LSS and a Les Paul

[michael morguess]

Love my LSS. However, have not been happy at all with the way it sounds with a les paul. I have a 1981 lp standard, pretty stock except for the bridge pickup (some old dimarzio i put in about 20 years ago).

I have tried it with and without a tube screamer (808), on the drive channel, clean channel, etc.

Single notes just seem to die out. Hard to explain. Guitar sounds fine on other amps (deluxe reverb for example). I use DR Strings, 10 guage; action pretty low.

I also have a semi-hollow (epiphone) with humbuckers and that sounds fantastic.

Any experience the same displeasure with a les paul and LSS? Any ideas, revelations or thoughts?

 

[vatoben]

i'm not into the LP/LSS combo too much myself. i think the LP is just too full for this amp. the amp sings and screams with single coils and i have a LP with a joe barden two tone that the amp loves too. something about the 498 though. it ends up dull and nondesript with this amp. now LP into an F-30 and were in bizness. but it's quite different bizness. someone reccomended i try a bill lawrence humbucker but i haven't gotten around to it yet. i'm not much help but i share your pain.

 

[timmerel]

I'm playing a Parker Fly Mojo (v different to Les Paul), but with Seymour Duncan Jazz in neck and JB in bridge the LSS sounds better with humbuckers than than single coils for overdrive (to my cloth ears anyway), and very nice for clean. Maybe look at those sort of Duncans for your LP?

 

[JoeVFR]

I have an LSC 2x12. I have a Strat and LP. The Strat was very easy to dial in, the LP was much more difficult. I found if I limit the gain and drive around 12 (maybe as much as 2 on the gain), I get a much better tone out of the LP. Also, the mid setting is very touchy with my LP. I pretty much have it dialed in now and get controllable feedback and a lot of sustain. If I turn down the mids just a little bit, I lose it. I do use a TS-9 for lead boost. Once its set at gig time, I don't mess with it too much. If I can get the LP to sound good, I know the Strat will be fine. I have a stock pickup in the neck and a Dimarzio something (pro distortion?) in the neck. The LP sounds good clean, but it can't touch the Strat. For a cranked lead, it's the opposite.

 

[michael morguess]

I appreciate everyone's responses, and will try more fiddling with the controls. I will try channel two.

I used to have a fender super reverb and deluxe reverb. The les paul sounded excellent through both. the strat, too. never thought i would get a mesa boogie, but i liked the fact that I could go from anywhere from 5 to 35 watts (with the optional jack in the back) for natural breakup.

The fenders just seem more vibrant and warm (that's the 6L6 and 6v6 tubes respectively). The super was too loud; the deluxe not loud enough (clean that is). Any concurrence, or opinion on how to liven up, or warm up, the amp.

I ordered the jj el84s yesterday and expect to get them soon. we'll see what that does.

 

[SabuJSE]

I use a Les Paul Standard with Burstbucker Pros through a LSS 1x12 with 1x12 cab and I love the neck and bridge positions. Same thing with the SG I have (490/498). Here are my settings:

Drive 11:00
Gain 2:00
Treble 2:00
Mid 11:00
Bass 10:00
Presence 11:30

Thickest/15 watt

I've done a full JJ retube and I back my pickups off from the strings quite a bit - arguably the most important tonal change I can make for my pickups through any amp. I love my tone. Zero Mud.

As always though, YMMV.

 

[pjrhd28]

I took my LP Std. with my LSS 1 x 12 to a blues jam on Sunday and it was just about perfect.

I used just channel 1; 15 watt; gain about 1:00. Don't recall the other settings, but probably fairly normal. Light reverb.

Its a blues jam in a fairly small bar so I wasn't looking for a lot of dirt or volume.

For rhythm, I used the neck pup with the guitar volume at 7 or 8 and guitar tone at 10.

For lead, bridge pickup with the guitar volume anywhere between 8 and 10 but with the guitar tone only at about 7- it was pretty bright.

Keep fiddling- there's gotta be your tone somewhere in that amp!!!

 

[kulibu]

I use my Les Paul (1984 model) mainly with channel 2 on my LSS. While my Strat was an immediate match with the LSS, it took more time to find the right seting for the Les Paul. What I ended up with is pretty close to Sabu's setting listed above. If I want more bite with the LP, I add a BSM RM treble booster (pretty noisy but great tone).

What has improved the match a lot was a change of pick-ups in my LP: I have replaced the Gibson humbuckers with a PAF 59 set from Voodoo Pickups (Peter Florance); my set of pickups is slightly underwound with a little less output. This has helped me to find a setting on channel 2 that works with both the LP and the Strat, and that avoids a lot of fiddling with the amp when playing live.