Pickup Recommendations for Gibson "The Paul"

[Alexander Rehmer]

Hi,

i bought a used Gibson "The Paul" 1979 equipped with two OBL Humbuckers
(A-900R in neck-position and A-900L in bridge-position). The guitar is made
out of walnut and has an ebony fretboard. I want to change the humbuckers,
because they are highly microphonic and sound muddy when playing higher
gains (which occurs 70% of the time *g*). But I actually like the
bridge-pickup "sound-spectrum-wise" (bass, mids and highs are well balanced
for my liking) - the neck-pu is a little too dully.
So I was thinking of replacing the bridge pickup with a Bill Lawrence L-500L
(the question is, if it sounds somehow like the OBL, without being
microphonic) or a Duncan SH-5 (Custom) and maybe a SH-2 (Jazz) in
neck-position - or i'll go with EMG (85 in bridge and 60, 85 or 81 in
neck-position). I want to have a punchy humbucker-sound in bridge-position
that is not too shrill and a cleaner, brighter one in neck position. Does
anyone of you have experience with walnut wood used for electric guitars and
is able to tell me if these configurations are ok? On SeymourDuncan's
website I read, that walnut is comparable to maple, but I think the sound is
in beetween maple and mahogany, so it's got nice mids and creamy bass, but
not too much hi's - maybe someone can tell me if that is correct...

Thanks a lot in advance :-)
Alexander Rehmer, Germany

[Bruce Morgen]

It seems like BL's L-500
would be a good choice.
It's certainly about as
immune from microphonics
as a blade pickup can
get -- which is more than
I say for the many clones
and bootlegs of it that
are out there. Exactly
which L-500 model will be
best largely depends on
the control values in the
guitar. If the pots are
250K or 300K, your choice
of an L-500L is correct,
but if the pots are 500K
or higher the L-500XL
would work well.

I suggest you call BL
directly during the west
coast USA morning hours
-- as you probably know,
he speaks German and
English equally well, and
he's always very generous
with his time and advice.
His latest published
phone number is 909-737-
5853 -- I've heard he and
Becky have *finally*
moved into their new
headquarters just across
the railroad tracks from
Fender, but that number
should still get through
to them.

"Alexander Rehmer" <safareme@t-online.de> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>i bought a used Gibson "The Paul" 1979 equipped with two OBL Humbuckers
>(A-900R in neck-position and A-900L in bridge-position). The guitar is made
>out of walnut and has an ebony fretboard. I want to change the humbuckers,
>because they are highly microphonic and sound muddy when playing higher
>gains (which occurs 70% of the time *g*). But I actually like the
>bridge-pickup "sound-spectrum-wise" (bass, mids and highs are well balanced
>for my liking) - the neck-pu is a little too dully.
>So I was thinking of replacing the bridge pickup with a Bill Lawrence L-500L
>(the question is, if it sounds somehow like the OBL, without being
>microphonic) or a Duncan SH-5 (Custom) and maybe a SH-2 (Jazz) in
>neck-position - or i'll go with EMG (85 in bridge and 60, 85 or 81 in
>neck-position). I want to have a punchy humbucker-sound in bridge-position
>that is not too shrill and a cleaner, brighter one in neck position. Does
>anyone of you have experience with walnut wood used for electric guitars and
>is able to tell me if these configurations are ok? On SeymourDuncan's
>website I read, that walnut is comparable to maple, but I think the sound is
>in beetween maple and mahogany, so it's got nice mids and creamy bass, but
>not too much hi's - maybe someone can tell me if that is correct...
>
>Thanks a lot in advance :-)
>Alexander Rehmer, Germany
>

Disclaimer: I occasionally
consult with William
Lawrence Designs (Wilde),
dba "Bill Lawrence Guitars"