I was always pleased by the sound of the Les Paul Special. It made me think of the Melody Maker from 1958... collectible. The sanding down of the back of the neck to a satin finish added to the smoothness of this fast neck. I think if we added a little Duncan P-Rails to the middle it could rival the Frampton Les Paul for tone value. Certainly a Vaugh Skow Vintage Pickup in there would sound warm and pleasing. There's just something about my Epi Les Paul Goldtop that rivals the meatier guitars I have with active pickups. You realy can't go wrong with a LP Special of Studio model, however bumping my strings u to D'Addario 10's from 9's did seem to add more cool factor for me. Time flies and what is olden sounds better every year.