Gibson Les Paul Special Sounding Thin

[Charvel1975]

Hello everybody, I'm just so frustrated with my Gibson Les Paul Special right now and it's my first Gibson Last night played the guitar through my Boogie MK V 90 watt head into a Harley Benton G412A Celestion V30's and the guitar just doesn't have any girth and clarity, it's thin and low output. Guitar is in standard E tuning with .010 - .046 nickel wound strings. I'm in a 2 guitarist covers band playing 70's/80's/90's Rock/Classic Rock/Heavy Metal/Hair Metal and I would like to use my Gibson regulary for live shows and rehearsals and would also go back and forth between standard E tuning and occasionally tune the low E to Drop D for 2 songs on our set.


Below is what's currently in it and all of it done some years ago:


Grover Deluxe 135 Nickel tuning keys

Factory bridge saddles replaced with GraphTech notched saddles

Factory neck P100 pickup still in it and the bridge P100 pickup was swapped out about 13 years ago for a used DiMarzio DP209 P-90 Super Distortion I bought off eBay

All Gibson 500K Volume & Tone pots put in, still have factory 300K Gibson pots


I'm going to take it to a guitar repair place and have the guitar & all the wiring looked over along with a proper setup. I want the full humbucker sound out of the P90 super distortion so that needs to be wired in Series right? On the Dimarzio site it says "4-conductor wiring for split and parallel humbucking modes."

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[purpleplexi]

When I've thought this it's usually been because of a dry solder joint somewhere. This is usually because I've been futzing around somewhere. My soldering isn't the best...

 

[Sacalait]

I have one. It's stock. It's noisy as sh*t but otherwise sounds normal. So good move getting it checked out.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Hello everybody, I'm just so frustrated with my Gibson Les Paul Special right now and it's my first Gibson Last night played the guitar through my Boogie MK V 90 watt head into a Harley Benton G412A Celestion V30's and the guitar just doesn't have any girth and clarity, it's thin and low output. Guitar is in standard E tuning with .010 - .046 nickel wound strings. I'm in a 2 guitarist covers band playing 70's/80's/90's Rock/Classic Rock/Heavy Metal/Hair Metal and I would like to use my Gibson regulary for live shows and rehearsals and would also go back and forth between standard E tuning and occasionally tune the low E to Drop D for 2 songs on our set.


Below is what's currently in it and all of it done some years ago:


Grover Deluxe 135 Nickel tuning keys

Factory bridge saddles replaced with GraphTech notched saddles

Factory neck P100 pickup still in it and the bridge P100 pickup was swapped out about 13 years ago for a used DiMarzio DP209 P-90 Super Distortion I bought off eBay

All Gibson 500K Volume & Tone pots put in, still have factory 300K Gibson pots


I'm going to take it to a guitar repair place and have the guitar & all the wiring looked over along with a proper setup. I want the full humbucker sound out of the P90 super distortion so that needs to be wired in Series right? On the Dimarzio site it says "4-conductor wiring for split and parallel humbucking modes."

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Dont worry about it let your guitar tech sort it out.

 

[Len]

Are you sure it’s not your amp setting or the fact that you’re using very mid focused speakers?

 

[V-man]

I agree it being sensible to have a used (particularly older) guitar dropped off for a setup/once-over, but how does EACH pickup sound?

For me Gibson specials/jrs are ALL about the P90 experience (still on the honeymoon phase w my P90 SG special), and the last thing I’d want is to HB a p90 guitar given how everything else I have is a HB.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Are you sure it’s not your amp setting or the fact that you’re using very mid focused speakers?

He probably has his pickups wired in parallel which makes it thinner and he switched out his 300k pots for 500k which makes it brighter. I have a Super Distortion wired in series in my Strat bridge with 250k pots and it sounds just right.

 

[Charvel1975]

@V-man I know what your saying about the P90's and had a lot of people tell me those would be great for what our covers band plays and to just to replace both pickups with new Gibson P90's but from what I've read is you have to deal with the humming and buzzing noises inherent with Gibson P90's and I don't like humming and buzzing noises and it's bad enough at some of these venues we play at that have a bunch of neon lights, bad wiring, etc.

 

[Charvel1975]

I agree it being sensible to have a used (particularly older) guitar dropped off for a setup/once-over, but how does EACH pickup sound?

For me Gibson specials/jrs are ALL about the P90 experience (still on the honeymoon phase w my P90 SG special), and the last thing I’d want is to HB a p90 guitar given how everything else I have is a HB.

