From easy, zero-cost modifications to tone-expanding wiring changes, there are many ways to customise, improve and upgrade your Les Paul. Here are our picks of the very best.
Even if you’re disinclined to undertake woodwork or have at it with a soldering iron, there’s still plenty of scope for modifying, customising and upgrading your Les Paul. Broadly speaking, the categories break down into cosmetic changes, electrical modifications, and hardware upgrades.
In the past, many Les Paul players shied away from hardware upgrades because they were reluctant to drill holes in a quality . Nowadays, the range of bridges, tailpieces, tremolos and tuners that will slot right in place is extensive. However, you should be aware that US-made Les Pauls are fitted with hardware that conforms to imperial measurements, whereas those of Far Eastern manufacture – like Epiphones and the various Japanese lawsuit ‘replicas’ – require metric hardware.
Trapeze Wrap Over Compensated Tailpiece, 1952
The vintage ethos drives many of the electrical modifications, too, with circuit reconfigurations, capacitor tweaks and the ubiquitous PAF replica pickups. However, this is one area where Les Paul players need not be bound by ‘vintage correctness’. There are easy and affordable ways to customise and expand your range of tones, and players are no longer restricted to conventional control layouts or even P-90- and PAF-style pickups.
So here are 25 of our top tips for modifying Les Pauls. Some are very costly while others are cheap, and many won’t cost you a thing.
Covers are usually held in place with two blobs of solder. Use a Stanley knife to cut through the solder, being extremely careful with your fingers and the pickup itself, then lift the cover off. Here we see an ‘uncovered’ double black Shed PAF Daddy
Trapeaze Solution, Straight Replacement Bridge
This is one of the earliest mods players performed on their humbucker-equipped Gibsons. It was generally thought at the time that removing the covers made the pickups sound louder. In fact, players who removed their covers were probably just hearing a little more treble, because the capacitive effect of the covers caused high-frequency roll-off. Loose covers can also be a cause of microphonic feedback. Vintage nickel-silver covers were very thin and kept treble loss to a minimum, but later covers – especially thick brass ones – did the upper frequency response no favours.
If you wish to buy a metal jack plate, be sure to double-check that the screw holes will line up with those of the original. If in doubt, contact the retailer for more information. Image: TT Zop / Wikicommons
Every design has its weak spots, and the jack plate is the Les Paul’s – because the slim plastic plate is all too easy to snap. The solution is simple: a metal replacement. This is a cheap and reversible modification, but try to ensure the screw holes of the new plate will line up with the old one. If you want to keep the original look, simply install the plastic plate on top of the metal one.
Guitar Kit Builder: Les Paul Florentine: Installing A Tune O Matic Bridge
If you don’t want to remove the cover from your pickup, you can reverse its polarity electronically. This can be done permanently or it can be linked to a switch to give you the option
During his time with Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green’s Les Paul had a very distinctive sound in the middle position. There are two ways you can replicate this. After removing the cover of one pickup (we’d suggest the neck), slacken off the baseplate, slide out the magnet then flip it around (not over) to reverse the magnetic polarity relative to the coil. Tighten the baseplate up, refit your cover if you use one, and you’re done. Alternatively, you can flip the phase electronically by reversing the hot and cold connections.
This is one mod you can try easily for zero cost. Bonamassa says it gives the a slinkier feel and makes a set of 11-gauge strings feel more like a 10.5 set
Mojoaxe Compensated Wraparound Bridge Gibson Historic Les Paul Vos R4 54 Junior
In addition to providing an anchor point for the strings, the stop tailpiece ensures that the strings have a suitable break-angle over the saddles. However, when the tailpiece is screwed tight to the body, the angle might be too sharp, increasing the chances of string breakage. One solution is to feed the strings through the tailpiece from the pickup side and wrap them over the top of the tailpiece. Proponents – among them Joe Bonamassa – claim that you get the tonal benefits of tailpiece-to-body contact coupled with more sustain and a slinkier playing feel, akin to swapping a set of 11s for a set of 10.5s.
