Hi All. Also posted this in another les paul forum - didn't realize there were two. I have a 2016 Les Paul Standard which I absolutely love but have a couple issues I would like advice on - hope this doesn't get long. First I haven't been a big fan of the burstbucker pros for the following reasons but maybe they're not adjusted correctly. First the bridge seems a little bright and harsh and neck is much louder and very muddy, especially when any volume is rolled off. When both volumes are on 10 the neck pickup is way louder, so much that to get near balancing the pickups I have to have it on 8 when the bridge is 10 and anything below 10 it sounds terribly muddy. I lowered the neck pickup to almost flush with the rings and raised the pole pieces some but it's still significantly louder than the bridge. I play blues and rock/hard rock, no metal or jazz. I was thinking about getting a good set of PAF's as I like the sound and was considering the 50's wiring but wanted some other opinions (IE can anything be done to change the BB pros otherwise or with pots/caps?). I'm guessing if I get PAF's I won't be able to coil split them like the current setup is (which I don't really use). I don't know very much about the tech side and I'm a bass player by trade (newer to the guitar world). Thanks for any advice.
Tone/Volume/Pickups help 2016 standard
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ARandall
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If you've adjusted height and are still not happy with the volume balance then other pickups might have to be the step to go for.
Also height adjustments do impact tone a bit.....if you have to drop the neck pickup way down you tend to lose some bite, and the bridge pickup up way high will add highs that you don't want.
4-conductor pickups are available from many PAF clone winders. For the affordable end of PAF type pickups with great tone I'd go Zhangbucker, Vineham or Sigil.
Also height adjustments do impact tone a bit.....if you have to drop the neck pickup way down you tend to lose some bite, and the bridge pickup up way high will add highs that you don't want.
4-conductor pickups are available from many PAF clone winders. For the affordable end of PAF type pickups with great tone I'd go Zhangbucker, Vineham or Sigil.
yamariv
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Lol....not because you are having this issue, lol because I JUST went through the exact same issue with my 2014 Standard with Burstbuckers and PCB board!
Solutions you seek eh!? (I'm Canadian btw...) Ok, so I actually love all the options that the PCB board gives me with coils splits and stuff so I didn't want to rip it out as it works pretty good. I found my neck pup was muffled and extremely loud and the bridge was very bright and weak just like yours. I did lower the neck pup below the ring and raised the poles but it really didn't help much....so it's gotta be the pups then.
I had a nice pair of Slash SD's with alnico 2's in them and read that changing to an Alnico 2 or 3 in the neck would help with the muddiness so I decided to thrown them in and find out. I went a little overboard with mine and got the Slash's rewired to a 4 wire and soldered on a PCB board connector to each so that I could just plug them in without loosing the PCB options. Well, man do these pups make a difference and are exactly what I was looking for. The neck is full and clear with no mud and the bridge is nice and even with the neck pup for volume and its not even half as close to the strings as the bridge BB was before. Very happy with the combo, solved all the issues!! So yes, new pups in your near future!! Whatever you choose, go with an Alnico 2 or 3 in the neck pup to clear up the muddiness.
On a side note, I've actually purchased a new A3 magnet for the BB neck, curious to change it out and see if it helps the muddiness.
Keep me posted on what you decide!!
Solutions you seek eh!? (I'm Canadian btw...) Ok, so I actually love all the options that the PCB board gives me with coils splits and stuff so I didn't want to rip it out as it works pretty good. I found my neck pup was muffled and extremely loud and the bridge was very bright and weak just like yours. I did lower the neck pup below the ring and raised the poles but it really didn't help much....so it's gotta be the pups then.
I had a nice pair of Slash SD's with alnico 2's in them and read that changing to an Alnico 2 or 3 in the neck would help with the muddiness so I decided to thrown them in and find out. I went a little overboard with mine and got the Slash's rewired to a 4 wire and soldered on a PCB board connector to each so that I could just plug them in without loosing the PCB options. Well, man do these pups make a difference and are exactly what I was looking for. The neck is full and clear with no mud and the bridge is nice and even with the neck pup for volume and its not even half as close to the strings as the bridge BB was before. Very happy with the combo, solved all the issues!! So yes, new pups in your near future!! Whatever you choose, go with an Alnico 2 or 3 in the neck pup to clear up the muddiness.
On a side note, I've actually purchased a new A3 magnet for the BB neck, curious to change it out and see if it helps the muddiness.
Keep me posted on what you decide!!
