This was a fun experiment! The day we get Jazzmaster pickups in a custom is when I'll be truly happy 🟢For Sale on My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com 🔴Reverb: reverb.com/shop/troglys?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/
Something about the sound of this guitar is giving out vibes of Gary Richrath. He usually played Les Paul but got sort of a sound of a Telecaster out of it. Don't know if he had certain specs on his that have ot a little bit of a plucky spanky Telecaster sound or if it was all in his style. But this guitar actually as you said has a full sound with that little bit of spank to it.
FACT: Les Paul was gifted a Fender Telecaster from Leo himself. Although he couldn't get Les in agreement to endorse it, he told him to keep it anyway. They were more friends than rivals.
Not just that, they were friends and neighbors! They used to get together and geek out on their guitar experiments and talk about all the things guitar could be that no-one else seemed to see or understand. At that time, everyone thought Les and Leo were crazy with their ideas, but they nearly collaborated as Gibson was dragging their feet on taking on the developments of Les, and Leo was ready to go full swing and invited Les to join him. Les, however, figured Gibson would come around (which they eventually did), and thus they went their own separate ways. They always remained good acquaintances in spite of the competition. A time when moral principles trumped capitalistic ones.
One more fact about the friendship between Leo Fender and Les Paul: They were also friends and neighbors with Paul Bigsby! I think that that's one reason why the Fender Stratocaster has a headstock that looks very much like that of Bigsby's solid body electric guitar. That guitar predated the Fender Telecaster and Esquire models by a few years. My opinion is that the Bigsby solid body might have sold well if it had had a more wallet-friendly price tag, which it didn't because Bigsby was using too many traditional (expensive!) guitar-building techniques. Fender's solid body offerings would have had quite an uphill battle if Leo hadn't used every production cost-cutting measure he could think of; I think he probably learned that from the example of Bigsby's axe.
Back in those early days of the electric guitar there was a lot of mutual respect, despite having rivalries with one another. I think people like Ted McCarty and Leo Fender realized that neither would have gotten as far without being pushed and inspired by the other.
The clean sound misses the twang of a Tele and combines it with the low end of a Paula. Can't say I like it. I think it sounds like a cheapo Tele with bad pickups and unresponsive wood. But the dirty sound on the other hand was pretty good again. Weird.
@MF Kitten it wasn't the scale length or the wood, it was the fact that that pickup was massively overwound compared to a regular Tele pickup. It would sound dark and muddy in a Tele as well.
@@Mark-vv1dy yeah it's a myth that electric guitars are affected by the wood they're made of. Doing actual double blind tests, even guitarists who've been playing for decades can't tell the difference between the two same exact pickups in any different kind of wood, and even in any other kind of material too, like installed into a plastic body, or a plexiglass body, or a cheap aluminium metal body, or whatever. To experienced guitarists they sound identical. The only perceived difference is if it's not double blind and they believe in the silly nonsense myths like "mahogany sound darker" or "alder sounds lighter" and so they hear what they _WANT_ to hear, but it's just placebo. Like you can trick them very easily compare two guitars with one being made of mahogany and one made of alder, with the same pickups, and do a sound demo for each of them. But sneakily, secretly, you actually just play the exact same sound file twice instead of actually d3emling the 2nd guitar. And don't tell anyone that's what you did. If you do that you'll get endless comments under the video talking about how different they sound and how the mahogany one is deeper and warmer while the other one sounds brighter and sharper. When it's literally just the same audio clip played twice in a row! It's not about the intelligence. I'm not calling people dumb. Literally every guitarist falls for things like this. No matter how knowledgeable and experienced we are. It may not be this exact example of debunking "tone woods". But it'll be something else, you'll be biased about something, and you don't even realise you have these biases, about something to do with guitars, or amps, or pedals, or other instruments etc. But you do, even though you're not aware of it. Literally every single one of us, me, you, everybody, has at least one bit of bias like this and it's why we all need to keep our minds active and sharp. But yeah the only things that really make a difference to the sound of an electric guitar, is the type and make and model of the pickups. And a tiny little bit about the scale length of the guitar. But it's like 95% the pickups
I've got a Tele-Paul that I've been playing for years... i built it myself from a 70's era goldtop that had the neck broken off around the 12th fret when I got it. I was apprenticing with a tech who gave me the body, as well as an old tele neck that he had laying around, as well as some fat P-90's, and a choice Bigsby. I sawed off the neck, chiseled out a slot by hand for the new neck to bolt into, and put all the parts together not knowing what would happen. Turns out that it sounds and feels amazing... never goes out of tune, and has wonderful sustain and tone. I've had other far more expensive guitars in the past, but none have compared to my homegrown Tele-Paul.
@@brainstewX yeah but that just highlights why leaving the original electronics inside was a mistake, having a sweep of tonal controls would be way more preferable. And since those are Gibson’s original pots you know they aren’t linear taper.
@@alpeterson This guitar already sounds darker than a traditional Telecaster, so putting in 250 pots would further darken the tone. I don't see that as being beneficial. If anything, Gibson should have put in no load pots.
I have put many Strat pickups in many Les Paul style guitars and they usually sounded great. They pretty much still sounded Les Paulish; I think that's because of the scale length.
Isn't the maple cap supposed to brighten up the tone also - that's what we are always told it's for on an LP. I would have thought that might make Strat pickups even thinner (than they already are) unless the mahogany body and neck are doing their thing, maybe. Pickup height can also make a considerable difference.
@@mrbeckegruvan16 yep I've seen those, although not entirely convinced. A strong pickup / amp will colour any guitar tone, just like a pedal of course, but we don't all play at 11 with two TS8s and a Dumble. I'm pretty certain George Benson believes the timber and construction makes a difference to his mellow tone or maybe it's different on an L-5 guitar with a spruce arched top.
@@Spartanm333 Acoustic/Semi acoustic guitars are entirely different, especially when using piezo pickups. Solid Bodies get the entirety of their tone from the electronics on the guitar and that the guitar is plugged into. Wood makes no difference whatsoever.
To my ears it sounds like a muted tele without the ear piercing highs. I like it better with the overdrive engaged. Someone else mentioned the differences in the scale length which obviously will have an effect. The problem is that the scale length and the mahogany body with the maple cap are affecting the sound but it is impossible to figure out what each one is doing. Truly a rare specimen, thanks for sharing it.
I mean it definitely still sounds like an lp. The things that make an lp sound the way it does is definitely the construction and wood choices but also the scale length. In all positions it had that ‘lp sound’ albeit a little different than the typical hb guitars. Not too dissimilar from the p90 guitars. I think that bridge pickup and the staple neck pickup could be a very good combination. Interesting ideas.
@@christopherweise438 : hey Chris, I should have been more clear. I meant the run of 200 they made some years ago. Half relic/half new. Not the original. Billy paid $200 for that guitar. Crazy.
