More bark, more bite, more licks for your tone. Get your custom wound pickups from "Mutt's dog house", our resident hound and luthier extraordinaire...
Yep, I kid you not, I went to see a guys band the other day after delivering a new guitar to him. His buddy guitar player needed more room to set up his amp back line and pedal boards than the drummer normally requires for his kit. Whats more at a guess he maybe used two or three of them... I spent the evening having a hearty chuckle with the sound guy..
Yep, I kid you not, I went to see a guys band the other day after delivering a new guitar to him. His buddy guitar player needed more room to set up his amp back line and pedal boards than the drummer normally requires for his kit. Whats more at a guess he maybe used two or three of them... I spent the evening having a hearty chuckle with the sound guy..
Yep, I kid you not, I went to see a guys band the other day after delivering a new guitar to him. His buddy guitar player needed more room to set up his amp back line and pedal boards than the drummer normally requires for his kit. Whats more at a guess he maybe used two or three of them... I spent the evening having a hearty chuckle with the sound guy..
I use more kick drum pedals than guitar pedals.
tuner + boost (2)
vs
single kick + double kick (3)
Hey....I'd like to jump in here with a question of mine. I'm doing a Les Paul type build using an Epiphone Studio. Long story short.......I have a '76 Gibson LP Custom that has T top pups. I use it but it's VERY heavy for me these days and it's next door to needing a fret job.....and I wanted to do a guitar project anyway. I want to get as close to the sound of my "76 LP as possible. I love it's tone!! Trying to find old T top pups is very $$$$. The prices are ridiculous. I know there's probably no direct replacement but I was wondering what you guys think. Got any ideas what I should consider?
Bluesman52 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:11 am
Hey....I'd like to jump in here with a question of mine. I'm doing a Les Paul type build using an Epiphone Studio. Long story short.......I have a '76 Gibson LP Custom that has T top pups. I use it but it's VERY heavy for me these days and it's next door to needing a fret job.....and I wanted to do a guitar project anyway. I want to get as close to the sound of my "76 LP as possible. I love it's tone!! Trying to find old T top pups is very $$$$. The prices are ridiculous. I know there's probably no direct replacement but I was wondering what you guys think. Got any ideas what I should consider?
Paging [mention]muttley[/mention]
I'm not aware of any good mass-produced aftermarket T-Top replicas. None of the big pickup companies make one.
But smaller winders do, and I bet Mutt could make some if he's not shut down right now.
Low 7.5k-ish DC output with an A5 magnet.
I have a set out of my 78 Custom and no you can't have them.
Bluesman52 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:38 am
Awwww......gee. Wonder why there are no replicas? Personally I love their tones. And anyone who's played my '76 Custom has said the same thing.
I'm no pickup winder, but they seem to me like they'd be easy to replicate. Specs say a short bar A5 magnet, which is not hard to come by, and scatter wound low output. I'm sure there are many nuances I don't understand but it can't be that hard.
And considering a freaking TON of legendary rock and roll was played and recorded through the late 60s and all through the 70s using Gibsons with T-Tops you'd think there would be an aftermarket for that pickup. But nope. PAF replicas are a dime-a-dozen, but no T-Tops. I think they're great. I've never heard a T-Top that sounded bad. They're perfect "classic rock" tone pickups.
Lt. Bob wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:57 am
what makes 'em a t-top?
A quick goggle didn't show them to look different
They're called "T-Tops" because there is a "T" embossed on the bobbins of those era pickups. You can't see it unless the pickup covers are removed. T-Tops were the standard full-size humbucker in Gibsons from the late 60s all the way into the early 80s.
Lt. Bob wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 12:52 pm
ah ...... lol @ the inconsequential things guitar players obsess over!
Ha yup, they do sound unique though. T-Tops are pretty midrangey, almost "quacky" for a humbucker. They're pretty polarizing though. A lot of T-tops got yanked out and ended up in shop drawers never to be seen again. Nowadays they're kind of having a little nostalgic resurgence. They're not PAFs by any stretch, but they aren't as bad people claimed they were either.
Yeah...I know....guitar players get micro vision sometimes. Many years ago I didn't like my t tops and pulled them out and stuck in DiMarzio's.....as was all the rage back then. Later on down the road.......the DiMarzio's weren't for me and I put the old T tops back in and boy way I surprised. I think if you leave an old T top in your closet for 5 years or so......they improve tremendously. They're great for blues....but it rocks well too. 30 years later......they're still my favorites.
T-Top buckers are pretty easy to get close to. The main difference to the PAF or other Gibson buckers is that around that time they switched to a polyurathane wire and used a slightly shorter A2 (sometimes) A5 magnet. I have have seen a lot of them over the years and TBH there is a lot of variation in both output and tone. Typically they would be around 7-8k and have a clear but dominant mid range.
Thanks muttley. That was very educational for me. As you may have read....mine are in a '76 LP Custom and indeed they have a very sweet midrange sound that still has an LP tone. Anyway......do you have any advice as to what current pups might be close?
Bluesman52 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 19, 2020 10:44 am
Thanks muttley. That was very educational for me. As you may have read....mine are in a '76 LP Custom and indeed they have a very sweet midrange sound that still has an LP tone. Anyway......do you have any advice as to what current pups might be close?
As a guitar maker and pickup winder it would really be a little compromising for me to answer that. The guys will tell you that unless it is evident snake oil I always avoid commenting on other peoples guitars or pickups other than to express a very basic personal preference. Sorry...
Completely understood....and I appreciate the honesty. So....as a pickup winder.......assuming you sell complete pups......do you have a set or can you make a set that you feel might fit the bill? I'm not looking for perfection. I know my Epiphone build will not closely duplicate the sound of my LP. I'm just looking for pups that are similar.....and of everyone I've communicated with.....you seem to have the experience with T tops and the expertise and honesty to put me somewhere in the ballpark. Your site seems to be down so if you want me to communicate some other way just let me know. And......if you can't help me or prefer not to.......no problem at all. Completely understood.
[mention]Bluesman52[/mention] My sites should be back up now. I had a bit of a problem with the hosting over the weekend and hopefully its sorted now.
I can certainly wind up something like a T-Top. Maybe start a new thread to keep it clean here and we can talk through exactly what you are looking for there in detail. Once again the guys will tell you that one of the advantages of doing it that way is you dont just get a bargain on the price over other winders but you get to talk over the detail as well as having others input who already have my pickups. You also get a fully bespoke set of pickups that no one else has. It wont be a T-Top though, only Gibson can get a set of those to you.
I'm pretty much back upto speed now after the Covid blip so lets take it from there if you are keen.
