LP project ideas

RALKITE

Blues Newbie
Got a J&D Luthiers LS-3 on weekend at Cash Converters(sort of porn shop). and while it plays nice and appears very well made, It has some minor issues.
One is a hissing sound through amp that stops when I touch either the strings or tuners.

The other is the pickups may be not so good, OK but an excuse to try something else.

So what should I look for to solve hiss sound.
And what would be a good start for some decent sounding Pickups at a reasonable price?

J&D Luthiers is a chinese factory that used to make Epiphone guitars for Gibson. Maybe still do I don't know, but they market a range of guitars under this brand.
From all reports they are well on par with Epiphone models but as for pickups etc. I'm not sure.
 

Chuck

Moderator (One of the Men in Black!)
Staff member
Sounds like a grounding issue, I'd open her up and look for obvious wiring issues. If you want to change the pickups and electrics that's easy enough and there are plenty of options.

I like Gibson Classic 57's myself but RR here on the forum says the GFS Classic Humbuckers will get you pretty close at fraction of the cost.

Looks like a nice guitar with loads of possibilities! Have fun with it!
 

giayank

Just another day in paradise
I have also used these GFS pups and find them to have great tone and great price . I don't have a set of Gibson 57's so I can't compare . :D
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
I have a Carvin SC90 made of 100% koa (like mahogany), so it's kinda like a cross between a LP and an SG, with Gibby '57 Classics in it.   I put a set of GFS Alnico II Classics in a cheap Chinese ES335 knock-off and that guitar blew me away.  Granted, I don't have ears like a bat, but I honestly can't tell any difference other than the slight qualities lent by the semi-hollow body.  So whether or not they are literally identical is open for discussion, but they are definitely amazingly good pickups. 
 

Shodai

Blues Junior
I dropped a set of Giovanni GVH-1 pickups into my PRS and couldn't be happier with them. About $60 for the PAIR shipped.

Great sound at a very low price. They're always listed on eBay.
 

Elio

Student Of The Blues
I dropped a set of Giovanni GVH-1 pickups into my PRS and couldn't be happier with them. About $60 for the PAIR shipped.

Great sound at a very low price. They're always listed on eBay.

I put a set of the Giovanni GCH-1  pickups into a Greg  Bennett  Av3, which is an LP style, and couldn't be happier either.  In the US, they are only available on Ebay. Very PAF-sounding.
 

RALKITE

Blues Newbie
If I were looking to get as close to a Gary Moore type sound which set of pickups would do that?
 

cowboy

Blues, Booze & BBQ
If I were looking to get as close to a Gary Moore type sound which set of pickups would do that?

If it were me, I'd look more at the amp being used (think Marshall) than the pickups...I don't really like high-gain pickups...they are a one trick pony (don't clean up well)...I'd use a a good PAF humbucker and try to get the GM sound with pedals/amps...just my .02...later.

cowboy
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
If I were looking to get as close to a Gary Moore type sound which set of pickups would do that?

If it were me, I'd look more at the amp being used (think Marshall) than the pickups...I don't really like high-gain pickups...they are a one trick pony (don't clean up well)...I'd use a a good PAF humbucker and try to get the GM sound with pedals/amps...just my .02...later.

cowboy
+1 to that!!!  But to some (like me) some amps don't "clean up well" either ... personally I don't like Marshalls for that reason.  I have yet to get a great clean sound that really satisfies me out of a Marshall.  But like most things, it's totally subjective.
 

RALKITE

Blues Newbie
Thanks guys, I have a Vox VT40+ so can get quite a variety of sound out of it. But I do have to upgrade these pickups and looking for ideas. The guitar is solid body with no weight relief and seems well made. So investing in some decent PU's seems a good investment.
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
If I were looking to get as close to a Gary Moore type sound which set of pickups would do that?
Well, after listening to a bunch of Gary Moore videos, and seeing that he plays primarily either a Strat or a Tele Slimline set up like a Strat, and occasionally a LP, but his sound is always about the same, and listening to videos of him playing a LP, and knowing the sounds from all of my humbucker-equipped guitars which have the following:
Gibson '57 Classics
GFS Alnico II Classics
Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays
Iron Gear Rolling Mills
of those four, the Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays are closest to what I hear from Gary.
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=vintage&pickup=stormy_monday
I have a set of these in my Ibanez ART100 and they turned that guitar into my favorite humbucker guitar.  But not by much ... all of these are outstanding pickups.  The Rolling Mills are a bit darker and "meatier" than the others ... all of the others are pretty close, with the Stormy Mondays being just ever so slightly brighter.  If on a tight budget, you can't go wrong with the GFS Alnico II's.
 
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