Pickups for a Les Paul with a Baked Maple fretboard?

[jwhitman]

Have any of you guys purchased and then modified a baked maple fretboard Les Paul? My LP is a '11 model Classic Plus (Mahog neck and body with a maple cap and baked maple board). I'm contemplating pulling out the 500T/496R as they are prone to some feedback vs. my other guitars under high gain and I think I could get a little more clarity and overall "ass kickage" out of a nicer set of aftermarkets. I'm leaning towards BKPs of some sort, but I'm not sure how the guitar will react in comparison to other Les Pauls that typically have Rosewood or Ebony boards.

I will say, I'm BKP biased, as I REALLY REALLY REALLY want black battleworn covers. I will consider other suggestions as well. This Les Paul is SCREAMING for them though!


Here's a little guitar porn of the axe in question for your consideration.

Thanks in advance!
JD

 

[ericsabbath]

miracle man or c-bomb for the bridge

 

[Phrygian]

I would think the Suhr Aldrich set would be perfect for this, and could benefit from the bit of high end the maple would provide.

 

[satannica]

The best upgrade you can do is get rid of those shite Gibson pots. Put in some decent 500k rated electrics and enjoy.

As for pickups, I rather enjoy a Dimarzio Tone Zone / Air Norton set up in Les Pauls.

 

[spirit7]

miracle man or c-bomb for the bridge

+1 for the C-Bomb.

-C

 

[rupe]

The fretboard is one small component of the guitar and has far less impact on its overall tone than many other factors that you're ignoring. What kind of music do you play and through what rig? What does the guitar sound like now? What would you like to change about that? That's what you need to be addressing.

 

[Heritage Softail]

Interesting comment.

I have an old LP with a maple neck. I am not sure it is any brighter than my new LP. But after changing pups and setting the EQ on my amp to how I like it, it is really hard to honestly tell. Add in the tone setting on the boost...

OP

Very cool looking guitar.

I have a few sets of MCP pups. Have some Nastees in my 81 LP and they have lots of tonal range and bite without being brittle.

 

[racerevlon]

Dimarzio Norton bridge, PAF 36TH Anniversary neck or Bluesbucker neck. Tones for days...

 

[jwhitman]

miracle man or c-bomb for the bridge

Thanks!

I would think the Suhr Aldrich set would be perfect for this, and could benefit from the bit of high end the maple would provide.

Ya know, Mark Day's LP does sound amazing....

The best upgrade you can do is get rid of those shite Gibson pots. Put in some decent 500k rated electrics and enjoy.

As for pickups, I rather enjoy a Dimarzio Tone Zone / Air Norton set up in Les Pauls.

The plan is to do gut it and do it all at once. New pots, new caps, new pups etc.

The fretboard is one small component of the guitar and has far less impact on its overall tone than many other factors that you're ignoring. What kind of music do you play and through what rig? What does the guitar sound like now? What would you like to change about that? That's what you need to be addressing.

Damn'd three am half drunk post.

The guitar sounds GREAT now. I'd have to say that my complaints are clarity for the most part. The guitar rings and sustains for days. The sound I hear in my head is a very smooth, but present top end, high mids that growl and snap with a tight low end.

Th rig currently consists of a Rivera Knucklehead KR-100, Splawn Cab with Celestion K-100s and V30s in an X pattern and a few various overdrives and light effects. I primarily play modern hard rock, with a tinge of hair metal/classic rock occasionally.

Here's a clip of the actual guitar (pardon the horrid quality. It's a phone recorded via the SoundCloud App. It's one of my band's songs that's in the works.

https://soundcloud.com/jdwhitmanstudiowork/lp-classic

Interesting comment.

I have an old LP with a maple neck. I am not sure it is any brighter than my new LP. But after changing pups and setting the EQ on my amp to how I like it, it is really hard to honestly tell. Add in the tone setting on the boost...

OP

Very cool looking guitar.

I have a few sets of MCP pups. Have some Nastees in my 81 LP and they have lots of tonal range and bite without being brittle.

Super Jelly on the 81. I was originally hunting a Norlin, but just didn't have the funds to get what I wanted and ended up finding this guitar purely by accident.

Dimarzio Norton bridge, PAF 36TH Anniversary neck or Bluesbucker neck. Tones for days...

