New Guitar Gibson Medallion “V”

Then maybe you’ll like a T-Top?

Probably not. I was just curious what makes them different. The only Gibson PAF I like is the 490T.

After many years of trial and error I have found my go to pickups. The Wolfetone Fenris or Timbre Wolfe, same pickup different magnets. And the JWP Godwood/darkburst set or the Darkburst set. It just depends on the guitar, it tells me which one of those it likes best for the bridge, but the JWP Darkburst neck pickup is my favorite and it pairs pefectly with all of the above mentioned bridge pickups.
 
Probably not. I was just curious what makes them different. The only Gibson PAF I like is the 490T.

After many years of trial and error I have found my go to pickups. The Wolfetone Fenris or Timbre Wolfe, same pickup different magnets. And the JWP Godwood/darkburst set or the Darkburst set. It just depends on the guitar, it tells me which one of those it likes best for the bridge, but the JWP Darkburst neck pickup is my favorite and it pairs pefectly with all of the above mentioned bridge pickups.
As this was the way of things back then…now we have legend to guide us, and ears to decide with.
 
Probably not. I was just curious what makes them different. The only Gibson PAF I like is the 490T.

After many years of trial and error I have found my go to pickups. The Wolfetone Fenris or Timbre Wolfe, same pickup different magnets. And the JWP Godwood/darkburst set or the Darkburst set. It just depends on the guitar, it tells me which one of those it likes best for the bridge, but the JWP Darkburst neck pickup is my favorite and it pairs pefectly with all of the above mentioned bridge pickups.
I don’t like the 490T for some reason.
 
That is cool Jeff , thanks. I will look into all of that.
I remember a few years back one of pickup winders ( not sure which one) was supposed to have great T /Top pickups , the catch was , they were $500. I could get custom shop SD for less than $200 however they don’t seem to know the magic behind the T-Top. If they do, they didn’t share with me on my custom shop wound.
Well, I'd recommend Rewind as they are amazing, but he jacked up his prices to near a $1000, took a bunch of people's money over the past few years and then never delivered. There's a whole saga over at the My Les Paul forum about his " rise to fame and fall to shame" . I bought mine 11 years ago and they were under $300 and more than worth that. He did have the mags and metals custom formulated from originals that had to be destroyed, and he was doing that with his PAFs too (destroying real PAF pickups, to clone them exactly).....thus why his prices went insane.

That said, there are several good sets out there for reasonable prices. I think Wolfe(tone) has the wind right, but he does NOT like the original short mags, so he ships with the full length, full strength A5, which makes them sound different/too bright. I pulled the short mags from my Rewinds and put those in my wolfetones and that was the magic combo. They sound very close to the best originals I've played (which were in a 74 Standard). Wolfes are limited production and he has only run two or three small batches over the past 8 or 9 years. I also used some of his degaussed full length A5 magnets in his T tops and they sound great too.

Brandonwound still winds (new owner), and his are also very reasonably priced and do have the right magnets. I've not tried them personally, but they are highly regarded as authentic sounding (and looking) clones. They have a youtube channel with a bunch of interesting videos on repairs of vintage pickups and demos of their own.

Vineham (in Canada) and Manlius (in NY state) also get good press for great sounding T top clones. Both very reasonably priced. Again, I have not tried. Just the scuttlebutt.
 
View attachment 112018
View attachment 112019I got my first Gibson V because of KKs medallion V ... I almost put a medallion in mine.

As far as pickups... I don't even like the T's. The 490t and the 498t are underpowered and plain vanilla to my ears.
Now the 500t is a winner! It's very close to the DiMarzio Super D and also similar to the Seymour Duncan SH6/TB6 Distortion.

In my humble opinion, SH6 > SuperD > 500t

I've sold or traded off every single Gibson pickup I've owned (there may be a couple still on my shelf to get rid of ) because Duncan just makes way better pickups.

I did like the BB3s fwiw.

If y'all like the 490t, you'd love a Pearly Gates. Sassy and rich but not high gain/output.
We are talking about T tops from the 60s and 70s. Not the T(reble) spaced pickups Gibson has been building since the late 1980s/1990s (490T/498T/500T). Apples and Oranges.
 
Well, I'd recommend Rewind as they are amazing, but he jacked up his prices to near a $1000, took a bunch of people's money over the past few years and then never delivered. There's a whole saga over at the My Les Paul forum about his " rise to fame and fall to shame" . I bought mine 11 years ago and they were under $300 and more than worth that. He did have the mags and metals custom formulated from originals that had to be destroyed, and he was doing that with his PAFs too (destroying real PAF pickups, to clone them exactly).....thus why his prices went insane.

That said, there are several good sets out there for reasonable prices. I think Wolfe(tone) has the wind right, but he does NOT like the original short mags, so he ships with the full length, full strength A5, which makes them sound different/too bright. I pulled the short mags from my Rewinds and put those in my wolfetones and that was the magic combo. They sound very close to the best originals I've played (which were in a 74 Standard). Wolfes are limited production and he has only run two or three small batches over the past 8 or 9 years. I also used some of his degaussed full length A5 magnets in his T tops and they sound great too.

Brandonwound still winds (new owner), and his are also very reasonably priced and do have the right magnets. I've not tried them personally, but they are highly regarded as authentic sounding (and looking) clones. They have a youtube channel with a bunch of interesting videos on repairs of vintage pickups and demos of their own.

Vineham (in Canada) and Manlius (in NY state) also get good press for great sounding T top clones. Both very reasonably priced. Again, I have not tried. Just the scuttlebutt.


I have Manlius pickups in several of my guitars and can say that Mick does an excellent job with all his different styles. I've turned a few people on to him, and believe thatbastarddon has a set of Mick's T-Tops in one of his guitars. MIck's prices are very reasonable, and he listens to his customers. You can discuss with him what guitar and it's construction will have the pickups installed, as well as the sound you're searching for. Most sets are wound per order, so if you want something a bit hotter, clearer, or any other request, he can deliver.
 
I wished for this , even posted it some FB posts (maybe some saw the post ) The most iconic dream guitar on my list.


View attachment 111952
A very worthy Gibson for a Reissue… :cool:
 
I've turned a few people on to him, and believe thatbastarddon has a set of Mick's T-Tops in one of his guitars. MIck's prices are very reasonable, and he listens to his customers
I have a Manlius T-Top tribute in neck position, and the slightly overwound version he calls Vinyl at the bridge, in this The SG Deluxe…
1784326533053.jpeg
They are fantastic (IMO), and sound very much like I had envisioned they would. I do spend a fair share of time on the neck pickup, or both, with the style of playing that I’ve been into lately…with and without a treble booster….and/or fuzz.
These were not my first from Manlius. I have a few other guitars that are equipped with a couple/few different models. I have a couple of his Asphalt pickups, a couple of hot wound Fat Goat humbucker sized P-90s, and a set of Goat’s Growl actual P-90s…
 
Back
Top