I'm lefty. I bought the first lefty Les Paul I ever laid eyes on: a used black 1986 les paul custom. Lefty guitars were much less common back then. I gigged in three different bands with it. It's seen a lot of use. I realized that it sounded kind of muddy some years back and had the covers removed from the stock pickups. Sadly, the bridge pickup subsequently became damaged when the small string got hooked under the edge of the pickup a few too many times and eventually broke through the coil. I replaced it with a dimarzio super distortion dp100, which I hoped would give it a brighter, crunchier sound.
I later acquired a used 91 Les Paul Standard, which has become my preferred guitar. It sounds a LOT brighter. When I say brighter I mean without even plugging it in. Just press your ear against it and play a few notes and the wood of the 91 Standard is much richer and brighter than the 86 Custom. I don't know what wood is used in either guitar and would appreciate it if someone could help me figure that out. I've seen conflicting posts all over this forum and the internet about which wood Gibson used when for which Les Pauls and would much prefer to take a look inside the guitar to know for sure, rather than relying on common wisdom or hearsay. I'd be willing to bet that my two LPs are constructed differently and that the 86 custom is all mahogany and the 91 standard has maple in it.
Plug them in and the difference is even more noticeable. The 86 Custom just sounds abysmally dark and dull compared to the 91 Standard (which has Seymour Duncan SH-1s). The neck PUP on the 86 Custom sounds OK with suitable settings (sorta like the the first minute and a half of Fleetwood Mac's Fighting for Madge), but the bridge pickup--the one I use almost exclusively in my playing--is very disappointing. The result is that I never play the 86 Custom.
So I'm wondering if I should try and modernize the 86 Custom to get a crunchier, more modern sound out of it or if that's a fool's errand. Perhaps I'd be better off staying as vintage as possible with it to try and preserve resale value? I still have the stock Gibson HBR/HBL pickups from 91 Standard and the 86 Custom still has the stock neck pickup, but the 86 Custom has seen a lot of use. The finish is dinged, it needs at least one replacement tuning head, I replaced the original strap buttons with Schaller S-Locks, and I removed the pickguard, which is long gone. It still has the original case -- the big square monstrosity, but one of the buckles is gone. It might not have a lot of resale value, and its value to me is largely sentimental.
I would mention that I'm really hoping for a bright, crunchy sound good for chugs and tasty prog metal chords, bristling with rich harmonics. I'd be more than happy with a sound like Matt Pike gets for Sleep/High On Fire. Can this guitar achieve a modern sound? I've seen folks on this forum recommending a rewire kit and this video seems to offer a pretty good idea of what I might expect. This adjustment seems significant to me, and I might go further by installing some bright, modern pickup like a Seymour Duncan Nazgul or Pegasus or something. Or maybe a Dimarzio X2N? Is this drastic and ill-advised? Or a good way to draw out more character from the dark wood of the guitar?
I later acquired a used 91 Les Paul Standard, which has become my preferred guitar. It sounds a LOT brighter. When I say brighter I mean without even plugging it in. Just press your ear against it and play a few notes and the wood of the 91 Standard is much richer and brighter than the 86 Custom. I don't know what wood is used in either guitar and would appreciate it if someone could help me figure that out. I've seen conflicting posts all over this forum and the internet about which wood Gibson used when for which Les Pauls and would much prefer to take a look inside the guitar to know for sure, rather than relying on common wisdom or hearsay. I'd be willing to bet that my two LPs are constructed differently and that the 86 custom is all mahogany and the 91 standard has maple in it.
Plug them in and the difference is even more noticeable. The 86 Custom just sounds abysmally dark and dull compared to the 91 Standard (which has Seymour Duncan SH-1s). The neck PUP on the 86 Custom sounds OK with suitable settings (sorta like the the first minute and a half of Fleetwood Mac's Fighting for Madge), but the bridge pickup--the one I use almost exclusively in my playing--is very disappointing. The result is that I never play the 86 Custom.
So I'm wondering if I should try and modernize the 86 Custom to get a crunchier, more modern sound out of it or if that's a fool's errand. Perhaps I'd be better off staying as vintage as possible with it to try and preserve resale value? I still have the stock Gibson HBR/HBL pickups from 91 Standard and the 86 Custom still has the stock neck pickup, but the 86 Custom has seen a lot of use. The finish is dinged, it needs at least one replacement tuning head, I replaced the original strap buttons with Schaller S-Locks, and I removed the pickguard, which is long gone. It still has the original case -- the big square monstrosity, but one of the buckles is gone. It might not have a lot of resale value, and its value to me is largely sentimental.
I would mention that I'm really hoping for a bright, crunchy sound good for chugs and tasty prog metal chords, bristling with rich harmonics. I'd be more than happy with a sound like Matt Pike gets for Sleep/High On Fire. Can this guitar achieve a modern sound? I've seen folks on this forum recommending a rewire kit and this video seems to offer a pretty good idea of what I might expect. This adjustment seems significant to me, and I might go further by installing some bright, modern pickup like a Seymour Duncan Nazgul or Pegasus or something. Or maybe a Dimarzio X2N? Is this drastic and ill-advised? Or a good way to draw out more character from the dark wood of the guitar?