what was Gibson thinking when they designed the Burstbuckers ?

[El Gringo]

Agree.

Even though others speak ill of them, the much maligned ceramics in my Classic 1960 Goldtop get my love... along with the skinny neck!

"Killing Rhinos Since 2000"

You know they were not half bad in my 1994 Classic . I then switched to the then newish 57 Classic's .

 

[RJLII]

The Burstbuckers in my 2007 R8 sound exceptional. Think a Tele on Steroids. Overused analogy, but apt.

 

[latestarter]

Sloppy playing,..,.thru a little Supro...you get the drift.

 

[Amp360]

I only did that once. I got a deal on a set of Fender '69 Custom Shop pickups and didn't even own a strat. Shopped around until I found a really nice MIM strat and a buddy built me built a whole new pickguard with all new electronics to swap out. It is amazing!

Those 1969 pickups Fender makes are really out of this world. I have a 1961 Strat that needs some work done to the pickups. About 15 years ago, I put the '69s in, and they're still in there. I'll get them repaired eventually, but there's only one guy who I have to do work to pickups, and he's retired, so it takes a long time to get things done

I think these days most people play at home and at low volume so what worked in the past may not work for those of us who play in high-volume band situations. I've had gear that people online rave about but it just doesn't work when I'm outside playing or with a band or large ensemble at a bigger place.

The days of actually going out and playing are pretty much over from what I see and I'm not looking for a good tone for YouTube videos. There's a big difference in what's needed to sound good at low volume at home vs in a live situation. For example, I generally am not using the Soldano (or even my Klon) at home but I love them when I'm out.

YMMV

 

[corpse]

Live extreme-volume tones are impossible to duplicate at wife-friendly levels.
The one thing is playing at "lower" volumes through piggy back/cab arrangements can get closer. But you will get the 'stank-eye' when you are done.

 

[p19978]

Call me old fashioned, but when I play a guitar without getting the sound I want, I change the tone knobs on the amp rather than buy a new set of pups.

I have guitars that have high end stuff (Lollars, Monty's); yeah, they're different... but not "better". A few tweaks of the TMB usually get me right where I want.

 

[Dr. Green]

I just want to know one thing - what was Gibson thinking ?

 

[Wilko]

Gibson was thinking they were doing what people wanted (with a lot of pressure from groups like this (The LPF was huge back then)

As I already posted,I think they did a great job. I challenge anyone here to prove they could tell the difference in a double blind A/B test.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

My take and it’s simple and novice…go play some guitars at a shop and pick riffs you know backward and forward but different styles…1 hard rock and a tune with walk down string separation that doesn’t get muddy and maintains string separation clarity, one clean bluesy or jazzy using the rhythm switch neck pup, the one totally clean to hear the wood of the guitar in all 3 selector positions. Each of the 3 settings play the same number of bars and cut each one at the point. Use the same neutral tone settings on an amp of your choice for all 3 guitars and amps/settings. Shortlist some favorites then narrow it down to 3. Of those three play the same exact same riffs and switched immediately to the next gtr….crunch riff gtr 1 immediately to same crunch riff guitar 2 then 3. Do the same same for clean riff gtrs 1, 2, 3. and on a semi blues or jazzy style same riff for gtrs 1, 2 and 3. Then repeat a second or third time through your shortlist of the final 3 gtrs, and by now you’ll know which one you like best. Then buy it.

Now you have a great guitar and pickup/sound at this point. Any mods you wanna tweak from there after purchase (pickups, pedals, pots) will be minimal because you already got yourself 95% to the sound you’re looking for. The rest is just minor fine tweaking.

 

[Gretev1]

after having a Historics with both Lollars and Custombuckers I wonder how Gibosn let the Burst Buckers pass thru to production - to my ears they sound really bad .... with both the un waxed low wind Lollar Imperials and the stock Custom buckers blowing them out of the water

what were they thinking ?

I own a 57 Les Paul Custom 3 pickup and a 60 Les Paul both with burst buckers. I actually really like the pickups. They are ballsy, mid heavy and focused. I also like the custom buckers.

 

[pqs]

I think we need to be a bit more specific when we mention Burstbuckers and specify which ones we are referring to. There are Burstbucker 1, 2, 3, Pro, Pro+, 61, and custom (Slash), just off the top of my head. The word burstbucker essentially have become the Gibson USA brand of humbuckers with the slightest hint of PAF.

I know that when people don’t specify which ones, they are usually referring to BB1 & 2 combo. However, I think a lot of confusion has risen in part to people refusing to be more specific. Like how people insist in referring to LP tributes as studios, making it harder for people trying to sell or buy actual Studios in the used market. But, I digress.

