Which Pickup for a twangy Les Paul

[alex.ahrens]

Hi,
hopefully someone can give me some advice on which Pickup could suit my guitar best.

I have a 2017 Gibson Les Paul Tribute.It sound a little brighter than a usual Les Paul and tends to "twang" sometimes.
It plays great , though and has 490 R and 490 T as Pickups. While the Neck Pickup is pretty ok, i dont really like the 490 T in the bridge.
It has kind of a strong mid-boost, which i dont really like, its just too dominant , as my amp is a peavey 6505+(mid-strong). also, the highs can be a little shrill ,while the bass seems to lack and not sound like a Les Paul should.
So i just want my guitar to sound a little bigger and powerful with the output of a hot-vintage pickup. Kind of like more "raw big tone"

I thought about the Duncan Slash Pickups, but i think, they might have to much Highs, which would be too dominant in my guitar. in a typical guitar, i love them, though.

i watched at the Black Dog, but i guess it might have too much midrange.
I also watched at the Abraxas, which looks perfect at first, but i'm afraid it doesnt have enough bite and cut in the Highs, i imagine it to sound a little mellow?

what could you recommend?

thanks,
alex

[Dave Sloven]

Out of the vintage hot range you should consider the VHII

[Telerocker]

I suggest to look at the Crawler in combination with a 500K or 550K pot.  Huge sounding pickup with a terrific growl when pushed. Quite some bass and plenty of mids, but nicely spread over the midrange frequencies. Don't worry, the Crawler has enough topend (just set it on the right height). You might have to adjust your amp-eq.

Where the Abraxas is closer to the Mule (both AIV), just a hotrod version, the Crawler has the AV magnet, which imo is better suited for (contemporary) rock and hardrock.
I have the Crawler in a swampashstrat and play three sets of classic rock with it. From AC/DC to Whitesnake to Bon Jovi to ZZ-Top to Bonamassa/Beth Hart. The split is happening too. I play some U2-songs with the Crawler splitted. It sounds nearly tele-esque.

My stageamps are a Orange Rockerverb MK1 50 head and a Diezel Schmidt > Hook 2x12 cab with WGS-speakers or The Valve 112 RFX ported cab loaded with a Celestion V30. Talking about raw guitar tone: the Crawler > the highgain channel of the Diezel Schmidt. Beefy with bite!

The Crawler is not very hot, mediumoutput I would say. Not much hotter than say a VHII, which is a totally different pickup: noncompressed, very fast on the attack, dynamic and a way brighter topend. I have one in an ash HSS-strat. How good the VHII is, this pickup is imo more a one trick pony compared to the Crawler or the Abraxas. If you're looking for the early Van Halen tone this is the one. But I think the VHII might be a bit on the bright side for your LP. The Tributes are nice Gibsons for their price, but most of them don't have the creaminess of a Standard and Traditional. In the vintagehot range I'd rather recommend the Black Dog (which still has serious topend despite the extra mids) than a VHII in this case. Sorry Dave... we have a different view.

[Dave Sloven]

I suggested it thinking it is a less scooped, more vintage version of the Cold Sweat, which I have found works pretty well with middy Gibsons through the Peavey 6505 series amps.

[Telerocker]

Yeah but scooped mids with a round topend is a bit of a contradiction I think. Which pickup would that be? The VHII has quite a present topend. I'm playing the Crawler thru the Orange with is a warm sounding amp with a lot of lowmids. Works just fine.

[alex.ahrens]

Thx for your answers.

^{"The Tributes are nice Gibsons for their price, but most of them don't have the creaminess of a Standard and Traditional."}

Thats the word i was looking for; the creaminess and bigness ist just a little missing. But the Neck and everything about it just feels and looks great.
I guess it wouldn't be to strong in the highs, if it had a little more body, or as you said "creaminess". its hard to explain what exactly i mean, but creaminess explains ist pretty well. This might be the result of the weight-chambers. Don't know why Gibson does that, i never had a problem with the weight of a full body Les Paul.
I will try to record something, but i dont know, if that would help. I need to get my mic from the rehearsal room first.

I listend to the Crawler samples on the website, and i think it is to mellow / doesn't have enough bite in the highs. I dont know what exactly, but i guess its the articulate or percussive attack that the SD Slash Pickups have, is missing.

I know, i said i dont want a treble strong PU, but maybe the treble is just right and only a bit body or bass is missing. It's really difficult to me to express what exactly i mean. I hope you can at least understand me a little and don't go crazy while reading, I am german, so sorry if it's a torture to read 

[Telerocker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emuHMzA3sJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztcyF4thTrY

[richard]

I have the Abraxas set in a PRS Bernie which is very much a Les Paul alike and they have as much bite as I could possibly want. Your description of "raw big tone" pretty much describes the Abraxas.

[Yellowjacket]

Alnico Nailbomb is a raw, big tone in a Les Paul.  It is a wide, huge sounding pickup that is surprisingly aggressive.  If you think an Abeaxas is too mellow, this has that added bite and hair.

[Telerocker]

Thx for your answers.

^{"The Tributes are nice Gibsons for their price, but most of them don't have the creaminess of a Standard and Traditional."}

Thats the word i was looking for; the creaminess and bigness ist just a little missing. But the Neck and everything about it just feels and looks great.
I guess it wouldn't be to strong in the highs, if it had a little more body, or as you said "creaminess". its hard to explain what exactly i mean, but creaminess explains ist pretty well. This might be the result of the weight-chambers. Don't know why Gibson does that, i never had a problem with the weight of a full body Les Paul.
I will try to record something, but i dont know, if that would help. I need to get my mic from the rehearsal room first.

I listend to the Crawler samples on the website, and i think it is to mellow / doesn't have enough bite in the highs. I dont know what exactly, but i guess its the articulate or percussive attack that the SD Slash Pickups have, is missing.

I know, i said i dont want a treble strong PU, but maybe the treble is just right and only a bit body or bass is missing. It's really difficult to me to express what exactly i mean. I hope you can at least understand me a little and don't go crazy while reading, I am german, so sorry if it's a torture to read 

If you want articulation and percussive attack you're best of with a vintage(hot) pickup.

[Chris Rowberry]

As said in a previous post, the Crawler would be ideal for a warmer/creamier tone. The VHII is a good shout too, but if in a bright guitar, depending how bright the guitar is, could have a little too much top end when driven.