My Gibson Les Paul NEVER Sounded So Good Thanks to the 80% Rule

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So @JustinOstrander talked about this - take your middle position on your Les Paul, and knock the neck pickup volume back to about 20% of where your bridge volume is....

only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

[Tsak]

A good Les Paul thrives on the middle position blending the volume knobs. My favorite player to do it is Warren Haynes.

[gazb]

Sometimes its good to sit down with an L.P plugged straight into a tube amp and realize all the Tone are there, unbeatable.

[darwinsaye]

I’m one of those who extensively use the controls on my guitars, but I’m also very particular about the basic pickup setup to get specific tones before I even start messing with controls. Listening to your demo, I’m hearing very little difference between your bridge pickup and middle position sounds before you even start lowering the neck pickup volume. I always begin by setting my pickup heights (with the guitar controls on full) so that the middle position sound is at its most extreme difference from either solo pickup sound. If either pickup height is off by a couple of mm, your middle position will sound very much like either the bridge pup tone or neck pup tone. I find when your pickups’ heights are optimally balanced, the middle position will have a distinctly different tone - kind of quacky, ideal for clean Motown/funk/RnB. And the added benefit is that when you start lowering either pickup volume, you have a wider range of change, and it’s easier to find those sweet spots.

[mderning]

Don't think I ever have knobs all open anymore - used to ignore them until I realized, on any guitar, knob control is where the tone and feel resides. It was quite a breakthrough for me. And it's quite personal, depending on your touch, ears, amps, effects, etc.

[Gilyslas]

Classic LP sound, so spatial and full of character. I have 3 and my heart fills with joy everytime I play them. Outstanding playing as always.

[rlogtr]

Phil Keaggy’s playing from the early to late 70s always showcased this kind of pickup mixing. It was always a Les Paul through various fender amps. I loved how he rode the edge of break up, used volume knob dynamics, and pick up switching/mixing to bring out those tones like few others.
A few standout songs were on albums he did with a group called Paul Clark and friends, “he’ll do the same”, “come into his presence”, and”Unveiling”.
Also, the live at Carnegie Hall album with glass harp.

[mrmoreton]

With 50s wiring , tinker with the tone pots, when you lower them a bit you get a different kind of taper on the volume pot, and much les gain, whith not much loss on the high end

[pmacfto]

Somebody on That Pedal Show or maybe Andertons said this is how they set up amps - turn the knobs until you hear where there is a wide sweep and sit it right in that middle spot on all the EQ

[michaelgriffin]

Gorgeous LP. When you find the right one, nothing else feels or sounds quite like it. Beautiful playing, as always. You really are an inspiration.

[SwinginBluesTube]

That’s a beautiful song you played at the beginning.

[daveduffy]

I have my volumes set on 7 with the bridge tone at 4 and the neck tone at 6. Any changes depend on the tune and for that, I use a pedal or adjust my amp. My LP sings.

[sublyme]

The S2 McCarty 594 Thinline does the same thing. Put it in the middle position and roll back the neck pickup slightly and you'll hear a world of difference. Neat!

[scozz]

Been doing that for decades, lol.

The middle position and the neck pickup volume control is your friend.

Jimmy Page played that way frequently.

[TheGospelGuitarist]

Yes in the middle position the volume controls become blending pots. I have allways dialed back the neck because it's too thick and just sounds clearer backed off. When in the bridge needs warming up a tad, I do this.

[jerrymckenzie]

When you get a beautiful tone like that, even one note sounds amazing!

[cakeslashdog]

I grew up on a lp studio. And came to this naturally. Over the years. Recently built a warmoth hsh soloist. I had to add an additional volume knob to be able to do just this. I missed the 2vol 2tone versatility. Blending neck and bridge is where the magic happens. There is also a sweet spot for the tone knobs. Love the musicality of your playing! Thank you!

[garyshepherd]

Worth trying - I am a bit lazy with my Les Paul and mainly use the bridge pickup on full volume and tone - and then change the amp settings (Line 6 Helix Native mostly). Probably better if I try a few things like this!

[topografer]

Recently had 50s wiring and PAF pickups installed in my Lester. Its ridiculously versatile now. You wont realise how versatile a setup like this is until you start experimenting. Double tone and vol controls with vintage-like electronics. Nothing you cant do

[Nightwinflyer]

It is interesting that I was doing this just yesterday with my Plexi clone. I can go from lead to rhythm to Fender cleans with only the controls on the guitar, never touching the amp. Seems like ol' Les knew what he was doing!

[sacredgeometry]

I said this right at the start. It's just a process of adaption and learning how to best use its voice. Coming from a strat/tele it can be a bit jarring but once you lean into it good things start happening.

I say that as someone that started on a strat then played les pauls for a long time then jumped to a tele/ strat for years then finally came back to a les paul.

Its always the same.