Advice

[Slash Guitarist]

Ok, so i am looking to get a Gibson Les Paul. I really want the Slash signature edition, but i cant afford that. So i was just going to get a standard and get some Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro 2's proffesionaly fitted. Is this a good idea to change the pick ups or will it fuck the guitar up??????

[mr. orangestone]

I like the way the burstbucker pro's sound in the Standard. Never played a Slash signature but it's definately not worth it. Signature guitars never are. If the pickups are put in professionally it should be alright, its quite the process though.

[Slash Guitarist]

I like the way the burstbucker pro's sound in the Standard. Never played a Slash signature but it's definately not worth it. Signature guitars never are. If the pickups are put in professionally it should be alright, its quite the process though.

What do you mean by "quite the process"??? it will take along time????? cost alot of money?????? or a pain in the arse for the person doing it????

[highway blues]

just leave the guitar the way it is,

gibsons are the best guitars out there , tinkering with them isnt something id do unless its by a trained professional

and would garantuee a better quality sound.

[Slash Guitarist]

just leave the guitar the way it is,

gibsons are the best guitars out there , tinkering with them isnt something id do unless its by a trained professional

and would garantuee a better quality sound.

The only problem is, i dont like the look or the sound of the pick ups that the covers over, i much prefer open coils. Which means i could get a classic, but ive heard that they are not as good as standards, is this true?????

[aidlook]

just leave the guitar the way it is,

gibsons are the best guitars out there , tinkering with them isnt something id do unless its by a trained professional

and would garantuee a better quality sound.

How about you keep quiet about stuff you don't know shit about...

Anyway, the slash signature also has fishman piezo pick-ups in it...

But the gibsons are not really worth the price-tag anyway...

[DopeSickGirl]

My guitar cost me £50 and its totally trashed now through playing it so much and extensive gigging.. It sounds sexy and it means a hella lot to me - someone could offer me any guitar in the world and I'd keep him instead

Fuck how it looks, you could spend £1000s on a guitar, good make, looks pretty. But whats the point if you dont feel a bond with your baby and if it doesn't sound like the shit? I was fooling around on my friends Gibson SG and it just didn't feel right to me, so I guess its in the hand of the individual guitarist

Just my opinion on guitars.

xDSGx

[highway blues]

hey fuckhead , keep your fatass insults to your self

same with all fat poeple , u call em fat , they come after you everywhere

fatfuck.

[damian 1200]

hey fuckhead , keep your fatass insults to your self

same with all fat poeple , u call em fat , they come after you everywhere

fatfuck.

Go choke on your own vomit, then you & your music will be legendary, like Jimi Hendrix's, you douche bucket.

[Perfect_crime49]

i got my alnicos fitted and it is well worth it IMO, took 3 hours at a local shop and was only £20 fitting

[santana]

If you can, get down to a guitar shop and play a few Les Pauls. If I'm not mistaken, most of them come with alnico pickups; it's just that some of them use Gibson pickups and not Duncans.

But really, your best bet is to go and play a few and see what sounds the best to you.

In the meantime, here are a few webpages about pickups that might help you:

http://www.womanrock.com/music_resources/m...urces_0202.html

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/pickups.htm-

[kevin]

I'm 90% sure you're right about that Santana.

Pickups won't make the hugest difference in your sound (at least compared to an amp). And they aren't really hard to install, I put Duncans in my LP all by myself. If you know someone who has a basic understanding of electronics they should be able to do it for you if you aren't comfortable with it.

[aidlook]

Guitar electronics is very easy, and you don't really have to know really anything about how it works to change a couple of pick-ups...

Unless you're not totally colourblind and can read basic instructions you'll be fine.

[twistedthoughts]

Pickups won't make the hugest difference in your sound (at least compared to an amp)

That depends on the pickups you currently have and the pickups you want to get. There's also configuration changes that can have a significant effect on sound. Some active high output EMGs (81/85) will sound a lot different to your typical SD Alnico Pro II. If you split those into single coils then you have a whole other range of dynamics. The choices are endless and all have a different sound.

I agree with Santana on this one - the only way really is to try a bunch of different pickups (obviously in other guitars) and see what you like. You can also visit the SD website and check out some clips there.

To answer your question about whether to change the pickups - if you're not satisfied with the current sound then go for it. It doesn't cost much and won't really affect the value of your guitar. You can always keep the old ones and put them back in future should you need to. The staff at your local guitar store should be able to do it for you with no problems.

[Slash Guitarist]

Thanks for all the help everyone

[aidlook]

hey fuckhead , keep your fatass insults to your self

same with all fat poeple , u call em fat , they come after you everywhere

fatfuck.