@@donaldcampbell9219 - I knew that's what you meant. That's why i tagged the wink on the end of my comment. Yea....crazy. Just shows what superstar provenance does to the value. I've heard "pearly gates" is regarded as the best looking flamed maple top ever, but the extra value is because Billy Gibbons owns it.
Bound to sound different due to the scale length... 25.5 & 24.75 scales are different enough that the pickup placement will contribute to sonic differences
I thought that would be the case when making my 24.75 scale telecaster, but, though it feels different, no one can tell the difference sonically. I was a little disappointed at first, but, it sounds so good, I got over it.
I call BS. I have a Tele partscaster with a shortscale neck, and it sounds just like a Tele. The Tele bridge is the main contributor of that Tele twang.
Would love to hear the sound of that through a Deluxe or Twin Reverb amp, cranked but not breaking up and with that really clean chime! And then through an ODR-1 or similar transparent overdrive on the same amp.
The scale length also plays a part in why that guitar won't sound like a Tele. It's similar to why humbuckers don't quite sound the same when used in a Strat. Using a piece of steel to mount the bridge pickup might have helped the bridge pickup get a more of Tele vibe. The bridge pickup mounting definitely plays a part in the overall Tele sound. Whatever the case, it's a pretty cool looking guitar. Sounded decent as well. I would like to hear a pair of Wide Range Humbuckers in a Les Paul.
If Austin ever had a signature guitar, I’d feel like it would be this guitar. Maybe a different finish. It’s quirky, yet cool. Coincidentally, the playing demo was the tightest I’ve heard in a while. Good stuff!
Strange they had to fill and drill new mounting holes and a mini route. GFS (Guitar Fetish) sells conversion plates that convert humbucker routes to accept single coil pickups.
Pretty cool guitar! 😀👍 Maybe they could've put a gold chrome cover on the Neck PU to make it look less like a modification!? And I'm also reminded of a MIJ Yamato LP copy I once had, with fake humbuckers: They each had only *1* coil underneath the cover! 😆
It is a shame they used such a hot bridge pickup, and without the baseplate instead of a traditional tele bridge pickup. The neck and middle sounded more tele than the bridge, and i wonder if that it why moreso than the les paul construction / scale length. I mean it sounds cool, but just for experimental data, I'd like to hear it with a weaker pup.
@@sebastionhawk5565 Look up Jim Lill, he has tested all that stuff in videos recently and none of that made a difference when the pickup position and height were matched. I think homerzeppelin is probably right. The pickup construction and possibly position/height are different.
@@irishRocker1 It is no secret that a standard les paul - type sustains more than a standard tele, and, the tele is more spanky and chimey...compare Jimi, when playing a V with humbuckers as opposed to a tele with single coils...position and height do matter, also...they ALL matter...
I agree, I don't think the construction has so much to do with it. Even teles start to lose their twang and spank the hotter you go. Something vintage spec would've been a better choice. This seems like a wasted effort.
The main reason it sounds so different from a regular tele is the high output of the pickups. Bridge pickup have more than 2x the usual tele output, neck have 50% more resistance, so it's expected to sound fuller, less brighter and with less articulation. Not having a regular tele bridge also have big influence, but we could expect a more traditional tele sound with regular pickups. :)
Dude it says tele pickups. Where you get it's not? It's the body. The wood in fact changes depending on how solid or pieces. Giving the pickups a fuller warmer sound.
@@ivanriverajr5012 no it doesn't, not at all, wood doesn't affect pickups magnetic field. Pickup specs are the only reason it might sound different from a regular tele.
Wow, what a fantastic sounding guitar. I like where it sits tonally, as a sort of in-between third option to both guitars, with more midrange than a Tele, and more attack, definition, clarity, jangle and chime than a Les Paul. And that overdriven tone is fantastic - super raw and mean. I could imagine this guitar sitting in a mix really well.
It's a beauty, doesn't sound hugely different to a Tele but sounds nothing like a standard Les Paul. This proves one thing to me, that it's at least 90% the pickups that affect the sound.
i'LL get hate but the ONLY things that affect tone in a serious manner are things that affect the pickup and how the string vibrates. so: Pickup type, location height and tone circuit. String gauge, scale length, and how rigid the thing holding them is as that affects decay, if you get that down then you probably cannot A/B/X based on anything else.
This is why I have a Les Paul with an HP90 in the neck. The tonal shift of a single coil in the neck on a shorter scale length guitar sounds really interesting, especially for clean and EoB tones.
I like the finish and semi-floral design. It makes the pickguard almost invisible and perfectly balances the black and gold electronics and hardware. Very nicely done.
I really enjoyed this video. Les Paul (the man himself) preferred single coil pickups. Although his pups were low impedance. His guitar had a really great tone, clear and bright.
Hey, I have custom built a Stratocaster, two telecasters, and now I'm doing a telesploerer. Yes a explorer Telecaster. I am also a owner a 1974 electra outlaw MPC witch you covered one a long time ago( I believe ). I really appreciate your content. I'm personally not a lesson Paul guy but there some cool ones you've done. I do love the SG's you cover though, they all tend to be beautiful
That was surprising! I was expecting a lot more of the tele twang but it really was a much fuller sound. During the sound demo when you said "And now for the neck pickup" I was like "That was the bridge!?" Thanks for demoing this model and giving us a chance to have a listen. I think this model really is the best of both worlds. I think it's the best sounding LP I've ever heard!
it's probably because the bridge pickup is mounted to the body instead of the metal bridge plate like on a normal Telecaster. Or at least that's my guess, I might be wrong.
They took the copper plate off the bridge pickup. I wonder if they did so it would fit better or if they had grounding issues. Or if they did it so it didn’t say “tele pickup” on the back. Not the first fender pickup I’ve seen in a Gibson. The first Alvin lee 335 had a fender branded middle pickup in it. The later model had a Seymour branded. Cool idea.
Seymour Duncan Hot Tele STL-2 pickup comes stock without the copper coated steel baseplate. Website says: "The absence of a steel bottom-plate gives you a fat, full punch in both the low and mid-range frequencies, yet it retains the muscular twang of a vintage style lead pickup." But really to be a proper sounding Tele Bridge it needs the pickup base plate, if not the whole metal bridge "ashtray" plate.
Austin, you out-did yourself! I'm impressed with the sound! Warmer than a Tele and brighter than a Les Paul which reminds me of the sound of a semi-hollow body like the 335. If I were you, I'd keep this for your collection but if I had the money, I'd snatch this baby. I love everything about it! Great vid!!
I did this same mode years ago. This mode works better of a SG. Jimmy Page would love it. I do agree Jazzmaster pickups would be awesome on a Les Paul , I might try that next.
the thought i had when i saw this on a tele facebook group that was immediately confirmed upon hearing your demo: tele middle pos. on a les paul sounds SO good lol
If you want a Les Paul meets Jazzmaster check out the Fender Americal Special Jazzmaster. They have limited edition colors with stopbar tail piece and your favorite pickups!
