Wiring for a Les Paul

scottp

scottp

Fractal Fanatic
Which wiring do you prefer to go with in a Les Paul?
2 pickups, 2 volume, 2 tone, no coil tapping.

I currently have a Gibson LP Goldtop Classic 2004.
Some years back I put 500K pots in it and SD JB in the bridge & SD Jazz in the neck.
Today I find the tone of the bridge p/u harsh or a bit brittle.

So I'm thinking about possible new pickup & rewire.
Thanks for your input!
 
Put some Throbak 101s in . I A/B tested a set with some real PAFs in an actual 59 and I preferred the 101s. wire up with CTS,switchcraft and 50s wiring with Lux caps . For vintage tones it doesn't get better. All the tones come from this wiring by using the vol and tone forget coil taps when you have a volume knob and a signal this good.
 
I may be an outlier, but for Les Paul tone in my head the Burstbucker II and III set with 300k pots is hard to beat. I'm not usually a fan of stock pickups but Gibson got a couple right. The 57 Classic is another but it's a smoother tone to my ears. I want a Les Paul to rawk.
 
I believe the pots I took out of the goldtop were 300K.
I don't know what models the original pickups were.
Hmm, I wonder were I put them!?
 
Andy Eagle said:
Put some Throbak 101s in . I A/B tested a set with some real PAFs in an actual 59 and I preferred the 101s. wire up with CTS,switchcraft and 50s wiring with Lux caps . For vintage tones it doesn't get better. All the tones come from this wiring by using the vol and tone forget coil taps when you have a volume knob and a signal this good.
Click to expand...

If this is the model of pickups you are referring to... that would be the most I have ever spent on pickups, just saying.

SLE-101 MXV PAF humbucker pickup reproductions
$562.00 per pair Shiny Nickel
 
scottp said:
I believe the pots I took out of the goldtop were 300K.
I don't know what models the original pickups were.
Hmm, I wonder were I put them!?
Click to expand...
I believe it's the value Gibson uses for volume controls, at least in Les Pauls. I'm unsure if they've used them as tone controls, the only ones I've ever measured were in a Les Paul Studio I rewired for a friend - it had 300k volume and 500k tone pots. I remember putting some Burstbucker Pro's in a guitar and it sounded a bit harsh with 500k pots so I added a series resistor to the pots to reduce them to @300k and voila!

Speaking of Les Pauls, I did an output jack repair on a '72 with an Ash body- talk about a boat anchor! That was a fun guitar to play though, man did that guitar sing!
 
Are you looking for a hotter pickup or lower output? For lower output, my favorites lately in LPs are a T-Top clone made my Manilus in NY. Price is good and they sound so much like my Gibson T Tops is crazy. I prefer 50's wiring with 500k volume and tone pots. In one of my LP Custom's, I disconnected the Tone pots and that guitar screams wired that way. YMMV.
 
If you want the original sound of a Les Paul, I recommend unpotted pickups. This is what they started with... Most of the hi-end (and expensive) Les Pauls use unpotted pickups. Even though there are potential feedback issues, these types of pickups are more sensitive and allow for a more open sound IMHO.
 
I appreciate the comments so far!

I think I'm looking for a clear sounding pickup, great note separation with complex chords.
Classic rock with the ability to make great cleans.
 
scottp said:
I appreciate the comments so far!

I think I'm looking for a clear sounding pickup, great note separation with complex chords.
Classic rock with the ability to make great cleans.
Click to expand...
A happy medium between lunch money and mortgaging your house would be Bareknuckle pickups. I have a set of Black Dogs and they have really impressed me with their versatility. They have a vintage vibe with more muscle but not overpowering.
 
scottp said:
If this is the model of pickups you are referring to... that would be the most I have ever spent on pickups, just saying.

SLE-101 MXV PAF humbucker pickup reproductions
$562.00 per pair Shiny Nickel
Click to expand...
That is them. I know the price is high but I compared them to an $11k set of PAF originals and they where nicer. Yes they have vintage $$$$ on the real ones not just a straight up thing but if you wanted a PAF sound the 101s are the best you can buy right now. If this is a guitar you are going to keep in the long run this is cheap for what it does to your tone. There are some great alternatives of course but I wanted to put that out there. If you had them for 10 years that's only $25 a pickup per year, you will spend more on strings for the guitar in the same time.
 
scottp said:
I appreciate the comments so far!

I think I'm looking for a clear sounding pickup, great note separation with complex chords.
Classic rock with the ability to make great cleans.
Click to expand...

Have you messed with pickup height, pick material and thickness, string gauge?
 
scottp said:
I appreciate the comments so far!

I think I'm looking for a clear sounding pickup, great note separation with complex chords.
Classic rock with the ability to make great cleans.
Click to expand...

Duncan Seth Lovers are exactly that and only $200 a pair new. A4 mags, unpotted.

The cork-sniffery boutique jobs that are double that price or more don't offer double the
performance in my experience.
 
la noise said:
Duncan Seth Lovers are exactly that and only $200 a pair new. A4 mags, unpotted.

The cork-sniffery boutique jobs that are double that price or more don't offer double the
performance in my experience.
Click to expand...

And you can probably get that for even less via Craig Vineham at www.vineham.com ;)

I've had a few of his pickups, got a jazzmaster neck pickup to install next to replace a pure vintage 65 that was DOA.

But I stand by tinkering with pickup height, string gauge and pick thickness + material first.
 
Andy Eagle said:
Put some Throbak 101s in . I A/B tested a set with some real PAFs in an actual 59 and I preferred the 101s. wire up with CTS,switchcraft and 50s wiring with Lux caps . For vintage tones it doesn't get better. All the tones come from this wiring by using the vol and tone forget coil taps when you have a volume knob and a signal this good.
Click to expand...

Okay, I have been playing guitar for about 44 years.
Starting with Page, Nugent, Foghat, Ozzy, Rush, Van Halen, Pat Benetar, Satriani, Dream Theatre, Neal Morse Band, contemporary worship, etc.
:oops: I can't say that I have heard an original PAF pickup, so I wouldn't know what it sounds like.

But I can say that I like note definition in complex chords with some gain on it.
And I like the ability for the tone to clean up nicely with rolling back the guitar's volume knob! :)
 
la noise said:
Duncan Seth Lovers are exactly that and only $200 a pair new. A4 mags, unpotted.

The cork-sniffery boutique jobs that are double that price or more don't offer double the
performance in my experience.
Click to expand...
These are a great cost option and better than many costing double.
 
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