Les Paul - most versatile traditional pickups

[nixpix]

Great forum here and I'm glad I found out about these pickups! Please help me choose the proper pickups for my setup. I have a 1997 Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus that is stock. I play through a Groove Tubes Soul-O Single amp, but  I want my guitar to sound good through any good tube amp. I play Page/Clapton style rock, old electric blues, old rockabilly, etc. I want a hotter pickup than stock, but don't want to sacrifice a good clean tone. I may also want pickups I can coil tap for a possible future Jimmy Page mod. Thanks

[Elliot]

A telecaster would be my choice for early Page :)

For Beano/Cream era Clapton-  a Mule or Crawler would be good - the Clapton Les Paul sound is not really a high gain humbucker sound, just a Marshall turned up  to 10.  For Jimmy Page, obviously a Black Dog is voiced for that tone, but a Mule or Crawler gets you there as well.  

Coil tappability comes as standard - just ask for 4 connector wire - you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

[Ratrod]

I'd say a set of Mules but with an AV magnet in the bridge and an AIV in the neck. The AV magnet wil make the Mule a little hotter than stock. The AV and AIV combo is great for clean or mildly overdriven (breakup tone) blues and rockabilly sound. The AV bridge Mule should be able to handle some serious (hard)rock tones while the AIV neck will be pure vintage.

Although the Crawler is a very good and versitile pickup, I find it less suited for old style blues and rockabilly.

[HTH AMPS]

I used to have a Crawler in my Les Paul and would say it's too modern/progressive for dead-on old school Page/Clapton stuff.  

I've got Mules in my LP now and they kill for that kind of tone (AC/DC too).  Wind up the gain and you can get them to handle heavier styles too - very versatile pickup.

Maybe the Black Dog would work well if you want a hotter PAF without the extra brightness that I think a Riff Raff or VHII would give for vintage tones.

 :twisted:

[Dane]

Well i have mules with Alnico V and they sure cut it for ol skool and heavier stuff. Thing is i have not tried an Alinco IV mule but my Alnico V mule seems to have healthy mid like the mule is suppose to but i guess you loose abit of the vintage side (but still it does wonders for this application but maybe Alnico IV would to it better) on the other hand i think it handles gain better.

[PhilKing]

I have a lot of the BK PAF style humbuckers and this is my take on your question:

AII Stormy Monday - these will not have the drive you want as they are wound to the early HB spec. It is a great sounding set though.
AIV Stormy Monday - this as a neck pickup with a Riff Raff bridge is a very versatile set.  I have it in a Les Paul and TO has it is one too, and our styles couldn't be more different, but it works for both of us.
PG Blues set - If you want to nail the Peter Green/Gary Moore sound then this is the set to go for.  The middle setting thins the sound out perfectly and you can still get the feedback for 'Supernatural'!
AII Mule- think Slash!!  Lovely mellow neck tones but can still drive and cut your head off from the bridge
AIV Mule - A sweeter sound then the AII and a little tighter for chord work.  I have an AIV as a neck pickup with an Emerald in the bridge - I think that you would be very happy with this combo for what you are doing.  The Emerald is a great Hot PAF and matches really well with the AIV Mule.  The middle setting with these is also almost out of phase sounding
AV Mule - I have never heard this set so I can't comment.  Tim steered me away from it when I was thinking of getting a set.  He prefers the Mule with AIV magnets.
Black Dog - Perfect Jimmy Page sound.  More mid drive and thicker tones than the Mules.

I hope this helps you.  Whichever BK pickups you go for you will be happy as all of them seem to improve the tone of the guitar tremendously.

[5F6-A]

Phil thanks for the info... as informative as ever