First les Paul, need pup recommendations

[Tahoebrian5]

Hey BKP peeps, I just recieved a '94 les Paul standard, my first ever les Paul. It's loaded with SD Antiquities at the moment and I don't care for them too much. Bottom is too loose, and needs to be hotter for more sustain. The midrange does not seem like very much string separation. I watched the YouTube demo of the bkp Abraxus set and really liked the tone (and btw the song composition and playing was epic!) I'll post a link in a second post. I still think I'd want a touch more stain so basically looking for a slightly hotter version of the Abraxus.

Another question for anyone familiar with the Antiquities, do you think it would be worth trying a magnet swap before I pull the trigger on a bkp set? They come with a deguased A2 magnet so fairly low output. I'm wondering how an A5 would do, or even an A4.

[Tahoebrian5]

https://youtu.be/muzda3VB5F8

[ericsabbath]

well, you could just add a mild clean boost, mid boost or a compressor

the holy diver can deliver a similar tone, but it has more mids and less top end

[Tahoebrian5]

I spent some time creating a custom amp patch for the LP with the Ants , and raised the poles, messed with the height, and damn if it doesn't sound amazing. I spent some time reading up and I think I'm getting the magnet swap bug so I'm going to try putting a full strength A2 magnet in. Now I'm wondering if a swap on my other guitar will help. I'm starting a new thread for that cause it's completely different.

[ericsabbath]

pickup height, pole height and magnet strength make a ton of difference indeed
but I still recommend bkp over any duncan
the string separation of a mule or riff raff is unbeatable

[Yellowjacket]

Come on, put Bare Knuckles in your LP!  ;)

Rebel Yell bridge / VHII neck is nice.  Rebel Yell bridge has FANTASTIC string separation.
 
I have an A-Bomb in the Bridge and a Rebel Yell in the neck of my LP right now. 

One combination I'd like to try is the Riff Raff bridge and Mule neck.  Everyone here says it's so amazing with a LP and I was almost tempted to swap at some point, but I love the hair and extra output of the A-bomb.

[Tahoebrian5]

Okay after much debate I've decided to go ahead with some bkp pups for the Lester. All of them sounds so great it's hard to decide. In fact after all my research I'm gassing for another les Paul or maybe SG as a home to a second set.

Unfortunately it seems nearly impossible to make a good decision until you've installed and played them. It's got me pondering if it would be feasible to somehow use IRs of each pickup that you could sample through your own rig. This could maybe help you understand if the eq portion if the pup is correct.

Anyway I sent a email to Tim and leaning towards the Riis raffs mule combo. I found a used vh2 bridge on reverb for my ibanez so will be trying that out soon also

[Slartibartfarst42]

Mules are especially good in Les Pauls. I'd also look at Black Dogs as a possibility and perhaps the Abraxas if you want a Mule that is a bit hotter.

[Telerocker]

Mules are especially good in Les Pauls. I'd also look at Black Dogs as a possibility and perhaps the Abraxas if you want a Mule that is a bit hotter.

OP wants something hotter than the Abraxas, but not too modern. That leaves the Holy Diver and the Rebel Yell.

[Tahoebrian5]

Actually I'm thinking of staying in the vintage range for now. My rig is an axe fx2 so it's really easy to add gain or cut bass early to tighten up the lows if needed. Even the Ants have a pretty good metal sound but they do squeal when the volume is cranked.

It seems like mules are the bar so I'm thinking of starting there

[Telerocker]

Actually I'm thinking of staying in the vintage range for now. My rig is an axe fx2 so it's really easy to add gain or cut bass early to tighten up the lows if needed. Even the Ants have a pretty good metal sound but they do squeal when the volume is cranked.

It seems like mules are the bar so I'm thinking of starting there

I like Mules a lot in mahogany guitars. They do handle gain with authority.