JLP5178 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hello, I have a Gibson Les Paul Studio wine red with the 490 type pickups. Which I love. I play in drop C and they sound very heavy and clear. But I just ordered a Gibson faded brown les paul for my second Gibson Les Paul. I see that it comes with Burst Bucker pickups which I haven't read as good of reviews on. I don't want to put 490's in it because I don't want two Les Paul's that sound the same. I would also like to put this one down to Drop B possibly. I want to stay passive, as I have EMG's in many of my other guitars. I would like to stay with the classic pickup look but I don't have to if needed. It has the chrome hardware so I'd like to have a pickup that has that chrome look to it. The classic style, yet with high output that sounds good for metal, but like the 490 series do. Those have tons of low end and sound extremely well. I am playing through a Peavey 6505. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am getting this guitar in the mail tomorrow and would like to go ahead and order what pickups I need. I am fine with keeping the stock neck pickup but I'd like to have the bridge pickup changed out. It does not have to be a Gibson brand pickup but I'd like it to look like one. I noticed Seymour Duncan makes some but they had, "Vintage," written in front of it and I know that won't be the sound I"m looking for. Thanks in advance for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP4Me Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My son has a LP Studio Deluxe and I believe it has a Burstbucker Pro in the bridge....it's a nice pickup for modern sounds....you might not want to change it out. If I could describe it, I think it would fall somewhere between the 498T bridge pickup in your studio and the 500T ceramic brige pickup in the Les Paul Classics. It has a lot of bite and edge to it....I would try it out stock before replacing it. If you like the bridge pickup in your Studio, I think you'll REALLY like this one for what you play. The only thing is, I believe that the Faded that you ordered MAY not have a maple top, so an all mahogany body might take a bit of the edge off of the Burstbucker....still worth trying out I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLP5178 Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Actually, I contacted the seller from Ebay. It is being shipped now. It is the 2011 brand new model and does have the new top on it. Which I hear makes it sound better and look better. I will try these BB pro's before I think about switching. The vibe I got at first was because it's a cheaper studio than my other one that the pickups wouldn't be as good as my other one. I actually prefer the faded brown look over my Cherry Wine Red Les Paul Studio. But I wasn't sure if I'd like the pickups. The pickups in my Cherry Wine which are the 490's sound extremely good. As I stated before, I mostly play the heavy stuff in Drop C. When I first purchased my Les Paul Studio Cherry Wine edition I wasn't sure if it would have the sound I wanted without changing the pickups. To my surprise, it is the heaviest sounding guitar I own. I own quite a few guitars that are tailor made for the heavy stuff also. I prefer these over my EMG's. I do notice the 490's sound better with an OD pedal in front of the 6505 or an OD pedal in front of the, "Tube Metal Lead," amp on Amplitube 3, which is where I do most of my practicing and demo recording. I'm glad I have found out that these BB pro's are not bad pickups. Boosted, they may sound extremely good. I read somewhere that they have a more scooped sound. I'm wondering is the low end as good as the 498T? The 490's are just brutal with the low end they have. They sound amazing. I was very happy to find out that this was the new 2011 with the new top that I had ordered also. What all benefits will that give me? This thing is going to hang with my Cherry Wine Studio pretty well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP4Me Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 That's cool that they are putting the maple caps on the 2011's. I liked the sound of the all mohogany models, but definitely prefer the "something extra" that the maple top provides...in my opinion, it gives the sound more clarity and definition. Yes, you are right, the 498T is definitely brutal on the low end! I think the Burstbucker Pro may not have the same low end, but it definitely has a metal quality to it. Maybe with a little eq work on your amp, you can get that increased low end from it too. Let me know what you think when you get the guitar.....I'm curious to see the results from a close comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLP5178 Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 That's cool that they are putting the maple caps on the 2011's. I liked the sound of the all mohogany models, but definitely prefer the "something extra" that the maple top provides...in my opinion, it gives the sound more clarity and definition. Yes, you are right, the 498T is definitely brutal on the low end! I think the Burstbucker Pro may not have the same low end, but it definitely has a metal quality to it. Maybe with a little eq work on your amp, you can get that increased low end from it too. Let me know what you think when you get the guitar.....I'm curious to see the results from a close comparison. Okay, I will do. I have videos on YouTube of me playing my current Les Paul Studio and I also have some reviews. I do have another question, What is the difference in the Les Paul Studio Pro faded brown and the Les Paul Studio faded brown? The pro is $999 and the regular, like I bought, is 799. Here are some links to my videos if you want to check out the sound. The first link is me playing the Les Paul Studio. The second link is a recording I did just doing some soloing and testing out Amplitube 3 with the Les Paul Studio. The third is a look at my guitars. I will be doing videos with the new faded version when it comes in the mail in a few days. If you subscribe to my channel you'll be able to see it. EDIT: It wouldn't let me post links. My youtube user name is Nagol5178. Look me up on there. Also, if I do decide to change the pickups, do the nickel plated pickup covers go over a standard humbucker? I want to keep that classic chrome pickup look even if I went for a pickup that doesn't have that look. The reason I ask is because the cover only has holes for one side of the pickup. Will the other side automatically come through the cover well enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP4Me Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I'll have to check out your vids at home.....youtube is blocked at work! As far as the differences.....I know the pro has coil splitting.....not sure what else....maybe the pro comes with a hardshell case too? Not sure on this, just speculating..... Regarding the pickup covers, I'm not sure on that, and have often wondered the same myself.......I would assume they would fit with no issues, but I've also heard that you may want to add some wax potting if installing covers to uncovered pickups to prevent increased microphonic feedback, but I really don't know much about the validity of this..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLP5178 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 I'll have to check out your vids at home.....youtube is blocked at work! As far as the differences.....I know the pro has coil splitting.....not sure what else....maybe the pro comes with a hardshell case too? Not sure on this, just speculating..... Regarding the pickup covers, I'm not sure on that, and have often wondered the same myself.......I would assume they would fit with no issues, but I've also heard that you may want to add some wax potting if installing covers to uncovered pickups to prevent increased microphonic feedback, but I really don't know much about the validity of this..... Well, I have found out that Seymour Duncan makes the SH-4 JB in a Nickel Classic covered pickup and not just the standard hum bucker style. I am probably going to go with that because I need hotter pickups in the Gibson faded. I am very tempted to put EMG's in it. A lot of people have dislike for them and think they are sterile but personally I love them. They just always sound good for what I do. Especially lead stuff. But I've sort of felt like in a Gibson, I'm not sure if I'd want to do that. Although I have heard some bands who do, that have an awesome tone. I have the new EMG X series in one of my guitars and really like those too. They have a passive type tone with them while still having the perks of active pickups. It's just so hard to get harmonics that sound as killer as the actives! Especially in Drop C doing the heavy stuff. I seen that Adam Jones from Tool has the Sh-4 JB in his Les Paul. Although his style is much more different than mine, those might be good. I also might like the Gibson 500T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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