Les Paul Studio Faded - PC Board...?

[Lagtastic]

Hi guys!

I'm fairly new to this forum and i'd like to have some advice on a little upgrade I plan to make on my Studio!

I bought a Gibson USA Les Paul Studio Faded 2010 in march of the same year. It was my first guitar. A very good friend of mine (who is an astonishing musician) told me it was better to get a good guitar from the start than buying something cheap and be disapointed with the sound of it. At first, I was VERY happy with my aquisition: the feeling of the neck, the shape, the weight (and the color. I'm a sucker for natural finishes)

At first, I bought a Roland Cube 30X and was pretty happy with it. Last year, i bought a Vox AC4TV and discovered the awesomeness of tube amp.....and the limits of my Studio... I was not that happy with the sound of my guitar at vol. 8+ (muddy (?) as hell, not well define, and kinda cold, not the round, fat, vintage sound I would have hopped with a Vox and a Les Paul)

Following the advice from my good friend, I looked a the quality of the electronics in my guitar and I got a bad surprise.... instead of classic electric components, i found a PC board...!!

(i joined a pic)

So, do you think it would be a good idea to replace all this plastic with some «vintage» kit of electronic components? (capacitor, etc...) Do you think it would help me to unleash the «power» of my pups? (wether they are 490's or Burstbucker... i emailed Gibson and didnt got an answer for the moment)

Thanks a lot guys!

(english i not my first language, please be indulgent! )

[Lipinhu]

Hi,

I got the same model as you, and I was happy when I first purchased the guitar. Like you, I felt the need for a change.

I started a thread with an "How to" mod the PCB, theres nothing wrong with it, only its components.

Check it here

I had Alnico Pro II Slash and sounded like crap, now I'm fairly happy, not fulfilled, with the HotRoded SD Set. But there's the chambering, that kills an the depth and fatness and no pickup will ever solve that. Other than that, plays great, it's my workhorse.

[Sinster]

I modded mine as well.

I purchased the molex ends for my Pearly Gate set.

[Nay]

Those PC boards just make wiring easier. It'll be pretty much the same as a lot of other Gibson LP, but just makes the heavily manufactured model quicker to wire...

Changing the components to a standard handwired setup could make a difference but dont fool for marketing hype on products. The tone will only change with the variance of resistance in the pots, capactitors etc and even good components vary a bit in resistance.

Problem with ...bad/cheap... (used lightly) guitars is mostly down to constuction. I'm not sure about the studios, but Gibson have been chambering some models of late and it affects the "fullness" of that classic LP sound. Multipiece bodies can have an effect, Bad neck joints, things the odd millimetre off here and there, etc.

With the USA models your hoping to get something much more uniformly correct, but you still have to test them. The occassional "dull" ones outweigh the special ones.