2021 Gibson Les Paul Standard 50's Gold Top:
- Thread starter Inspector #20
- Start date
OP
Really??? BB's???
Did you stagger pole pieces???
Can you measure your pickups and post the settings???? (I'd like to compare with where mine are)
I'd be interested in these adjustments. The BB is kinda "mushy" when I hit it with higher gain settings.
OP
Foothill @ the I-15 in Rancho Cucamonga...
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chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
I could not resist, Robert.
Despite how I know you hate Single Coil ringy sounding guitar recordings, Ed's Strat and Leads are what I hear on Sweet Home.
The '51 gets closer to that than the replica does given your setups when each was recording.
Despite how I know you hate Single Coil ringy sounding guitar recordings, Ed's Strat and Leads are what I hear on Sweet Home.
The '51 gets closer to that than the replica does given your setups when each was recording.
OP
I don't do the song justice, but i thought it was something everyone could identify with for comparison...
Single coils are FANTASTIC alongside a humbucker in a live mix, I just don't like them by themselves...
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
I understand, and the Single/alongside Hum synergy. Good way to put it, Rob.
Check out what this one viewer of the Ed king, Marty vid said.
I swore I commented on this when he passed, but just re-watched it. Back in the early 1990's I was just learning guitar here in South Jersey. Playing with 2-3 other guys, NONE of us had a clue, but I was by far the least skilled. One night a buddy says he knows a guy who is willing to come jam and teach us some stuff. It turns out to be Ed King! At that point in my playing, I had only played with a few people better than our crowd, and they almost always rolled their eyes at my crap playing, or got frustrated when I couldn't keep up or learn a new riff. Within 10 minutes, Ed had us all feeling great about trying and never once got upset or acted superior to us. Ed friggin' King spent like 4, 5 hours at my buddy's house jamming with us til like 2 am. Taught me the basic parts of Sweet Home on my Strat, then spent 1/2 an hour- just the two of us while the others were getting stoned- and taught me the bass line from Gimme Three Steps. I still can't play for poop. But I have that night I jammed with Ed King.
Check out what this one viewer of the Ed king, Marty vid said.
Carl Bradley
1 year agoI swore I commented on this when he passed, but just re-watched it. Back in the early 1990's I was just learning guitar here in South Jersey. Playing with 2-3 other guys, NONE of us had a clue, but I was by far the least skilled. One night a buddy says he knows a guy who is willing to come jam and teach us some stuff. It turns out to be Ed King! At that point in my playing, I had only played with a few people better than our crowd, and they almost always rolled their eyes at my crap playing, or got frustrated when I couldn't keep up or learn a new riff. Within 10 minutes, Ed had us all feeling great about trying and never once got upset or acted superior to us. Ed friggin' King spent like 4, 5 hours at my buddy's house jamming with us til like 2 am. Taught me the basic parts of Sweet Home on my Strat, then spent 1/2 an hour- just the two of us while the others were getting stoned- and taught me the bass line from Gimme Three Steps. I still can't play for poop. But I have that night I jammed with Ed King.
I haven’t been to that one, yet.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Nah, I don't mess around with the pole screws. I have never been able to discern the most remote difference moving them around, only in moving the entire pickup up or down.
I should have a minute later today when I can pull it out and measure the heights. My bridge and tailpiece are set just like yours from the factory. I bought a Nashville bridge to replace the ABR - I think ABRs are stupid - but just haven't had a chance to change it out yet. The only thing I have changed is the tuners; not a big fan of the Gibson Deluxe so I put a set of Kluson revolutions on it. Big improvement IMO.
OP
That's my go-to location, because I pass it every day on my way to and from H-Town or B-Town.
OP
Thank you!!! That will give me a baseline. I'm interested in everything you can share!!!!
I love the classic look of the ABR-1, but Nashville has more adjustment.
I also LOVE Green Keys and Keystones. Never have tuning troubles.
Also, how do you feel about higher gain settings with the BB in terms of controllability??? Can they hang despite being unpotted???
I honestly am not playing live with anywhere near as much gain as I use on a recording, but I do want a little 'edge' on the tone....
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
To each their own on the bridge. I think ABRs look dainty and weak, not to mention lacking adjustability. And since I rest the edge of my palm on the bridge quite a bit when I play I also prefer the feel of a Nashville. One thing is the nickel plating wore off the stock ABR bridge where my hand rests ridiculously fast. The whole top of the bass side of the bridge is worn down to the copper.
The Deluxe tuners work fine. But I like the extra mass of a sealed tuner, I really do think it helps sustain, and of course the 19:1 ratio of the Revolutions is just killer. Tuning stability improved also.
I'm starting to really like these pickups with high gain. They are very different from the '57 Classics in my Traditional - those pickups were made for high gain. These took me a while to crack the code on. I loved them with cleaner settings at first, but not higher gain. It took dropping them down and really backing off the volumes a bit more than usual on my other guitars to get along with them at high gain but now that I've gotten the feel for them I really like them and find they are plenty tight enough for palm muting and also clear and articulate enough for arpeggios, etc. I've always preferred the sound of unpotted pickups so they are hitting the sweet spot for me now and for me at least sound better and better as the volume goes up (which is a trait that unpotted pickups seem to have and I just live with the potential for noise or squeal and adjust accordingly. I removed the covers from my '79s T-Tops to get rid of a little high volume squeal and they are magnificent uncovered, even if I don't prefer the look).
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Oh, forgot. There is one other mod I made to it: added long steel tailpiece studs. I do this to all my guitars and it is the biggest single sonic improvement I have made to them. No idea why but the steel studs make a bigger difference than changing the tuners, tailpiece material, bridge type/material, etc. They really tighten up the low end and help with sustain.
OP
OP
One of my students has a Gibson les Paul Custom Lite. It's beautiful, but it neck dives because the body is so light and it has the big Grovers on it.
The ABR-1 (i agree with you) is a very personal thing. I buy the Nashville Bridges from Philadelphia Luthier Tools 8 to 10 at a time and keep them on hand. If I run into a stripped or frozen intonation screw (unless it's a vintage instrument) then I will just swap out the bridge. keep in mind I am doing between 20 and 40 setups/repairs a week. Replacing the bridge saves time. The Nashville Roller is $14.95 retail and the Nashville knife-edges are $16.95.
I'm concerned about pickup behavior at higher volume levels because we are so close at the music academy's rehearsal space....
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
OK, I whipped it out.
Neck pickup bass side is 6.35mm from the low E string
Neck pickup treble side is 5.75mm from the high E string
Bridge pickup bass side is 4mm from the low E string
Bridge pickup treble side is 4mm from the high E string
To contrast, last I checked Gibson recommends 1.6 mm for the bridge pickup and 2.4 mm for the neck so these ended up significantly lower than that/where they were set from the factory.
Neck pickup bass side is 6.35mm from the low E string
Neck pickup treble side is 5.75mm from the high E string
Bridge pickup bass side is 4mm from the low E string
Bridge pickup treble side is 4mm from the high E string
To contrast, last I checked Gibson recommends 1.6 mm for the bridge pickup and 2.4 mm for the neck so these ended up significantly lower than that/where they were set from the factory.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
I like those LP Lites. They have their own thing going on that's kinda cool.
Couldn't really care less about neck dive. Totally overblown non-issue to me. I've owned a lot of SGs and the thing is its just not a practical concern for me - I don't run around taking both hands off the guitar when playing and my picking hand forearm is almost always in contact with the body.
OP
OP
It bugs me. Not sure why, but I'm also playing keys mid-set and that sort of thing, so it's very noticeable to me.