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Pickups for LP Classic Custom... not digging the '57's


Bryan Sutherland

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I play mostly rock and blues, and have a PRS Custom 22 (2009 model, I believe), LP Classic Custom (very recent acquisition), and a couple of Strats (been playing strats since the early '90's). The Strats are great for blues, and the PRS and LP are for loud overdriven rock. I love the way the PRS sounds through my Marshall (Class 5), but the LP just doesn't have the oooomph that I was hoping for. I love the way it feels, I love the weight of the guitar, I really like the baked maple board, it sounds fantastic clean through my Fender DR, but I am less than thrilled with the overdriven tone I get from it. I have done side by side comparisons with the PRS, and the PRS sounds light years better. I am optimistic that a new set of pickups might do the trick, and make the Classic Custom scream. I'm not into the scooped mids death metal tone, nor do I want to go the EMG active pickup route. Would a 500T/496R set be a little 'hotter' than the '57's? Perhaps a set of Seymour Duncans? Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of a large guitar store to wander into to test for myself, and YouTube clips can be misleading if at all helpful. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

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I think the progression anyone should follow when replacing pickups is: pots caps first > then pickups...or do everything at once.

Is it more the bridge pickup or both? If it's just the bridge, maybe look into a 490/498 set. The 498 is wound to around 14k. Same pickups on every regular Studio and Custom. One thing this set may have going for you is a lot of people don't' like and often sell them. You could also try a set of aftermarket pickups. Plenty of good winders out there.

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I think the progression anyone should follow when replacing pickups is: pots caps first > then pickups...or do everything at once.

Is it more the bridge pickup or both? If it's just the bridge, maybe look into a 490/498 set. The 498 is wound to around 14k. Same pickups on every regular Studio and Custom. One thing this set may have going for you is a lot of people don't' like and often sell them. You could also try a set of aftermarket pickups. Plenty of good winders out there.

 

Yeah, primarily the bridge pickup, but even the neck pickup seems a little tame for my tastes. This might be a stupid question, but is there a break-in period for guitars? Some amps usually take a little time for the tubes, speaker(s), etc. to gel together, not sure if the same can be said for a guitar. I don't want to jump the gun and start tearing into my guitar prematurely. I will do some research on pots and caps... thanks for the tip!

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Maybe this will help, somewhat?

 

As you can see, the '57's are on the low end, of the output scale,

with the 500T and "dirtyfingers" pickups, at the high end.

 

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg4/ronstrosity/Gibson-Pickup-Output-guide.jpg

 

 

CB

 

Thanks for the info CB, nothing like a visual aid for researching guitar tone!!!

 

In my first post, I metioned my PRS... what I really like about it is when I play with a moderate to high amount of overdrive and sustain a note, I get a bit of harmonic feedback, which I like. The '57's in my LP just don't do that, and almost sound compressed (if that's the right word for it). When playing the LP through a clean amp (Fender DRRI), I usually use the neck pickup and it sounds great. Maybe the solution is another LP with higher output pickups!! Somebody lend me some $$.....

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The 57's in my Traditional Plus sound great.....but they do lack a tad of CRUNCH that the 490R/498T pickups that are in my LP Studio have. I think you should try a set of the 490R/498T's....just go play a guitar with them already in it. They retain decent clean sound quality, yet pack a bunch more UMPH! in the crunch ;) The 5ooT would be great for metal and very hard rock though.....And these are just some of the Gibson choices....there are many excellent aftermarket pickups too! YouTube videos, friends' guitars, and playing everything else you can get your hands on will help you in deciding what pickup has the sound you want.

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The 57's in my Traditional Plus sound great.....but they do lack a tad of CRUNCH that the 490R/498T pickups that are in my LP Studio have. ....

 

+1

 

 

I got 57s that are pretty versatile, I've also got 490/498 that I agree have more crunch. Sorry, can't speak to the 500/496, but according to Gibson's chart, they've got higher output.

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Well, we all have our favorites! I LOVE my '57's...have them in 2 guitars (so far)!

They do exactly what I want...clean or dirty. If I need more grit, I just add it,

via a pedal. But, that's rare, the way I play, and kind of music I like...which is

more about straight into the amp, and overdrive it, without losing too much definition,

in the process. Lower output pickups, are great, for that...IMHO. [thumbup][biggrin]

 

Plus, my P-90 guitars have both the quack, they're famous for, and the

dirt/grind, too, at high volumes, even without a pedal. So...I'm covered! [thumbup]

 

CB

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Well, we all have our favorites! I LOVE my '57's...have them in 2 guitars (so far)!

They do exactly what I want...clean or dirty. If I need more grit, I just add it,

via a pedal. But, that's rare, the way I play, and kind of music I like...which is

more about straight into the amp, and overdrive it, without losing too much definition,

in the process. Lower output pickups, are great, for that...IMHO. [thumbup][biggrin]

 

Plus, my P-90 guitars have both the quack, they're famous for, and the

dirt/grind, too, at high volumes, even without a pedal. So...I covered! [thumbup]

 

CB

 

Yeah, I will play around with it some more, tweak some settings on my amps and pedals, etc., and see what happens. It's not that I hate the pickups, they just aren't what I was hoping for. All in all, the Custom Classic is a sweet guitar, and I do not regret buying it sight unseen one bit. I'm not in a band or anything, just goofing around at home, so there's no urgent need to modify the sound of this guitar... was just looking for some advice from some experienced folks. Thanks again everyone for your tips and insight!!