I am tickled pink by this one, the bridge is so hot that it sounds almost P-90 ish. The middle has the Tele honk and that neck pickup is sublime. Wish I could afford to buy this one.
I've had a fender Strat with a Duncan pearly gates in the bridge. And that pickup is modeled after Billy Gibbons 59 Les Paul. It's cool to see it the other way around
I have a Les Paul I swapped the P90’s out for the Fralin jazz master style noiseless pups in the p90 size. It’s my favorite sounding LP out of the bunch I have.
Totally awesome 👌🏻 the frequency spectrum opens up wit the single coils, besides Fender has been doing that pickup crossbreed forever with optimal results 🤔 it was about time with the Gibson team 👍🏻
really funny their custom mounts, Guitar Fetish has these mounts that retrofit pickup ring holes and they didn't have to cut the cake slice. funny custom shop luthiers :D
I rout a shallow neck single coil in my dc lp jr's. It sets a little between a strat neck and middle in relation to the bridge. Sounds very similar to this one's neck pickup. paf in the bridge tho.
If your doing a b bender episode you want the Duesenberg multibender it bends any string you want most people like band g and it top mounts so no wired routing has to be inflicted.
This is not the one I was referring to that is a Glaser b bender the Duesenberg multibender is much better .no offence to Brent but he's been bending since before they invented the Duesenberg one
What value pots are in there? If there’s 500k pots that might account for some of the tone difference. Normally 250k pots would be used on a tele. Just a thought.
soundwise it is missing the spankiness of the Tele for me. Maybe because of the shorter scale and the resulting lower string tension. Also the bridge pickup is to hot for my taste. Especially in the middle position it is just dominating the sound
I typically hate tele neck pickups, but in a Les Paul it sounds surprisingly good. Also I think the extra bark that an SG has would lend itself better to Jazzmaster pickups than a Les Paul.
I’ve thought about taking a LP copy and using something like a Dimarzo Chopper bridge and a fast track or similar in the neck. That’s one of my favorite Tele set ups anyway. Or use a pair of Duncan SSL5-B SSL1-N Strat pickups. The mahogany and shorter scale would give a different tone than just a F style.
I would love to see you get possession of The Strat, an early 1980's era Fender release with red or blue body and matching headstock and gold hardware and unique bridge and volume/tone knobs. I find little mention of this guitar anymore.
I like the tone of this... Beefy from the LP body but snappy in a cool way... I wouldn't mind if Gibson pulled of some singlecoil LP's and SG's ect for a change... Just to own that snappy singlecoil sound on something like an SG... P90's are the best of both worlds when it comes to humbuckers and singlecoils, but this would be a nice option too :)
It sounds kinda like a Fender mustang to me. You got that shorter scale length that makes it kind of midrangy with the single coil twang. It's a pretty cool guitar.
Someday I’m going to get a Les Paul Special, replace the pickups with something like the Lollar Novel T on the bridge & Fralin Twangmaster in the neck, and use a Freeway Switch to add the “both in series” and out-of-phase options.
Does anyone know what happened to the black Les Paul with FilterTrons that Gibson made for Malcolm Young back in the early 90s. I remember that a photo of it appeared in Bacon & Day’s “The Gibson Book” but never seen anything else about it
Very cool. i feel like the bridge was quite a bit louder than the neck pickup, which can be a desirable thing, but if you lowered it a bit it might also get a little thinner and janglier, more tele bridge pickup-like. Cool beast.
I must say that I was doubtful that it would sound good and twangy. But I think it's a good sounding guitar. But it would sound great if they added a third pickup in the middle. I've always wanted a 3 pickup telecaster; now you got me wanting one of these Les Paul's and gold flowers makes you see that this Les Paul is a truly unique custom guitar. Love your videos Trogly good show. The Jazz master pickups would be nice too.
I have a 2020 epiphone sg that I put a fender jaguar pickup in in the middle position. Put a swimming pool under the pick guard so I can swap out whatever. Next I think i'm going to put Jazzmaster pickups in the neck and bridge
I actually REALLY like how this "bastard" sounds. The mahogany does its thing, as does the 24,75 scale length, but the most important difference - compared to a Tele-construction - might actually be the *set neck* I think. Anyway, all these different factors work together to give the sound less "ping" but more "thunk" compared to a Fender. (Even a Fender with humbuckers.) I would actually *love* to get a guitar exactly like this to cover the "spaces in between" - where a Gibson sounds too thick and a Fender sounds too shrill. It definitely has a thing of it's own.
Wood makes no difference to the sound in an electric guitar. It sounds different from a Tele because the pickups are hotter, the scale length is shorter and as a result of that, the pickups are exposed to different parts of the strings than where they'd be on a Tele. The neck pickup is closer to the middle of the strings on this than it would be on a Tele for example
Lol, wood makes literally zero difference to the tone in electric guitars. The myth of "tonewood" been thoroughly scientifically debunked time and time and time again. Guitar players _CLAIM_ they can hear the difference, but it's literally 100% placebo. If you do a double blind test, and play the same sound clip of a tele both times, instead of once with the tele and once with the les Paul with tele pickups, and you don't tell them, then they'll swear that they can hear a difference. They're so so sure of it. But that's not possible, because it was just the same clip played twice, and the guitar player never got to hear what the other guitar sounded like Or instead, play multiple different sound clips of both the tele and the les Paul with tele pups, but tell the person that they're actually just the same guitar, so you're actually lying to them, well they still believe you. They think it sounds the same, because it DOES sound the same, even though they're very different guitars, they're built differently but they have the same pickups, and pickups wee the only thing on a guitar that will change a difference to your tone. Obviously the amp you use plays an enormous role in what the tone sounds like, but the amp is not part of the guitar itself, it's a separate object. Every guitar player thinks they can hear the difference. But it's been scientifically proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they can't actually hear the difference. Eventually, all of us have to accept the science and realise that we aren't as smart as we thought we were. Idiots will double down on it, and will still claim they hear a difference, even though every time they try to do so with a bunch of sound clips, they categorically cannot tell the difference. It's all placebo. If someone is confronted with science that proves them wrong, and they don't accept it, and even go as far as to double down on their opinion, then they're soft in the head. It's just daftness. The only thing that makes a difference is the structure of the pickups. Not the wood, not any chambers hollowed out inside the guitar or anything like that. So a p90 sounds very different to a humbucker, which sounds very different to a fender single coil etc. There's basically no difference between a cheap as dirt pickup of one sort (let's say a p90) and a hyper-expensive p90. People still can't hear the difference. No, the only thing that sets the p90 apart as its own unique thing (like how PAF humbuckers and fender single coils are their own unique thing) is the design of the pickup, the internal structure. The p90s that are available today are built to the same design as the original p90s, and so they sound the same. Same with PAFs, they're still made to the original design, which is why PAFs sound the same as they always have done. So the only noticeable difference in tone, is when you change the pickups to an entirely different one, a whole different design, like going from p90s to Fender single coils, or from humbuckers to gold-foil pickups, or from jazzmaster pickups to Charlie Christian pickups, or fender wide range humbuckers to gretsch filtertron