NGD (kind of) - Pearly Gates HM RDS with ORIGINAL 1957 Les Paul PAFs (pre-sticker, steel covers!)

[Curious George]

Late to the party but wow wow wow wow!

 

[kingsxman]

One of the finest looking Las Paul I have ever seen. Perfect.

 

[bungle]

ummm. Nice!

 

[LesPauli]

What an awesome story. It sure must be amazing to have found „the one“. That is one hell of a guitar with a killer top!

 

[JMP]

Seems to me you have all the benefits of a real Burst, without spending $225,000 or more. Bravo!

I want to know more about how the real PAFs compare to the previous pickups?

 

[GuitarTalk]

Very nice. Have you thought about upgrading anything else (wiring, hardware, etc.) to vintage as well?

Thanks! yep, got a 1959 bridge on the way. I played around with a bunch of caps, these sounded the best. If I ever come across any others might try them but it sounds perfect as is so not actively looking for more.

 

[GuitarTalk]

Seems to me you have all the benefits of a real Burst, without spending $225,000 or more. Bravo!

I want to know more about how the real PAFs compare to the previous pickups?

Thanks I got lucky with the pair that I've got as they sound night and day different to any others that Ive tried before. Maybe it's the steel covers or idk... Maybe that's why George Gruhn said the pre-sticker, steel cover 57 LP PAF's were his favourite sounding as well. I think the biggest difference comes from when you start rolling back the volume and the pickup remains clear. Most of the repro PAF's I tried would get too muddy/lose clarity when rolled back, prompting me to try to change the harness parts to make them sound clearer. In fact, with the previous Throbak's I had in this one and the BB's and the new CB's, all of them sounded a bit too dark/muddy when rolled back on this particular guitar. With the PAF's however, it was a different story. They also sound more woody/hollow if that makes sense. They're lower output (<8k) than most repro's you'll find out there without losing the punch you expect when you max out the volume on either the bridge/neck.

 

[christopherJ]

The checking on that guitar is some of the best I have seen. Better than any Murphy scratch job.

Wowsers.

 

[Renegade]

Beautiful

 

[GuitarTalk]

The checking on that guitar is some of the best I have seen. Better than any Murphy scratch job.

Wowsers.

Thanks, yeah the HM team did a crazy good job. Even the back of the neck is checked as well and actually feels better/sticks less than a basic gloss. With that said, the TM-aged axes that I've had over the last several years have been pretty great too!

 

[tonybony]

Holy Jesus Is that a beautiful guitar.

 

[GuitarTalk]

update: over a year later, and I am still loving this thing.... thinking of 1) finding a brazzy 57' goldtop to put the 57' PAF's into and 2) putting another set of nickel cover original PAFs into this one (if I can find a pair).

 

[Duane_the_tub]

update: over a year later, and I am still loving this thing.... thinking of 1) finding a brazzy 57' goldtop to put the 57' PAF's into and 2) putting another set of nickel cover original PAFs into this one (if I can find a pair).

How big of a difference did the vintage bridge end up making? Does it sound better?

 

[GuitarTalk]

How big of a difference did the vintage bridge end up making? Does it sound better?

no it’s a placebo, as vintage as possible and looks cool haha

 

[spartacus slim]

I missed this tread the first time around, so I’m glad it got resurrected for an update. What a cool guitar!

 

[markguitar]

Thanks I got lucky with the pair that I've got as they sound night and day different to any others that Ive tried before. Maybe it's the steel covers or idk... Maybe that's why George Gruhn said the pre-sticker, steel cover 57 LP PAF's were his favourite sounding as well. I think the biggest difference comes from when you start rolling back the volume and the pickup remains clear. Most of the repro PAF's I tried would get too muddy/lose clarity when rolled back, prompting me to try to change the harness parts to make them sound clearer. In fact, with the previous Throbak's I had in this one and the BB's and the new CB's, all of them sounded a bit too dark/muddy when rolled back on this particular guitar. With the PAF's however, it was a different story. They also sound more woody/hollow if that makes sense. They're lower output (<8k) than most repro's you'll find out there without losing the punch you expect when you max out the volume on either the bridge/neck.

One fact that you have repeated that is not accurate. NO PAF’s ever had ”steel” covers. The covers are all German nickel silver alloy that were then shiny nickel plated. The difference in the 1957 covers is that they were not plated with the shiny nickel. So they were just raw nickel silver with a dull finish. Steel is magnetic and would not work well as a pickup cover.

 

[GuitarTalk]

One fact that you have repeated that is not accurate. NO PAF’s ever had ”steel” covers. The covers are all German nickel silver alloy that were then shiny nickel plated. The difference in the 1957 covers is that they were not plated with the shiny nickel. So they were just raw nickel silver with a dull finish. Steel is magnetic and would not work well as a pickup cover.

Nope, that’s not true, I don’t think you’ve ever compared a steel cover one to a nickel one. (edit: also not all alloys of stainless steel are magnetic!!). Here you go:

 

[markguitar]

Nope, that’s not true, I don’t think you’ve ever compared a steel cover one to a nickel one. (edit: also not all alloys of stainless steel are magnetic!!). Here you go:

First off, you never said stainless steel, only “STEEL”. Big difference. So in a detailed discussion with Seth Lover he stated that the prototype PAF’s had a stainless steel cover but there were no holes for the adjustable pole pieces. So once they moved to production with the holes, they moved to nickel silver covers. Another big issue he stated was not being able to solder on stainless so no way to keep the covers on.

 

[GuitarTalk]

First off, you never said stainless steel, only “STEEL”. Big difference. So in a detailed discussion with Seth Lover he stated that the prototype PAF’s had a stainless steel cover but there were no holes for the adjustable pole pieces. So once they moved to production with the holes, they moved to nickel silver covers. Another big issue he stated was not being able to solder on stainless so no way to keep the covers on.

TomAto tomAHto, at the end of the day, it’s a pair of steel covered, ultra rare, PAF’s...

 

[Duane_the_tub]

Did the neck pickup ring look like that before the makeover or did HM put a slightly longer fretboard on it?