Steves Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Hi folks, I recently bought a Les Paul Standard '60s from 2021 second hand, and I really like the guitar, but the only issue is I feel the pickups are surprisingly big, bright and unbalanced tonally. I guess it's no big deal, but I think I am leaning towards putting PAF style pickups in there. I used to have a '84 ES335 with Shaw PAFs, and they were the sweetest sounding pickups, and my favorites for humbuckers, but obviously I can't buy those off the shelf these days. Some choices might be SD Seth Lovers, or low wind Lollars..not sure..feel free to chime in here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 (edited) Try lowering the pickups down as far as you can yes this could mean equal with the pickup rings. listen to them if this is more acceptable then slowly raise them to balance your sound if that doesn’t work swap but watch out some come with PCB in the control so you might need to buy some quick connector Edited July 17 by Eracer_Team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Yes.. Its surprising just how much difference lowering the pickups can make... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Eracer and Rabs are giving good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steves Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 These pickups seem very sensitive to changing the heights, though I still find them a bit unbalanced and bright compared to other Les Pauls I have owned. They are probably fine for most guys, but I may try some Alnico 2 pickups down the track. Thanks for your comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 If they are unbalanced try adjusting one of them to compensate. There was quite an exhaustive thread on here about those pickups, which you may find interesting: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steves Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 I decided to try a set of Tonerider Alnico 2 Classics, and I am very pleased with the results. They sound much more even tonally, and I realised in comparison that the 61T and 61R are ever so slightly scooped in the midrange and the emphasis is on treble and bass- fine for many players, but I just like a little more of that midrange without sacrificing clarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 4 hours ago, Steves said: I decided to try a set of Tonerider Alnico 2 Classics, and I am very pleased with the results. They sound much more even tonally, and I realised in comparison that the 61T and 61R are ever so slightly scooped in the midrange and the emphasis is on treble and bass- fine for many players, but I just like a little more of that midrange without sacrificing clarity. Good to hear that you got it sorted to your satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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