OP
Gibson Changing It's Pickups???
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Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
that's all fascinating stuff.. I apparently stand corrected.
It's hard for me to believe that Gibson would reduce the resistance of the 490T
but that's what they seem to have done, for reasons of their own. *shrugs
Does anybody know when Gibson began using the numbered designations, such as 490R
and 498T etc... My feeling was that this began in the 90s, but maybe it started earlier.
In the '70s they were mostly T-tops, with names like "Original Humbucker", or "Super Humbucker"
or "Velvet Brick" etc. In the eighties they were Tim Shaw pickups after Gibson was bought by
Henry J and his buddies, but did these have numbers on them? Bill Lawrence came back
to work for Gibson for a while in the 80s, and some Lawrence humbuckers were stock on
Gibsons then.
I am curious about when Gibson began referring to their pickups with the numbers.
Dirty Fingers p'ups have been around for a while.
It's hard for me to believe that Gibson would reduce the resistance of the 490T
but that's what they seem to have done, for reasons of their own. *shrugs
Does anybody know when Gibson began using the numbered designations, such as 490R
and 498T etc... My feeling was that this began in the 90s, but maybe it started earlier.
In the '70s they were mostly T-tops, with names like "Original Humbucker", or "Super Humbucker"
or "Velvet Brick" etc. In the eighties they were Tim Shaw pickups after Gibson was bought by
Henry J and his buddies, but did these have numbers on them? Bill Lawrence came back
to work for Gibson for a while in the 80s, and some Lawrence humbuckers were stock on
Gibsons then.
I am curious about when Gibson began referring to their pickups with the numbers.
Dirty Fingers p'ups have been around for a while.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Seems they are always evolving things a little. I get the sense that lower output pickups are in vogue right now so they are taming them a bit to adapt, and I do think it was the '90's that they started using the numerical designations. Seems PRS has been focusing on lower output pickups lately too - and they were historically known for their high-output ceramics, like the HFS and Tremonti.
I do like Gibson pickups. They are among my favorites. I like the tone of A2 magnets best, so '57's are my friend, but I do like all Gibson pickups for different reasons.
Man, do I wish Gibson would reissue the T-Top!!
I do like Gibson pickups. They are among my favorites. I like the tone of A2 magnets best, so '57's are my friend, but I do like all Gibson pickups for different reasons.
Man, do I wish Gibson would reissue the T-Top!!
OP
As long as it wasn't a real, unpotted, squealing T-top....
ivan H
Ambassador of Tubes & Grooves
I also would like to see the T top offered again. The reason the 57+ is out of my SG at the moment is so I could try a T top type pickup. I have bought a few custom pickups off the winder in the past, he's been winding pickups for 3 decades, uses all the correct materials & does a good job, so when he recently had a 25% off with free shipping offer I asked him to do me a slightly overwound T top. Wound to about 8.8k (1.2k overwound). Even so, it has a clear, clean tone. Broarder tone than the 57+, better lows & more top end without being harsh at all, nice top end. Its also tighter, which I like. Has good note attack & definition. When pushing the amp hard ('68 spec 50 watt Marshall clone/greenbacks), it gets a good, clean type "crunch" (not "hairy"). With the burstbucker 2 that was originally in th SG bridge, or the 57+ classic & above mentioned amp I had no trouble dialling in an early Angus type tone, however this pickups seems to do it better. I used it last Friday night at proper volume & was quite impressed. So yes, going on this pickup I would also like to see a proper T top available again. Cheers
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Haha! That's exactly what I want. Just like the originals...I love the way unpotted pickups sound. There is just something primal about them when you dime an amp and are fighting with the thing to not squeal and feedback uncontrollably.
OP
I hear no difference in their tone...whether vintage or potted modern counterparts....providing impedance is the same...just the uncontrollable, microphonic feedback.
I don't like fighting to get through (2) two hour sets...too much effort.
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OP
I just recently gave away a pair of vintage T-tops to a musician friend if mine. I have no use for that stuff.....i also recently dumped my shoe box of Fralin, Bare Knuckles, Lawrence and other "gimmick" pickups on E-Bay that did not live up to the winner's exaggerated claims....
