Les Paul upgrade mods

[golfnut]

Its been years since I've modded a guitar I've bought. I've just been satisfied with guitars the way they sounded when I bought them
But I'm really getting the itch to mod the Les Paul standard 50's I just bought. Nothing wrong with how it sounds but I'm thinking of tailoring it a little to what I want. The bridge is pretty good but for sure the neck pickup could use more clarity
These are the changes I'm contemplating.
RS Guitarworks pre wired vintage electronics upgrade kit
Wolftone legends for neck and bridge. Still kind of contemplating different pickup makers but so far the wolftones is what has caught my eye the most. #1 reason for changing pickups is to go from a wax potted pickup (burstbuckers) to an unpotted to see if I can improve clarity.
If anyone has experience with these products they'd like to talk about I'd like to hear it.

RS prewired vintage kit (Classic, Woman tone)

Pre-Wired Vintage Electronics Upgrade Kit - Long Shaft

Who this kit is for: The Vintage Upgrade Kits offer a warmer, woody tone for anyone who is tired of not being able to use the controls on your guitar effectively. This kit is also great for those who are tired of losing tone and note-definition every time they roll their control past 8!! This...

store.rsguitarworks.net

 

[charliechitlins]

It's easy to change your existing harness to 50's spec which retains highs when rolling off the volume.
Unpotted pickups sound better to me also.
I've had good luck laying pickups on a pile of newspaper and hitting them with a blowdrier.
They will never be completely like unpotted, but I find that getting the wax out from between the cover and the bobbin can be a huge improvement.
Try lowering the pickups for more definition/clarity.
What are you plugging it into?

 

[golfnut]

It's easy to change your existing harness to 50's spec which retains highs when rolling off the volume.
Unpotted pickups sound better to me also.
I've had good luck laying pickups on a pile of newspaper and hitting them with a blowdrier.
They will never be completely like unpotted, but I find that getting the wax out from between the cover and the bobbin can be a huge improvement.
Try lowering the pickups for more definition/clarity.
What are you plugging it into?

I'm using a Mesa Fillmore 50 which is quite a warm sounding amp. It sounds fantastic with my Fenders. It sounds pretty good with the bridge on my Les Paul as well but the neck can muddy up quite a bit. I had a real eye opener though when I plugged my Les Paul in to my 67 Fender Pro Reverb which has been sitting there pretty much unused for a year. I had it completely serviced, caps changed, etc. But soon after that service got the Fillmore. Never really plugged the Les Paul in to it. The LP shined through the Pro reverb. No mud anywhere. My Pro reverb really is superior sounding to the Fillmore just not as versatile.
This lead me to playing around more with the settings on the Fillmore. I really didn't stray much off the settings that I had for the Fenders except to boost the treble and presence. Playing around more with the mids I was able to clean up the neck tone for the LP. I still think it sounds better through the Pro reverb.
Eventually I want to add a Marshall Plexi style amp (probably a combo)
I have a hard time believing that the burstbuckers in my Standard 50's is potted. Its super sensitive with feed back. Maybe its very lightly potted?

 

[charliechitlins]

A 40w Pro Reverb is an amazing amp.
All the goodness of a Twin without killing the grass.
It's amazing how an amp like your Fillmore can sound really good until you actually A/B it with something great.
I did this with a Blues Jr.
I was thinking, "What are these keyboard warrior cork sniffers talking about? This amp sounds fine."
Then I plugged in my '56 Deluxe.
Depth, complexity...it was like the difference between playing a record on an OK stereo, and then a great one.

 

[mjross]

Its been years since I've modded a guitar I've bought. I've just been satisfied with guitars the way they sounded when I bought them
But I'm really getting the itch to mod the Les Paul standard 50's I just bought. Nothing wrong with how it sounds but I'm thinking of tailoring it a little to what I want. The bridge is pretty good but for sure the neck pickup could use more clarity
These are the changes I'm contemplating.
RS Guitarworks pre wired vintage electronics upgrade kit
Wolftone legends for neck and bridge. Still kind of contemplating different pickup makers but so far the wolftones is what has caught my eye the most. #1 reason for changing pickups is to go from a wax potted pickup (burstbuckers) to an unpotted to see if I can improve clarity.
If anyone has experience with these products they'd like to talk about I'd like to hear it.

RS prewired vintage kit (Classic, Woman tone)

Pre-Wired Vintage Electronics Upgrade Kit - Long Shaft

Who this kit is for: The Vintage Upgrade Kits offer a warmer, woody tone for anyone who is tired of not being able to use the controls on your guitar effectively. This kit is also great for those who are tired of losing tone and note-definition every time they roll their control past 8!! This...

store.rsguitarworks.net

I had the same thoughts after purchasing my 50’s Gold Top! In fact, I bought new Wolfetone pickups and assorted hardware that are still sitting on the shelf. I’m really diggin it just the way it is. Kinda glad I didn’t mess with it. However, I understand where you are coming from. Gotta do what you gotta do…lol!

 

[djcmusician]

It's easy to change your existing harness to 50's spec which retains highs when rolling off the volume.
Unpotted pickups sound better to me also.
I've had good luck laying pickups on a pile of newspaper and hitting them with a blowdrier.
They will never be completely like unpotted, but I find that getting the wax out from between the cover and the bobbin can be a huge improvement.
Try lowering the pickups for more definition/clarity.
What are you plugging it into?

Direct from Gibson’s website:

“None of the BurstBuckers™ are wax potted, and all feature vintage braided two-conductor wiring.”

My 2021 50s LP Standard came with them … definitely not potted. Bridge was a touch microphonic. Also, you could talk in them and your voice comes right out of the amp. I believe the ‘57 Classics are potted.

I ended up putting SD Retrospec’d (Un-Aged Antiquities) in mine. The one on the left.

https://imgur.com/D9Eo5k7

 

[golfnut]

Direct from Gibson’s website:

“None of the BurstBuckers™ are wax potted, and all feature vintage braided two-conductor wiring.”

Do you have a link where it says that. I've been looking for that info. The pickups on my les pau standard 50's are very sensitive to feedback so I had my doubts they were potted, yet all info I could find online seem to say other wise.

 

[djcmusician]

Do you have a link where it says that. I've been looking for that info. The pickups on my les pau standard 50's are very sensitive to feedback so I had my doubts they were potted, yet all info I could find online seem to say other wise.

look Gibson.com under accessories/ pickups. Not BB Pros, regular BB1,2,3

 

[ADP]

Put a Transperfomance Tuning System in it. I say "Go big or go home."