Gibson Les Paul BFG (Gary Moore)

[tim180a]

I have a 2010 Gibson Les Paul BFG.  They have a Gibson Burst Bucker III in the lead position, and a Gibson P90 in the neck position.  They also have a unique wiring in that they have two volume controls, one tone, a three way selector switch, and a kill switch.  I love the guitar, it is very light weight for a Les Paul, and it is very responsive acoustically.

I hate the pickups!  The Burst Bucker is shrill and doesn't do well with at lower volumes on the guitar.  The P90 is louder than the humbucker and is dark and muddy, it does better with the volume way down on the guitar, but it's mediocre at best.  I'm looking for a set of pickups that work well together.  I would also like to re-wire the guitar to a traditional Les Paul style of wiring harness.  I'm open to any thoughts and suggestions.  I tend to go for more vintage tones than modern, Guitar through a tube amp, nothing else.

I was thinking maybe the Abraxas for the lead position, but not certain which P90 would work well with it.  Thanks in advance!

[Dave Sloven]

Abraxas (B) with Blue Note (N) might work okay.  What sort of sounds are you trying to get out of it?

[tim180a]

I mostly play classic rock and blues.  Normally I go for more vintage tones, but am always willing to try something different.

[darrenw5094]

The Abraxas is very mid heavy. If you don't like the extra mids, then the Mule would be more PAF sounding.


I'm pretty sure Gary Moore used the PG set in his Les Paul when playing live.

[tim180a]

Typically the Mule would be my go to pickup in a Les Paul.  The BFG is a bit different.  The stock Burst Bucker III sounds shrill at full volume and lifeless at lower volumes.  I'm thinking the stock wiring may have something to do with it's lackluster sound.  I have several other Gibson guitars that benefited greatly from fixing the poor wiring.  I will upgrade the wiring harness and see how that works.  My concern is with finding a P90 that works well with whatever humbucker I install.  I will consider the PG's.  Thanks for the tip.

[Dave Sloven]

I suspect you will like either the Blue Note neck or the Nantucket neck best out of the P-90 range

[Telerocker]

For classic rock and to get a nice balance between bridge and neck, I would go Mule bridge and Blue Note neck. The Mule is clear, has enough cut, but the topend never sounds shrill. It's a very balanced pickup. The Mule takes loads of gain (also from pedals) very well.