Pickup recommendations - Les Paul Custom

[robert81]

Hey all, first post here.  I'm looking for suggestions on a good pickup set for my 03 Les Paul Custom (mahogany, maple cap, ebony fretboard), particularly the bridge.  Right now I have an Alnico 2 Pro neck and a Duncan Custom with a UOA5 magnet in the bridge.  The neck sounds pretty good so I am not dead set on replacing it, but my main concern is finding a good bridge.  If the new bridge works well with the A2P, I'll just keep the neck, otherwise I don't have a problem replacing it.  I play mostly hard rock, sometimes a bit harder (hair metal, etc).  I don't have a particular guitarist in mind to model after or a preference on modern vs vintage, I just want it to sound good.  I do have 500K CTS pots and quality caps installed.

Anyways, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with this guitar.  I purchased it about 10 years ago and it's my first Gibson.  Action-wise, it plays better than any guitar I've ever picked up.  However, I've never been able to get a great dirty sound out of it, and it drives me crazy because it plays so well. 

Strumming it unplugged, it's pretty dark.  Darker than my other 2 Les Pauls.  However, when plugged in and with gain, there's this sort of high end harshness to it.  It's hard to explain, but I'm guessing it's the "sizzle" (as some people put it) of the ebony board.  I have tried a variety of pickups, ranging from low output with A2s to high output ceramics.  In my experience so far, the lower output pickups don't give me the crunch and tightness I'm looking for, and high output pickups sound really harsh.  I've swapped a UOA5 into the Duncan Custom to try to tame the harshness and it's OK, but it's pretty boomy in the low end.  I've tried several magnet swaps in the Custom to mitigate the high end harshness and keep it tight in the low end, but I just don't think the pickup works for me. 

Any suggestions so far?  Like I said, the guitar is pretty dark so I was thinking a brighter pickup, but I'd like something that won't sound harsh in the high end either.  I've been looking at BKP for a while, and I'm sure all the pickups they make are stellar, but I'd like some feedback before buying any more pickups to experiment with.   

Also, if it matters, I would be ordering these potted with a cover.

Thanks for any help, and apologies for the novel. 

[Kiichi]

Hi and welcome mate!

So a darkish LP and you want something for hardrock. There are three pickups immediatly came to mind. The Rebel Yell, the Emerald, and the Riff Raff. In that order from most modern to most vintage.

The RY is able to breathe life into any dark guitar pretty much. Modern take on a classic tone. Screaming rock voice, loads of overtones, but not harsh, all very harmonic. Loves hair metal, but is insanely versatile. Can do blues rock and modern metal too cause it is so tight. Just lovely.

The Emerald bridge is also quite bright. More vintage and very rocking. More hard rock, but also an absolute favorite for extended range modern metal.

The Riff Raff is a vintage PAF on the bright side. Very capable of metal still, even though the most vintage voice and least hot of the 3.

All can do the styles you want and work in the guitar you got, just with different flavours (RY for example has a lovely rocking upper mid spike) and degrees of vintageness and openness, though all are really open sounding. Any of the three will likely rock your world. And none of them is harsh, they are far too musical for that I think.

Have a look at those three. Listen to the clips and I also recommend the Review sticky I made. ;)

Cheers!

[Telerocker]

Whats your amp? Kiichi mentioned three good possibilities. I have the idea the Rebel Yell would fit here best. It's definitely has the crunch your looking for and isn't boomy.

[robert81]

Thanks for the replies.  I run a Blackstar HT-5 at home and a HT-20 at "gigs" (ie. jamming with friends), with a Keeley modded SD-1 in front for a little more dirt when I need it.

I was already looking at the RY and Emeralds.  The RY seems in the ballpark of the 498T and Duncan Custom 5 (just going by DC readings and magnet, I know there is a lot more to it than that).  The Emeralds don't seem quite as hot, which may not be a bad thing.  Any comparisons between the two?

[Dave Sloven]

I haven't compared Emeralds to Rebel Yells but I've installed an Emerald set in a friend's Les Paul Studio and it sounds beautiful.

Although I do think he needs to install a locking bridge and tailpiece (e.g., Tonepros) and a nice '50s style wiring harness to finish it off.  No point spending all that money on pickups unless you are willing to make sure that the nut, bridge, and tailpiece are all rock solid and your wiring is first class.  That way you get the most out of your pickup upgrade, especially with regard to their clarity and precision.

The other pickup set he considered was the Rebel Yells but he thought they sounded 'too metal' for his band.  The Emeralds sound like you would expect: i.e., like Robbo's Les Paul on Live and Dangerous.

[Yellowjacket]

Rebel Yells 'too metal'?  I've done blues with them as well as metal!  They're super versatile!

[Dave Sloven]

Yeah, I know!

He's just a bit of a pain in the arse.

[darkbluemurder]

This sounds like a Rebel Yell job.

Cheers Stephan