pickups, etc. There's so many dozens and dozens and dozens of different pickup designs to choose from, and they make enough of a huge difference to tone that even non guitar players and non musicians can hear the difference. Meanwhile even experienced guitar players can't hear a difference in "tonewood". And so yeah, if you're doing that, replacing the pickups on your guitar with new ones for new different tone, you don't have to worry about getting the most expensive ones. Because if one PAF style humbucker is £20, and another PAF style humbucker is £200, the difference between the true is going to be extremely marginal at best. At that point, simply using a better amp will make the £20 one instantly sound better the the £200 sounds when being played through a worse amp. No, ultimately, the £20 one and the £200 have the same fundamental design, with how every component is laid out in an exact way in an exact position, what type of metal is used for the pole pieces/magnets, what type of metal is used for the wire that is wound around those magnets, how the pole pieces are staggered to account for the design of the guitar itself (like fender single coils on teles and strats originally had pole pieces that all were at the same height, but by the time of the late 60s and 70s, they altered the design so that the pole pieces were staggered, they were all at different heights, which is specifically meant to make every string have the same exact volume. With all flat pole pieces, some strings are quieter than others. So with this staggered set up, the volume and tone is a lot more consistent from string to string). All of that design is ultimately the same regardless of price. If you want a humbucker to sound different to a PAF, then you get one of those instead, like the Dimarzio Super Distortion, easily the most popular third party replacement pickup in history. The 70s and 80s and even into the 90s and onwards were absolutely defined by the sound of the super distortions. That heavy metal tone that every hair metal band had, it was because they all used the same pickups, the Dimarzio super distortion. And the Dimarzio super distortion is a very different design to the PAF, despite both being humbuckers. The fundamental internal structure and material make up of the pickups are very different from the PAF, and that's why it sounds different. It has many many more windings for example, which increases the output by a lot, which makes it sound better for distorted tones, hence the name. That's what I mean, what I'm talking about. The only way to change the tone on your electric guitar is to change the pickups to something entirely different in design. Like for example, I've long been planning to good standard strat to replace my old strat cos the frets have worn down on it from years of playing, and it'd cost more for me to get it refretted (or buy a new neck and bolt it onto the body) than to just buy a new strat, so that's what I'm gonna do. My current strat is a fender, but I think I'll go with Squier for the new one, because they have brilliant guitars for the price, and I won't be constantly having to baby it to make sure it gets no damage from being used at gigs, I'll feel OK throwing it around being rough with it cos it's only cheap. But anyway, my plan is to immediately swap out the regular single coil pickuos, and swap in some Danelectro lipstick tube pickups. Because they're a very different kind of single coil pickup. The structure is completely different, and so they sound very different, they're significantly more chimey for example. Also they just look very cool. They're perfect for that tubescreamer overdrive and playing blues songs with it, because it sounds like a Stratocaster that's a lot more Stratocasterey if that makes sense. It's like exaggerating every aspect of a strat's tone, turning everything up to 11.
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This was a fun experiment! The day we get Jazzmaster pickups in a custom is when I'll be truly happy
🟢For Sale on My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com
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Coolest guitar ever. I love it
Man I think jazzmaster pickups would be great in a Les paul. They already have a similar mid character to PAFs.
Something about the sound of this guitar is giving out vibes of Gary Richrath. He usually played Les Paul but got sort of a sound of a Telecaster out of it. Don't know if he had certain specs on his that have ot a little bit of a plucky spanky Telecaster sound or if it was all in his style. But this guitar actually as you said has a full sound with that little bit of spank to it.
Why don't call it the Lescaster?
You should keep that one for the museum trogly
FACT: Les Paul was gifted a Fender Telecaster from Leo himself. Although he couldn't get Les in agreement to endorse it, he told him to keep it anyway. They were more friends than rivals.
Not just that, they were friends and neighbors! They used to get together and geek out on their guitar experiments and talk about all the things guitar could be that no-one else seemed to see or understand. At that time, everyone thought Les and Leo were crazy with their ideas, but they nearly collaborated as Gibson was dragging their feet on taking on the developments of Les, and Leo was ready to go full swing and invited Les to join him. Les, however, figured Gibson would come around (which they eventually did), and thus they went their own separate ways. They always remained good acquaintances in spite of the competition. A time when moral principles trumped capitalistic ones.
One more fact about the friendship between Leo Fender and Les Paul: They were also friends and neighbors with Paul Bigsby! I think that that's one reason why the Fender Stratocaster has a headstock that looks very much like that of Bigsby's solid body electric guitar. That guitar predated the Fender Telecaster and Esquire models by a few years. My opinion is that the Bigsby solid body might have sold well if it had had a more wallet-friendly price tag, which it didn't because Bigsby was using too many traditional (expensive!) guitar-building techniques. Fender's solid body offerings would have had quite an uphill battle if Leo hadn't used every production cost-cutting measure he could think of; I think he probably learned that from the example of Bigsby's axe.
@@edwinstovall3334
so... Brooke Fraser was singing about that part of the world?
Back in those early days of the electric guitar there was a lot of mutual respect, despite having rivalries with one another. I think people like Ted McCarty and Leo Fender realized that neither would have gotten as far without being pushed and inspired by the other.
@@NOLASkaGuitarist Yep! All true!
I really like the sound of this. It's different from split coils not EXACTLY like a tele. It's its own thing. And you got #1? pretty cool
Ya agreed its unique
Lollar make humbucker shaped Tele pickup called a novel T. So you can do it without messing up your guitar
Also a VERY hot tele pickup in there, which will kill a lot of that tele twang
The clean sound misses the twang of a Tele and combines it with the low end of a Paula. Can't say I like it. I think it sounds like a cheapo Tele with bad pickups and unresponsive wood. But the dirty sound on the other hand was pretty good again. Weird.
The Zep riff was very authentic.
Sounded fuller than a Tele, & brighter than a regular Les. The 3 pickup setting were quite different. I really like this guitar!
LOVE IT!!!
Shooter jennings should have this!!!!
I bet the scale length has something to do with the fuller than a tele bit
@MF Kitten it wasn't the scale length or the wood, it was the fact that that pickup was massively overwound compared to a regular Tele pickup. It would sound dark and muddy in a Tele as well.
@@Mark-vv1dy yeah it's a myth that electric guitars are affected by the wood they're made of. Doing actual double blind tests, even guitarists who've been playing for decades can't tell the difference between the two same exact pickups in any different kind of wood, and even in any other kind of material too, like installed into a plastic body, or a plexiglass body, or a cheap aluminium metal body, or whatever. To experienced guitarists they sound identical. The only perceived difference is if it's not double blind and they believe in the silly nonsense myths like "mahogany sound darker" or "alder sounds lighter" and so they hear what they _WANT_ to hear, but it's just placebo.
