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Where these pickup covers only found on 1972 Gibsons?

dj335

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Oct 16, 2008
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I would like to learn some details about the original pickups that Gibson installed on my 1972 ES-335 TD walnut finish guitar (seen in my Avatar picture). Here are a couple of pictures of them:





As you can see, they have pickup covers with the "Gibson" name embossed into the cover. Were these "Gibson" embossed pickups only used in 1972? I don't think I've ever seen them on any other 70's Gibsons except for the 72's.

Also, they have the patent sticker on the back, slotted head screws that hold the pickup to the back plate, and t-top black bobbins. I'm guessing the magnets are alnico-II.

So my question to those on this forum that know pickups would be: which aftermarket pickup would be closest in tone and type to these original pickups?

Dave in So Cal
 
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dj335

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Here are two more pictures I took of the neck pickup with the cover off. I discovered recently that the cover on the neck pickup had solder joints that had broken loose, so as I was removing the pickup to resolder the cover, I shot these two pictures:





I really love the sound of this guitar with these pickups. The neck pickup with the tone turned to 3 has a nice clear articulate jazz tone, and the bridge pickup on full through a cranked tube amp has great ballsy crunch, yet is not too bright, harsh, or muddy. I would love to find aftermarket pickups like these to try them on my '05 Les Paul Classic Goldtop. The '57 Classic and Classic Plus combo on my Paul now sounds good, but doesn't have the range these t-tops have on my 335.

Gibson made, patent sticker T-top humbuckers can be found on eBay, but usually sell for vintage prices (big bucks). I'd like to find pickups made by the aftermarket guys ie: Duncan, WCR, Wolftone, Throbaks, Fralin, etc. that would sound like these pickups. However, I don't have the extra cash to be buying tons of pickups to experiment with, so I'm asking for help from you pickup guru's out there who know how these t-tops were constructed, to point me to the closest clone.

By the way, I realize that if I pulled these t-tops from the 335 and put them into my Goldtop Classic that they probably wouldn't sound the same due to the differences in wood, construction, etc. of a Paul vs. a 335. Still I'd like to experiment with an aftermarket pickup set that would get me close to how my 335 sounds now.

Any thoughts, info, or advice you can share with me?

Dave in So Cal
 
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GlassSnuff

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Just a guess, but for a reasonable price Duncan's Seth Lovers might be in the ballpark.

The late, great, Dave Kenney played one of those guitars for 30 years. He used it for everything from nailing the Beano tone to Country chicken pickin'. I don't think everything you're hearing is the pickups. ;)
 

DEI305

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May 7, 2004
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di335,
Try a set of Lollar Imperials. Lowwind in the neck and standard in the bridge. Incredible tone! I have a set of these on my avatar. Each pickup has individual coil tap as well as a master volume and master tone.
Rick
 

Mitchell

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Feb 20, 2002
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I liked the ones that came out on some of the bb's awhile back w/the "FLAMES" etched on'm.
I tried to purchase some aftermarket ones, but couldnt find any..

: (
 

dj335

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Re: Were these pickup covers only found on 1972 Gibsons?

Thank you all for the replies. I've got a friend who has a spare set of Duncan Seth Lover's, so I'll see if I can borrow them for a tryout.

GlassSnuff,

I've not heard of Dave Kenney. I did a search on that name, and came up with a guitarist David Kennedy on Wikipedia, but it shows this guy is still alive. Do you have a YouTube link to a video with your guy, where I can hear his 335 tone?

Dave in So Cal
 

Hamerfan

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Dec 20, 2004
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They have A5 mags. A Seth Lover has A2 magnet. So i did change my neck SL to an Alnico 5 to come near a T-Top. Works great!
 

GlassSnuff

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Re: Were these pickup covers only found on 1972 Gibsons?

GlassSnuff,

I've not heard of Dave Kenney. I did a search on that name, and came up with a guitarist David Kennedy on Wikipedia, but it shows this guy is still alive. Do you have a YouTube link to a video with your guy, where I can hear his 335 tone?

Dave in So Cal

The sound isn't great on this, my wife captured it on a Canon point-and-shoot at a local band reunion. I think Dave was playing through a small Bad Cat.

Dave Kenney - Hideaway (partial)


Here, this was recorded in a friend's studio, and gives a better sample of his 335:

Hideaway.mp3
 
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