screamingdaisy
Well-known member
YellowJacket said:I'm guessing this is a custom shop instrument?
Yes. 1959 re-issue.
YellowJacket said:I'm guessing this is a custom shop instrument?
YellowJacket said:How does it sound with your Electra Dyne!!?? I bet that is pure magic!!
YellowJacket said:So the custom shop Les Pauls are the real deal???
My Standard (Premium Plus) had a huge booming problem with the neck pickup, particularly with the Dual Rectifier, but also with an Electra Dyne. The Bridge Pickup, by comparison, was really thin and tinny. It had the Burstbucker Vs in it stock.
Only when I switched to Bare Knuckles and changed the pots and caps did the sound open up and become really clear. It sounds fine now and the pickups are far more balanced.
Acoustically, my Les Paul sounds fine with plenty of midrange so one would think it is a good instrument but ya, it was still plagued with all these problems. (The orange peel around the neck pocket and the shoddy non working electronics notwithstanding. Lets just say it had some problems before I bought it)
Apparently the mahogany that is being used in 'lower end' Les Pauls is far denser than it used to be so the ball of mud tone is caused by overly heavy solid body electric guitars. So now Gibson is chambering the Les Pauls to keep the weight down, something that gives them a decidedly different timbre.
Oh, I wonder if it would be worth it to have a super skilled Luthier give my guitars a fret dress. I'm always afraid I'll give the thing to a hack and then the guitars will be worse than when I brought them there. I just wouldn't have a clue where to go in Toronto...
screamingdaisy said:YellowJacket said:So the custom shop Les Pauls are the real deal???
Yes. I have two now and both are excellent, both in sound and fit/finish.
I have a '69 Les Paul with a similar tonal issues. It's has a sort of scooped sound that gives it a boomy bottom end and tinny top end. I've tried an assortment of brands and styles of pickups and never been 100% happy with the sound.
Oh, I wonder if it would be worth it to have a super skilled Luthier give my guitars a fret dress. I'm always afraid I'll give the thing to a hack and then the guitars will be worse than when I brought them there. I just wouldn't have a clue where to go in Toronto...
I'm in the same boat with the '69. It's in desperate need of a refret but I have no idea who to take it to.
YellowJacket said:screamingdaisy said:YellowJacket said:So the custom shop Les Pauls are the real deal???
Yes. I have two now and both are excellent, both in sound and fit/finish.
Figures. Perhaps I should have spent the extra $$$s when I was in the market for my #1...
I have a '69 Les Paul with a similar tonal issues. It's has a sort of scooped sound that gives it a boomy bottom end and tinny top end. I've tried an assortment of brands and styles of pickups and never been 100% happy with the sound.
Ya, mine has a more round and vocal midrange and in its defense, it worked fantastically well stock with Marshalls. It was just when I combined a fat sounding Les Paul with a fat sounding Mesa, there are massive lows to deal with. Setting up the pickups helps but ya, it was the 'Knuckles that really solved this guitar 100% for me. Luckily it is fine now, really open and clear sounding.
Something that may help could be putting a Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell in the neck and something phatter like a Nailbomb in the bridge. This might help balance out the tonal spectrum. If I had known more about Bare Knuckles when I sprung for a set, I probably would have tried a similar combination.
[edit] Better yet, an Emerald in the neck and a Nailbomb in the bridge would be a great way to balance out a guitar that has a boomy neck pickup and a thin bridge pickup.
Oh, I wonder if it would be worth it to have a super skilled Luthier give my guitars a fret dress. I'm always afraid I'll give the thing to a hack and then the guitars will be worse than when I brought them there. I just wouldn't have a clue where to go in Toronto...
I'm in the same boat with the '69. It's in desperate need of a refret but I have no idea who to take it to.
See, I might be able to help you. Brian at Ultimate Guitar Works is a good one in Winnipeg. He's down on Henderson highway.
http://www.yellowpages.ca/bus/Manitoba/Winnipeg/Ultimate-Guitar-Works/5214448.html
screamingdaisy said:That about sums up my experience.
When I first played it I was hoping it was going to be the best sounding Les Paul I'd ever experienced, but the reality is that I'd never experienced such a great sounding Les Paul. It created a sound and response that I never knew existed before that moment.
It was a big "Ah ha!" moment for me. Frequently we read descriptions on the internet and think we know what the writer means based on our previous experience, and then we try something for ourselves and discover that it sounds totally different from our expectations even though the writer was totally accurate in his description.
To me it has both the low end thump and solid body sound of a USA Traditional and the top end clarity and detail of the weight relieved USA Standard. Now, someone's going to read that and think they know what I mean based on previous experience....
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