Gibson Les Paul 68 reissue

[viper007]

Seriously considering this one...

Anyone have any feedback about the pickups, 68 humbucker pickups.

https://www.peachguitars.com/guitars/electric-guitars/solid-body/gibson-custom-68-les-paul-custom-ebony-lightly-aged.htm

 

[El Gringo]

I believe the pickups are Gibson Custombuckers based on actual Gibson Patent Sticker T-Tops , probably in the 7.5K-7.7K range on the output which I believe have A2 magnets and are a decent and fair representation of the actual T-Top pickups from this period in Gibson's history . I like this guitar , and if you aren't crazy about the pickups what I would do is swap them out for ThroBak MXV-SLE-101 Plus with A5 magnets with readings of 7.8k neck and 8.4k bridge with A5 magnets which give a nice mid range crunch and not to high treble range , but tone is subjective to our own ears . www.throbak.com Pricey yes , but I think the best made pickups this side of the vaunted Gibson Vintage PAF'S which are so expensive if you can find them . Throbak makes them with the same materials that Gibson made them with during the Golden Era using the actual winding machines that Gibson used with good USA made magnets and the correct wire and correct covers made with the correct metals with the correct shape which really makes a difference . I am not blowing hot air as I have the same exact pickups in my 8 Gibson Les Paul's !

 

[Big Al]

Ttops were short A5 loaded, wound with poly coated, [thicker insulate], 42AWG copper wire. Throbaks are great if you want an accurate build and visual component besides the audible one. Gibson makes great pickups, so instead of getting everyone elses opinion on their favourite flavour, give them a taste without forming a preconceived opinion without knowing if you have an issue or not.

If they are somehow lacking in some essential area you feel must be addressed, then put your pick in.

 

[El Gringo]

Ttops were short A5 loaded, wound with poly coated, [thicker insulate], 42AWG copper wire. Throbaks are great if you want an accurate build and visual component besides the audible one. Gibson makes great pickups, so instead of getting everyone elses opinion on their favourite flavour, give them a taste without forming a preconceived opinion without knowing if you have an issue or not.

If they are somehow lacking in some essential area you feel must be addressed, then put your pick in.

Big Al , when I sent my Patent Sticker T-Tops to Jon Gundry at Throbak for covers , I asked him to go thru the pickups and tell me what was inside and he told me the magnets were A2 magnets and the readings were both 7.7k each for the neck and bridge .

 

[kitmac53]

Seriously considering this one...

Anyone have any feedback about the pickups, 68 humbucker pickups.

https://www.peachguitars.com/guitars/electric-guitars/solid-body/gibson-custom-68-les-paul-custom-ebony-lightly-aged.htm

I bought the gloss version in September. I think they're excellent. Great clean or driven. I won't be changing them. I have a Don Felder R9 which is also great,and the two LPs sound quite different,but equally good.

 

[Pellman73]

Seriously considering this one...

Anyone have any feedback about the pickups, 68 humbucker pickups.

https://www.peachguitars.com/guitar...tom-68-les-paul-custom-ebony-lightly-aged.htm

I like the guitar

 

[chuck dale]

I love the relic job on this compared to the 68 Gold Tops!

 

[sws1]

I dig that a lot. Sound too.

 

[viper007]

Thanks for input!

:salude

 

[Big Al]

Big Al , when I sent my Patent Sticker T-Tops to Jon Gundry at Throbak for covers , I asked him to go thru the pickups and tell me what was inside and he told me the magnets were A2 magnets and the readings were both 7.7k each for the neck and bridge .

AFAIK, and verified by Gibson and Seymour Duncan, all Ttops were short A5. I believe the switch occured when they replaced the long magnets in paf pups in early 60's. They did not spec short A2 and never sourced them as A5 was a firm spec in the pu490 original humbucker, same as wire.

 

[jwalker]

AFAIK, and verified by Gibson and Seymour Duncan, all Ttops were short A5. I believe the switch occured when they replaced the long magnets in paf pups in early 60's. They did not spec short A2 and never sourced them as A5 was a firm spec in the pu490 original humbucker, same as wire.

Actually they used both short A5 and short A2 for T-Tops. I have copies of the drawings from the late 60's for both short A2 and short A5. The short A2 tends to be in the very earliest Patent sticker T-Tops. Short A2 was also used in some short magnet P.A.F.'s. and Patent sticker pickups. The short A2 I use was speced from a Barney Kessel neck P.A.F. I own. I sent the magnet to the magnet maker to be duplicated and the results from the lab came back A2, it was a short magnet.

I have a theory about why Gibson had both A2 and A5 speced. I suspect the thinking was to put the weaker A2 magnet in the neck and the stronger A5 magnet in the bridge as a way to balance the output between neck and bridge pickups. I'm not so sure it really works and I can't prove this theory but I have had enough P-90's, P.A.F.'s and Patent Sticker pickups come in for repair that have A2 in the neck to make me think this may be the reason. But there are also many pickups out there that do not follow this rule so I may be wrong. Or like so many things with vintage Gibson guitars, the specs. are a bit "fluid".

 

[beaut]

AFAIK, and verified by Gibson and Seymour Duncan, all Ttops were short A5. I believe the switch occured when they replaced the long magnets in paf pups in early 60's. They did not spec short A2 and never sourced them as A5 was a firm spec in the pu490 original humbucker, same as wire.

