Looking for new pickups for my Les Paul Studio.

Adam Charron

New Member
I have have Gibson Les Paul Studio with the stock PUPs and I'm looking to upgrade them. The biggest bother with them seems to be a very flubby bass response. Kind of boomy and not very clear.

I'm looking for something with good note separation and are fairly versatile (I'll be playing mostly classic rock and metal, but want to be able to do both). Active pickups are definitely out, and I was leaning a little towards a Duncan JB/Jazz set. Does anyone have any other recommendations?
 
I assume you're running an Axe-FX or FX-8 or 4CM? If so I'd just go with some PAFs like the Dimarzio 36th Anniversary models. I have them in a half dozen of my guitars, including a LP Classic and they work great for just about anything. For me the trick is using the Axe-FX to handle the heavy lifting in terms of tone shaping and gain. For me it's a lot easier to make a vintage pickup scream then the other way around.
 
A fellow Axe user, music store owner, occasional forumite and excellent guitarist friend of mine has been recommending the Dimarzio 36th Ann pickups like previous poster, as excellent PAF style pickups for the $. Absolutely true that it's way easier to gain up vintage output PUs than to try to get good lower gain tones out of high output PUs.
 
+1 on Bare Knuckles. They have soo many good options. Rebel Yell's in a a Les Paul is an awesome choice, as is The Mule Neck/Riff Raff Bridge, or Abraxas.
 
I use suhr Doug Aldrich pickups in all of my les Paul's, they are A5 magnets so the low end is very tight and punchy. Top end is bright but not harsh. Definetly suggest you give them a shot.
 
+1 on Bare Knuckles. They have soo many good options. Rebel Yell's in a a Les Paul is an awesome choice, as is The Mule Neck/Riff Raff Bridge, or Abraxas.

I have both Rebel Yell, neck and bridge. That neck one sounds so warm and rich, jazz, blues, funk, it all sounds as it should. It's kind of vintage but cuts good through. The bridge one has less bass than the most people are used to (for high gain) but I see it as an advantage. There's no lack of bass, not at all, it's just punchier and less flubby. I can get great high gain sounds as well as beautifull cleans. Have to say, I have them built in a 7 string Carvin but they are originally made for Les Paul. At the beginning I have thought about the mentioned Riff Raff, the guys from BK recommended RY cause they have more output for high gain.
 
I've got a DiMarzio 36th Annv. neck and a SD 59/Custom hybrid in the bridge of my LP. They blend perfectly and sound fantastic by themselves. No flub, no shrillness. Sound great clean but can push an amp input into crunchiness. Highly recommended.
 
I have BareKnuckle pickups in all my Les Paul's, 3 with Blackdog Bridge-Supermassive Humbucker P-90neck. I also have one with Holy Drivers and one with Aftermaths. Love them all!! The Axe-Fx and Bareknuckles really seem to go well together, just my two cents:)
 
I put Duncan Antiquities in my LP several months ago & they're amazing. It's an '81 custom and it literally never sounded so good.
 
The Dimarzios used in the Music Man Albert Lee HH model sound particularly clear for a humbucker, even driven hard. I don't know the model, but love the sound.
 
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Aldrich all the way. Super tight low end & just great overall!

I used to have Suhr Doug Aldrich in one of my Les Paul's and replaced with Bareknuckle Rebell Yell. For me it was just a big step up all around from the Doug Aldrich's. Since then I have Bareknuckles in most of my guitars, including my Suhr strat (Bareknuckle Crawler in the bridge which is awesome both in full humbucker and split).
 
The Dimarzios used in the Music Man Albert Lee model sound particularly clear for a humbucker, even driven hard. I don't know the model, but love the sound.


Totally agree. I have an Albert Lee HH and the pickups are really nice and detailed, clean or driven.
 
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