My Les Paul is back home, was with the luthier for a few days to get re-wired and setup for 11s.
This is a 2016 Gibson Les Paul Traditional model that was sold exclusively by Sweetwater... it’s non-weight relieved.
My goal in buying this was to have an R8 but at a lower price. Also if it was an R8 I wouldn’t want to do the mods I have done to this one. I am tone chasing with this guitar...
Presently it has Faber bridge and tail piece, VIP potentiometers, Russian PIO caps, 50s wiring, a hand carved unbleached bone nut, and Sanford Magnetics “Model 22” PAFs.
They are not wax potted like the original PAFs and the neck pickups magnets are flipped so I get the out of phase Peter Green tone in the middle position.
It’s still not “there” yet. I am trying to nail the tones one would get off a genuine ‘58 burst. However, I am getting closer. The VIP pots and 50s wiring have helped me to get closer, I have a lot more range off the VIP pots than I did with the standard CTS pots... now I get a desirable tone at every setting.
Next I am gonna try another PAF maker, maybe pay for Throbacks... I’d like something with exposed double white bobbins.
Lastly, another addition that has helped me get “that sound” is the addition of the GMR Spares “Fetoplex” preamp that’s a copy of the Echoplex preamp.
https://youtu.be/AQov3YnJgQY
All in all this time chasing is expensive and labor of love.
This is the sound I trying to get here:
https://youtu.be/vqpD1P-7dMk
And of course this sound:
https://youtu.be/Ug7oyobYONk
I only own 3 other guitars... a 2009 Gibson Firebird V (that’s getting Lollars and Bigsby, as well as 50s wiring w/ VIP pots), a Gibson J-35 acoustic, and Ural Soviet made electric guitar that 8 use for R.L. Burnside tunes.