What Bridge pickup for a Les Paul?

jeztone2

Having recently bought a 2017 Classic on a complete whim. I've found that my only niggle is with the 57 Classic + pickup. It's a little scratchy sounding at higher gain levels. 

So im thinking something with Alnico V magnets that's a bit fatter & warmer sounding.

on my shortlist so far are...

BKP Holy Diver
BKP Rebel Yell
Suhr Aldrich

Any suggestions? I'm open to smaller makers. 

pintspiller

Pearly Gates? Always seems to bring a LP to life

Limehouse_Blues

Bkp black dog. Definitely not shrill.

ICBM

pintspiller said:

Pearly Gates? Always seems to bring a LP to life

I've always found those thin-sounding. I much prefer the Screamin' Demon if you want a Duncan, although it possibly wouldn't look quite right in a traditional Les Paul.

Bur for this job I'd recommend dropping Ash at Oil City an email and seeing what he recommends for exactly the sound you want.

Aidanspaghetti

On a slight derail, I recently acquired a Tokai 59 relic that has Burstbuckers (no idea if there 1's, 2's or whatever) in it and I must admit im blown away by them....
You'd probably pick one up very cheaply..... Might be worth a punt before you go down the rabbit hole....

stimpsonslostson

Oil City or Mojo Pickups. Contact Ash or Marc (respectively) and discuss what you'd like. 
Robert's your mothers brother. 

chris45

Or http://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/
i said I wanted Classic Rock for my LP and it was delivered.

John_P

I've got the Rebel Yells, Suhr Aldrich and BK Emeralds in mine and they all sound great imo - what flavour of higher gain are you looking for?  Have you got a reference tone in mind?

jeztone2

John_P said:

I've got the Rebel Yells, Suhr Aldrich and BK Emeralds in mine and they all sound great imo - what flavour of higher gain are you looking for?  Have you got a reference tone in mind?

Without wishing to sound pretentious...

I like a strident guitar sound. Solid, chunky, fat, but with a tight low end & good articulation. Something that can take FX well.

Think Alex Lifesons H&K tones on Rush's Rush In Rio DVD

Then think a bit Vivian Campbell on Hi gain. Or Billy Duffy.

Solowise & clean tones, a bit like Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle.

This is a track from last band.

breezytele

Montys PAF's are worth considering 

TTBZ

Limehouse_Blues said:

Bkp black dog. Definitely not shrill.

+1 I loved the Black Dog in my LP. As their website description says, single note riffs etc have real body and weight behind them. Great all-rounder. Better for that guitar than the Rebel Yell which i found a bit congested in the mids - great for thick lead tones but I didn't like it for rhythm.

sweepy

The BK Rebel Yell is the pickup for you, it's the only one I've found that is insanely punchy and still articulate. I recently fitted a set to a 61 SG reissue and it is a real monster now 

p90fool

Further to my reply to you on the other thread, I've also bunged an alnico 3 in a second hand 498t. 

That's what's currently in my own goldtop and it's a perfect combo for rock for me. It still has almost all the original power but has a much more complex midrange than before, and sounds more like a PAF when rolled back. 

Gassage

I happen to love Burstbucker III's.

Gibbo pups often overlooked.

A5D5E5

The BK Holy Diver is a fantastic pickup - think Dimarzio Super Distortion on steroids.  But I wouldn't call it "warm" or even "fat".  Black Dog or Emeralds would be a better fit, but from the BK stable I'd suggest having a look at the Crawler.  

A5D5E5

Gassage said:

I happen to love Burstbucker III's.

Gibbo pups often overlooked.

Very much this - I don't think you really upgrade a gibson pickup so much as change it for a different sound.

mudslide73

+1 on the Crawler.

I once asked @jdbwales about this as he'd always got some humbuckers for sale in the classifieds. There's not much he hasn't tried iirc.

rico

I replaced the 57 Classic with a SD JB - sounds fan bloody tastic

jdbwales

mudslide73 said:

+1 on the Crawler.

I once asked @jdbwales about this as he'd always got some humbuckers for sale in the classifieds. There's not much he hasn't tried iirc.

Indeed, I've gone through pretty much every pickup out there, but it's worth noting that my experiences are not necessarily going to be the same for everyone...obviously there are so many other factors at play (natural tone, Standard rosewood vs my Custom's ebony for example, string gauge, amps, effects....) but I can happily pass on my own findings.

If the guitar is naturally big and thick sounding then I'd recommend 8k ish PAF types for rock - I ended up with Blues Engines (I know, after trying so many mega bucks humbuckers I end up with Iron Gears...but they sinply sound the best in this guitar) - they sound huge, present and clear and also let me have good cleans. I found higher output pickups were 'too much of a good thing' and too much power muddied everything up too much with my already acoustically massive sounding LPC, especially in these days of gainy and/or low power amps.

 However, if the guitar does need fattening up then I'd recommend the BK Emerald, the humble Duncan JB (or the similar but fatter Suhr Aldrich) or Oil City Night fighter! All sound awesome in their own right.

Frizer

breezytele said:

Montys PAF's are worth considering 

Great pickups, I have them in my SG. I would say they are a bit too open compared to what he describes though, I think Monty's overwound humdingers are more what you're after.

KrisGee

Very happy with duncan sh5 in my studio, great pup for high gains.