OP
I used to spend big bucks on designer pickups and I found them no better than Carvins.....
ivan H
Ambassador of Tubes & Grooves
This is more or less what the pickup winder I spoke of earlier has said to me on a few occasions. He will supply pickups either way but recommends unpotted unless using high gain. One thing though, with covered pickups, even unpotted, he damps the cover with wax as he says its a source of microphonics. Cheers
OP
I only run about 1/2 gain and I use no distortion pedals, EVER...but I play at very high volume levels at times. In the studio, you can get away with just about anything....filter out noise, boost track volume during mixdown...you can even find the frequency of a particular hum or buzz and filter it out of the mix, to some extent....
With potted pickups, I like to have them potted upside down, so the wax fills the entire cover....
OP
Smart winder....lose adjustment springs will also cause microphonics....
OP
Gibson introduced the P90 in 1946....The original 'PAF' was produced from 1955 until 1959, when the patent was finally issued. The Gibson "Dirty Fingers" first appeared in the 1980's and the first mention of a 490 was in a 1979 Gibson catalog....Mini humbuckers were released in 1993...the Burtsbucker Pro was released in 2005
In the mid 1970's, Gibson release the Gibson L-6S Custom Pickup, designed by Bill Lawrence and also the "Tarbacks" as some were known. Series VI Humbuckers appeared in the 1977 Gibson catalog.
Gibson part number 13076. The Velvet Brick was an exposed-coil "super hot" humbucker - described in 1980 Gibson literature as a "bitch of a pickup".
Gibson part PU380. The PU380 single coil is often referred to as a Melody Maker pickup...it was fitted to over 96000 Gibson, Epiphone and Kalamazoo guitars between 1959 and 1970. When you consider that many of these guitars had two or even three pickups, it is clear that Gibson produced these pickups in very large numbers.
The Gibson Sonex-180 Deluxe Pickup, Part numbers 13248 (neck) and 13249 (bridge) 7.6kΩ/7.7kΩ were in fact a lower-cost unit produced in Japan by Samick.
Tim Shaw developed a number of humbuckers for Gibson in the late 1970s/early 1980s, including the Magna II; again an exposed coil 'zebra stripe' cream/black unit, although the very earliest examples had black formers only. The Magna II was not widely used, and unlike the majority of better known pickups of the time, was not promoted as an upgrade/replacement part in Gibson literature.
The Velvet Brick was an exposed coil humbucker with contrasting coloured cream/black formers, the black coil having adjustable pole pieces. Designed by Gibson's Tim Shaw, for use in a number of guitars: in the bridge position of Firebrand series SG Standard and Deluxe from 1980, and in the neck position of the Gibson Victory MV2 from 1981.
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Which mini-humbuckers are you talking about?
The Les Paul Deluxe in 1969 had mini-humbuckers.
I have minis in my 1974 SG.
Of course, there is the Firebird-type mini-humbucker, which dates back to the introduction of the Firebird in 1963. But, these are rather different from the minis used in the Les Paul Deluxe and the type I have in my '74.
Are you talking about some reissue mini-humbucker?
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OP
I'm not sure, as the book only gave me what information I posted....regarding the 1993 Min-Humbuckers...
OP
I see.
I have a lovely piece of mahogany from 1974 with some nice mini-humbuckers that would like to disagree with the author!
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Okay, so how many of you remember my '74 SG Special, "The Kraken", (see below) from the other forum?
I told him about this statement that mini-humbuckers supposedly weren't introduced until 1993.
Well, let me tell you, he is not the LEAST bit happy about it! He's actually quite cranky, right now. He's tearing at his food (large live rodents and small domestic pets) much more viciously than normal. He would like this scurrilous rumor ceased, once and for all.
Thank you.
I told him about this statement that mini-humbuckers supposedly weren't introduced until 1993.
Well, let me tell you, he is not the LEAST bit happy about it! He's actually quite cranky, right now. He's tearing at his food (large live rodents and small domestic pets) much more viciously than normal. He would like this scurrilous rumor ceased, once and for all.
Thank you.
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ivan H
Ambassador of Tubes & Grooves
I always thought that mini humbucker were invented by Epiphone. Not sure when Gibson first started using them, but when did the firebird come out, early to mid 60's? Not sure when the firebird started coming out with mini hums as they were available with P90's, humbuckers & mini humbuckers but I think they used them early on. Cheers