Gibson Pickups?

[Ozopart]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I searched the forum and couldn't find anything. I am thinking of doing a LP type build, either Regal or VIP body, not sure yet. My question is on Humbucker pickups. Has anyone here use Humbuckers from Gibson? Are they "good" or considered good options for a Warmoth build? My issue is there are just so many types and manufacturers of Humbuckers that I don't know how to start. I know that narrowing things down requires me deciding on what sound I want, but for now my question is just whether Gibson made pickups are considered on the part with pickups from other companies like Seymour Dunan, Fralin, etc.
Thanks and sorry again in advance if this question has already been asked and answered.

 

[BroccoliRob]

the 500t and 496r make a great combo if u like it HOT

 

[Ozopart]

the 500t and 496r make a great combo if u like it HOT

Thanks, reasonably priced also.

 

[ragamuffin]

There's definitely nothing wrong with Gibson pickups: usually when people replace the pickups in their Gibson guitars it's because they're looking for a different sound, not necessarily an "upgrade".

Personally I wouldn't pay the "new" price of Gibson pickups, but you can get them for a very reasonable price used.

What kind of sound are you looking for out of your humbuckers? What guitars have you played that you liked the sound of and what pickups were in them? Pickups are arguably the most important part of how your guitar will sound, so you want to find the right ones for you.

 

[Ozopart]

There's definitely nothing wrong with Gibson pickups: usually when people replace the pickups in their Gibson guitars it's because they're looking for a different sound, not necessarily an "upgrade".

Personally I wouldn't pay the "new" price of Gibson pickups, but you can get them for a very reasonable price used.

What kind of sound are you looking for out of your humbuckers? What guitars have you played that you liked the sound of and what pickups were in them? Pickups are arguably the most important part of how your guitar will sound, so you want to find the right ones for you.

Hard to say what sound I am looking for yet. Not to be vague but really I am looking for my own sound, not to emulate any known musician. Not metal or grunge really, more blues, americana and rock. Hard to describe what I hear in my head but it is more open and airy as opposed to hard and distorted. Sorry for not being able to articulate that better.
As to guitars I have played, they include a 1960's LP, late 1950's Telecaster, and my current Warmoth Strat build with Fralin single coil pickups.

 

[ragamuffin]

There's definitely nothing wrong with Gibson pickups: usually when people replace the pickups in their Gibson guitars it's because they're looking for a different sound, not necessarily an "upgrade".

Personally I wouldn't pay the "new" price of Gibson pickups, but you can get them for a very reasonable price used.

What kind of sound are you looking for out of your humbuckers? What guitars have you played that you liked the sound of and what pickups were in them? Pickups are arguably the most important part of how your guitar will sound, so you want to find the right ones for you.

Hard to say what sound I am looking for yet. Not to be vague but really I am looking for my own sound, not to emulate any known musician. Not metal or grunge really, more blues, americana and rock. Hard to describe what I hear in my head but it is more open and airy as opposed to hard and distorted. Sorry for not being able to articulate that better.
As to guitars I have played, they include a 1960's LP, late 1950's Telecaster, and my current Warmoth Strat build with Fralin single coil pickups.

Ok so it sounds like you'd want more of a low-mid output "p.a.f." type humbucker. In that case in Gibson's lineup you'd be looking at the Burstbuckers or 57 Classics.

Another winder that's relatively cheap and makes great p.a.f.s is Vineham pickups http://www.vineham.com/humbucker_pickups.html
I've tried their "Whiskey Burner" before and I have a set of "Vivids" that are going to go in my next build.

 

[Ozopart]

There's definitely nothing wrong with Gibson pickups: usually when people replace the pickups in their Gibson guitars it's because they're looking for a different sound, not necessarily an "upgrade".

Personally I wouldn't pay the "new" price of Gibson pickups, but you can get them for a very reasonable price used.

What kind of sound are you looking for out of your humbuckers? What guitars have you played that you liked the sound of and what pickups were in them? Pickups are arguably the most important part of how your guitar will sound, so you want to find the right ones for you.

Hard to say what sound I am looking for yet. Not to be vague but really I am looking for my own sound, not to emulate any known musician. Not metal or grunge really, more blues, americana and rock. Hard to describe what I hear in my head but it is more open and airy as opposed to hard and distorted. Sorry for not being able to articulate that better.
As to guitars I have played, they include a 1960's LP, late 1950's Telecaster, and my current Warmoth Strat build with Fralin single coil pickups.

