Upgrade or buy new

Audible-Anarchy

I have been playing an 2005 Epi Les Paul std plus top (honey burst) for the last 8 years or so.

I play most heavier rock / metal style stuff and tbh i love this guitar plenty, i honestly think i picked up a gem. the sustain is amazing and it plays really nicely (i have upgraded the nut and hardware).

while i love the guitar clean and with a bit of crunch - when it comes to the high gain chug a chug stuff it gets super muddy. especially the bridge pickup.

I'm thinking a pickup upgrade may be in order (i think its a great piece of wood and the build is better than a lot of the epis i have seen). possibly SD distortion bridge and SD 59 neck.

So with that in mind i have a bit of a dilemma. do i upgrade the les paul - or rather spend the money on a used superstrat 25.5 scale style guitar.

I'm cautious of changing the pickups as i don't want to lose the bluesy tone of the les paul - but want the bite of the higher output pup at the same time. Is there a pickup combo that can hit both the les paul P.A,F vibe as well as the articulate high gain? maybe change just the bridge pickup? At the same time it wouldn't hurt having a strat style 24 fret guitar dedicated to the down tuned heavier stuff either.

What would you do?

I use a variety of amps including solid state and tube as well as emulation software like amplitude 3 and guitar rig 5. Prefer pedals or software for distortion running through clean channel on the amp.

domhatch

howdy.

if you do decide to buy new, also check out the prs se range, in particular the prs se custom 24 if you're looking for a 24-fretter. you'll get a good range of tones out of that puppy, plus it's a good, value-for-money instrument new, but especially second-hand if you find a good one. the se dave navarro signature (from what i've heard) is also something you might want to consider.

personally, i like to sit with the foibles of a guitar i'm attached to, and save up to buy another one that perfectly (or pretty close to perfectly) suits my other needs. welcome to the world of gas...

a superstrat is going to give you a very different sound to your epi. but hey, maybe that's just what you need! at any rate, get out there, play some new and different guitars and - most importantly - have a ball doing it!
dh|

AlanRatcliffe

Upgrade. You have the guitar. You like it (lots). There's nothing wrong with a good Epi aside from a few small, upgradeable things here and there (many of which you've done already). So no reason not to upgrade the pups too. A 25.5" scale strat based guitar is a completely different animal - something you'd add to your collection to get a whole different range of tones..

I'm not au fait with the current crop of higher output pickups designed for drive, so I'm not sure which (if any) can still do the classic blues thing but remain articulate at high gain. I suspect you may want to stay with something low to medium power though - they tend to be the more defined, dynamic and articulate pickups. The DiMarzio AT-1 (bridge) and Air Classic (neck) would float my boat - but that's me and I'm not sure they would scale up well to the higgher gain stuff.

Chocklit_Thunda

Dude, Pearly Gates set by Seymour Duncan. Or the AII pro slash set but the pearly is the one. It's like Kate Beckinsale in her underworld outfit.... Drenched in honey..... With a plate of waffles just for you. 8)

Squonk

Chocklit_Thunda wrote: It's like Kate Beckinsale in her underworld outfit.... Drenched in honey..... With a plate of waffles just for you. 8)

You cant get better than that......

psyx

Squonk wrote:
Chocklit_Thunda wrote: It's like Kate Beckinsale in her underworld outfit.... Drenched in honey..... With a plate of waffles just for you. 8)
You cant get better than that......

However... The pearly gates is a hot rodded PAF, which is a low output humbucker... perhaps good for the bluesy cleans and some hard rock, but not very suited to metal.

I think the AII slash would be a good bet, or a JB (As far as Seymour Duncans go anyway ) to get as versatile as possible

Chocklit_Thunda

psyx wrote:
Squonk wrote:
Chocklit_Thunda wrote: It's like Kate Beckinsale in her underworld outfit.... Drenched in honey..... With a plate of waffles just for you. 8)
You cant get better than that......
However... The pearly gates is a hot rodded PAF, which is a low output humbucker... perhaps good for the bluesy cleans and some hard rock, but not very suited to metal.