The bridge Dimarzio p90 super distortion in the bridge sounds all thin and weak and no body or girth to the sound and doesn't vut through the mix and the factory Gibson P100 is really bass with no highs

 

[paul-e-mann]

The bridge Dimarzio p90 super distortion in the bridge sounds all thin and weak and no body or girth to the sound and doesn't vut through the mix and the factory Gibson P100 is really bass with no highs

Did you drop it off to your tech?

 

[Darthslater]

GET A SET OF FISHMANS EXCELLENT TONE FOR ALL GENERE'S.

 

[ajtonly1]

If you want aome good P90s, Tyson Tone is hard to beat.


My p90 special can hang all day with my WIZZ and throwbak LPs all day. I also don’t run 4 conductor wiring. Just not my thing.

Good luck and I’m sure we would all like to know the outcome and cause of the woes in the end

 

[mtbcn]

It's heartbreaking when your stuff doesn't sound right.

I don't think P100s are great for anything. I've never heard the DiMarzio but there are no shortage of great P90s. The Gibson's don't buzz that bad that they're not playable. I don't find it worse than a Telecaster.

Check the polarity of the pickups and wiring of the bridge pickup. Try the bridge solo.

Also try the guitar through a different head/cabinet.

 

[kisschicken]

This is why you leave everything stock.

 

[Denis St Guinefort]

It's heartbreaking when your stuff doesn't sound right.

I don't think P100s are great for anything. I've never heard the DiMarzio but there are no shortage of great P90s. The Gibson's don't buzz that bad that they're not playable. I don't find it worse than a Telecaster.

Check the polarity of the pickups and wiring of the bridge pickup. Try the bridge solo.

Also try the guitar through a different head/cabinet.

I do not like P90s either (and I'm a long time fan of the original pickup). Since the guitar came with P100s, it isn't a current production model as far as I know. In this case, the previous owner(s) might have done some “work” with the cables.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Are you sure it’s not your amp setting or the fact that you’re using very mid focused speakers?

Sounds pickup related to me but yeah there are a lot of modes and settings on a Mk V. Does it sound the same regardless of mode?
I have never used anything but HBs. Sounds also like OP has had guitar for a long time. Has it always sounded like this? Has it sounded good through the Mk V previously?
Also how do your other guitars sound through same setup?
I think maybe a stray ground wire touchung something hot?

 

[sricabla]

Hello everybody, I'm just so frustrated with my Gibson Les Paul Special right now and it's my first Gibson Last night played the guitar through my Boogie MK V 90 watt head into a Harley Benton G412A Celestion V30's and the guitar just doesn't have any girth and clarity, it's thin and low output. Guitar is in standard E tuning with .010 - .046 nickel wound strings. I'm in a 2 guitarist covers band playing 70's/80's/90's Rock/Classic Rock/Heavy Metal/Hair Metal and I would like to use my Gibson regulary for live shows and rehearsals and would also go back and forth between standard E tuning and occasionally tune the low E to Drop D for 2 songs on our set.


Below is what's currently in it and all of it done some years ago:


Grover Deluxe 135 Nickel tuning keys

Factory bridge saddles replaced with GraphTech notched saddles

Factory neck P100 pickup still in it and the bridge P100 pickup was swapped out about 13 years ago for a used DiMarzio DP209 P-90 Super Distortion I bought off eBay

All Gibson 500K Volume & Tone pots put in, still have factory 300K Gibson pots


I'm going to take it to a guitar repair place and have the guitar & all the wiring looked over along with a proper setup. I want the full humbucker sound out of the P90 super distortion so that needs to be wired in Series right? On the Dimarzio site it says "4-conductor wiring for split and parallel humbucking modes."

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Raise the pickups. Have to work on them, including the pole pieces. You'll be surprised!

 

[Digby68]

Hi OP,

I noticed you posted a similar issue in August 2022 with your charvel model 5 sounding thin. That's too.much of a coincidence. Is it your amp or the way you have set the guitar up?

 

[WoundUp]

You guys realize that, bridge pickup he has IS NOT a P90, right?

Its a Super Distortion humbucker with a P90 cover over it. So, he has a P100 in the neck and a super distortion he says is very thin in the bridge. Neither of those are P90's.

Sounds like the Super Distortion is either in single coil mode or it's dying.

 

[WoundUp]

I do not like P90s either (and I'm a long time fan of the original pickup). Since the guitar came with P100s, it isn't a current production model as far as I know. In this case, the previous owner(s) might have done some “work” with the cables.

He's had the guitar for 13+ years so no, it's not a current production model. But there have been multiple years where guitars sold by Gibson came in this exact form with P100's.