Gibson Les Paul True Historic 1958 vs Les Paul R8 - Volume Problems

[Skral88]

Differences between Gibson's Les Paul R8 (2011, Iced Tea) and Gibson's Les Paul True Historic 1958 (2016, Lemon) - both Plaintop: The R8 has a significantly thicker neck and is heavier (approx. 4.1 kg) that has True Historic a narrower neck and weighs only 3.72 kg ... it also resonates better. Pickups are Burstbucker on the R8 and Custombucker on the True Historic. The plastic is different in both.

What bothers me a bit at the True Historic are the volume controls: from 8 on, it gets much quieter and is almost unrecognizable. On the R8 she gets "crunchy" at 8 and cleans at 5-6, but she does not actually get any quieter. Can that be a mistake of True Historic or are they? I just want to keep one, but I do not know which one?

(sorry, I'm from Germany - so my English is not so good)
Thank you

 

[Stefftrim]

Hey Deutschland
I am new here, but I rescently bought a 2006 R8 Custom Shop. I know that my burstbuckers aren't wax potted because she is VOS (Vintage Original Specs) The R8 is built as close to the 1958 model as possible.
My pick ups are microphonic too, but that's how the PAF pick up was constructed. If the Custombucker is more quiet it may have been "potted" in paraphine/ wax. Maybe someone else knows more.

 

[1all's Pub]

Not all pots are created equal. If yours aren’t giving you what you want get yourself a new wiring harness from a reputable place (ThroBak, RS Guitarworks, etc—there are others). That should help.

 

[Mike J.]

Cool, noch jemand aus DE

Well, I also have a 58 True Historic from 2016 and I can’t confirm that behaviour of the volume pots.

If you wanna change the taper then that’s an easy fix. I personally would keep the better guitar. In every case that I played a True Historic it was better than the regular Reissues, but that’s in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Maestro Fuzz]

Greetings friend!
I guess that this volume thing happens becouse of the difference in humbuckers. So Burstbuckers are a tad more aggressive and sound a bit thicker then Custombuckers. On the other hand, Custombuckers are polite and have a better string definition. They sound more rock n roll to my ears. So i vote for True Historic, but I like ice tea color better!

 

[jamman]

Differences between Gibson's Les Paul R8 (2011, Iced Tea) and Gibson's Les Paul True Historic 1958 (2016, Lemon) - both Plaintop: The R8 has a significantly thicker neck and is heavier (approx. 4.1 kg) that has True Historic a narrower neck and weighs only 3.72 kg ... it also resonates better. Pickups are Burstbucker on the R8 and Custombucker on the True Historic. The plastic is different in both.

What bothers me a bit at the True Historic are the volume controls: from 8 on, it gets much quieter and is almost unrecognizable. On the R8 she gets "crunchy" at 8 and cleans at 5-6, but she does not actually get any quieter. Can that be a mistake of True Historic or are they? I just want to keep one, but I do not know which one?

(sorry, I'm from Germany - so my English is not so good)
Thank you

Maybe it's me , but I find your problem (as posted) a bit confusing to what the issue is .
The TH "it gets much quieter and is almost unrecognizable" As in 8 + or 8 - ,up or down volume ?
"unrecognizable" ??? please explain what you mean ....

The R8 ,,,, is this happening on all selector switch settings ? or which 1 ,if only 1 or 2 ?


So take what I opine , with a grain of salt .
1st . Keep the guitar you like to play the most ... Only you can decide that .

Have you tried using Deoxit D5? This stuff works great ...

Maybe the connections have some corrosion on it . Don't forget about the selector switch and the input jack . Although not usually the source of problems , they can be , and they are easy to check , to make sure .
Example , Where I lice has Humidity , and corrodes parts og my guitars like it was feeding time .
I have a Fend Strat from 2007 which I use when I want something different to play and 1 day i ppicked it up and the middle pickup selection was dead ... I spayed the Deoxit D5 in/on it , let it sit for a few minutes , worked the switch back and forth a bunch of times, and low and behold ...It worked and stills works perfectly to this day ...
Sometimes simple is all that's needed. That's part of :"trouble shooting" 1st step 1st. Eval and proceed if need be .

I think you need to keep in mind ,every guitar is different . Eval it ,as it stands alone to what you want from it and if it get you to that place ...

I that's not possible (maybe all things are equal between them) 1 option is to keep them both . Although I understand that can be done for everybody ....

If your looking at it as an electrical problem . Either take it to a tech to have each component of the system eval'd , then repair or replace any parts that maybe faulty ....
If you can do it yourself ... you save time and $$$

Swapping out the complete harness can be a good thing . But first make sure , that's where it issue is .
There are other parts of the loop that can effect what is happening . \Of course if that's what you want to do ,that's all good , but I'd make sure that's where the problem is 1st. If it's not , you'll end up with the same problem and less $$$ .

 

[ARandall]

Every guitar is different, as well as the pickups being different and the electronics. All 3 interact. Even with 2 identical spec guitars they will behave differently as the way each guitar sustains and sounds will change the way the volume control changes the tone/output as it is adjusted.
You can change electrics to make the pot taper similar/same.......but thats still not going to in any way guarantee that the tonal shift as you roll up/down will be comparable.

In short, you will need to accept that you have individual instruments, and that they can never be identical, and therefore love them for what they are.
Or keep on buying and selling until you fluke a match.

 

[trapland]

I guarantee it is the potentiometers. They may have different values and probably different tapers as well. I love it when a guitar cleans up anywhere in the middle range and gets quiet near the bottom.

The only way to make both guitars the same is to replace all the pots with new ones that you got from a premium source that will measure them and verify they are all the same type. Your guitars still won’t sound identical, but the volumes will behave the same.

Personally, I love the taper of the Gibson Historic pots from 2014-2016 and found a place that let me measure them so I know what I’m getting. I solder well so it’s easier and cheaper for me. Most high end harness builders will do all that work and solder it up for you too.

 

[freebyrd 69]

I guarantee it is the potentiometers. They may have different values and probably different tapers as well. I love it when a guitar cleans up anywhere in the middle range and gets quiet near the bottom.

The only way to make both guitars the same is to replace all the pots with new ones that you got from a premium source that will measure them and verify they are all the same type. Your guitars still won’t sound identical, but the volumes will behave the same.

Personally, I love the taper of the Gibson Historic pots from 2014-2016 and found a place that let me measure them so I know what I’m getting. I solder well so it’s easier and cheaper for me. Most high end harness builders will do all that work and solder it up for you too.

And it's trapland for the win! With the problem you are describing, he is absolutely right. If it's strictly a volume problem, then it could lie within the setup/pickups on the individual guitars, but in my experience, about 7 or 8 out of 10 Gibson's are good from a taper standpoint. That's in the Harness. RS guitar works, or some of the others mentioned will get you a nice even sweep. I'd try that first.