I think the AII slash would be a good bet, or a JB (As far as Seymour Duncans go anyway ) to get as versatile as possible

Actually lots of guys use the PG for high gain but a JB in a les paul? Usually not a good idea.
Actually if he wants something that does both blues and high gain why not a Custom 5 or Custom 8 from SD? Just get a Duncan Custom and if it's not hot enough swap the magnet for an AlNiCo 8.

psyx

JB's in LP's are not that rare... Played one myself some time ago. JB and a 59 fitted LP Studio and it worked well

Chocklit_Thunda

psyx wrote: JB's in LP's are not that rare... Played one myself some time ago. JB and a 59 fitted LP Studio and it worked well

I've always heard that they don't mate well with mahogany :-\ based on construction it's wound hot with 43AWG wire which adds more mids than 42. Add that to the midrange hump from mahogany, it's a huuuuuge mid spike. The hot wind also adds treble which added to the maple cap makes it shrill to some people.

Granted I played the JB in a Cort les paul copy but they are build basically the same as a Gibby.

AlanRatcliffe

Some people like big mids - makes for good lead voices.

Personally, I've never liked the JB in anything (although a basswood/maple body, maple/ebony neck Cort came close once) - no dynamics. Still, I can see why others like 'em.

MrFacepalm

Personally, if I had to choose which to spend on, I would upgrade my axe. But you better be REALLY sure the upgrade is what you want! There is no way to play an upgrade to your instrument before it is done. Which sucks. But I have a slightly unpopular opinion about these things, and it involves spending no money...

Here is my take on this:

If you are happy with the tone in most ways, but a certain technique sounds off... Work on your technique first before blaming your gear. There are many reasons a muted 'chugga chugga' riff can get muddy. Stuff like where on the tring you are muting, where you are picking, it all has an influence. Pressing down too hard with the left hand bends stuff slightly out of tune and also doesn't allow notes to ring properly, this was a big personal challenge for me. Whenever playing intense or aggressive music I used to really dig into the fretboard, this just sends your tone to hell. After that I noticed I was picking waaaaay close to the neck, getting what Frank Zappa would describe as 'tone sounding like a ham sandwich'...

Tone is all in the hands I feel.

Take care and all the best with your quest to find that sweet spot!

IceCreamMan

Squonk wrote:
Chocklit_Thunda wrote: It's like Kate Beckinsale in her underworld outfit.... Drenched in honey..... With a plate of waffles just for you. 8)
You cant get better than that......

Now theres an image I am going to battle to get rid of

domhatch

IceCreamMan wrote:
Squonk wrote:
Chocklit_Thunda wrote: It's like Kate Beckinsale in her underworld outfit.... Drenched in honey..... With a plate of waffles just for you. 8)
You cant get better than that......
Now theres an image I am going to battle to get rid of

you and me both brother.

flatfourfan

why sell one to buy another...................just buy the other as well?

I have 3 electrics and I like the fact that all three sound totally different.

Audible-Anarchy

Thanks for all the input guys

i think il prob go sd 59 neck / custom bridge - I've heard they will suit dark mahogany better than a JB.

It may be better to save for a superstrat more suited to the hi gain stuff like a jackson / ibanez / esp. if i go with pups that are too hot on the LP i reckon it won't sound like an LP anymore. Different tools for diff jobs i suppose.

flatfourfan

don't write off LTD.........I've owned all the superstrats that you mentioned and LTD models are far ahead build wise to a similar priced model from jackson and ibanez.

Audible-Anarchy

i must say I've had my eye on an mh 400 / 1000 for a while

and a telecaster and a gibby LP custom and a ukilele and a jackson RR and a Randall head and and and…

And now to make matters worse a client came through to the studio with Fender Hss MIA custom shop yesterday and all i can say is wow. one day when I'm big.

funkadelic

I say buy. Don't let go of your gear. Man I made that mistake a million times and regret some gear I sold. Some items are collectors pieces nowadays which means I can't get hold of them again.

So rather hang on to what you have unless it's easily obtainable again, like Boss pedals, ha haa!!! Take the crunch and save up or empty your pockets. You won't regret it.