2021 Gibson Les Paul Standard 50's Gold Top:

eclecticsynergy said:
Great score! Congratulations. Don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but all factory-installed Burstbuckers are potted. The aftermarket BBs are sold unpotted though.
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Thanks, Amigo...

You are absolutely correct about the factory installed Burstbuckers being potted and over-the-counter models being unpotted.

Yes, it's heavy, but my Mom's 1979 Silverburst is over 11 pounds!!!
 
syscokid said:
Agree what you posted here. The two different tunings makes it psychologically hard for me to make a proper assessment of the tonal differences.
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When I lowered the pickups on the 2021 Les Paul, the character of the pickups changed significantly. @gball gave me some of his measurements as a starting point and I started experimenting.

The lower I moved the pickups, the clearer and more defined they became. This is a much different reaction than lowering my custom DiMarzio Neanderthal 16.5k AlNico9 humbucker, or other higher output humbuckers that I've worked with. When you lower the DiMarzio Neanderthal, it becomes thinner and weaker. But the Burstbuckers seem to become rounder, fuller and more articulate as I lower them and the BB's lose less volume when being lowered when compared to higher output pickups, IMHO.

The biggest change came when I began staggering the pole pieces.

I do understand that many feel this technique is moot, but I've been doing it for a while now and it makes a difference I can see on the VU meter.

Lowering the 'g' pole to just beneath the cover eliminates that harsh, 'jangle' effect on the unwound 'g' string, and this has been consistent among guitars from various builders and pickups from different manufacturers.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Sure don't envy you the weight. My back and shoulders aren't what they used to be.
My heaviest LP is 9.9lbs and I really feel it after awhile; that's become my least-played Paul.

Never seen a case like that. Must be a new style of latches for this

Don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but all factory-installed Burstbuckers are potted.
The aftermarket BBs are sold unpotted though.
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So, what would be the rationale behind this decision? Isnt unpotted pups a prescription for producing unwanted micro phonics and feedback?
 
Has Page (himself) ever talked about the T-Top installation and described what differences it brought to his tone?
Classicplayer
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I'm not aware of any specific comment he's made about it but obviously he was/is happy with the change to SD pickups.

Any 2 pickups used together cause frequency cancellation. As others note I find a hotter neck to bridge pickup enhances this effect, my CC&7 Shanks stock pickups for eg. I have BB, CB etc but they're not quite like a T Top with it's lower output, mid focused, clanky, nasal, twangy unpotted tone. All enhanced with 500+k pots as in my guitars.

Besides the obvious #1 LP check out the live '77 footage with TSRTS into The Rover / Sick Again all on the EDS1275.

There's an interview with Tim Mills of Bare Knuckle Pickups I recall:
"What’s the most unusual PAF pickup that you’ve ever encountered? “Probably the one in Jimmy Page’s Number One [Les Paul]. Jimmy sent Number One down here for us to have a look at – he was concerned that the neck pickup might fail. It was thought not to be original to the guitar, but was still an early PAF and it turned out to be fine. That one, when you played it, had the most hollow and woody Strat-like tone I’d ever come across in a neck pickup. When I measured it, it had a DC resistance of 8.97k, I seem to remember, which is extremely hot for a PAF. Normally, that would sound as thick as river mud!”


This live clip shows how clear and woody the neck pickup is, and when he switches to the middle the tonal shift is obvious. Such a radical hollowing out, almost sounding out of phase, but it's not. Unique is an understatement. Fascinating stuff. I'm a fan regardless what he's playing.

Daz


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I listened to this clip and I must admit, I don't think I ever recollect hearing this song or jimmy's guitar sound like it does in this recording. My guess is because it has been TOOOOOOOO Long since I heard or watched The Song Remains the same, and that I have not seen these Earl's court recordings.
 
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A great big congrats on that damn fine Lester Robert. Glad you found one that has no issues & ticks everything straight out of the case. Interesting that it came with the BB3 in the bridge position, though I think I'd prefer I that way. My Gibson's get the Faber tailpiece studs straight off too. Again, a great big congrats & enjoy. Cheers
 
ivan H said:
A great big congrats on that damn fine Lester Robert. Glad you found one that has no issues & ticks everything straight out of the case. Interesting that it came with the BB3 in the bridge position, though I think I'd prefer I that way. My Gibson's get the Faber tailpiece studs straight off too. Again, a great big congrats & enjoy. Cheers
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Thanks, Amigo!!@!!
 
Ok,

Played 2 hours today with our band. High volume....less than 4 feet from my amp...master on 7....throttling the amp with the FV30L....

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No feedback issues at all.... :-)

I got so many compliments on the tone that I was shocked...and everyone in the band plays a Gibson, so they are not easily wowed.

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So far, the Gold Top has exceeded all my expectations with nothing more than a pickup lowering/balancing and pole piece adjustment.

I have no plans to mod it.

And...here's an update on the double neck.

I have never loved the tone from my DoubleNeck. It's been 'ok,' but never great. I've been through many sets of pickups in it, including Lollar, Virgil Arlo's and Thro-Bak's.

Recently, I got a brand new set of Gibson 490's from @ChasFred for it. They were decent, but just didn't grab me.

The double neck tends to be a little dark anyways, so I experimented by soldering 2 .047uf caps together and affixing them to the bridge pickup signal wire.

I then lowered the pickups significantly and adjusted the pole pieces to achieve string to string volume level balance.

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This is the first time I have ever loved the sound I was getting out of the double neck....and the comments tell me I'm that not imagining the improvement.

Another session coming up at 5pm. More updates to follow...
 
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Session is halfway over. Goldtop is bring home the mail....

The waveform looks very different. The Planet Tone Afterburner has a very solid waveform, almost like a paintbrush stroke, with very defined edges.

The Planet Tone Afterburner is shown in the bottom 3 waveforms.

The Burstbucker 3 is shown in the next two waveforms up. The BB3 is nearly filling the entire waveform, but the volume level is almost identical to the Planet Tone Afterburner tracks we laid down last week.

Screenshot_20211120-220225_Messenger.jpg
 
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Robert Herndon said:
Session is halfway over. Goldtop is bring home the mail....

The waveform looks very different. The Planet Tone Afterburner has a very solid waveform, almost like a paintbrush stroke, with very defined edges.

The Planet Tone Afterburner is shown in the bottom 3 waveforms.

The Burstbucker 3 is shown in the next two waveforms up. The BB3 is nearly filling the entire waveform, but the volume level is almost identical to the Planet Tone Afterburner tracks we laid down last week.

View attachment 76077
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Just an observation….pure speculation…no offense meant.

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When I say “clipped”, I’m referring to clipping the input/preamp/whatever…not necessarily a “bad” thing, depending upon the pre…
 
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