Like you can trick them very easily compare two guitars with one being made of mahogany and one made of alder, with the same pickups, and do a sound demo for each of them. But sneakily, secretly, you actually just play the exact same sound file twice instead of actually d3emling the 2nd guitar. And don't tell anyone that's what you did.
If you do that you'll get endless comments under the video talking about how different they sound and how the mahogany one is deeper and warmer while the other one sounds brighter and sharper. When it's literally just the same audio clip played twice in a row!
It's not about the intelligence. I'm not calling people dumb. Literally every guitarist falls for things like this. No matter how knowledgeable and experienced we are. It may not be this exact example of debunking "tone woods". But it'll be something else, you'll be biased about something, and you don't even realise you have these biases, about something to do with guitars, or amps, or pedals, or other instruments etc. But you do, even though you're not aware of it. Literally every single one of us, me, you, everybody, has at least one bit of bias like this and it's why we all need to keep our minds active and sharp.
But yeah the only things that really make a difference to the sound of an electric guitar, is the type and make and model of the pickups. And a tiny little bit about the scale length of the guitar. But it's like 95% the pickups
isnt this the exact definition of P90s?
I'm really surprised you're not keeping this for the museum, seems like a prefect fit as an unusual custom.
Hes too greedy
@@sebastianmedina1234 i mean he bought it with his own money, he can do whatever he wants with it
10:42 is that The Call of Ktulu I hear? Love the guitar for being so unique to.
I've got a Tele-Paul that I've been playing for years... i built it myself from a 70's era goldtop that had the neck broken off around the 12th fret when I got it. I was apprenticing with a tech who gave me the body, as well as an old tele neck that he had laying around, as well as some fat P-90's, and a choice Bigsby. I sawed off the neck, chiseled out a slot by hand for the new neck to bolt into, and put all the parts together not knowing what would happen. Turns out that it sounds and feels amazing... never goes out of tune, and has wonderful sustain and tone. I've had other far more expensive guitars in the past, but none have compared to my homegrown Tele-Paul.
That sounds amazing:) do you have any videos of it?
wow! do you have any audio or video of that? Would b cool to see!
Leaving the 500k pots in there instead of doing 250k ones as per most single coils might leave things sound pretty sharp in the wrong amp.
Then just turn the tone knobs down
@@brainstewX with 500k pots you’ll basically have to turn them off.
@@alpeterson Turning them off would turn them to 0k. Turning them down half way would turn them to 250k, if they have a linear taper.
@@brainstewX yeah but that just highlights why leaving the original electronics inside was a mistake, having a sweep of tonal controls would be way more preferable. And since those are Gibson’s original pots you know they aren’t linear taper.
@@alpeterson This guitar already sounds darker than a traditional Telecaster, so putting in 250 pots would further darken the tone. I don't see that as being beneficial. If anything, Gibson should have put in no load pots.
I have put many Strat pickups in many Les Paul style guitars and they usually sounded great. They pretty much still sounded Les Paulish; I think that's because of the scale length.
Isn't the maple cap supposed to brighten up the tone also - that's what we are always told it's for on an LP. I would have thought that might make Strat pickups even thinner (than they already are) unless the mahogany body and neck are doing their thing, maybe. Pickup height can also make a considerable difference.
@@Spartanm333 tonewood does nothing amplified, as many experiments have shown, so no
@@mrbeckegruvan16 Yep, pickups, their height and position relative to the bridge and neck have more impact on amplified tone than tonewoods.
@@mrbeckegruvan16 yep I've seen those, although not entirely convinced. A strong pickup / amp will colour any guitar tone, just like a pedal of course, but we don't all play at 11 with two TS8s and a Dumble. I'm pretty certain George Benson believes the timber and construction makes a difference to his mellow tone or maybe it's different on an L-5 guitar with a spruce arched top.
@@Spartanm333 Acoustic/Semi acoustic guitars are entirely different, especially when using piezo pickups. Solid Bodies get the entirety of their tone from the electronics on the guitar and that the guitar is plugged into. Wood makes no difference whatsoever.
To my ears it sounds like a muted tele without the ear piercing highs. I like it better with the overdrive engaged. Someone else mentioned the differences in the scale length which obviously will have an effect. The problem is that the scale length and the mahogany body with the maple cap are affecting the sound but it is impossible to figure out what each one is doing. Truly a rare specimen, thanks for sharing it.
I mean it definitely still sounds like an lp. The things that make an lp sound the way it does is definitely the construction and wood choices but also the scale length. In all positions it had that ‘lp sound’ albeit a little different than the typical hb guitars. Not too dissimilar from the p90 guitars. I think that bridge pickup and the staple neck pickup could be a very good combination. Interesting ideas.
To me, it sounds fantastic. That middle position really does it for me. This one is a keeper.
That neck pickup sounds fantastic!
You definitely needed to document this custom mod
Austin, I’d like to see you review the “pearly gates” les Paul.
Donald Campbell - If you're talking about the original he's gonna have to pony up well over 1 million to Billy G. ; - )
Ya me to
@@christopherweise438 : hey Chris, I should have been more clear. I meant the run of 200 they made some years ago. Half relic/half new. Not the original. Billy paid $200 for that guitar. Crazy.
@@donaldcampbell9219 - I knew that's what you meant. That's why i tagged the wink on the end of my comment.
Yea....crazy. Just shows what superstar provenance does to the value. I've heard "pearly gates" is regarded as the best looking flamed maple top ever, but the extra value is because Billy Gibbons owns it.
Bound to sound different due to the scale length... 25.5 & 24.75 scales are different enough that the pickup placement will contribute to sonic differences
You watched the Jim Lill videos too? Great series
I thought that would be the case when making my 24.75 scale telecaster, but, though it feels different, no one can tell the difference sonically. I was a little disappointed at first, but, it sounds so good, I got over it.
In fact, also the strings makes a big difference in tone, its not the same have the same tuned string in different scales.
I call BS. I have a Tele partscaster with a shortscale neck, and it sounds just like a Tele. The Tele bridge is the main contributor of that Tele twang.
Pots are diff and positioning of that lipstick pu.
Would love to hear the sound of that through a Deluxe or Twin Reverb amp, cranked but not breaking up and with that really clean chime! And then through an ODR-1 or similar transparent overdrive on the same amp.
The scale length also plays a part in why that guitar won't sound like a Tele. It's similar to why humbuckers don't quite sound the same when used in a Strat. Using a piece of steel to mount the bridge pickup might have helped the bridge pickup get a more of Tele vibe. The bridge pickup mounting definitely plays a part in the overall Tele sound. Whatever the case, it's a pretty cool looking guitar. Sounded decent as well. I would like to hear a pair of Wide Range Humbuckers in a Les Paul.
