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'69 ES335 pickups?

Bluespower

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What pickups were factory installed on a 1969 ES335, T tops?
Interested because my '69 335 pickups read in the low 8 ohms.
thought they would be 7.5 ish
 
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Bluespower

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Thanks! I've had this 335 since 1973 so I don't think it's been altered.
I'm surprised to see a higher rating. 8.2
 

Bluespower

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I love the sound of that 335 and the t tops.
my question now is, who makes a good t-top clone?
 

jb_abides

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Manlius, Fralin, and of course ... Gibson T-Types are a new take.
 

Bryansamui

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Thanks! I've had this 335 since 1973 so I don't think it's been altered.
I'm surprised to see a higher rating. 8.2
Is it warm where you are? The same pickup can change hundreds of ohms depending on room ambient temp... Furthermore, if i am making a pickup,I can get the same sonics within quite a range of DCR. Change the maker of the magnet, different story, the whole world changes.
 

Amp360

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I have a 68 ES-355 and it's in the same range as yours. I never measured it until today. At the end of the day if it sounds good don't worry about what it measures :)
 

Bluespower

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Manlius, Fralin, and of course ... Gibson T-Types are a new take.
I want to duplicate (as close as possible) the tone of my '69 335 to my 339. I have WCR Fillmores in the 339 now and I love them, but love the T Top tones better.
I just saw that Gibson T Type yesterday. Wonder how close they really are.
I had spare set of late 60s T tops years ago but sold them.... duh..
 

Bluespower

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I have a 68 ES-355 and it's in the same range as yours. I never measured it until today. At the end of the day if it sounds good don't worry about what it measures :)
I'd like to know that.
 

jb_abides

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According to @matkoehler - Jim DeCola 'reverse engineered' T-Types to be the same 'spec' but using modern bobbins. They certainly sound great in my new 345! As far as replacements, the price allows you to give them a try.

Can you tell us about the development of the Calibrated T-Type pickups?

“That was something Jim DeCola was working on. Some of the most musical and underrated Gibson pickups ever were those made in the late 60s through the 1970s, with the ‘T’ on the top of the bobbins. Jim remade them as ‘T-Type’ instead of ‘T-Top’ since they are covered anyway and we weren’t going to remould the bobbins.
“But otherwise they are the same specs. Alnico V magnets of course. And ‘Calibrated’ refers to the fact that they are intentionally selected for neck and bridge – slightly underwound neck pickups and slightly overwound bridge pickups. We selected them for the Gibson USA ES models because they sounded too good not to use them!”

 

jb_abides

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More:

"The Calibrated T-Type pickups provide plenty of output, with a strong midrange emphasis. They’re not as bright as some PAF replicas, and the wound strings can sound a bit woolly and indistinct in comparison, but the bridge snarls and the neck has a thick and creamy quality. Clean-up clarity is pretty decent, but touch sensitivity is in slightly short supply compared to a vintage or Custom Shop example."

 

Bluespower

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According to @matkoehler - Jim DeCola 'reverse engineered' T-Types to be the same 'spec' but using modern bobbins. They certainly sound great in my new 345! As far as replacements, the price allows you to give them a try.

Can you tell us about the development of the Calibrated T-Type pickups?

“That was something Jim DeCola was working on. Some of the most musical and underrated Gibson pickups ever were those made in the late 60s through the 1970s, with the ‘T’ on the top of the bobbins. Jim remade them as ‘T-Type’ instead of ‘T-Top’ since they are covered anyway and we weren’t going to remould the bobbins.
“But otherwise they are the same specs. Alnico V magnets of course. And ‘Calibrated’ refers to the fact that they are intentionally selected for neck and bridge – slightly underwound neck pickups and slightly overwound bridge pickups. We selected them for the Gibson USA ES models because they sounded too good not to use them!”
Thanks! I will go with Gibson.
I read somewhere that the T Tops have a short A5 magnet , which adds to the unique tone.
 

jb_abides

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A5s... if you prefer the earlier T-Tops like Page, then ThroBak makes a replica with A2.
 

deytookerjaabs

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One thing to keep in mind here....

There's different wiring things happening. The old 335's could be wired a couple ways depending on how they routed the caps/harness. And, on top of that, pot changes too. Varying tapers along with wiring schemes will make the same pickups seem different. Point is, if you say wire up a guitar like a 50's style Les Paul instead of a late 60's 335 harness you're going to get different results. I love all my late 60's ES I've had over the years and your description is spot on.

I would research used/complete harnesses from the late 60's ES's just to see exactly how they're wired then wire up your other guitar identically. Then, get a pickup that is in spec. Problem is the same pickups down the line can be different so it's a hard thing to chase pickups but if you get the harness right first you'll know you're playing with an even deck.
 

Bluespower

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All I know is my '69 335 sounds exceptional, but I don't want to bring a 6k guitar out to gig with.

I just bought a "T-Type" Gibson pickup. I know its long shot but if I can get close to that tone... I'll be happy.
 

jb_abides

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what is an earlier t top? 65?

I think 68-early 70s (73) have variations of magnets used... but I am no expert.

Read more here:

Authentic Early 70's short Alnico Magnets
ThroBak's research of early vintage T-Tops has revealed that many of these classic pickups use short Alnico 2 magnets. Early patent sticker T-Tops are sought after for their distinct tone and dynamic response and an important part of this tone is short Alnico 2 magnets. Conventional wisdom is that all T-Tops have short A5 magnets. But analysis of ThroBak's own '70 "Made in USA" stamped SG revealed that both neck and bridge T-Tops in this guitar have short A2 magnets. We even managed to get copies of vintage Kalamazoo era magnet drawing detailing short Alnico 2 magnets in the late 60's. Tonally the result of short Alnico 2 in the '70/Select set is a more open sounding pickup than short A5 would provide but with more prominent mids than long A2 magnets provide.
 

Bluespower

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Bought a T-Type new from Gibson. Im very happy with the sound. Sounds like a T-Top!
I have it installed in the neck of my ES 339 and have a Rolph in the bridge position. Pretty nice!
Im happy
 
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