Les Paul Upgrades.

Pacomc79

Ok, so yeah I know I'm notoriously slow with this stuff....

but I finally started upgrading the old 87 Les Paul Studio. I put the Planet Waves locking tuners on it last night and they are freaking brilliantly easy to restring.

Next I'm going to switch the incorrect bridge and put on either Callaham or Tone Pros TP6 most likely.

I'm not sure about the tailpiece yet but I sure would love to have locking studs for the tailpiece.

I've decided to keep the 490 and 498 for the time being. Instead of swapping pickups I want to see if upgrading the electronics via an RS kit will clean it up some.

keeponrockin

Pacomc79 wrote:

Ok, so yeah I know I'm notoriously slow with this stuff....

but I finally started upgrading the old 87 Les Paul Studio. I put the Planet Waves locking tuners on it last night and they are freaking brilliantly easy to restring.

Next I'm going to switch the incorrect bridge and put on either Callaham or Tone Pros TP6 most likely.

I'm not sure about the tailpiece yet but I sure would love to have locking studs for the tailpiece.

I've decided to keep the 490 and 498 for the time being. Instead of swapping pickups I want to see if upgrading the electronics via an RS kit will clean it up some.

Good call with the pickups.. My dad has a Les Paul with a JB/59 combo.. Too hot in my opinion.

exhausted

after some time with the 57 classics in my 335, i'm really not happy with the 490/498s in my les paul but since i don't intend to change a single solder joint in that guitar i'll stick with them. i like them for gain obviously but i can't coax nice clear cleans out of them like i can the 57s.

mccreadyisgod

Classic 57's (with covers!) really are the ideal neck pickup, just really smooth and clear. I like a bridge pup with a bit more bite, the Seymour Duncan 59 really fits the bill, or maybe an overwound P-90.

Hardware upgrades have a nasty habit of bugging you for a long time, and then when you upgrade, you wonder why you ever waited to do them. I put new tuners on my old beater acoustic (nothing special, a set of plain-jane Pings) and I wish I'd done it 10 years ago. Such an improvement in the livability of that guitar. They can be hard to justify to yourself because they don't make measurable difference in the tone most of the time, and unless the guitar is unplayable, you just don't expect to reap the rewards as much. But it really is worth it.

If you're already pulling the trigger on the bridge, gonna swap in some graphite saddles? It mellows the tone a tad, but it cuts down on string breaks at the bridge by a ton.

Pacomc79

yeah you can actually order the TP6 from Tonepros with graphtech saddles but I think a properly notched bridge should be fine. After I filed down the burrs and nut sauced the saddles of this crappy bridge I generally don't break strings at the bridge anymore.

57 classics are the balls at the neck.... but the 490 isn't bad just muddy. I think my overall problem with the guitar (besides that my shoulder kills me after a half hour) is that without new strings it lacks clarity. I really would love to try either Lollar Imperials or the Fralin PAF. I would like to hear the new Angus Young SG because I think they overwound his bridge and he's got a 57 at the neck like the old one. I bet that's a nice pairirng.

It was bell clear with pure nickle 11's but I couldn't really bend them as well.

Have you guys notched your own saddles or do you just take them in? I don't want to get string spacing wrong.

I'm kind of wondering if I should replace the nut a the same time, but tuning is pretty solid.

I'm hoping I can try a few alternate slide tunings to see if everything works well.

Did anyone ever try the P-Rails?

exhausted

when i put the locking bridge on my SG i took it in to get notched..... and he fucked it up. the spacing is off slightly and i've been meaning to fix that but haven't gotten around to it. i need to learn to do my own bridge and nut work.

mccreadyisgod

I've only ever replaced the nut once on a guitar, and that was with a pre-cut nut. I just sat in the store comparing the spacing of the old nut to all the available pre-cut ones they had until I found one with the right spacing. I went with Tusq, which is plenty good for that guitar.

If I ever had a nut replaced on a good guitar, I'd go with bone and have it done professionally. I don't have the files to cut slots right, and I'd want the height shaved by a pro to get the best seat.

For a TOM bridge, I'd probably be okay with cutting my own slots, IF I had the files to do so. I'd probably also need a vise, and a whole guitar workbench would be great.

It sounds a lot like you might be in the market for some underwound HB's... or some of the hybrid pups that provide increased clarity. If it was me, I'd probably look for a nice, clean neck pup, and then get a bridge pup that has some raunchy overdrive character (actually, that IS what I look for, most of the time).

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

when i put the locking bridge on my SG i took it in to get notched..... and he fucked it up. the spacing is off slightly and i've been meaning to fix that but haven't gotten around to it. i need to learn to do my own bridge and nut work.

Don't know if they have them for your specific task, but Stewart Mac always has some great articles on "how to's". Of course you probably already knew that.