LP Makeover

[gitapik]

Hey. It's been awhile, but I'm still alive and kickin'!

My first "real" electric was a '69 LP Gold Top. I got it very cheap because it was really, really beat up. But it played and sounded great and I was very poor...so I just got into it and had fun.

The changes it's seen since I started being able to afford them are too numerous to mention and kind of off topic. Point is that I put it away in favor of single coils and acoustics until very recently. I started playing it and realized I had a real gem, so I took it in to the excellent techs at Main Drag Music in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. New Seymour Duncan "Pearly Gates" pups, removal of a preamp (now the middle toggle's a phase switch), and some other changes. They did such good work:

Now, to put it all in focus to this site: you should hear this ax through my IIB. The combination of the two was always great but these Pearly Gates pickups really step it up a few notches. I'm floored. Clean and Lead. The sounds are incredible!!!

Anyway: just thought I'd share how happy I am to be reunited with a very old friend who's looking, sounding, and feeling great.

 

[gts]

Nice!
Nothing like humbuckers through a Mark series amp.
And you can't go wrong having those humbuckers in a '69 LP!
Congrats on being "reunited" with your old 'gold' top!

 

[gitapik]

Nice!
Nothing like humbuckers through a Mark series amp.
And you can't go wrong having those humbuckers in a '69 LP!
Congrats on being "reunited" with your old 'gold' top!

Yep, yep, and thanks.

That guitar would have been classified "insane relic" if I'd left it as is. Probably would've been worth a fortune, now. But it wouldn't have stayed in tune or played as well. And I'd be hard pressed to find a better sounding pickup. Maybe as good...but not better. These Pearly Gates really shine.

I agree about the humbuckers. Single coils are really fine. Especially in the clean channel. But the humbuckers get nasty through this amp. Picks up all the nuances.

 

[DJPattP]

I got nice results with my Custom Shop Les Paul and the Duncan Hybrid 59 in the bridge. Makes the Mark 3 scream!!