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what parts should i change on my les paul?


mbengs1

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I just had a pickup change. replaced the 498t's to EMG's. Now my les paul has high output pickups. I plan to change the pickguard next to a grey pearloid color. what else should i change? i was thinking of changing pickup rings? will that improve the looks or tone much?

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Get a Tonepros bridge kit. This is crucial to the vibe that you KNOW toan. Also change those itty bitty strap buttons to the big flared kind. Also paint over the Gibson logo and claim you picked it out at some Chinese factory; also proof you know toan.

Oh and get black speed knobs. Nothing looks cheaper than those gold hat knobs.

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Cosmetic changes won't affect the tone and aesthetics are a personal choice. It would help if we knew what color the guitar was. Can you post a pic? Personally, I'd avoid a pearl pickguard except for a Strat or something similar. Most of the time upgrades take the form of electronics such as pots and capacitors but AFAIK that's not something you can do with active pickups. You could experiment with swapping out the tailpiece and bridge but IMHO that won't get you much improvement. Again, post a pic and I'll get back to you.

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Yeah I almost dumped my Les Paul more that once. They weigh a bit so they tend to hit the ground hard to.

 

I should have them on all my Gibson Electrics, but I don't. One of the keys to the strap locks is when you put the U locks on the strap, make sure the open part of the U is facing up. I have had the strap locks come undone too.

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My Les Paul (Studio) had the finish removed from the entire guitar during a broken headstock repair. It no longer has the Gibson logo or the Les Paul signature either.

 

I believe it is a better sounding guitar without the finish and it doesn't look like much so I'm not afraid of scratching it up or somebody wanting to steal it - it's a real 'work' guitar.

 

The only hardware change is a set of Grover high ratio tuning machines and some graph-tech bridge saddles. I also removed the pickguard.

 

It still has the stock 490/498 pickup combination which work in every situation I find myself in.

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Ok, explain this to me so that even a drummer can understand.

 

​You spent a small fortune, getting the guitar that was perfect for you. So perfect in fact that you are afraid of playing for fear of wearing out the frets. So now you want to change everything that made the guitar special to you.

 

What ain't I getting?

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Cosmetic changes won't affect the tone and aesthetics are a personal choice. It would help if we knew what color the guitar was. Can you post a pic? Personally' date=' I'd avoid a pearl pickguard except for a Strat or something similar. Most of the time upgrades take the form of electronics such as pots and capacitors but AFAIK that's not something you can do with active pickups. You could experiment with swapping out the tailpiece and bridge but IMHO that won't get you much improvement. Again, post a pic and I'll get back to you.[/quote']

 

​The color is alpine white. I uploaded an old pic. It does not look exactly like that anymore. It has EMG's now. I'm thinking of changing everything u can change including the jackplate, tuners, strap buttons etc. Don't mind the other guitar in the picture. it's just my JEM...

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Ok, explain this to me so that even a drummer can understand.

 

​You spent a small fortune, getting the guitar that was perfect for you. So perfect in fact that you are afraid of playing for fear of wearing out the frets. So now you want to change everything that made the guitar special to you.

 

What ain't I getting?

 

​I was getting bored with the guitar. same sound, same look... I decided to change it since the first thing I thought it needed was hot output pickups. I had emg's in my '{censored}ty' guitar. :) (it's an Ibanez JS1000 that was trashed and fixed up again) it had emg 81 and 85 so I swapped the pickups. now the Ibanez js has the 498t and 490r pirkcups. I might as well change everything if I can. but the tuners and strap locks are quite expensive so I may leave that out... I just bought a grey pearloid pickguard and plastic jackplate on ebay for about 10 bucks each.

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