That guitar rules. Now I'm obsessed. Thanks.
If Austin ever had a signature guitar, I’d feel like it would be this guitar. Maybe a different finish. It’s quirky, yet cool. Coincidentally, the playing demo was the tightest I’ve heard in a while. Good stuff!
Actually did the same to my 59 explorer reissue. Dimarzio vintage x2n in bridge and Texas lipstick in neck…….blues for days with a country twang
Strange they had to fill and drill new mounting holes and a mini route. GFS (Guitar Fetish) sells conversion plates that convert humbucker routes to accept single coil pickups.
Strange that they didn’t take 5 unrouted bodies and do things properly.
Pretty cool guitar! 😀👍 Maybe they could've put a gold chrome cover on the Neck PU to make it look less like a modification!? And I'm also reminded of a MIJ Yamato LP copy I once had, with fake humbuckers: They each had only *1* coil underneath the cover! 😆
I had a Maya sg with same pickups !
hey, I had a Fantom MIJ LP copy with the same fake HB's... single coil inside
It is a shame they used such a hot bridge pickup, and without the baseplate instead of a traditional tele bridge pickup. The neck and middle sounded more tele than the bridge, and i wonder if that it why moreso than the les paul construction / scale length.
I mean it sounds cool, but just for experimental data, I'd like to hear it with a weaker pup.
imo, set in neck and mahogany vs. bolt - on neck and alder, ash, etc...
@@sebastionhawk5565 Look up Jim Lill, he has tested all that stuff in videos recently and none of that made a difference when the pickup position and height were matched. I think homerzeppelin is probably right. The pickup construction and possibly position/height are different.
@@irishRocker1 It is no secret that a standard les paul - type sustains more than a standard tele, and, the tele is more spanky and chimey...compare Jimi, when playing a V with humbuckers as opposed to a tele with single coils...position and height do matter, also...they ALL matter...
I agree, I don't think the construction has so much to do with it. Even teles start to lose their twang and spank the hotter you go. Something vintage spec would've been a better choice. This seems like a wasted effort.
I have that pickup in my Telecaster. It is not really "hot", it just reads at around 15.8 k ohms because it is a stacked pickup, to cut the hum.
The main reason it sounds so different from a regular tele is the high output of the pickups. Bridge pickup have more than 2x the usual tele output, neck have 50% more resistance, so it's expected to sound fuller, less brighter and with less articulation. Not having a regular tele bridge also have big influence, but we could expect a more traditional tele sound with regular pickups. :)
Dude it says tele pickups. Where you get it's not? It's the body. The wood in fact changes depending on how solid or pieces. Giving the pickups a fuller warmer sound.
@@ivanriverajr5012 no it doesn't, not at all, wood doesn't affect pickups magnetic field. Pickup specs are the only reason it might sound different from a regular tele.
@@raphaelbiazotto you can look at warmoth videos where they change woods on a guitar and it does make a difference
Best MOD demo vid ever!
Wow, what a fantastic sounding guitar. I like where it sits tonally, as a sort of in-between third option to both guitars, with more midrange than a Tele, and more attack, definition, clarity, jangle and chime than a Les Paul. And that overdriven tone is fantastic - super raw and mean. I could imagine this guitar sitting in a mix really well.
It's a beauty, doesn't sound hugely different to a Tele but sounds nothing like a standard Les Paul.
This proves one thing to me, that it's at least 90% the pickups that affect the sound.
i'LL get hate but the ONLY things that affect tone in a serious manner are things that affect the pickup and how the string vibrates.
so:
Pickup type, location height and tone circuit.
String gauge, scale length, and how rigid the thing holding them is as that affects decay,
if you get that down then you probably cannot A/B/X based on anything else.
Nah bro, the tone-woods, the maple cap, the pickguard and the fretboard wood all affect the sound! 😆
Nah it's the strap buttons that change the sound the most. I live for the warm sound of a Schaller S-lock
10:43 didn't expect The Call Of Ktulu
SICK
I love the sound of this guitar, it's like the best of both worlds, I especially like the middle sound
This is why I have a Les Paul with an HP90 in the neck. The tonal shift of a single coil in the neck on a shorter scale length guitar sounds really interesting, especially for clean and EoB tones.
The Call of Kthullu is definitely something I wasn’t expecting to hear on a les paul custom with tele pickups.
best mod I ever Made to a LP Style was 3 hum bucker sided p90s. basically the latest strat. Sounds great.
I like the finish and semi-floral design. It makes the pickguard almost invisible and perfectly balances the black and gold electronics and hardware. Very nicely done.
I really enjoyed this video. Les Paul (the man himself) preferred single coil pickups. Although his pups were low impedance. His guitar had a really great tone, clear and bright.
My fav config is H/S. always wondered what neck single coil sounds like in a Lester. Thanks man. Im gonna go ahead and put a single coil in the neck
I'm glad you got one. I was thinking about buying this but ended up passing on it. Now I get to see what I passed on up close.
Hey, I have custom built a Stratocaster, two telecasters, and now I'm doing a telesploerer. Yes a explorer Telecaster. I am also a owner a 1974 electra outlaw MPC witch you covered one a long time ago( I believe ). I really appreciate your content. I'm personally not a lesson Paul guy but there some cool ones you've done. I do love the SG's you cover though, they all tend to be beautiful
That was surprising! I was expecting a lot more of the tele twang but it really was a much fuller sound. During the sound demo when you said "And now for the neck pickup" I was like "That was the bridge!?"
Thanks for demoing this model and giving us a chance to have a listen.
I think this model really is the best of both worlds. I think it's the best sounding LP I've ever heard!
it's probably because the bridge pickup is mounted to the body instead of the metal bridge plate like on a normal Telecaster.
Or at least that's my guess, I might be wrong.
They took the copper plate off the bridge pickup. I wonder if they did so it would fit better or if they had grounding issues. Or if they did it so it didn’t say “tele pickup” on the back.
Not the first fender pickup I’ve seen in a Gibson. The first Alvin lee 335 had a fender branded middle pickup in it. The later model had a Seymour branded.
Cool idea.
Seymour Duncan Hot Tele STL-2 pickup comes stock without the copper coated steel baseplate. Website says: "The absence of a steel bottom-plate gives you a fat, full punch in both the low and mid-range frequencies, yet it retains the muscular twang of a vintage style lead pickup." But really to be a proper sounding Tele Bridge it needs the pickup base plate, if not the whole metal bridge "ashtray" plate.
Oh ok. See I didn’t even know it was copper coated. I figured it was solid.
Trogly's in the HOUSE!!!
Greg is in the House
No guitar comments?
You're an a#1 hangover load living afterbirth.
Greg in the house with a Silver Medal. Well done brother.
@@sgt.grinch3299 :)
I love mash-up configurations like this. I dig this LP, and I usually don't go for LPs
Really like how the bridge pickup sounded. Wish they made a few left handed.
that tone on whole lotta love 🔥
I don't love black guitars, but this is cool, and looks cool. If I didn't have my Tele, this would certainly tempt me.
