater, but I really donīt feel the need to push that any further.
Heck my Aftermatch was more dynamic than a lot of other PUs I have tried, so donīt get me started on the Mule or Manhattan!^^

[Telerocker]

Les Paul + Mules is the blues. Gigged last night with a blues(rock)-project band. Beside my strat I used my all mahogany Saint Blues with a calibrated Mules-set. From Bonnie Raitt to Beth Hart to Bonamassa, Mules deliver those tones in spades.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I don't think you can go very far wrong with Mules for what you're looking for. They're a very versatile set that Tim uses extensively himself for material ranging from Blues to early Ozzy Osbourne. Now that's versatility!

[Philly Q]

When I see a phrase like "ultimate versatile set for vintage blues/rock", I instantly think Mules, although I (still) don't actually own a set myself.

Then if you think you want a little more oomph in the bridge position, consider the Riff Raff, VHII and Black Dog, depending on whether you want brighter/darker, thinner/fatter, whatever (and even though all those pickups have their own matching neck models, I think in general the Mule neck model appeals to me more, I like the Alnico IV).


..... which hasn't helped much at all, has it.  But basically that's what I'd do if I was looking for a blues/rock set for an LP.  Which I probably will be, at some point.

[Mr. Air]

I'm gonna throw a new contender in the ring: The Abraxas bridge. It's often described as a Mule on steroids (or something like that) and it's very versatile. It can handle blues, classic rock and modern hard rock and since you'relooking for something that'll take care of the "heavier" things you play I think it might suit you better than the Mule or Riff Raff. For the neck I would suggest the Riff Raff since you want some added brightness. I don't know how that Abraxas pairs with the Riff Raff, but I know it suits a Mule neck well (I think the Abraxas and Mule neck are quite similar).

Here's two clips of the Abraxas in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e-vNNMyWMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzYzVdtZuYU

[ericsabbath]

emeralds should work great for all that stuff