Pickups for a Les Paul style / sound

Roadrunner

Power User
So, I got this simple LP style guitar, weight relief chambered mahogany body, arched top with set-in mahogany neck, overall nice one but the weak point is the pickups.
I'm looking for a set of humbuckers, not something too fancy but something that will give it the ummmff that is missing and sustain, overall, simply more power.
Application is classic rock, fusion, classic heavy rock etc.
Important, nickel covered as I would like to keep the look she has now.
While I'm replacing the pickups, I will go for the pot's and capacitors as well.

Suggestions for pickups and electronics?
 
Affordable options are DiMarzio and Duncan. Take a good listen to the guitar acoustically. My experience with chambered instruments is that they have a different upper mid sound, they are usually slightly accentuated. If you are not comfortable with this you may want to choose a pickup with less of a focus on the upper mids.

My favorite budget pups are the DiMarzio EJ buckers.
No one can deny the tried and true SD JB and Jazz combo. This set has "the juice"
I've had great luck with the Dunlop Super Pots.
Mallory caps are solid.
50s style wiring all the way...
4 conductor versions will offer some killer options for push/push DPDT pots

all this to say that I would recommend a clear low gain pup to use with the FAS gear because of the limitless gain and sustain options
 
I've tried quite a few humbuckers over the years, currently have guitars with a couple of Dimarzio sets, a Suhr/SD combination and one with Bare Knuckle Black Dogs, yet the set that I think for the Les Paul sound is the Gibson Burstbucker 2 and 3 combination I used for awhile. Others will lament their shortcomings and how X pickup is so much better, but every guitar I put the BB set in had the distinguishable Les Paul tone. Can't say the same about any of the pickups I have now.
 
In my Gibson LP I have a set of Bareknuckle Rebel Yells, they are stellar, on a Epiphone I have a set of Boot Camp Old Guard and are very nice too.
 
I'm looking for a set of humbuckers, not something too fancy but something that will give it the ummmff that is missing and sustain, overall, simply more power.

I have a set of Seth Lovers I'm selling.

I agree about the wiring, 50's for sure. Tried the modern wiring configuartion and didn't like it. The other thing that is a must, in my opinion, is 500 k audio taper pots. My 1987 LPC had 300 k pots in it, for some bizarre reason Gibson thought that was a good idea in the 80's, and it sounded like the guitar had my grandmother's blanket on it. I put a set of 500 k pots in it and the guitar came to life!
 
I have a set of Seth Lovers I'm selling.

I agree about the wiring, 50's for sure. Tried the modern wiring configuartion and didn't like it. The other thing that is a must, in my opinion, is 500 k audio taper pots. My 1987 LPC had 300 k pots in it, for some bizarre reason Gibson thought that was a good idea in the 80's, and it sounded like the guitar had my grandmother's blanket on it. I put a set of 500 k pots in it and the guitar came to life!
could have been to offest the brightness of all the JCM 800's people were playing them through
 
I have Lindy Fralin Pure PAFs in my Les Paul. They have amazing clarity and the neck pickup has a nice defined low end.

Do you use your volume knob a lot when playing? If so, I also highly recommend using 50s wiring for your controls. Your tone won’t turn to mush when you roll down the volume.
 
Keeping things "not too fancy" I chose common budget friendly oriented pups. All the pickups listed in this thread are great options.
 
They are great pickups, I have a few. Abraxas, Emerald & PG. I think everyone would agree they are really great pickups.

Not common or budget friendly though.

Splashin' cash I would suggest wolfe pickups if in US, pickup wizard or MJS pickups if in Canada. BKP makes more sense for across the pond.

If OP wants good handwound pickups at a steal, vineham pickups in Canada is my recommendation. $135usd for a pair give or take.
 
Plenty BKPs in the US. I've purchased all of mine used on Reverb and eBay. OX4 pups are gaining in popularity here also.
 
Not common or budget friendly though.

Splashin' cash I would suggest wolfe pickups if in US, pickup wizard or MJS pickups if in Canada. BKP makes more sense for across the pond.

If OP wants good handwound pickups at a steal, vineham pickups in Canada is my recommendation. $135usd for a pair give or take.
The Boot Camp series is not as expensive as the others.
 
Thank you all.
That's a very interesting thread.
Many good ideas, hard to choose from…

50s style wiring all the way...
I'm not sure I'm familiar with that, what does it means?

all this to say that I would recommend a clear low gain pup to use with the FAS gear because of the limitless gain and sustain options
Correct if used with FAS gear but this one is for another side project I got where I'm playing traditional guitar >> tube amp head >> 4x12, it's an AC/DC tribute so no tricks allowed.

No one can deny the tried and true SD JB and Jazz combo. This set has "the juice"
It's interesting as you're not the first to recommend me this set. A while ago I had this set on a poplar Body Jackson Dinkey XL (90's, the good stuff) for few years and hated it, the sound was muffled and just didn’t feel "fit in" with the guitar.
Maybe a bad combination of wood / pickup.


In my Gibson LP I have a set of Bareknuckle Rebel Yells,
Thoughts on BK as well but the price…. and I'm afraid they will be too "modern" for this guitar / application I'm trying to achieve.


500 k audio taper pots.

Do you use your volume knob a lot when playing? If so, I also highly recommend using 50s wiring for your controls. Your tone won’t turn to mush when you roll down the volume.
Yea for sure!, one of the 1st things I've checked was rolling back the volume and the sound turned into crap, all muffled.
500k for sure.

It looks like i will have to go by what i will fined used / cost...
All the options looks very good.
 
50s wiring is series and modern is parallel try both and use audio taper 500K pots. Cap is not that important as long as it is not a very low voltage ceramic one ,an orange drop is about the best performance to price ratio.
 
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