Ok so it sounds like you'd want more of a low-mid output "p.a.f." type humbucker. In that case in Gibson's lineup you'd be looking at the Burstbuckers or 57 Classics

I will look into those. Just wondering, where do you find used pickups like the ones you mention? Hopefully not Amazon.  :sad1:

 

[ragamuffin]

I will look into those. Just wondering, where do you find used pickups like the ones you mention? Hopefully not Amazon.  :sad1:

Ebay or Reverb for used parts. You can also scan the classifieds of larger guitar forums like The Gear Page and find some good deals sometimes

 

[Ozopart]

I will look into those. Just wondering, where do you find used pickups like the ones you mention? Hopefully not Amazon.  :sad1:

Ebay or Reverb for used parts. You can also scan the classifieds of larger guitar forums like The Gear Page and find some good deals sometimes

Thanks, I haven't ever used Ebay but I guess they couldn't have been in business this long if buying there wasn't "safe". The Vineham pickups look nice also. I assume they are made in the Canada? Anyway, thanks for the help; much appreciated!

 

[ragamuffin]

I will look into those. Just wondering, where do you find used pickups like the ones you mention? Hopefully not Amazon.  :sad1:

Ebay or Reverb for used parts. You can also scan the classifieds of larger guitar forums like The Gear Page and find some good deals sometimes

Thanks, I haven't ever used Ebay but I guess they couldn't have been in business this long if buying there wasn't "safe". The Vineham pickups look nice also. I assume they are made in the USA? Anyway, thanks for the help; much appreciated!

Your welcome! The Vinehams are actually made in Canada

 

[mayfly]

Newfy pickups!  I love it!!

 

[Re-Pete]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I searched the forum and couldn't find anything. I am thinking of doing a LP type build, either Regal or VIP body, not sure yet. My question is on Humbucker pickups. Has anyone here use Humbuckers from Gibson? Are they "good" or considered good options for a Warmoth build? My issue is there are just so many types and manufacturers of Humbuckers that I don't know how to start. I know that narrowing things down requires me deciding on what sound I want, but for now my question is just whether Gibson made pickups are considered on the part with pickups from other companies like Seymour Dunan, Fralin, etc.
Thanks and sorry again in advance if this question has already been asked and answered.

Hi Ozopart,
I own a 2019 Gibson SG 61 standard Originals with Gibson Burstbucker 61R & 61T pickups in them.
To my pleasant surprise the pickups are an open sounding humbucker, not as dark as I would expect. I am not sure if that's the pickups themselves OR the lack of body mass around them due to the SG design but it matches what I wanted in an SG sound.

 

[Circadian]

There's definitely nothing wrong with Gibson pickups: usually when people replace the pickups in their Gibson guitars it's because they're looking for a different sound, not necessarily an "upgrade".

Personally I wouldn't pay the "new" price of Gibson pickups, but you can get them for a very reasonable price used.

What kind of sound are you looking for out of your humbuckers? What guitars have you played that you liked the sound of and what pickups were in them? Pickups are arguably the most important part of how your guitar will sound, so you want to find the right ones for you.

Hard to say what sound I am looking for yet. Not to be vague but really I am looking for my own sound, not to emulate any known musician. Not metal or grunge really, more blues, americana and rock. Hard to describe what I hear in my head but it is more open and airy as opposed to hard and distorted. Sorry for not being able to articulate that better.
As to guitars I have played, they include a 1960's LP, late 1950's Telecaster, and my current Warmoth Strat build with Fralin single coil pickups.

I’d say to check out the Gibson Burstbuckers. I have them set up on one of my guitars and I love their versatility. One thing to keep in mind is that pickup tone can vary depending on their placement in the guitar body. So, when you hear what pickups sound like on one guitar, the tone will change slightly if they are installed on a guitar with different placement.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I have a set of Gibson Burstbucker Pro in one of my strats and they're very nice for me.
It's easy to get a howling solo sound with a little but of gain. Clean sound is decent also and would be better with a higher action than I have it set up with now. Dynamic / touch sensitivity is very nice for me with these pups and the way I have the guitar set up.