Ya ill stick with my tele too
Austin, you out-did yourself! I'm impressed with the sound! Warmer than a Tele and brighter than a Les Paul which reminds me of the sound of a semi-hollow body like the 335. If I were you, I'd keep this for your collection but if I had the money, I'd snatch this baby. I love everything about it! Great vid!!
Yeah he hugged it should
be a Keeper🐽🐽🐽
Woot woot Trogly's 🙌
I did this same mode years ago. This mode works better of a SG. Jimmy Page would love it. I do agree Jazzmaster pickups would be awesome on a Les Paul , I might try that next.
I'd definitely rock that.
I like having a painting on the body come from gibson like that
You should keep that for you future museum if you can it’s the first one Gibson has ever made and you have it!
Thanks for getting this to feature. Really cool and quirky mod but I love it!
It would be perfect with a humbucker on the bridge position.
the thought i had when i saw this on a tele facebook group that was immediately confirmed upon hearing your demo: tele middle pos. on a les paul sounds SO good lol
If you want a Les Paul meets Jazzmaster check out the Fender Americal Special Jazzmaster. They have limited edition colors with stopbar tail piece and your favorite pickups!
To check out the sound of it, Communication Breakdown would have been a great choice, it was played on a Tele for the first album.
Nice, It sounds good and it really looks good while you were playing it . The gold really stands out and looks balanced. Good Job Trogs.
I am tickled pink by this one, the bridge is so hot that it sounds almost P-90 ish. The middle has the Tele honk and that neck pickup is sublime. Wish I could afford to buy this one.
I've had a fender Strat with a Duncan pearly gates in the bridge. And that pickup is modeled after Billy Gibbons 59 Les Paul. It's cool to see it the other way around
I had a 1997 lone star Strat with the pearly gates in the bridge
I have a Les Paul I swapped the P90’s out for the Fralin jazz master style noiseless pups in the p90 size. It’s my favorite sounding LP out of the bunch I have.
Totally awesome 👌🏻 the frequency spectrum opens up wit the single coils, besides Fender has been doing that pickup crossbreed forever with optimal results 🤔 it was about time with the Gibson team 👍🏻
really funny their custom mounts, Guitar Fetish has these mounts that retrofit pickup ring holes and they didn't have to cut the cake slice. funny custom shop luthiers :D
Wow,..this is a guitar with a sound that would turn a few heads! Very unique mod. Thanks Austin.
This is awesome! would love so see the wiring diagram for this set up. Care to share?
I rout a shallow neck single coil in my dc lp jr's. It sets a little between a strat neck and middle in relation to the bridge. Sounds very similar to this one's neck pickup. paf in the bridge tho.
That would look good with the chrome pickup gold plated
Wow! I really like the way this sounds, especially the neck pickup.
If your doing a b bender episode you want the Duesenberg multibender it bends any string you want most people like band g and it top mounts so no wired routing has to be inflicted.
I had one before on the Brent Mason Tele
ruclips.net/video/w59ow6wkzNY/видео.html
This is not the one I was referring to that is a Glaser b bender the Duesenberg multibender is much better .no offence to Brent but he's been bending since before they invented the Duesenberg one
look up the coodercaster that's the direction you want to head in
What value pots are in there? If there’s 500k pots that might account for some of the tone difference. Normally 250k pots would be used on a tele. Just a thought.
Very cool. It's different enough in both looks and tone that someone could make that guitar famous.
soundwise it is missing the spankiness of the Tele for me. Maybe because of the shorter scale and the resulting lower string tension. Also the bridge pickup is to hot for my taste. Especially in the middle position it is just dominating the sound
Your playing is improving!
I typically hate tele neck pickups, but in a Les Paul it sounds surprisingly good. Also I think the extra bark that an SG has would lend itself better to Jazzmaster pickups than a Les Paul.
The new MIM Player Teles have AlNiCo V pickups in them, so much better than the cheapo pickups they used to use.
I love the tones that beast puts out, due to the mahogany body and maple cap it gives it some crunch instead of the Tele spank.
The adapter plates for Humbucker to Telecaster pickups have been made for years. They didn't have to make them but they may have.
Phase reverse would be great for the middle, it sounds great, and stacked Dimarzio Area pickups.
I’ve thought about taking a LP copy and using something like a Dimarzo Chopper bridge and a fast track or similar in the neck. That’s one of my favorite Tele set ups anyway. Or use a pair of Duncan SSL5-B SSL1-N Strat pickups. The mahogany and shorter scale would give a different tone than just a F style.
was that a specific song you were playing at 10:17 ?
I would love them getting a couple TV Jones and doing up a Les Paul with those. Then we'd be cooking with gas, baby!
What song is he playing starting at 10:44 ?
I would love to see you get possession of The Strat, an early 1980's era Fender release with red or blue body and matching headstock and gold hardware and unique bridge and volume/tone knobs. I find little mention of this guitar anymore.
I done this mod several years ago for myself and for several other people. It's a novelty for sure.
sound pretty cool, I believe the difference in the scale length makes it sound different from a tele, also the bridge and electronics maybe?
The set in neck ,not bolt on also changes the sound.
I’m digging it man. I love Teles, having a Les Paul and a Tele? My world is complete, or would be if I had one.
I like the tone of this... Beefy from the LP body but snappy in a cool way... I wouldn't mind if Gibson pulled of some singlecoil LP's and SG's ect for a change... Just to own that snappy singlecoil sound on something like an SG... P90's are the best of both worlds when it comes to humbuckers and singlecoils, but this would be a nice option too :)
I caught the Call of Chtulu lick...nice
It sounds kinda like a Fender mustang to me. You got that shorter scale length that makes it kind of midrangy with the single coil twang. It's a pretty cool guitar.
Someday I’m going to get a Les Paul Special, replace the pickups with something like the Lollar Novel T on the bridge & Fralin Twangmaster in the neck, and use a Freeway Switch to add the “both in series” and out-of-phase options.
Does anyone know what happened to the black Les Paul with FilterTrons that Gibson made for Malcolm Young back in the early 90s. I remember that a photo of it appeared in Bacon & Day’s “The Gibson Book” but never seen anything else about it
I think I may have finally found my dream LP being obsessed with telecaster!
Very cool. i feel like the bridge was quite a bit louder than the neck pickup, which can be a desirable thing, but if you lowered it a bit it might also get a little thinner and janglier, more tele bridge pickup-like. Cool beast.
I think it'd look cooler with three gold humbuckers, I know it's not as unique, but it'd be a neat looking black beauty.
You must be a very creative person.
Thanks!
Here for my fix
Greetings Holstorr
Good evening. You were close.
I've genuinely thought about doing this before! So glad to see that somebody else has so I can decide if it's for me or not!
