Les Paul issue

lowell · 10-27-2008, 07:29 PM

Hey all,
I just bought my first LP. It's named Guitar of the Week... it's a classic w/ a mahogany top. This guitar also has cream binding around the headstock.

Another note. I'm having issues w/ the guitar on gigs. With my previous guitar (Matt Guitar Murphy Cort) I would dig in w/ some screaming bends and it would SCREAM! Note I'm using the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic for my overdrive tones. So... When I'm soloing I go for that screaming bend and my new LP isn't delivering. It seems to me like there is some serious compression going on when I really want to dig in. I'm wondering if this is a pickup issue. Maybe the heights are off or the action/truss rod are not in an ideal place. Can someone tell me ideal pickup heights for PAF pickups and getting some screaming sustaining tones?

Possum · 10-28-2008, 03:38 AM

What pickups are in it? Really, you should put the pickups up as close as you can get them, Seth Lover himself said that. On the the neck I would put it less close but raise the screws some to get more definition...

black_labb · 10-28-2008, 08:10 AM

so is the issue when you bend the note, or when you really dig in, or only when you do both at the same time?

edit: sometimes bending a note you can casue the guitar to "fret out" which is when you push the string over the curved fretboard, causing it to get closer to the frets and at some stage touch. you are probably getting close and limiting the strings movement.

this is usually a bigger issue with fenders, as they have tighter radius's on their fingerboards, but the shorter scale length on the les paul makes it easier to push the string further in a bend and getting the same effect. you can fix it by raising the action. if the neck is not set up right in terms of the fretboard, neck relief, level frets ect then getting a setup should fix it as well.

this should probably be in the guitar tech section, as opposed to the pup section

lowell · 10-30-2008, 09:24 PM

I sat down w/ my other guitar and realized the action was 1/64 higher but the t-rod was in same spot. Just for kicks I set my LP up just like the Cort and that night at the gig it was magical... Wow it never REALLY hit me like that that the string height being too low can really have quite a negative affect on the string movement... especially on the tongue. Now I can really dig in and the bends sing just like they used to.

I will raise the pickups Possum... thanks. Oh, they're 57 classics.

10-27-2008, 07:29 PM	#1
lowell Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,128	Les Paul issue Hey all, I just bought my first LP. It's named Guitar of the Week... it's a classic w/ a mahogany top. This guitar also has cream binding around the headstock. Another note. I'm having issues w/ the guitar on gigs. With my previous guitar (Matt Guitar Murphy Cort) I would dig in w/ some screaming bends and it would SCREAM! Note I'm using the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic for my overdrive tones. So... When I'm soloing I go for that screaming bend and my new LP isn't delivering. It seems to me like there is some serious compression going on when I really want to dig in. I'm wondering if this is a pickup issue. Maybe the heights are off or the action/truss rod are not in an ideal place. Can someone tell me ideal pickup heights for PAF pickups and getting some screaming sustaining tones?

10-28-2008, 03:38 AM	#2
Possum Old Timer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Planet Mongo in the country of PAF Posts: 3,140	.. What pickups are in it? Really, you should put the pickups up as close as you can get them, Seth Lover himself said that. On the the neck I would put it less close but raise the screws some to get more definition... __________________ http://www.SDpickups.com Stephens Design Pickups

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10-28-2008, 08:10 AM	#3
black_labb Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: sydney australia Posts: 777	so is the issue when you bend the note, or when you really dig in, or only when you do both at the same time? edit: sometimes bending a note you can casue the guitar to "fret out" which is when you push the string over the curved fretboard, causing it to get closer to the frets and at some stage touch. you are probably getting close and limiting the strings movement. this is usually a bigger issue with fenders, as they have tighter radius's on their fingerboards, but the shorter scale length on the les paul makes it easier to push the string further in a bend and getting the same effect. you can fix it by raising the action. if the neck is not set up right in terms of the fretboard, neck relief, level frets ect then getting a setup should fix it as well. this should probably be in the guitar tech section, as opposed to the pup section

10-30-2008, 09:24 PM	#4
lowell Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,128	I sat down w/ my other guitar and realized the action was 1/64 higher but the t-rod was in same spot. Just for kicks I set my LP up just like the Cort and that night at the gig it was magical... Wow it never REALLY hit me like that that the string height being too low can really have quite a negative affect on the string movement... especially on the tongue. Now I can really dig in and the bends sing just like they used to. I will raise the pickups Possum... thanks. Oh, they're 57 classics.

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