Just bugs me when someone who's totally clueless and uninformed comes posting shit that just confuses the situation...

[Max™]

A few pointers from what I have found personally over the years:

- A Slash sig Les Paul is a gimmick. Yes, it has the saddle pickups on and SD pickups, blah - but its not worth the money IMO. Yes, I have played one. It played (and felt) the same as a £200 LP copy.

- Pickups are purely preferential - don't get SD's just because Slash has them. They can sound shit in some guitars.

- Personally I hate the Burstbucker Pro's. I think they're a pile of shit - I played a Gibson LP Standard with them in and they sounded really average. Replaced with a Gibson 498T and 490T and the sound is back to how it should have been.

- Modern Gibsons come with these so called Burstbucker Pro's. Don't get a new Les Paul. They have no vibe at all when playing (see top point, new slash les paul). I can almost guarantee that if you pick up a new Gibson, then pick up a worn-in 80's or early 90's Gibson that you'll choose the latter because it actually feels better when playing.

- Go with a standard. Don't mess around with Studio's or Classics - the Standards go up in value over the years moreso than those. Of course, if you get a new one you'll have to wait twenty years for it to perform magic with its price. You can get an early 90's one for £850 easily. These should be going up soon since the early 80's ones can go for upwards of £1500.

Edited July 2, 2007 by Max™

[Slash Guitarist]

A few pointers from what I have found personally over the years:

- A Slash sig Les Paul is a gimmick. Yes, it has the saddle pickups on and SD pickups, blah - but its not worth the money IMO. Yes, I have played one. It played (and felt) the same as a £200 LP copy.

- Pickups are purely preferential - don't get SD's just because Slash has them. They can sound shit in some guitars.

- Personally I hate the Burstbucker Pro's. I think they're a pile of shit - I played a Gibson LP Standard with them in and they sounded really average. Replaced with a Gibson 498T and 490T and the sound is back to how it should have been.

- Modern Gibsons come with these so called Burstbucker Pro's. Don't get a new Les Paul. They have no vibe at all when playing (see top point, new slash les paul). I can almost guarantee that if you pick up a new Gibson, then pick up a worn-in 80's or early 90's Gibson that you'll choose the latter because it actually feels better when playing.

- Go with a standard. Don't mess around with Studio's or Classics - the Standards go up in value over the years moreso than those. Of course, if you get a new one you'll have to wait twenty years for it to perform magic with its price. You can get an early 90's one for £850 easily. These should be going up soon since the early 80's ones can go for upwards of £1500.

Thanks man, would you recomend getting an early 90's one from ebay? As i dont really know where to look to get a good deal.

Edited July 3, 2007 by Slash Guitarist

[Max™]

A few pointers from what I have found personally over the years:

- A Slash sig Les Paul is a gimmick. Yes, it has the saddle pickups on and SD pickups, blah - but its not worth the money IMO. Yes, I have played one. It played (and felt) the same as a £200 LP copy.

- Pickups are purely preferential - don't get SD's just because Slash has them. They can sound shit in some guitars.

- Personally I hate the Burstbucker Pro's. I think they're a pile of shit - I played a Gibson LP Standard with them in and they sounded really average. Replaced with a Gibson 498T and 490T and the sound is back to how it should have been.

- Modern Gibsons come with these so called Burstbucker Pro's. Don't get a new Les Paul. They have no vibe at all when playing (see top point, new slash les paul). I can almost guarantee that if you pick up a new Gibson, then pick up a worn-in 80's or early 90's Gibson that you'll choose the latter because it actually feels better when playing.

- Go with a standard. Don't mess around with Studio's or Classics - the Standards go up in value over the years moreso than those. Of course, if you get a new one you'll have to wait twenty years for it to perform magic with its price. You can get an early 90's one for £850 easily. These should be going up soon since the early 80's ones can go for upwards of £1500.

Thanks man, would you recomend getting an early 90's one from ebay? As i dont really know where to look to get a good deal.

Yes, make sure the person is a good seller - there are a lot of people with '0' feedback selling Gibsons that are scammers. Beware of this.

An early 90's Gibson LP Standard in good condition should cost about £850, anything less and you have a really good bargain. If you are looking for early 90's - don't go past 1994. 1995's+ get a bit iffy in terms of wood quality. Early 90's Gibsons are known to have a good mix of decent woods and good manufacturing quality.

From a personal standpoint, I'd try and make sure its all original. Things to look out for:

- Drill holes in the headstock where the tuners have been replaced. If the tuners have been replaced, make sure they are Grovers - I find them to stay in tune better than the Gibson Deluxe.