I appreciate you have a vast knowledge on vintage Gibsons, but:
1) verified by the nerdy record keeper Gibson??
2) has Seymour Duncan single-handedly inspected every single guitar that left the factory? No, not even close. He's seen many for sure, but the percentage of the whole production numbers would still be in single digits I bet. Sure, one'd still expect to see variation even in a relatively small sample, but one can't make absolute claims if they haven't seen variation in that sample.

 

[charliechitlins]

This confuses me.
A '68 Les Paul is a reissue.
So is this a 68 Les Paul or a reissue of a reissue?

 

[garywright]

its an old Peach Guitar ad ..if you click on the link in post #1 it shows a newer LPC 68 reissue Custom Shop model

 

[jimmi]

I believe the pickups are Gibson Custombuckers based on actual Gibson Patent Sticker T-Tops , probably in the 7.5K-7.7K range on the output which I believe have A2 magnets and are a decent and fair representation of the actual T-Top pickups from this period in Gibson's history . I like this guitar , and if you aren't crazy about the pickups what I would do is swap them out for ThroBak MXV-SLE-101 Plus with A5 magnets with readings of 7.8k neck and 8.4k bridge with A5 magnets which give a nice mid range crunch and not to high treble range , but tone is subjective to our own ears . www.throbak.com Pricey yes , but I think the best made pickups this side of the vaunted Gibson Vintage PAF'S which are so expensive if you can find them . Throbak makes them with the same materials that Gibson made them with during the Golden Era using the actual winding machines that Gibson used with good USA made magnets and the correct wire and correct covers made with the correct metals with the correct shape which really makes a difference . I am not blowing hot air as I have the same exact pickups in my 8 Gibson Les Paul's !

Magnets are totally wrong if these are supposed to be TTops which all had short A5 magnets.

 

[Cossack]

AFAIK, and verified by Gibson and Seymour Duncan, all Ttops were short A5. I believe the switch occured when they replaced the long magnets in paf pups in early 60's. They did not spec short A2 and never sourced them as A5 was a firm spec in the pu490 original humbucker, same as wire.

Magnets are totally wrong if these are supposed to be TTops which all had short A5 magnets.

It's my understanding that, while the majority of T-Tops were made with short A5 magnets, there were periods of variation. Definitely in the late '70s Gibson made pickups with T-Top bobbins using ceramic magnets. Obviously that's irrelevant to a '68 spec pickup.

This guy (for what it's worth) claims to have encountered and enjoyed T-Tops that had A3 magnets: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/169600/all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-gibson-t-tops

To go back to the OP's original question: who else has tried Gibson's '68 Custom pickups? I'm throwing around the idea of getting a '68 Custom and I'd also appreciate any feedback on them.

 

[jimmi]

It's my understanding that, while the majority of T-Tops were made with short A5 magnets, there were periods of variation. Definitely in the late '70s Gibson made pickups with T-Top bobbins using ceramic magnets. Obviously that's irrelevant to a '68 spec pickup.

This guy (for what it's worth) claims to have encountered and enjoyed T-Tops that had A3 magnets: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/169600/all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-gibson-t-tops

To go back to the OP's original question: who else has tried Gibson's '68 Custom pickups? I'm throwing around the idea of getting a '68 Custom and I'd also appreciate any feedback on them.

Interesting take in several things including the original wire in the PAFs.

That said, A3s even according to this article were mid 70s. That could be behind what I have found with TTops. Early stickered TTops are great pickups. They aren’t PAFs but are a great pickup for a LP and they offer some advantages that PAFs lack. But the further you go into the 70s, the more inconsistent they become and probably why a lot of people don’t like them. This versions give them a bad name and it may be some of these evolutionary changes that are at the root cause of it. Shaws are actually the same. Some of them have good strong A5s and are good pickups and some have ceramic magnets or maybe weak A3s.

Anyway, it seems dumb to put a long A3 magnet on a pickup that is supposed to be fir a late 60s reissue.

 

[garywright]

I asked him to go thru the pickups and tell me what was inside and he told me the magnets were A2 magnets and the readings were both 7.7k each for the neck and bridge .

one brave and trusting dude

 

[Cossack]

Interesting take in several things including the original wire in the PAFs.

That said, A3s even according to this article were mid 70s. That could be behind what I have found with TTops. Early stickered TTops are great pickups. They aren’t PAFs but are a great pickup for a LP and they offer some advantages that PAFs lack. But the further you go into the 70s, the more inconsistent they become and probably why a lot of people don’t like them. This versions give them a bad name and it may be some of these evolutionary changes that are at the root cause of it. Shaws are actually the same. Some of them have good strong A5s and are good pickups and some have ceramic magnets or maybe weak A3s.

Anyway, it seems dumb to put a long A3 magnet on a pickup that is supposed to be fir a late 60s reissue.

I agree - some of the "reissue" choices are head-scratchers for sure. I'm not arguing your point that A5s would have made more sense, just pointing out that T-Tops weren't exclusively A5.

Aren't the 68 Custom pickups A2?
The "super 74" pickups are A3, I believe. Again, A5 would have been the obvious choice, even if A3 could have technically been possible in '74.