I need to play some Dimarzios for sure. I was pleasantly surprised by a set I played the other day in an Ibby.

 

[suhrimmetal]

I upgraded pots and caps on my custom classic which has maple cap and baked maple board. Swapping out the Classic 57's with WCR Godwood bridge and WCR Darkburst Neck. I think that combo will be warm, fat but still give me plenty of grind and punch with the modern rock stuff I do.

 

[rupe]

The guitar sounds GREAT now. I'd have to say that my complaints are clarity for the most part. The guitar rings and sustains for days. The sound I hear in my head is a very smooth, but present top end, high mids that growl and snap with a tight low end.

Th rig currently consists of a Rivera Knucklehead KR-100, Splawn Cab with Celestion K-100s and V30s in an X pattern and a few various overdrives and light effects. I primarily play modern hard rock, with a tinge of hair metal/classic rock occasionally.

I'm damn near positive that a combo of an Anderson H2+ in the bridge and an H1 in the neck would be exactly what you're looking for...your description of the sound in your head is how I would describe the H2+ in most guitars.

I have a brand new H2+ laying around unused right now...PM me if you want to try it. If you like it, send me some cashish, if not, send the pickup back.

 

[satannica]

I did a pot/cap job on a custom classic not too long ago. Oddly enough, I actually really liked the 57 Classics that were in it. It was a real night and day difference. I'd say go that route first. If you want to play it safe, you could even fit one of those Seymour Duncan Liberators so if you do want to change later, no need to break out the soldering pen.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/liberator/

I fitted one to my LP Custom when I was playing around with pickup combinations; it made the whole thing a damn sight easier. The down side is that I now find it difficult to say no when I see some pickup going cheap.

 

[jwhitman]

I upgraded pots and caps on my custom classic which has maple cap and baked maple board. Swapping out the Classic 57's with WCR Godwood bridge and WCR Darkburst Neck. I think that combo will be warm, fat but still give me plenty of grind and punch with the modern rock stuff I do.

I'll keep those in mind. I must obsessively search for clips and reviews to suit my OCD.

The guitar sounds GREAT now. I'd have to say that my complaints are clarity for the most part. The guitar rings and sustains for days. The sound I hear in my head is a very smooth, but present top end, high mids that growl and snap with a tight low end.

Th rig currently consists of a Rivera Knucklehead KR-100, Splawn Cab with Celestion K-100s and V30s in an X pattern and a few various overdrives and light effects. I primarily play modern hard rock, with a tinge of hair metal/classic rock occasionally.

I'm damn near positive that a combo of an Anderson H2+ in the bridge and an H1 in the neck would be exactly what you're looking for...your description of the sound in your head is how I would describe the H2+ in most guitars.

I have a brand new H2+ laying around unused right now...PM me if you want to try it. If you like it, send me some cashish, if not, send the pickup back.

Wow! Helluva offer there! Let me do some research regarding those pups to see if they suit my taste before I have you spend time and money shipping it. I'd rather be 75% sure I'm going to keep it before I have you send it. Thanks!

I did a pot/cap job on a custom classic not too long ago. Oddly enough, I actually really liked the 57 Classics that were in it. It was a real night and day difference. I'd say go that route first. If you want to play it safe, you could even fit one of those Seymour Duncan Liberators so if you do want to change later, no need to break out the soldering pen.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/liberator/

I fitted one to my LP Custom when I was playing around with pickup combinations; it made the whole thing a damn sight easier. The down side is that I now find it difficult to say no when I see some pickup going cheap.

I'm considering that as well. I've been looking at stuff like the BKP Custom 550k CTS custom taper pots and caps or something similar to the RS Guitarworks kit without the insane markup.

The liberators look cool too. Definitely something to consider!

 

[jwhitman]

Holy shit. Just got sold by a clip....

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/p ... p=nailbomb

The Alnico - Progressive Clip. That is the sound I'm looking for.

Now to save up the coin for a set of Alnico Nailbombs in battleworn black as well as new pots and caps.

 

[kalt]

I would think the Suhr Aldrich set would be perfect for this, and could benefit from the bit of high end the maple would provide.

Spot on. I have a Les Paul Classi Custom with the baked maple board and have Aldrich's in it. Killer. Lots of bite, ton of clarity and very very smooth for a high output.