SCHB! That's an old pickup eh'?? 'Don't see 'em very often! I may be nuts (well... I AM nuts, I know...) but I think pickups, when cared for, get better with age. My main guitar have my older pickups in them, and when I buy new ones I put them in my 'less often used' axes.

About the 'LesPaul' thing; that's SO TRUE! In fact, my Gibsons are the only guitars I DON'T put the X2N in (I don't recommend it to clients w/Gibsons either). Not all heavy-bodied guitars do the same thing to pickups as Gibsons! Even my "V's", I use the DUAL-SOUND. AWESOME all-around pickup in any guitar. Being the "gain-iac" I am, it's the outrageous X2N in everything else.

Many Gibsons are factory wired with 300k pots, True, and some pickups aren't even tested for that resistance.
Gibson also makes many stock pickups that are of custom after-market quality (unusual in today's market). The rule-of-thumb I've found is that most guitars sold for (not LIST) over $1000-1100 or so, will have QUALITY pickups. It doesn't mean all player will like (or keep) them; but over that price range is where you'll find the CATALOG custom model Dimarzio, EMG active, Duncan, etc.

Just look at what you got with your 'PRS', or your Top-o-the-line Universe/JEM, or that $1800 flying-V, or that $2000 Tom Anderson... get the picture?

Now; how many of you EXPEIENCED players willingly kept the place-keepers that were in the RG550/RG540(awesome guitars, lame stock pickups & wiring job), or in your BC-Rich"NJ"series, or that cheap STRAT, etc...

Sorry to carry-on so much, but like I said...

I AM NUTS.... but learning to cope with it...

Props' to you, Lord-a-tHa'-sTrAaangs!


~JSV