Here's an audio sample using Gutar Rig 5.
Clean sound on the intro an outro is both pickups.
Faster part - Crunchy solo sound is bridge and then on the second half of the fast part changes to both pickups again.

https://soundcloud.com/steve_karl/water-lilies?in=steve_karl/sets/guitar

and on this one it's all the neck pickup - also Guitar Rig 5 but with a different EQ.

https://soundcloud.com/steve_karl/the-tonic-pulse?in=steve_karl/sets/guitar

 

[Ozopart]

I have a set of Gibson Burstbucker Pro in one of my strats and they're very nice for me.
It's easy to get a howling solo sound with a little but of gain. Clean sound is decent also and would be better with a higher action than I have it set up with now. Dynamic / touch sensitivity is very nice for me with these pups and the way I have the guitar set up.

Here's an audio sample using Gutar Rig 5.
Clean sound on the intro an outro is both pickups.
Faster part - Crunchy solo sound is bridge and then on the second half of the fast part changes to both pickups again.

https://soundcloud.com/steve_karl/water-lilies?in=steve_karl/sets/guitar

and on this one it's all the neck pickup - also Guitar Rig 5 but with a different EQ.

https://soundcloud.com/steve_karl/the-tonic-pulse?in=steve_karl/sets/guitar

Thanks Steve, both compositions are very nice. The pickups sound good for sure. Since I inquired about the Gibson pickups I changed direction a bit. I have a Warmoth Tele body on order. HH with Chambered body and F Hole, with rear rout, and strat wiring rout. For my Warmoth Strat that I built this year I ordered a prewired pickguard from Fralin. For this one I was considering working with Fralin to prewire the harness to accomodate things like series, parallel, phases, coil split, etc. Basically I am trying to get a variety of sounds from one build, if possible. I am new to the wiring and soldering but now considering ordering parts and trying to do the wiring for the HH configuration of the Tele with Strat controls. I figure I have probably 3 months to wait for the body so in that time I can play around with the wiring and soldering and learn. If all else fails, in the end I can get Fralin to do the wiring. I would then just have to solder in the pickups as with rear rout there is no way to prewire everything like on my top rout strat.
Anyway, I appreciate your respone and your playing and composition are excellent. I aspire to get more creative in terms of both as time passes. Something to look forward to. Cheers!

 

[Steve_Karl]

Thanks Ozopart.
Good plan ... following what you hear inside.

 

[Ksmith6279]

I have been using a BurstBucker 3 in my LP Junior and I really like it a lot. All around tone is very good. Definitely worth it if you are looking for great all around pickup.

 

[jay4321]

Gibson has made a ton of good pickups, but who hasn't? I'm seeing and hearing examples of great pickups even on mid-range import Gretsches and Schecters these days, very recently I heard newer Epiphone pickups with the covers removed that sounded great.

I don't know where you are on your journey, but I would tell my younger self to just grab a ziplock bag's worth of used bridge pickups as cheap as you can find them, based on the players you like who are using them, try them all and take notes, email a few non-expensive manufacturers for recommendations based on your notes. pick those up and try them too. Pick a favorite and try to find a match with the neck (or start with the neck if your main pickup). Then adjust your amp and other gear and carry on.

I won't say pickup hunting is a waste of time, perfecting your thing always important, but for most of us it's kind of like trying to find the best brand of shampoo. There's definitely diminishing returns and better things to do after a certain point. I bet I could have taken a graduate course with the time I've invested in the things and paid for a couple more. 

Gibson pickups... overall, I think compare fine with humbuckers you'd get from the more common manufacturers. Mnay times they sound great stock with he models they appear in but I wouldn't pay a premium to acquire them though. I would narrow down what you're hunting for sound-wise even if not trying to emulate anybody. Give a half dozen youtube examples of what you think a good guitar sound is or at least what you're hoping to get near with this guitar project, would probably help you most.

Plus you'll have to figure out where you are on things like versatility, some people want a guitar that can cover a range where others tends to keep it simple on each individual guitar. In the earlier case you might be looking at humbuckers not just for their normal use case, but also for what they sound like coil tapped or split. That's not really my way but a lot of Warmoth folks have setups like that who could probably help you avoid some that wouldn't work.