Best pedal for Les Paul Recording model into 100w Marshall

[MichaelK]

I’m hoping that I can ask for some advice based on users’ experience with the Les Paul Recording model. I have one from the 1971 timeframe, and I run it into my Marshall 100w amp (not a header/amp cabinet stack, just an amplifier. I’m looking for that famous Les Paul rock sound, and I’m not certain about the pickups that are featured on the low impedance Recording model. They are super clean and beautiful sounding, but I’m trying to obtain the classic LP rock sound (e.g. Jimmy Page sound), and I’m not super familiar with these pickups versus the standard LP humbuckers. Any insight into the pickup design as compared to typical LP humbuckers, and the proper overdrive/compressor/distortion pedals to achieve that sound would be greatly appreciated. I picked up the guitar with its original plush case 33 or 34 years ago for $325, and it’s awesome. Thanks for your input.

 

[icantshred]

Very nice guitar!


Have you tried a fuzz?

I don't really know much about impedance, but my understanding is that those pickups were meant to be basically a line-level and could go straight into a mixer or amp without pushing hard enough to create any drive. If you're dead set on getting those sounds with those pickups it may require a low-to-high impedance gadget of some sort.

In the past I've seen adapters with an impedance switch you could plug a cheap 1/4" plug karaoke mic into.

 

[Christosterone]

Ok, I have good news and bad news…

the good news is I have a recording and can answer ur questions about tone…

bad news is the low impedance pickups will never give u the classic les Paul sound..

when going into my Marshall dsl40 it sounds more like Brian may than jimmy…which is a cool tone

but it will never sound like a true les Paul imho…

-chris

 

[01GT Eibach]

Full disclosure, I am not really a huge fan of any pedal honestly and far from an expert on LP Recorders, but there are many out there that love Tube Screamers. How about trying one of those? According to some people, this pedal almost cures world hunger. I bet a Tube Screamer balanced with the Marshall will get you what you are looking for.

 

[Christosterone]

 

[EllenGtrGrl]

Ok, I have good news and bad news…

the good news is I have a recording and can answer ur questions about tone…

bad news is the low impedance pickups will never give u the classic les Paul sound..

when going into my Marshall dsl40 it sounds more like Brian may than jimmy…which is a cool tone

but it will never sound like a true les Paul imho…

-chris

View attachment 668470

+1 While I've never had a Les Paul Recording, I did have that other low impedance pickup loaded model that Gibson made - the misnamed (IMO) Les Paul Signature (it was more like an ES-335 with a Les Paul-style lower cutaway). It was my main electric guitar from 1984-1987, when I was in college, and I played it quite often with high gain amps. It sounded OK, but despite all of the tone tweaking I did, I had to accept it for what it was sound-wise. The tone was very even across the sound spectrum - not shrill, or midtrangey, and not a lot of low end grunt, grind, and punch (which I like - I bought the guitar at a very good price, hoping that it would be a cheaper alternative to an ES-335) either - in some ways, kind of flat/smooth sounding. This is kind of a hallmark of low impedance pickups (with the exception of maybe EMGs) in general.

I couldn't afford much else as a poor college student, and Gibson semi-hollow lover, so I dealt with the guitar's shortcomings (along with it's to me, overly flat/even sound, it had Gibson's ridiculously skinny "Speed Neck") I ended up trading my Les Paul Signature for a Super Strat style guitar, when I graduated college in 1987, only to find out about 10 years ago that my Les Paul Signature was relatively rare, due to its tobacco sunburst finish (I've read that Gibson only made about 64 Les Paul Signatures in that finish), and worth a fair amount of money (ugh!).

 

[Steven]

I've had low imp. guitars, and needed a low impedance amp or special device that converts the impedance. They don't give any volume through a regular amp, the pickups have fewer windings and give less resistance so they are very clean but won't give you the same tone as passive humbuckers.Usually they go directly into a board. Passive to me is warmer and thicker sounding. When properly matched low imp pickups are very versatile. Years ago I passed on an LP low impedance for aforementioned reasons, $300 but to get the best that guitar is made for would have ended up costing a considerable amount over the guitars cost. This was nearly 50 years ago. Not to mention they are extremely heavy. Too heavy.

 

[EllenGtrGrl]

I've had low imp. guitars, and needed a low impedance amp or special device that converts the impedance. They don't give any volume through a regular amp, the pickups have fewer windings and give less resistance so they are very clean but won't give you the same tone as passive humbuckers.Usually they go directly into a board. Passive to me is warmer and thicker sounding. When properly matched low imp pickups are very versatile. Years ago I passed on an LP low impedance for aforementioned reasons, $300 but to get the best that guitar is made for would have ended up costing a considerable amount over the guitars cost. This was nearly 50 years ago. Not to mention they are extremely heavy. Too heavy.

My Les Paul Signature had 2 output jacks. One output jack was for recording directly into a mixing board, and was therefore not matched impedance-wise for guitar amps. The second output jack had an impedance transformer to match/change the guitar's output impedance to better match up to guitar amps - guitar amps have a high impedance for their inputs. I always plugged into my Les Paul Signature's second output jack (and could tell when I mistakenly plugged into the first output jack - the volume would be really low, due to the major impedance mismatch between the guitar and my amp, and if I was playing in my amp's dirt channel, it sounded MAJORLY CLEAN). I would assume that the Les Paul Recording has the same type of guitar output setup.

The low impedance pickups were an idea that Les Paul himself, pushed Gibson to make, because he wanted a guitar that would be better suited for plugging directly into a recording console. The low impedance pickups would match up better to the low impedance input of a recording console, giving the guitar a smoother, clearer, lower noise, and more hi-fi sound (which Les liked - he was not a fan of any kind of distortion). Les liked the Recording model quite a bit. It had additional tone shaping switch options on it, the Les Paul Personal, and Les Paul Professional (which also had low impedance pickups) did not have. The Les Paul Recording became Les' main guitar (complete with add-ons he had made like the Paulverizer) till the day he died. As we know nowadays, with the exception of a few infrequent, short lived reissues of Les Paul Personal, Les Paul Professional, Les Paul Recording, and Les Paul Signature guitars, they never became popular (though the bass versions of them have a modest amount of popularity - it seems the sound of their low impedance pickups is liked by some bass players).