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need a bit of help here... i've been searching for a perfected humbucker config for myself and i've pretty much come to the conclusion of a 59n and a c5b... im really into the rock and blues. thinking of the c5 for the nice distorted rhythms, and hotter leads whereas the 59 will provde the cleans and warm leads i'll need. any other suggestions?. ive read the JB and Jazz are a good combo. any specific genres of music that they r specialised in. how abt the peraly gates?.

For you a CC and a Jazz.....JB and Jazz is the flagship of the Duncan line. Artist of all genres use that combo.

Check the PDF

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There are alot of good dudes that will steer you in the right direction here.

I would make your own comparison though everyones taste in sound is different. Do people tell you what music to listen to? Know what I mean?

JB / Jazz is my #1 favorite combo, and very veratile. It goes as metal as being used by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. and can be as subtle, soft, quiet, bluesy, jazzy, as you want it to be, the combo is a decent gutiar with a volume knob or pedal, and I say Rock On

I prefer the Alnico 2 Pro in the neck over the 59. But, I like the warmer blues/rock neck tones. The 59 is clear and punchy in my estimation. Not overly hot, but slightly agressive whereas the A2P is not what I'd consider agressive. Yet, Slash uses A2P's in both his neck and bridge, so you never know.

I also have a real love for the Custom Custom bridge, it's alnico 2 as well and it matches up really nicely with the A2P neck.

Your combo of 59/C5 is darn popular as well.

Good news. If you buy a set and they don't work for you , you have 21 days to make an exchange. you've got nothing to lose. Pick a set and give her a whirl.

A 59 is a very good pup for the neck slot, however I like my jazz neck much better. It has an A5 mag simiiar to a 59 but with an EQ shift so it has mor mids and less bass. It is articulate and sounds good clean or distorted.

Gearjoneser is the biggest fan of the C5/59 combo. He has it in all of his LP's I had a C5 in my LP custom and it just didn't do it for me. I'm more of a A2 guy for classic sounds, I put an a2 mag in my 498T and it sounded similiar to a CC, which I think is an excellent pup with a smooth character and great mids spike.

The JB is a pup I've also tried (in my Heritage though the custom is long gone) but it sounded to shrill an icepicky for me, that's when I switched over to the A2P. But lots of guys like it in their LPs.

Luke

I like the C5 and Custom in the bridge of Les Pauls for a good, solid tone that will be able to cover a lot of sonic territory. As far as the neck pickup goes, I'm not a big fan of Alnico V loaded pickups in the neck of a Lester (too much bass ). I'd go with Scott's suggestion of an APH, or my favorite, a Pearly Gates.

I use a C5 in my les paul with an APH in the neck. The two arent really the greatest combo, but each seperately are extremely useful. The C5 is real crunchy, kinda reminds me of a rottweiller as opposed to a little chuwawa sounding 500T !!!

i have tried the APH in the bridge and liked it, too. But prefer the C5. My next experiment will be with the JB/Jazz combo!

happy hunting !

I like a few combinations for LP's.

C-5/59 is like a set of 59's, only with a beefier sounding bridge. If you navigate a lot of tones from clean to highgain and want good output with vintage clarity, get these.
Think VH or Rush as a reference.

CC/APII or Seth N. A bit warmer and very hard to dislike. Nice growl and organic A2 quality. The lows are warm but less tight than the C5. The low mids are beautiful, the highs are a bit creamier and less 'open sounding' than the C-5/59.
Think Allmans or Free for reference.

JB/Jazz. Very sturdy in the high mids, and very musical. A bit honky for bridge clean, but the solo tone is the best for a LP bridge. Think most 80's hard rock tones.

Set of Seths. Pure Vintage A2 Les Paul tone, better for midgain tones. Think Clapton, Butterfield, G Moore, and 70's rock.

thanks for all yoour help but now you've all introed and talked about all these great pickups.. i want them all!! ahaha.. ummm how about in terms of cleans in the neck. I really want a nice warm but not to harsh clean. i dunno if you get what i mean but like for instance u strum a nice open chord and it just has that cleanness and warmth to it?...
ATM for my bridge i'll b thinking of the JB or c5... most of my influences in rock is possibly slash. from gnr... velvet revolver...also slash :P and old stuff like.. rhady rhoads... clapton.. i relaly want a nice clean but oh so sweet neck which will provde the lead tone i want.im also really into SRV.. but of course he's a strat man.. what would a spliited 59 or jazz sound like?..


Originally Posted by benbenbenthanks for all yoour help but now you've all introed and talked about all these great pickups.. i want them all!! ahaha.. ummm how about in terms of cleans in the neck. I really want a nice warm but not to harsh clean. i dunno if you get what i mean but like for instance u strum a nice open chord and it just has that cleanness and warmth to it?...
ATM for my bridge i'll b thinking of the JB or c5... most of my influences in rock is possibly slash. from gnr... velvet revolver...also slash :P and old stuff like.. rhady rhoads... clapton.. i relaly want a nice clean but oh so sweet neck which will provde the lead tone i want.im also really into SRV.. but of course he's a strat man.. what would a spliited 59 or jazz sound like?..

My recomendation for the neck pickup in a Les Paul would be the Pearly Gates or Alnico 2 Pro. I think it was Stevo who said he thought they were similar but that of the two, he thought the Alnico 2 Pro had a slightly Stratty tone...so there's your little bit of SRV. Both are alnico 2 pickups and, IMO, have a little more mids and a little less bass than the alnico 5 Jazz and 59N, which is nice because your tone will not get to bassy or woofy at higher volumes.

For the bridge I'd go for another Pearly Gates or Alnico 2 Pro.

If you're a big Slash fan and love his tone then a pair of Alnico 2 Pros is a no-brainer! That's what he uses...and a big Marshall amp. Don't forget the Marshall.

Clapton used a few old Les Pauls early in his career. He was one of the first to remove the nickel covers of his humbuckers.

For his tone on the John Mayall Bluesbreakers album I'm sure that's his '60 Les Paul with alnico 5 pickups: think Duncan 59's. On Disrali Gears it's a '64 SG with alnico 5 pickups: alnico 5 59's would do the trick.

On Fresh Cream that's probably a '58 Les Paul and that tone is almost certainly alnico 2 humbuckers. When we asked Evan to ask Seymour what to use for that tone he said Seth Lovers or Antiquitys. Maybe with the covers removed.

Or Pearly Gates or Alnico 2 Pros, since those are alnico 2 also.

I've installed the Jazz N and 59N with the JB bridge pickup in several Les Pauls. It's a great tone and probably splits better than anything else I've mentioned above. But the JB doesn't remind me that much of Eric Clapton's Les Paul tone.