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Well, we all have our favorites! I LOVE my '57's...have them in 2 guitars (so far)!

They do exactly what I want...clean or dirty. If I need more grit, I just add it,

via a pedal. But, that's rare, the way I play, and kind of music I like...which is

more about straight into the amp, and overdrive it, without losing too much definition,

in the process. Lower output pickups, are great, for that...IMHO. [thumbup][biggrin]

 

Plus, my P-90 guitars have both the quack, they're famous for, and the

dirt/grind, too, at high volumes, even without a pedal. So...I covered! [thumbup]

 

CB

 

I love the sound of the 57's too. If I need something with a darker tone or edge to it I just put down the LPCC and plug in my SG.

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The 496/500 will have more oomph than the '57 Classics.

 

My preference is for the 57s but I have a pair of the ceramics (496/500) in a '1960 Classic' for those occasions I want to get a bit more lairy.

 

But ; IMO your '57s should still be able to get the tone you want. It might be that a capacitor swap would give things a bit more air. I'd very much suggest you try this route before swapping p-ups. It costs a fraction of the price and it absolutely transformed one of my LPs - which has a pair of SD Antiquities fitted - when I changed the stock caps for a set of PIO ones. Plus it only takes about ten minutes start-to-finish if you have a soldering iron handy.

 

I admit that beforehand I was sceptical of any probable improvement resuting from the change but I was amazed by the difference afterwards.

 

P.

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The 496/500 will have more oomph than the '57 Classics.

 

My preference is for the 57s but I have a pair of the ceramics (496/500) in a '1960 Classic' for those occasions I want to get a bit more lairy.

 

But ; IMO your '57s should still be able to get the tone you want. It might be that a capacitor swap would give things a bit more air. I'd very much suggest you try this route before swapping p-ups. It costs a fraction of the price and it absolutely transformed one of my LPs - which has a pair of SD Antiquities fitted - when I changed the stock caps for a set of PIO ones. Plus it only takes about ten minutes start-to-finish if you have a soldering iron handy.

 

I admit that beforehand I was sceptical of any probable improvement resuting from the change but I was amazed by the difference afterwards.

 

P.

 

I am gonna do the pot/cap swap first, see how it sounds, then go from there. Again, I appreciate any and all input/advice/feedback!

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I had a mid '80's LP STD (my first LP) that I wasn't crazy about,

sound wise. I tried the '57s when they first came out, and they

fell short too. After talking to a guy at SD, I tried a set of

the Slash-preferred Alnico 2 APH1's, and never looked back!!

That being said, I've put Burst Buckers in several guitars, and

really like the 2 neck/3 bridge combo, so that might be an option

if you want to "keep it in the family". If it works for Warren

Haynes...

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If you ever decide to change out pickups, I have a set of 490/498s that I'd be happy to trade for your '57s. They're currently in a Smartwood I bought new in '04. I have the opposite problem - I find them too crunchy and grindy for my taste.

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If you ever decide to change out pickups, I have a set of 490/498s that I'd be happy to trade for your '57s. They're currently in a Smartwood I bought new in '04. I have the opposite problem - I find them too crunchy and grindy for my taste.

 

I ordered a 500T/496R set, but still don't know if I will swap them out... gonna give it some time. I will definitely let you know if I do and we can come up with something for the '57's! Thanks!

 

BS

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I play mostly rock and blues, and have a PRS Custom 22 (2009 model, I believe), LP Classic Custom (very recent acquisition), and a couple of Strats (been playing strats since the early '90's). The Strats are great for blues, and the PRS and LP are for loud overdriven rock. I love the way the PRS sounds through my Marshall (Class 5), but the LP just doesn't have the oooomph that I was hoping for. I love the way it feels, I love the weight of the guitar, I really like the baked maple board, it sounds fantastic clean through my Fender DR, but I am less than thrilled with the overdriven tone I get from it. I have done side by side comparisons with the PRS, and the PRS sounds light years better. I am optimistic that a new set of pickups might do the trick, and make the Classic Custom scream. I'm not into the scooped mids death metal tone, nor do I want to go the EMG active pickup route. Would a 500T/496R set be a little 'hotter' than the '57's? Perhaps a set of Seymour Duncans? Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of a large guitar store to wander into to test for myself, and YouTube clips can be misleading if at all helpful. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

 

I'll take those crappy things off yer hands :rolleyes: .. email me. Thanks

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I have DFs in my RD and they are screamers!! Amazing clean sound and a huge distorted tones; have to be careful though with distorted stuff b/c it can get a bit muffed.

 

I actually really like BB Pros and other Burstbucker pickups (#2/#3, no experience with #1). I think they excel on the 'crunch' end of things.

 

I played a LP CC at GC at some point and thought it sounded really good with the 57s

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