Pickups for Gibson Les Paul Custom

[Alfi27]

Alright, so I finally got the RiffRaff/Mule set installed in the guitar. Well, I think I am done with high output pickups... They sound bloody great, I am not missing anything. The Riff Raff is tight, it has lots of balls and it can growl with the best of them if it wants to. The Mule sounds smooth and fluid with higher gain, but still a beautiful clean tone. I rarely use the neck pickup for straight forward rock n roll, but it can do that too. Awesome pickups, no wonder this is the "go to" set for Les Pauls!

[Telerocker]

Great to hear you like them a lot. I prefer most of the time low output pickups. They do so well on highgain amps.

[ericsabbath]

best les paul set for me too
before them, I rarely kept the same pups in a guitar for more than 6 months
had many many BK pickups and a motor city set in my main guitar, a 1973 les paul custom, until I installed the riff raff/mule set
that was over 4 years ago and they're still rockin in that les paul
I ended up selling all my other guitars, except this one, and this set does pretty much everything

[Yellowjacket]

That's awesome that the Mule / Riffraff combination worked out for the LP.  As much as I like what is currently in my LP, the Mule / Riff Raff combo is always this thing gnawing away in the back of my brain. 

[darkbluemurder]

All this talk about the Riff Raff/Mule set makes me want one! The only thing is that I did not like any low output pickup set in my Les Pauls for long and always seemed to prefer slightly stronger bridge pickups.

Cheers Stephan

[Alfi27]

Yeah, I think that every Knuckle head should try that combination! Easily the best sounding BK set I have owned, and I have tried quite a lot of them. However, I figured that the Epiphone with the 498T/490R is a really dark sounding guitar... The 498T, which is a quite bright pickup, almost does not cut it. Sounds great with the right amp/settings but it can easily get too bassy. Although I cannot get myself to spend that kind of money on pickups for an Epiphone, even though it is easily as good as my first Gibson LP Std.

[ericsabbath]

you can always buy used bk pups for cheap at the Seconds Out section and sell the stock gibson pups

even if you don't intend to keep the guitar forever, you can keep the pickups

[Yellowjacket]

All this talk about the Riff Raff/Mule set makes me want one! The only thing is that I did not like any low output pickup set in my Les Pauls for long and always seemed to prefer slightly stronger bridge pickups.

Cheers Stephan

For sure.  Slightly (or a lot) more powerful pickups are particularly great for amps that don't have as much gain on tap. 

[Alfi27]

you can always buy used bk pups for cheap at the Seconds Out section and sell the stock gibson pups

even if you don't intend to keep the guitar forever, you can keep the pickups

Hmm, where is this Seconds Out section? I cannot find it..
EDIT: I could not find it because I wasn't logged in, lol 

[Alfi27]

A little update, fellows. After extensive testing, experimenting and adjusting I am afraid the Riff Raff is just too bright for the LP Custom... I was prepared to send it back, but I thought that I could try it in my other Les Paul just for fun, which is a quite dark guitar. Well, it sounds the way I hoped the LPC would sound... I guess I should have listened to you after all, I will order a Black Dog for the LPC soon 
I find the guitar quite balanced sounding actually, it had quite a lot of bass with the 498T. With the Riff Raff I would not say that it lacked bass, but the high end was so over the top that the low end was less pronounced. At the time I have a Juggernaut in the bridge, which is not too bright but damn that's middy! When I play single note riffs on the bass strings it almost sounds like my LP Special with P90s. It does sound good with certain settings, but I think I can do better (hopefully the Black Dog that is).

[Telerocker]

Maybe you should consider the Abraxas too: a little bolder, tad more compressed Mule with some exra mids. The topend is a also tad rounder and less pronounced than the BD...

[Alfi27]

Thank you for your tip! I just ordered the Abraxas actually. I figured that the Juggernaut, although not as bright as the Riff Raff obviously, was still quite pronounced in the highs and had this unpleasant wah pedal-ish boxy mid range thing going on. The Abraxas is more rounded in the top end than the Black Dog from what I read, and not as middy so I hope that I have finally made the right choice! It should match quite well with the Mule in the neck as well 

[Telerocker]

Thank you for your tip! I just ordered the Abraxas actually. I figured that the Juggernaut, although not as bright as the Riff Raff obviously, was still quite pronounced in the highs and had this unpleasant wah pedal-ish boxy mid range thing going on. The Abraxas is more rounded in the top end than the Black Dog from what I read, and not as middy so I hope that I have finally made the right choice! It should match quite well with the Mule in the neck as well 

Yeah, they fit well together. A good combo if the Mule-bridge is a little too open and vintage for your taste.

[Alfi27]

If the Riff Raff is too bright I don't think the Mule would solve the problem.
I have to admit that I am still a little bit skeptical to the Alnico IV magnet, Alnico V and Ceramic have always been where it's at for me in the bridge. Well, I guess that it won't hurt to give it a chance

[Telerocker]

If the Riff Raff is too bright I don't think the Mule would solve the problem.
I have to admit that I am still a little bit skeptical to the Alnico IV magnet, Alnico V and Ceramic have always been where it's at for me in the bridge. Well, I guess that it won't hurt to give it a chance

I was talking about the Abraxas-Mule-neck combo. Abraxas is a good alternative if the Mule is too open, vintage and maybe a tad bright for your taste. I must say that the Mule-bridge is quite balanced and the highs are pleasant, not shrill at all. But brighter than the Abraxas.