Well ive only been playing for around 18 months, but i might be able to help. I have a epiphone les paul standard and i bought new pick ups for it at xmas, seymour alnico 2's and to be honest i cant really tell them apart much. They sound the same as my origonal ones i think! Maybe at really high volumes theres a difference, if i'd known i would have saved my money for another guitar!

Later Axl