your fave 'bucker for a Les Paul?

[riffmeister]

I have a brand new R8 with Burstbuckers. I'm not convinced that these are the best pickups for my taste. They have plenty of top and bottom, but could use some more in the middle.

Suggestions??

[Two-Octave]

What kind of music are you playing? There are many options.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Two-Octave
What kind of music are you playing? There are many options.

Clean & dirty Classic Rock type tones are what I seek.

[retrospex]

I gig for a living in a classic rock cover band... my guitar is a Gibson Les Paul w/ Duncan Pearly Gates pickups. They are great for classic rock..

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Shovelhead
I have Fralins in one of my R7s, and I REALLY like them too. They sound great for clean stuff as well as crunchy/gainy sounds.

what are the Ohms for each in your R7?

I have a 8.6K Ohm Fralin (sans cover) at the bridge in my '75 Custom and like when the treble is rolled off a bit.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Shovelhead
Mine are 7.4K ohm on the neck, and 8.3K ohm on the bridge pickup. I got them from RS Guitarworks, and installed one of their pots/caps kits with the pickups. It made ALL the difference in this guitar.

How does the volume and tone roll off with their kit? I want an immediate rolloff of both from the max position. As it is on the stock R8, noticeable rolloff only occurs beginning at about "4" on the knobs.

[cocheese]

Riff,

The Jason Lollar Imperials are hands down the best humbuckers I've ever heard. They do the clean and dirty stuff so well it's friggin' unbelievable!!!

[ahellam]

Duncan seth lover might be what you are looking for riff.

[Motorhed]

gibson '57 classic. it could be a tad hotter for distortion, but otherwise its everything i love about les paul tone.

[george4908]

>>gibson '57 classic

+1. Not the booteek flava of the month, but still a fine pickup.

[gitarzilla]

Riff, get yourself over to the LP forum and search up Tim White or timbuckers and get on his list. THen get yourself a set of Seths to tide you over because it's a long wait for the Tims. Tims are absolutely incredible. I don't know what kind of magic dust he's sprinkling on those things, but they just plain amaze me every time I play my R8. Played this gig tonight with my blues band using my R8 and my little TR Club Royale. I just flat-out owned the place tone-wise. It was silly. I couldn't get a bad sound. A couple of weeks ago I did this quick and dirty demo with this other band (classic rock/bloozerock) I recently hooked up with. Used my R8 into a stand-alone tube reverb unit into my Super Deluxe and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It's the closest I've come to duplicating the best sounding bridge PAF I've ever heard: fat, warm and singing, yet with that cut.

I actually only have the Tim in the bridge spot because that's the pickup I seem to be the fussiest about. It's always been difficult to get that balance between fat and cut. Seems like most pickups are either to bright down there or too overwound and too dark. So I'm running a Seth neck with the Tim bridge in my R8, and I love it.

Another fantastic neck pickup that I have running alongside a Seth bridge in my R9 is the Voodoo 59 with the Alnico III magnet. Very warm yet articulate neck pickup -- great clarity.

I think the ultimate setup would be the Voodoo 59 neck and Tim in the bridge spot -- I've been mixing and matching around for a bit now, and I think I'm going to set up my R9 like that to be my #1. This is not to say that the Tim neck pickup isn't great either. I just haven't heard it first hand. No matter what, I'd get on Tim's list for at least a bridge pickup. I may even have an extra Seth bridge pickup I could cut loose (I'll give you a screamin' deal -- I owe ya' one; email me).

Take it from a fellow LP/TH player.

[riffmeister]

Fralin
Lollar Imperial
Timbucker
Voodoo 59
Duncan Pearly Gates, Seth Lover
Gibson 57 Classic

and then there are those WCR's which everyone is talking about.....

Great to have choices!! Now, how to decide what to try first....

P.S. I have Fralin, Seth Lover, Pearly Gates in other guitars....guess I should try a Lollar/Voodoo/Timbucker first!

[Blueser]

Originally posted by riffmeister
Fralin
Lollar Imperial
Timbucker
Voodoo 59
Duncan Pearly Gates, Seth Lover
Gibson 57 Classic

and then there are those WCR's which everyone is talking about.....

Great to have choices!! Now, how to decide what to try first....

P.S. I have Fralin, Seth Lover, Pearly Gates in other guitars....guess I should try a Lollar/Voodoo/Timbucker first!

Riff,

Trust me on this please....pick up the phone and call Peter Florence (VooDoo). Tell him exactly what you're looking for, and he will wind them for you. I have not tried the Lollars, or the Fralins, and I'm sure they are all great pickups, but Peter is right in your back yard, and will wind them to your taste. You could probably even set up a time to go to the shop where he can swap different stuff in and out for you. He is a luthier of the highest order as well (not many people know that), so there is no risk of him boogering up your R8.

My VooDoo pickups kill in my Historics.

B

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Blueser
Riff,

Trust me on this please....pick up the phone and call Peter Florence (VooDoo). Tell him exactly what you're looking for, and he will wind them for you. I have not tried the Lollars, or the Fralins, and I'm sure they are all great pickups, but Peter is right in your back yard, and will wind them to your taste. You could probably even set up a time to go to the shop where he can swap different stuff in and out for you. He is a luthier of the highest order as well (not many people know that), so there is no risk of him boogering up your R8.

My VooDoo pickups kill in my Historics.

B

Bloozah,

Yes........this is VERY tempting cuz he's nearby.

Maybe he can do some work on my older Les Pauls, too........esp some neck/fret issues which have emerged in the last year with the "Old Yellow" '75 Custom.

Original PAFs
Tim White and Jim Rolph for repros.