Strange pickups

[woj74]

I've been given for installation quite unusual pickups. Clear covers filled by clear epoxy or similar thing. The humbucker indicates 5,3k resistance while that single coil, don't know if it's a single coil in fact, shows 2,3k resistance. Any idea what pickups are they? Thanks for any info.

 

[pabloman]

Those would be some Bill Lawrence Gibson Marauder pickups from the looks of it.  Single in the bridge and humbler in the neck.  :headbang1:

 

[OzziePete]

Those would be some Bill Lawrence Gibson Marauder pickups from the looks of it.  Single in the bridge and humbler in the neck.  :headbang1:

+1, that was what I thinking... made for Gibson designed by Bill Lawrence when he worked for them.

I played some Marauders when they were first released in the 1970s (yes I am that old) and wasn't impressed with the guitar or their sound. Maybe in another guitar body and neck configuration the pickups might sound better than I recall. Humbucker was muddy and the single coil was too beefy sounding to challenge the Telecaster bridge pickups in twang or bite. The worse thing about the Marauder was the fact that, at the time, Gibson had some real Quality Control issues and the ones I tried out in stores were horrible playing guitars. You might have to rout out the single coil rout larger to accomodate that single coil - it looks fatter than the usual Strat or Tele. In fact I was so unimpressed by this Gibson that I took a cheap Hondo Les Paul flat top and punked it up a few years later in response to the quality of the Gibsons going around at that time. I joked too, that the only time you'd catch me playing a Marauder was if it was the last song in a set and I was about to do a Pete Townshend to the guitar at the end of the set - that's all I felt those guitars were worth. I'd be quite happy if I never saw one of those Marauders again. Bill Lawrence might be a genius with pickup design and so on, but this has to be one of his 'misses', irrespective of whether Gibson's poor QC was the main culprit in production, the design and resultant sound is not good either.

 

[woj74]

Thanks a lot for the right path. In fact, the guitar i'm supposed to install them looks exactly like the one shown by pabloman (just different cherry finish) and no logo an the headstock. That guitar has been previously fitted with new pickguard and humbuckers but the owner is not happy with them so he asked me to mount those "aliens". I will talk to him and try to persuade that's a poor choice. Especially that those pickups need extra routing of the pickugard and the result seems to be not satisfactory.

 

[OzziePete]

Thanks a lot for the right path. In fact, the guitar i'm supposed to install them looks exactly like the one shown by pabloman (just different cherry finish) and no logo an the headstock. That guitar has been previously fitted with new pickguard and humbuckers but the owner is not happy with them so he asked me to mount those "aliens". I will talk to him and try to persuade that's a poor choice. Especially that those pickups need extra routing of the pickugard and the result seems to be not satisfactory.

I'd double check that extra work might be required to fit them in and give them a chance to be heard by the player themself. In a better quality guitar they might sound better than my recollections. Plus polayers are individuals, the resultant sound of the guitar and those pickups might suit them.

 

[woj74]

Extra routing the pickguard is necessary. Both pickups are larger i some dimensions than standard HB routing that is in the pickguard. I'll probably take an old strat pickguard, route it for them and install i a strat to have any idea of their musical properties.

 

[OzziePete]

Extra routing the pickguard is necessary. Both pickups are larger i some dimensions than standard HB routing that is in the pickguard. I'll probably take an old strat pickguard, route it for them and install i a strat to have any idea of their musical properties.

Good idea Woj!  :icon_thumright:

(In all fairness to these 70s pickups, the tone I was searching for in those days was much different to now. I still shudder at all the fuss about the old Fender Wide Range Pickups too, from the same era. "Vintage" doesn't automatically mean they'll sound good. Having read what Telenator put up about his research into the WRPs I find that part of it interesting but their tone still leaves me cold, due to my prior experiences with the Fenders of that era - DON'T MENTION 3 BOLT NECK IN MY COMPANY!  :help: )

 

[-CB-]

Definately a Lawrence/Gibson... note the small magnets at the side of each - Super Humbucking design, and Super single coil design.  This was done to create a very focused magnetic field.  The pickups were made by an outfit in Germany, who also, btw, also made the first series of P94's.  The current P94 is the 2nd series, and could be made up in Rockford, IL with the rest of the line now.