Les Paul Wiring - Partial Jimmy Page Rig:

gball said:
Okay, so you are not trying to ape Page's tone, you just want the phasing options like he had in #2? Cos most of his tone was from #1, which didn't have the switching - that unique sound was a PAF neck and T-Top bridge (from '72 on) played in the middle position, not from phase switching.
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My Mom's 1979 has T-Tops. They are nice pickups, not enough gain though....

A colleague just paid quite a good deal ($750.00) for a pair of T-Tops from a well know (here anyways) collector.
 
Never saw a potted T-Top. Joe B has plexiglass between him and his amps to dampen the squeal- he says it's a normal part of a vintage Gibson.

Mom's 79 are covered. My music colleague just bought uncovered variants...
 
I just ordered the CTS pots from Art Of Tone in Ventura. Hand picked 525-540k. They are so cool. I buy from them often. Tones are push/pull with standard volumes.

Also got the correct Kluson conversion bushings for the tuners.

I'll be using all of Kevin Paul's stuff, including a VOS Gibson aluminum tailpiece...all my guitars have aluminum stop bars.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Never saw a potted T-Top. Joe B has plexiglass between him and his amps to dampen the squeal- he says it's a normal part of a vintage Gibson.

Mom's 79 are covered. My music colleague just bought uncovered variants...
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WOAH, $750. I guess I stole mine at half that.

I was presuming his AND mine were unwax potted, but had read a thread elsewhere where a guy asked about this and when and if it started in that model pup.

The Les Paul Forum

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Unpotted Picups on Gibsons

What is Wax Potting? (for those not aware) Answer: When a coil has been wound it is immersed in a mixture of paraffin and bees wax to solidify the coils and help guard against microphonic feedback. unpotted- Old vintage sound as original 50′s PAF pickups. Partially microphonic (like a microphone)...
forum.gibson.com
 
Interesting, Robert.

My EPI LP with the T Tops hasn't been able to go into HI Overdrive air time as of yet due to my Laney AOR being lunch for mice and needing repairs. It also still has the original Alpha pots, Epi wiring, caps and Switches.
Dang guitar does sound great for when it started out as a $350 mom n pop store Gibson Asian built model.
Hey I just saw you say mom's Custom is a 79 too. My pups are as well. AND so was my original LP STD
 
Robert Herndon said:
Mom's original 79 Custom sounds GREAT as long as its clean. Hit overdrive and it squeaks like a pig....
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Something's wrong with it then. Every guitar I've ever owned with T-Tops (including my current 79 LPC) has absolutely destroyed at high volume. And, I can stand directly in front of a dimed amp and it's dead-a$$ quiet.

I can say, unequivocally, that T-Tops are the best pickups I have ever used for high volume/high gain. Nothing else has ever even come close, and I have tried everything over the years.
I should also add that potting ruins the sound of pickups IMO. Unpotted is always better-sounding.
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Interesting, Robert.

My EPI LP with the T Tops hasn't been able to go into HI Overdrive air time as of yet due to my Laney AOR being lunch for mice and needing repairs. It also still has the original Alpha pots, Epi wiring, caps and Switches.
Dang guitar does sound great for when it started out as a $350 mom n pop store Gibson Asian built model.
Hey I just saw you say mom's Custom is a 79 too. My pups are as well. AND so was my original LP STD
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I got a guy from Fresno considering buying it from Mom. He bought her 58 Les Paul in 2015.

She also has an old Gibson acoustic and a Gibson banjo.
 
gball said:
Something's wrong with it then. Every guitar I've ever owned with T-Tops (including my current 79 LPC) has absolutely destroyed at high volume. And, I can stand directly in front of a dimed amp and it's dead-a$$ quiet.

I can say, unequivocally, that T-Tops are the best pickups I have ever used for high volume/high gain. Nothing else has ever even come close, and I have tried everything over the years.
I should also add that potting ruins the sound of pickups IMO. Unpotted is always better-sounding.
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Wow. That's cool. Joe B says different, but it doesn't matter. I arrange the sale of vintage Gibson's, but I dont get emotionally attached to them. I'm not a brand loyalty guy...I'm much more into being paid for playing, as that's my main income source.
 
Today I pulled some very tough, small diameter wire from an oxygen sensor. It's a braided conductor, quite flexible, with a tough, high heat jacket that is unaffected by soldering heat. It also retains its shape when bent!!!! 5 colors too!!!!
 
gball said:
Something's wrong with it then. Every guitar I've ever owned with T-Tops (including my current 79 LPC) has absolutely destroyed at high volume. And, I can stand directly in front of a dimed amp and it's dead-a$$ quiet.

I can say, unequivocally, that T-Tops are the best pickups I have ever used for high volume/high gain. Nothing else has ever even come close, and I have tried everything over the years.
I should also add that potting ruins the sound of pickups IMO. Unpotted is always better-sounding.
Click to expand...

Robert Herndon said:
Wow. That's cool. Joe B says different, but it doesn't matter. I arrange the sale of vintage Gibson's, but I dont get emotionally attached to them. I'm not a brand loyalty guy...I'm much more into being paid for playing, as that's my main income source.
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You’re both right.

Joe B. made the comment about a vintage instrument. As I understand it, he wasn’t necessarily making a general evaluation of T-Tops, as a rule.

The coil windings and the tape that holds the windings in place can relax over time and the pickups can become microphonic.

This happened with the mini-humbucker in the neck position of my ‘74 SG. It became microphonic, while the bridge stayed just fine. Just one of those things. Two pickups of the same age in the same guitar. One went microphonic; the other one didn’t. So, yeah...it can happen in older instruments.

I did pot the neck pickup in my SG and it fixed the microphonics, but @gball is right. Potting a pickup does take a little “sumthin’” away from a pickup.
 
smitty_p said:
You’re both right.

Joe B. made the comment about a vintage instrument. As I understand it, he wasn’t necessarily making a general evaluation of T-Tops, as a rule.

The coil windings and the tape that holds the windings in place can relax over time and the pickups can become microphonic.

This happened with the mini-humbucker in the neck position of my ‘74 SG. It became microphonic, while the bridge stayed just fine. Just one of those things. Two pickups of the same age in the same guitar. One went microphonic; the other one didn’t. So, yeah...it can happen in older instruments.

I did pot the neck pickup in my SG and it fixed the microphonics, but @gball is right. Potting a pickup does take a little “sumthin’” away from a pickup.
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I've read that potting makes a pickup less responsive. Ive never noticed. I do feel as though covers make a pickup less responsive, so it could very well be true. I play a lot of vintage instruments for repairs and inspection/evaluation. I have yet to find any old guitars - whether they be Gibson or Fender - that have any noteworthy attributes, other than the fact they are old and worth considerable money.

Typically, 'vintage' is a term that refers to our acceptance of anomalies for the sake of an instrument being vintage.

I know guys like Joe B....with a house full of vintage gear and, if not for the permissible eccentricity, afforded them by their income level, they would be on 'Hoarders.'

This one squeals and has a non-functional neck pickup with sky high action, but glory be, it's a 1957 Les Paul and we shall worship it.

That's cool and all of course, but not my thing.

The guys I know who hoard all this ridiculously priced vintage gear are never happy it seems. Joe B. actually plays these guitars and he's one of the few who gigs with the vintage equipment.

Of course, it's only opinions and conclusions after all....
 
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