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Same old problem: the sound of my R8

zsregist

New member
Joined
Nov 23, 2018
Messages
1
Hey guys, i'm new here and but have been reading threads for a long time. it's just a great, helpful and well-known place basically.

i've been playing a 2013 les paul R8 for 2 years which was purchased from one of my best friends. i love its finish which is in iced tea burst and i love its sound which i believe is similar to the sound of the original 1958 les paul presented in Doug and Pat show (here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl6mw6OSifc)

but the problem is that i think my guitar has got too much bass and mid which sound neither muddy nor thick. it's like a kind of screaming sound from a tall and bulky guy who wears a mask... so basically, i want tigher sound.

at first, i thought the amp is to blame because my first head, a clone JTM45, is not well-made i think. so i can't expect very great sound from it.
Then i bought the mojave scorpion which only adds to more aggression rather than more tightness.

i've also thought about the pickups which are pair of custombuckers, about the speakers which are two celestian v30, about adding some pedals to boost or to overdrive the amp(i don't use any pedals). but recently, i seem to realize that it is not that the sound isn't good or right. it just is its own sound. in fact, maybe i need the kind of R9 sound.

since i feel very frustrated and confused, i'm really looking for any suggestions, opinions or discussions here. Thanks!

WechatIMG322.jpeg
 

omni43

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
50
Have you taken this to a knowledgeable guitar person to have it checked out. I had a 61 SG Reissue that i always thought it sounded very dark and I too it to a guitar guy and he assured me nothing was wrong and that it just some very minor adjustment.
 

Tim Plains

Active member
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Messages
795
Have you tried adjusting the pickups and/pole pieces? No sense complaining about how a guitar sounds until you've spent a fair bit of time tweaking it.

R8s and R9s are the same guitar.
 

jwalker

Les Paul Forum Sponsor
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
2,592
I would experiment with pickup height adjustment. I did the video below to show how I like to adjust a P.A.F. style pickup.

As far as easy tweaks go, you may want to try vintage spec. brass thumb wheels for the bridge. It will tame the very high end a bit which may bring the low end and high end closer together and have the affect of giving a bit more low end detail once you reset the amp tone controls.

Here is the video.

 

goldtop0

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
8,931
That is one great looking R8 zsregist and all the best with adjusting the pups........it does make a difference:2cool

Has it got a fat neck at all?
 

Hamerfan

Active member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Messages
791
The minute i dumped my v30 and bought a G12-65 my sound improved vastly.
 

jwalker

Les Paul Forum Sponsor
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
2,592
The minute i dumped my v30 and bought a G12-65 my sound improved vastly.

I had the same experience with V30’s but I found the Classic Lead 80 to have even better low end clarity than the G12-65.
 

thunderkyss

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
743
Hey guys, i'm new here and but have been reading threads for a long time. it's just a great, helpful and well-known place basically.

i've been playing a 2013 les paul R8 for 2 years which was purchased from one of my best friends. i love its finish which is in iced tea burst and i love its sound which i believe is similar to the sound of the original 1958 les paul presented in Doug and Pat show (here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl6mw6OSifc)

View attachment 8734


Sorry bud, don't think it's ever going to happen. You just need to come to terms with it. But, tell you what I'll do for you. I've got a Tele parrtscaster that has the sound you're looking for. Since you're a member here, I'll do you a solid & trade you straight up.

Just PM me & we'll work out the details.
 

metropolis

Active member
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
390
Apologies if this seems like a dumb question but have you compared it to other guitars to know that it's definitely the guitar?

Also what environment are you playing in? The same room / place in the room at home or are you out gigging or playing with a band?
 

c_wester

Well-known member
Joined
May 9, 2002
Messages
2,116
Apologies if this seems like a dumb question but have you compared it to other guitars to know that it's definitely the guitar?

Also what environment are you playing in? The same room / place in the room at home or are you out gigging or playing with a band?

This is a good response!
Also the guitar might just be a crappy piece of wood.

That is not fixable?! Or your ears might be tuned to FenderBanjos.
 

PRS

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Messages
44
Don't look past the bridge and tailpiece. I just installed a Faber tone lock bridge with natural brass saddles and their tailpiece on my 2012 R0. It has really opened the guitar up and made it sound so much better. It also feels like it plays a bit more slinky now. I've had the guitar for almost 3 years and love it. But, I never felt like I was getting it's best. That's no longer the case. I can't put it down.

Just a thought.
 

JPP-1

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Messages
1,336
I have to say, you make some very helpful and interesting posts and videos on this forum and TGP. The recent video you did where the steel pickup screws yield what sounds like subtly brighter leading edge transients than their brass counterparts was quite surprising. So let me just say it's enjoyable to read your posts that are generally congenial and enthusiastic. I'm not in the market for aftermarket pickups but if I were, Throbaks would be at the top of a fairly short list.

