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.