- Heavy buckle rash/heavy paint or lacquer wear. Some wear and tear is absolutely normal for an instrument of that age, so don't worry about little dings and scratches.

- Headstock breaks/snaps. These devalue an instrument majorly so look closely in the pictures for any damage to the neck. A well repaired headstock break won't affect the guitar's sound quality, but I wouldn't trust anyone on eBay with that, so steer clear.

- Colour and finish. I find that heritage cherry sunbursty colours retain their value slightly moreso than the ebony, tobacco or wine red colours. If you do get any Les Paul, never go for quilt-burst or wierd ugly colours like the gecko colour you sometimes see. People just won't purchase them (unless for a lower price).

Just my little opinion on things People on here may disagree with some things I say, but its down to preference. I see Gibson Les Paul's more as investments rather than an active instrument.

If you have a specific les paul in mind, send me the Ebay link and I'll be happy to take a look for ya

Edited July 4, 2007 by Max™

[Inverted Mind]

hey fuckhead , keep your fatass insults to your self

same with all fat poeple , u call em fat , they come after you everywhere

fatfuck.

Says the kid using yamaha shit

[Slash Guitarist]

A few pointers from what I have found personally over the years:

- A Slash sig Les Paul is a gimmick. Yes, it has the saddle pickups on and SD pickups, blah - but its not worth the money IMO. Yes, I have played one. It played (and felt) the same as a £200 LP copy.

- Pickups are purely preferential - don't get SD's just because Slash has them. They can sound shit in some guitars.

- Personally I hate the Burstbucker Pro's. I think they're a pile of shit - I played a Gibson LP Standard with them in and they sounded really average. Replaced with a Gibson 498T and 490T and the sound is back to how it should have been.

- Modern Gibsons come with these so called Burstbucker Pro's. Don't get a new Les Paul. They have no vibe at all when playing (see top point, new slash les paul). I can almost guarantee that if you pick up a new Gibson, then pick up a worn-in 80's or early 90's Gibson that you'll choose the latter because it actually feels better when playing.

- Go with a standard. Don't mess around with Studio's or Classics - the Standards go up in value over the years moreso than those. Of course, if you get a new one you'll have to wait twenty years for it to perform magic with its price. You can get an early 90's one for £850 easily. These should be going up soon since the early 80's ones can go for upwards of £1500.

Thanks man, would you recomend getting an early 90's one from ebay? As i dont really know where to look to get a good deal.

Yes, make sure the person is a good seller - there are a lot of people with '0' feedback selling Gibsons that are scammers. Beware of this.

An early 90's Gibson LP Standard in good condition should cost about £850, anything less and you have a really good bargain. If you are looking for early 90's - don't go past 1994. 1995's+ get a bit iffy in terms of wood quality. Early 90's Gibsons are known to have a good mix of decent woods and good manufacturing quality.

From a personal standpoint, I'd try and make sure its all original. Things to look out for:

- Drill holes in the headstock where the tuners have been replaced. If the tuners have been replaced, make sure they are Grovers - I find them to stay in tune better than the Gibson Deluxe.

- Heavy buckle rash/heavy paint or lacquer wear. Some wear and tear is absolutely normal for an instrument of that age, so don't worry about little dings and scratches.

- Headstock breaks/snaps. These devalue an instrument majorly so look closely in the pictures for any damage to the neck. A well repaired headstock break won't affect the guitar's sound quality, but I wouldn't trust anyone on eBay with that, so steer clear.

- Colour and finish. I find that heritage cherry sunbursty colours retain their value slightly moreso than the ebony, tobacco or wine red colours. If you do get any Les Paul, never go for quilt-burst or wierd ugly colours like the gecko colour you sometimes see. People just won't purchase them (unless for a lower price).

Just my little opinion on things People on here may disagree with some things I say, but its down to preference. I see Gibson Les Paul's more as investments rather than an active instrument.

If you have a specific les paul in mind, send me the Ebay link and I'll be happy to take a look for ya

Wow, thanks again dude. I havnt really seen any ones on ebay at the mo that take my fancy, if and when I find one that im interested in i will let you know and send you the link.

One thing i am deffinetley aware of are the scammers. I dont know if you seen this, but on the Gibson website about a month back, i read an artle about a guy who emptied his savings on a Les Paul from ebay, he went to pick it up and it wasnt until he got home that he noticed it was a fake!

This is the kind of Les Paul Standard i am looking out for:

- Cherry Sunburst

- Early 90's model (thanks for your advice)

- Open coil pick ups (they look and sound better in my opinion)

- And a Gibson, NOT A FAKE

The strange thing is, that i never really considered looking for deals on ebay really i must be crazy