Finally got a Les Paul

dirtydeeds22 · Post by **dirtydeeds22** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:41 pm

Thanks for the compliments. I'm really psyched. I noticed on Harmony Central that Aplus guitars sold a ton of these for real cheap. I wish I'd got mine for the price that some of those folks paid. Oh, well! I'm just happy I got one that sounds good, looks good, and was way cheaper than new.
The pickups are pretty underwhelming though. The 498 has very little character and can get rather muddy when the plexi is cranked. Those will be replaced soon. I'm leaning torward the WCR Fillmore or Goodwood (if I can swing it). A little pricey, ($300-375/pair)but all handwound, great reviews on Harmony Central, and the tonequest report, and the audio clips sound really good.
Anybody got any feelings about these pups?

Jeff
BTW, I got the pickguard on last night and it looks sweet. Complete!

Country Boy Shane · Post by **Country Boy Shane** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:45 pm

Hmm never head of 'em.

Bluesbishop · Post by **Bluesbishop** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:58 pm

Wow...just read up on those P/U and listened to the sound files...amazing..I would go with the Goodwood, or the crossroad set. The sound file of the goodwoods with the paul going through a 74 marshall converted to Plexi specs are sweet! I posted the link for all those who love that great Plexi sound!

http://www.wcrclips.com/clips/GWBridge.mp3

Bluesbishop · Post by **Bluesbishop** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:02 am

That link didn't work...try this one:

http://www.wcrclips.com/clips/GW%20Bridge.mp3

Worth the bucks for those baby's!!

dirtydeeds22 · Post by **dirtydeeds22** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:41 am

Rippin' fat tone. I got back online and checked out the Goodwoods again, that's the ticket right there. That guy going thru the modded 74 really sounded awesome. I guess I need to pull a few more call shifts at the hospital to pay for those. $375 for nickel covers. What's the tonal difference between nickel and chrome?

Later
Jeff

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:43 am

I've heard nothing but great things about these PU's. One guy even played me a set of the Fillmores in a Les Paul over the phone. Sounded awesome.

They aren't cheap though.

George

Country Boy Shane · Post by **Country Boy Shane** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:46 pm

The great sea of pickups is beginning to phase me. There are so many choices and so many dealers i haven't even heard of. Someone should just do a huge review on everything and say which one is best for whatever type of music and of course say which is the closest to the PAF tone.

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:01 pm

Someone did:

http://www.legendarytones.com/humbpus1.htm

Great read. And consistant with my own personal findings.

George

Country Boy Shane · Post by **Country Boy Shane** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:23 pm

I've seen this page before. But it doesn't feature stuff like Rio Grande, Voodoo...etc. I wanna try Duncan Antiquities but money is an issue right now.

dosmun · Post by **dosmun** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:32 pm

I have the 57 classics in my Orville by Gibson LP. Sometimes they sound good to me and other times they are so so. I have a Duncan 59 that I may try in there in the next couple of days.

I have the 490 and 498's in my Standard. I have always been pretty happy with them. I did take the covers off years ago.

A lot of people say they want the PAF sound. Do many people actually know what real PAF's actually sound like? I have never heard any myself.

rjgtr · Post by **rjgtr** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:35 pm

I'm using WCR's "Fillmore Set" in my Les Paul. They are a very nice sounding set with a good amount of attitude. They also respond well to volume control changes. Of course, they are a very classic sounding set with a name like Fillmore. Check them out at http://www.crcoils.com.

I had Duncan Antiquities in there, but I wanted a little more attitude and I wanted the sound of a 10 year old PAF, not a 40 year old PAF. BTW, I still think Antiquities are a great sound.

Bluesbishop · Post by **Bluesbishop** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:46 pm

Here is another review: http://www.vintageguitar.com/gear/details.asp?ID=44

They compared a few PAF clones with vintage PAFs. This article is from 1998 (?) and there are now many more people doing fine jobs at hand wounds.

I've always been a Fralin fan, but now I have a seroius Jones for a set of those WCR Goodwoods!

On one of the other forums (plexi palace maybe?) One member compared several PAF pickups with his plexi to try and nail Eddie's "brown sound", and to my suprise, the Duncan '59 sounded as good as many of the more costly hand wounds..

Let's face it bro's, we are all slaves to " the Tone"...

Ken

Bluesbishop · Post by **Bluesbishop** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:06 pm

Sorry...not trying to "hijack" this thread, but I found the thread with the sound files..

http://vintageamps.com/PlexiPalaceUBBcg ... 016#000003

the first post by Chubtone has has some great sound files, If you scroll down a bit, VHoholic has some sound files for you Eddie fans that sound great with Duncan '59.

Hope this helps

Ken

Necrovore · Post by **Necrovore** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:44 pm

Country Boy Shane wrote:I've seen this page before. But it doesn't feature stuff like Rio Grande, Voodoo...etc. I wanna try Duncan Antiquities but money is an issue right now.

I checked out a set of Rio Grande "Muy Grande" pups that were installed in this guys strat at a local shop. In my opinion they are the absolute best sounding single coil pickups Ive heard. The bridge pup is nice and crisp with a nice throaty bite to it. The middle and neck pups are in no way muddy which is what Ive found when looking at single coil pickups.

Running this guitar through a Fender Twin with all the tone controls on the amp set to 12 O'Clock. the tone I was getting out of the guitar was somewhere between Stevie Ray Vaugn, Clapton, and Albert Collins.

Sorry to hijack the thread but thought Shane might want a little description on the Rio Grande's.

Flames1950 · Post by **Flames1950** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:41 am

I have both the Rio Grande Texas Humbucker (in my Les Paul) and the Rio Grande BBQ Bucker (in my SG.)
The BBQ Bucker is a fat thick sounding pickup, it complements an SG very well (since SG's are a little light in the bottom end) but is WAY too thick for a Les Paul if you want PAF tones.
The Genuine Texas Humbucker is much more PAF-flavored, brighter and sweeter and complements the Les Paul much better. Both are excellent pickups if selected to complement the guitar they're going into.
It's been a while since I had the honor of playing real PAF's, a buddy's dad had a '59 ES-335 that I played quite a few times. The bridge pickup was VERY bright, but in a sweet way that wasn't grating to the ear. I'm pretty damn happy with the Rio Grande Texas in the bridge slot in comparison. It's the NECK pickup that's the killer, the PAF was rich but sweet and very clear, very articulate, the extra brightness of the PAF really made the neck position shine. I have yet to find a modern pickup that can do this, everything I've tried likes playin' in the mud in the neck slot if you know what I mean!!
I made the mistake of telling him that guitar was worth a crapload of dough and it got auctioned off in short order. I probably coulda offered him $500 and he'd have jumped at it if I'd kept my damn mouth shut.

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