How do I get that honky, quacky, hollow middle position tone?

I love the tone above, and I was wondering if anyone knew how I could get it with just a les paul's volumes (series).
I have a les paul standard 50s with burstbuckers. I'm mainly aiming for that late Jimmy Page tone like whole lotta love on the youtube video I linked.

The guy who did the video used 496/500 ceramic magnet pickups into a Fender Mustang modelling amp …

Which probably goes to show that the tone secret is mostly fingers

LPTDMSV said:

The guy who did the video used 496/500 ceramic magnet pickups into a Fender Mustang modelling amp …

Which probably goes to show that the tone secret is mostly fingers

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Do you reckon I get a set of those or a t-top for the bridge.

At first I thought the DCR disparity was the reason for the sound, but I saw an interview with the guy that worked on Jimmy's pickup and he said the neck was 8.97K and still very clear and crisp with drive.

Acey said:

DCR disparity was the reason for the sound

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DCR is quite a poor measure, doesn't really tell you a lot. Some differences of any kind between the two pickups will help to create those phase cancellations, but even if the two p/us are exactly the same spec. they are in different places and different heights relative to the strings anyway.

I think the main thing is to play with all four volume and tone controls, turning them up and down separately until you get some combination of tone balance / phase that appeals to you. Small adjustments to the controls (e.g. going from 9 to 8.5) make a difference, and/or try a few turns of the p/u height adjustment screws.

Don't rush to change the pickups - much as I love doing that, it makes more sense to experiment with what you have got and realise that the biggest influence comes from *your fingers*.

(My favourite two-humbucker mod is to put in a phase reversal switch, usually a push-pull pot, to get more extreme phase cancellation and hollow-mid sounds, but I don't know if Page did that or if it's really necessary for the sounds you seek, probably not? The ultimate Gibson "honky, quacky, hollow" weapon is to have the pickups out-of-phase and a Varitone … or buy a Telecaster?!)

LPTDMSV said:

DCR is quite a poor measure

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So is millivolts. There isn't any good measure for pickup output.

Acey said:

So is millivolts. There isn't any good measure for pickup output.

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true

I would venture to guess you need to be Jimmy Page. His guitar, his amps and his hands made this happen. No pickups will get you that tone. For me, either you have it or you don't. All one can really do is hope for the best.

The JP freaks I know use a graphic eq. And they uses vastly different pickups from
one another. Players of LP, SG, V(rip) and lastly, Telecaster.
I thought that vid sounded pretty good, JP or not.

If you’ve got a LP with PAF-ish pickups and 50’s wiring , then the rest of the equation(besides Page’s fingers and ears) is the amp/speakers and the volume you play at.
My 67 1987/68 G12M halfstack does the Zep TSRTS/ HTWWW middle position sound better than my 71 1987 or recently sold 70 Superbass through the same cab. I assume that’s because the 67 has Bass spec features like shared cathode but has been modded with a brightcap like Page’s Superbass.
I play pretty loud, though obviously not as loud as Page. But you’ll need some volume to keep the amps dynamic range happening.

A certain amount of that “honk” is from the speakers Page used (if we're talking Zeppelin). Post Zep' he used various brands of amps and maybe the “honk” effect was not that important. That very bright neck pickup in his #1 was a contributing factor IMHO. That sound check - workup of the Wanton Song where Page riffs into the opening of the song is a good example of the guitar's bright tone. The mic' captures it all.

Classicplayer

If anyone wants to know what I got most success with, I put my neck pickup's tilt to be more on the treble side, I put them both basically flush to M69 rings. I put both volumes at 6 and turned up the bridge up to 8.5 or so. I assume that last bit will vary from pot to pot, so go until you're happy.

@Acey what are you running the tone pots at? I'd guess wide open?? (I'm a big fan of middle position with 50s wiring, and adjusting things by the volume pots. It's even more tweakable with the tone pots down to wherever)

VictorB said:

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I can't actually find a set of these anywhere.

Banastre said:

@Acey what are you running the tone pots at? I'd guess wide open?? (I'm a big fan of middle position with 50s wiring, and adjusting things by the volume pots. It's even more tweakable with the tone pots down to wherever)

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Wide open. My pups aren't bright enough to tweak with the tone.

Acey said:

I can't actually find a set of these anywhere.

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He's a member here:

VictorB said:

He's a member here:

Underwound

www.mylespaul.com

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Does he sell them through mlp?

Acey said:

I can't actually find a set of these anywhere.

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Send him a DM on MLP, but if that doesn't work I think you'll have to import them from Australia if you really want them ... there's some on Reverb right now, search for "Jimmy Page Pickups(Pair) 1973 Madison Square Garden"

these?
https://reverb.com/item/58054607-jimmy-page-pickups-pair-1973-madison-square-garden

Acey said:

Does he sell them through mlp?

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Send him a message here. It's what I did to get a set.