I personally like BB1 & 2. They are pretty plug and play, in the sense that they are easy to set up and find a good sound. I love my custombucker on my R9, but it took a bit more finesse to set up good height for the pickups. The challenge on mine were finding a height that allowed the neck pickup to scream without being way louder than the bridge at a volume knob position that didn’t clean the desired dirt on the neck position. With BB1&2, they never sounded as good as my Custombuckers, but because of the output difference, there was a much wider range where they sounded awesome and usable in actual playing with a band.

 

[Standard Magic]

The ones made in the Custom Shop are not the same as the ones made by Gibson USA. Same goes for the other pickups that went from CS to production.

Are 490R/498T pickups considered Burstbuckers? If so, the pickups in my 96 standard were nothing like the ones in my R8.

 

[Gretev1]

Are 490R/498T pickups considered Burstbuckers? If so, the pickups in my 96 standard were nothing like the ones in my R8.

No they are not the same pickups. I might be wrong but I think Burstbuckers started sometime around 2002 - 2012.

 

[RocknRollShakeUp]

I had Burstbuckers in a G0. They were great.

If I remember right it was Gibson’s attempt at a PAF style pickup with mismatched coil windings to give the pickups more vintage bite, compared to the 57 classics.
I did replace a 490R/498T set with 57 classics in a 94 LP standard at one point.

The 57 classics were too polite sounding for me though. I much preferred the Burstbuckers that did have more Tele-ish on steroids bite.

Of course one has to also know how to work the volume and tone knobs on the Guitar (not to mention the amp).

Many a ‘too harsh a’tone’ tones can be solved by rolling the guitar volume and tone knob appropriately. I don’t think there is a single guitar I play with the volume/tone on 10... except when I want to dial for maximum Godzilla raunch.

So while I don’t have any BurstB’s anymore, in my experience they are perfectly serviceable and any horrible tones that come out are mostly user error, I suspect.

 

[bern1]

I have a 2007 Les Paul Standard Faded that came with Burstbuckers. I thought they sounded great. Then I put in a pair of Duncan 59's with a magnet reversed. Sounded great. Then I went on the hunt and bought a pair of Duncan Antiquities. The guitar sounded great.

Now and again I think of putting the Burstbuckers back in. Or at least the bridge BB, I liked it the best. Beautiful open PAF sound.

But now I have become lazy, so it will probably stay as is.

As has been said, just fiddle with all the knobs until it's in the zone.

 

[Gretev1]

I own two guitars with Burstbuckers:
- 2010 1960 Les Paul VOS
- 2010 1957 Les Paul Custom 3 pickup

I really like the pickups on these guitars. I also like the 57 Classics and the Custom Buckers. I also own a Wildwood Spec Les Paul. Comparatively the Burstbuckers sound the most focused and direct. They have a stront mid range. The Wildwood Spec humbuckers are not as loud and have a spongey quality. The 57 Classics are the most clear to my ears. The Custom Buckers have the most diverse tonal range with frequencies all over the place (in a good way).
I play mostly blues, rock, pop and to a lesser extent some punk/alternative distortion. I never quite understood the complaints about Gibson humbuckers. They sound great and people seem to love them.

 

[Dr. Green]

unbelievable thread ,,,,,,,

 

[Gretev1]

This guy is playing burstbuckers. Tone for days!

 

[MattD1960]

i think at the end of the day, its all about personal preference. has gibson maybe gotten closer to the original PAF sound with the custombuckers sure maybe. but do some people love burstbuckers yes and thats completely ok. i mean to go full on chicken or the egg here, why do u play a les paul maybe ud sound better with a different guitar?

its all just our own ears in our jam rooms, on stage, in studio wherever you play your tone is dictated by you and what you do with whats at hand

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

I have an unpotted BB1 and 2 set from 2011 in my 335. Just had it out last night playing it and I really like the set in this guitar. They have a forward, raw, rough and aggressive bloomy quality to them that appeals to me and are surprisingly dynamic, although that could just be the guitar. It's a wrap-tail 335 so maybe that's contributing. I can see how 'forward, raw, rough and aggressive' might not be for everyone though. Maybe that's why they get mixed reviews? They're not smooth n creamy like a classic '57, or clear n bright like a custombucker. The other guy here that compared them to P90's...I'd agree with that. Mine sound close to having a P90 quality about them. Humbuckers originally were an attempt to mimic the P90, only without hum, so they're kind of a cool nod to that idea