This picture shows the first stage of a 50s-style wiring installation. Note how the ‘bumblebee’ capacitors are connected to the centre tags of the volume controls
If you own a soldering iron, this is one of the simplest and cheapest mods around. They call it ‘50s wiring’ because it’s the way Gibson hooked things up until around 1962 and the only actual difference was that the company connected the tone control to the output (middle) tag of the volume control rather than the input (outer) tag. This means you can turn down your volume control without the sound muddying up quite so much, and the volume and tone controls also become more interactive.
Les Paul Type Stoptail And Bridge On A Strat?
Fitting an aluminium tailpiece is a cheap and easy modification that improves the tone of a Les Paul for many players. Faber in Germany offers aluminium tailpieces with various degrees of relicing
In the 1950s, Gibson’s stop tailpiece was originally made from aluminium. Later on, this changed to zinc, which remains stock on many current models. Some players claim aluminium gives extra woodiness and more treble with a wider dynamic range, while zinc fans argue that their preferred metal has more low end and sustain. Given that you can get a lightweight aluminium one for around £30, it’s worth doing the Pepsi Challenge.
0.022uF paper/oil capacitors, nicknamed “bumblebees”, were installed in original Les Pauls. Replicas are available but not all are paper/oil. Russian made K40Y and K42Y paper-oil capacitors are readily available and cost-effective equivalents
Gibson Abr 1 And Tailpiece
It is incorrect to say that tone capacitors have no effect on the sound of a when the tone controls are fully up, because there is always some treble bleed when a tone circuit is installed, so the value of the capacitor will determine the frequency at which roll-off occurs.
Some players say they can discern sonic differences between different types of capacitor of the same value. The originals were 0.022uF paper/oil types; repros are available or you can use Mallory 150s, Sprague Orange Drops or Vitamin Qs. Some like to experiment with different values too for increased or decreased treble roll-off. Our best advice is to experiment!
Installing no-load potentiometers for your tone controls may help to make your Les Paul sound brighter and clearer. They’re easy to buy, but it’s almost as easy to make them yourself
Has Anyone Seen A Bridge This High?
A lack of clarity and treble is a common Les Paul complaint, but if you don’t want to change your pickups, you can still get some of that treble back when you need it. With any tone control, there’s always some treble bleed through the tone circuit – you can test this and see for yourself by disconnecting the tone circuit from the volume control. So why not try a ‘no load’ tone pot, which will enable you to eliminate the pot from circuit at the twist of a knob, and thus eliminate treble bleed? You can buy them or even make your own, and you’ll notice the biggest difference in the neck position.
The obvious way to keep the tailpiece fixed in position is to screw it flat to the body. Setting it higher softens the break angle, much like top-wrapping, but the tailpiece may need to be secured. TonePros locking studs provide an effective solution
Traditional tailpiece studs do not grip stop tailpieces at all – the only thing holding the tailpiece in position is the pull of the strings. Often, you’ll see tailpieces tilting forward, and it’s claimed that better tone can be achieved by fixing the tailpiece more securely. TonePros and Faber both offer retrofit means of getting your studs to grip, though the latter’s Tone Lock is the least cosmetically disruptive option.
Guyker Guitar Tune O Matic Roller Saddle Bridge Replacement Part Compatible With Gibson Les Paul Lp Sg Style 6 String Electric Guitar
You might not think that nylon is a classic part of the vintage tone recipe, but 1950s Les Pauls sported nylon nuts. While a vintage-accurate 6/6-grade nylon nut is expensive, you could always try it at the other end. In an effort to minimise rattle and vibrations, Gibson was using nylon saddles on several models by the mid 1960s.
These days, you can easily try swapping out your saddles – it’s an affordable and reversible mod that can have a dramatic effect. Reducing friction is always a good idea if your Les Paul has a Bigsby, while nylon saddles also have a somewhat softer attack and sweeter high end than brass or steel. Some players – Bonamassa included – have been known to try a half rice/half chips approach with metal saddles for the wound strings and nylon for the plain strings. Experiment!
Most original Bursts associated with big-name players have diecast
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