I must say that I was doubtful that it would sound good and twangy. But I think it's a good sounding guitar. But it would sound great if they added a third pickup in the middle. I've always wanted a 3 pickup telecaster; now you got me wanting one of these Les Paul's and gold flowers makes you see that this Les Paul is a truly unique custom guitar. Love your videos Trogly good show. The Jazz master pickups would be nice too.
I have a 2020 epiphone sg that I put a fender jaguar pickup in in the middle position. Put a swimming pool under the pick guard so I can swap out whatever. Next I think i'm going to put Jazzmaster pickups in the neck and bridge
This thing with gain sounds insane!
I actually REALLY like how this "bastard" sounds. The mahogany does its thing, as does the 24,75 scale length, but the most important difference - compared to a Tele-construction - might actually be the *set neck* I think. Anyway, all these different factors work together to give the sound less "ping" but more "thunk" compared to a Fender. (Even a Fender with humbuckers.) I would actually *love* to get a guitar exactly like this to cover the "spaces in between" - where a Gibson sounds too thick and a Fender sounds too shrill. It definitely has a thing of it's own.
Wood makes no difference to the sound in an electric guitar. It sounds different from a Tele because the pickups are hotter, the scale length is shorter and as a result of that, the pickups are exposed to different parts of the strings than where they'd be on a Tele. The neck pickup is closer to the middle of the strings on this than it would be on a Tele for example
Lol, wood makes literally zero difference to the tone in electric guitars. The myth of "tonewood" been thoroughly scientifically debunked time and time and time again. Guitar players _CLAIM_ they can hear the difference, but it's literally 100% placebo. If you do a double blind test, and play the same sound clip of a tele both times, instead of once with the tele and once with the les Paul with tele pickups, and you don't tell them, then they'll swear that they can hear a difference. They're so so sure of it. But that's not possible, because it was just the same clip played twice, and the guitar player never got to hear what the other guitar sounded like
Or instead, play multiple different sound clips of both the tele and the les Paul with tele pups, but tell the person that they're actually just the same guitar, so you're actually lying to them, well they still believe you. They think it sounds the same, because it DOES sound the same, even though they're very different guitars, they're built differently but they have the same pickups, and pickups wee the only thing on a guitar that will change a difference to your tone. Obviously the amp you use plays an enormous role in what the tone sounds like, but the amp is not part of the guitar itself, it's a separate object.
Every guitar player thinks they can hear the difference. But it's been scientifically proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they can't actually hear the difference. Eventually, all of us have to accept the science and realise that we aren't as smart as we thought we were. Idiots will double down on it, and will still claim they hear a difference, even though every time they try to do so with a bunch of sound clips, they categorically cannot tell the difference. It's all placebo.
If someone is confronted with science that proves them wrong, and they don't accept it, and even go as far as to double down on their opinion, then they're soft in the head. It's just daftness. The only thing that makes a difference is the structure of the pickups. Not the wood, not any chambers hollowed out inside the guitar or anything like that. So a p90 sounds very different to a humbucker, which sounds very different to a fender single coil etc. There's basically no difference between a cheap as dirt pickup of one sort (let's say a p90) and a hyper-expensive p90. People still can't hear the difference. No, the only thing that sets the p90 apart as its own unique thing (like how PAF humbuckers and fender single coils are their own unique thing) is the design of the pickup, the internal structure. The p90s that are available today are built to the same design as the original p90s, and so they sound the same. Same with PAFs, they're still made to the original design, which is why PAFs sound the same as they always have done.
So the only noticeable difference in tone, is when you change the pickups to an entirely different one, a whole different design, like going from p90s to Fender single coils, or from humbuckers to gold-foil pickups, or from jazzmaster pickups to Charlie Christian pickups, or fender wide range humbuckers to gretsch filtertron pickups, etc. There's so many dozens and dozens and dozens of different pickup designs to choose from, and they make enough of a huge difference to tone that even non guitar players and non musicians can hear the difference. Meanwhile even experienced guitar players can't hear a difference in "tonewood".
And so yeah, if you're doing that, replacing the pickups on your guitar with new ones for new different tone, you don't have to worry about getting the most expensive ones. Because if one PAF style humbucker is £20, and another PAF style humbucker is £200, the difference between the true is going to be extremely marginal at best. At that point, simply using a better amp will make the £20 one instantly sound better the the £200 sounds when being played through a worse amp. No, ultimately, the £20 one and the £200 have the same fundamental design, with how every component is laid out in an exact way in an exact position, what type of metal is used for the pole pieces/magnets, what type of metal is used for the wire that is wound around those magnets, how the pole pieces are staggered to account for the design of the guitar itself (like fender single coils on teles and strats originally had pole pieces that all were at the same height, but by the time of the late 60s and 70s, they altered the design so that the pole pieces were staggered, they were all at different heights, which is specifically meant to make every string have the same exact volume. With all flat pole pieces, some strings are quieter than others. So with this staggered set up, the volume and tone is a lot more consistent from string to string). All of that design is ultimately the same regardless of price. If you want a humbucker to sound different to a PAF, then you get one of those instead, like the Dimarzio Super Distortion, easily the most popular third party replacement pickup in history. The 70s and 80s and even into the 90s and onwards were absolutely defined by the sound of the super distortions. That heavy metal tone that every hair metal band had, it was because they all used the same pickups, the Dimarzio super distortion.
And the Dimarzio super distortion is a very different design to the PAF, despite both being humbuckers. The fundamental internal structure and material make up of the pickups are very different from the PAF, and that's why it sounds different. It has many many more windings for example, which increases the output by a lot, which makes it sound better for distorted tones, hence the name.
That's what I mean, what I'm talking about. The only way to change the tone on your electric guitar is to change the pickups to something entirely different in design. Like for example, I've long been planning to good standard strat to replace my old strat cos the frets have worn down on it from years of playing, and it'd cost more for me to get it refretted (or buy a new neck and bolt it onto the body) than to just buy a new strat, so that's what I'm gonna do. My current strat is a fender, but I think I'll go with Squier for the new one, because they have brilliant guitars for the price, and I won't be constantly having to baby it to make sure it gets no damage from being used at gigs, I'll feel OK throwing it around being rough with it cos it's only cheap.
But anyway, my plan is to immediately swap out the regular single coil pickuos, and swap in some Danelectro lipstick tube pickups. Because they're a very different kind of single coil pickup. The structure is completely different, and so they sound very different, they're significantly more chimey for example. Also they just look very cool. They're perfect for that tubescreamer overdrive and playing blues songs with it, because it sounds like a Stratocaster that's a lot more Stratocasterey if that makes sense. It's like exaggerating every aspect of a strat's tone, turning everything up to 11.
The sound on this thing is really cool
Nice to hear you're lick rippin has improved since that last time I watched an episode! Good job, keep it up I enjoy your channel!
Great playing demo on this one. Seems like this one fits you like a glow.