Update on the McCarty vs. R8 Les Paul

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ratter

ratter

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Maybe raise the bass side of the pickups a little for a little more top end/tightness?
 
Wow, did not expect the Mc to be darker than the Lp, but the proof is in the pudding, right? Gonna have to try that, been meaning to switch to 10's for awhile, thats very interesting! I'm lazy, and dont like change, but more chunk, and darker sounds good to me. You may be right about the tremonti, I actually like it as much as the aldrich's I just got. Its got a little more tooth to it. Good info - thanks - Jim
 
Should have never gone back to the 9's and saved yourself some grief. :)
 
Take this for what it worth, but I think you could do much better than the BBQ in the McCarty. The BBQ is a dark pickup. I think something more inline with a PAF would work better than the BBQ. of course that's just my opinion.
 
I switched to a hybrid set of 10's for the bass strings and 9's for the treble strings on all my LP scale guitars.....gives the low end the beefy chunk. I like the sound of the lighter strings on the higher notes. I'm not sure why I fought it all these years. :confused:
 
SgtThump":2lzhquqc said:
ratter":2lzhquqc said:
Maybe raise the bass side of the pickups a little for a little more top end/tightness?
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Yeah, I actually tried that. It did improve it a bit. Still really dark on the wound strings, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just different (than the LP.)
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You could also try the rarely-seen heavy top/light bottom set. Blues Saraceno uses a .010 - .038 set. Thickens up the plain strings and brings a little brightness/twang to the wound strings.
 
I've yet to play or hear a PRS that has that distinctive 'tonk' that most LPs do with ease.

Not sure if this is what you're talking about...just an observation.

I like my PRS, and mine is a mellow/dark sounding one too.
 
I can relate. I went through a PRS phase in the late 90's & at one time had four Custom 22's. They were awesome playing guitars and sounded good, however, they didn't seem to have their own "Tonal Identity" such as a LP, Tele, etc. A little "Too Smooth" for my playing style if that makes any sense? Once I played a Paul again, I sold them all and went back to what I started with.......LP & Strat. :rock:
 
It's just so hard to beat the tone from this baby. 9.5 lbs of thunder. I love my custom!

lpcustommedium.jpg
 
Does the BBQ have screws on the bridge side that are adjustable? Sometimes raising those up like 1/2 a turn will bring a bit more zing and clarity out. Just make sure you keep track of what you turned where in case you wanna put the pickup back to how it was originally.
 
SgtThump":1gfprwp3 said:
vchizzle":1gfprwp3 said:
Does the BBQ have screws on the bridge side that are adjustable? Sometimes raising those up like 1/2 a turn will bring a bit more zing and clarity out. Just make sure you keep track of what you turned where in case you wanna put the pickup back to how it was originally.
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Yeah, it has adjustable pole pieces. I thought putting those closer to the strings actually increases the low end and moving them further away decreases it?
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hmmm, not sure how it affects the low end. I always figured it brought some highs out, maybe not though :D
 
SgtThump":1v0ix1k2 said:
vchizzle":1v0ix1k2 said:
hmmm, not sure how it affects the low end. I always figured it brought some highs out, maybe not though :D
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To be honest, there seems to be conflicting info about this... It seems to me that getting the pickup closer to the strings increases the gain (duh) and also the low end. Moving them farther away decreases the gain (again, duh) and low end.

But yeah, there are people that say the opposite, so who knows? lol... I "think" my tin ears agree with what I just said above, but I dunno. Either way, it's not REAL drastic to me.
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Yes, would agree raising the entire pickup closer to the strings increases gain and bottom until you reach the point of feedback or mush. But I always thought raising the pole pieces themselves bought a little clarity to individual strings. I usually lower my G-string pole piece to help get rid of some that "G string weirdness".
 
SgtThump":1o120m89 said:
This kinda has me wanting to pull the BBQ out of the burst McCarty and istall that DiMarzio Virtual Hot PAF I have sitting around. Hm...
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I would put 10's on the other one as you said, and see the effect it had on it, You know the tremonti is a screamer, would give you a little more to go on before you decide what to do next, without spending a dime - Jim
 
Thats kinda strange, I would have thought it may be ever-so-slightly hotter, { more string signal }, but good to know, I'm waiting to change one, was trying to be patient and see where you ended up with this, I have more time than money! I would have thought the maple capped flametop would have been slightly brighter than all mahogany, maybe the BBQ?
 
Food for thought:

First - IMHO, the PRS has it's own tonal character and it's different than an LP's. So...why not let the PRS be a PRS and the LP be an LP. A little tonal variety...

Second - I know a lot of the old school guitar "Gods" used lighter guage strings, but to tell you the truth, I never really dug the old tones all that much. Those old recordings sound..."old." :D
 
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