I would experiment with pickup height adjustment. I did the video below to show how I like to adjust a P.A.F. style pickup.

As far as easy tweaks go, you may want to try vintage spec. brass thumb wheels for the bridge. It will tame the very high end a bit which may bring the low end and high end closer together and have the affect of giving a bit more low end detail once you reset the amp tone controls.

Here is the video.

 

korus

Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
636
If you never did it by youself, you should find someone who can do it for you.

Override all tone controls and even 3way switch. Simply connect bridge pickup alone directly to output jack, then neck pickup. This way you will find out if the issue is in pots/switch.
 

PixelBurst

Active member
Joined
Apr 11, 2002
Messages
4,094
Make sure it’s the guitar and not the amp and speaker combo. I like Vintage 30’s with some amps, but 25w Greenbacks in a closed cab deliver classic tones better. It’s possible the electronics in your R8 could be swapped out for something that delivers more of what you’re looking for. Maybe VIP pots and different pickups. Hard to know without hearing the guitar.
 

renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Hang in there bucko!

We CAN get it fixed.

Start with the pickup height stuff above.

Move them away and close both, take your time.

Different pickups and people like different combos of distance/pole settings.

This ain't a race.

If that does not do it I would suggest replacing pots with VIPots. His are slightly higher than 500k usually and that should brighten things and give you more everything.

They are the magic bullet on a few of my 'experiments'.

Lastly the pickups.

There is a lot of ground before major money needs to be spent.

I would be very surprised if it is 'the wood'.
 

ourmaninthenorth

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2009
Messages
7,119
First off, a warm welcome.

Some great advice in this thread already.

Mine would be to get it to a tech and discuss what you're trying to achieve, it's amazing what a good set up by sympathetic hands can accomplish.

I've had guitars literally brought back to life by these guys, where my own incompetence hit the buffers.

As Ren says, hang in there, this is sortable.

:salude
 

Wambemando

New member
Joined
May 4, 2018
Messages
21
Is it the fret size? (vintage/small)
That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title.
 

brandtkronholm

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
2,737
It seems very unusual that a modern R8 would be a complete dud. Gibson is building extraordinary instruments these days.

What are your amp settings? A JTM45 can get extremely sloppy depending on how you dial in your tone. I don't have any experience with Mojave amps but they appear to be a high-end boutique tube amp in the Marshall vein.

1) The classic set-up begins with jumping the channels: instrument cable from bottom input of 1st channel into the top input of the 2nd channel. Plug your guitar into the top of the 1st channel.

2) These old fashioned amps like to be played loud, so the volumes should be up to 6+ at the very least.

2.5) With the channels jumped, you can fine tune the volume of the first channel to emphasise the high frequencies and fine tune the second channel to emphasise the low frequencies. This can be extremely subtle.

3) Try turning the bass down (2-3) and turn the mid up (7-9) with the treble and presence adjusted to your taste (5-8).

4) Play swiftly with a loud noise.
 

JPP-1

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Messages
1,336
V30s stick out like a red flag to me. one of the only celestion speakers I plain don't like. Bulky bottom, astringent top. it could probably cause a good Les Paul to sound boomy. Post 2013 Les Pauls typically have Custom Bucker with Alnico 3s. Provided the pickups are adjusted properly too much bass shouldn't be a problem. Any real NMV Marshall though, I would turn the bass down to 0 or close to it. The JTM45 is my favorite amp but for me the bass never goes higher than 1 or 2 with humbuckers. Experiment take some of the advice given on this thread and let us know how it works out.


Hey guys, i'm new here and but have been reading threads for a long time. it's just a great, helpful and well-known place basically.

i've been playing a 2013 les paul R8 for 2 years which was purchased from one of my best friends. i love its finish which is in iced tea burst and i love its sound which i believe is similar to the sound of the original 1958 les paul presented in Doug and Pat show (here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl6mw6OSifc)

but the problem is that i think my guitar has got too much bass and mid which sound neither muddy nor thick. it's like a kind of screaming sound from a tall and bulky guy who wears a mask... so basically, i want tigher sound.

at first, i thought the amp is to blame because my first head, a clone JTM45, is not well-made i think. so i can't expect very great sound from it.
Then i bought the mojave scorpion which only adds to more aggression rather than more tightness.

i've also thought about the pickups which are pair of custombuckers, about the speakers which are two celestian v30, about adding some pedals to boost or to overdrive the amp(i don't use any pedals). but recently, i seem to realize that it is not that the sound isn't good or right. it just is its own sound. in fact, maybe i need the kind of R9 sound.

since i feel very frustrated and confused, i'm really looking for any suggestions, opinions or discussions here. Thanks!

View attachment 8734
 
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