Members jedisb Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Was going through an old box of guitar stuff I've had stored away for many years. Found a Bill Lawrence L500XL which I had bought back in the mid-eighties. But I also found what I just discovered to be a Gibson T-Top pickup. No cover. Base plate has patent # stamped on in as well as a date of Feb 10, 1978. A friend gave me this pickup when I was a teenager (again, mid-eighties) and since he just gave it to me I thought it was just some generic pickup and just I chucked it in the box and forgot about it. Now that I know what it is, I have a few questions: 1. Were there different bridge and neck versions made of this pickup? And if so, is there any way to tell the difference? I'd like to know what I have.2. What is its relation to the original PAF.3. What is the reputation of these pickups? Are they highly regarded, poorly regarded, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedisb Posted March 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Bump for the afternoon crowd. Nobody knows anything about these pickups??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Josh S Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 As far as I know, they are sort of the third generation Gibson humbucker. They seem to be designed to be a bit more general purpose than the early PAFs - pretty even across the board. I had a '75 LP Custom for a while with them in, and they were kind of just that - didn't have a lot of personality, but good sounding. Some people swear by them. They weren't my favourite, but that could just be me. I say throw it in there and see what happens! You might end up with something you really like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rog951 Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Sorry to say that the T-tops were probably the biggest reason for the initial popularity of companies like DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan. They're not awful pickups, but they're just kinda, I dunno...boring. I have a set now in my '80 LP and I dunno why I haven't replaced them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I just took one out of my 1979 Gibson The Paul. I hated the sound of it but someone bought it from me on ebay for $100. Check out the prices on these things. A ton of money for a pickup that doesn't sound very good: http://instruments.shop.ebay.com/Musical-Instruments-/619/i.html?_fln=1&_nkw=gibson%20t%20top&_catref=1&_trksid=m194&_dmpt=US_CSA_WC_Shirts_Tops&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedisb Posted March 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I just took one out of my 1979 Gibson The Paul. I hated the sound of it but someone bought it from me on ebay for $100. I think that's what I'm going to do with this one. Is there any way to test a pickup to make sure it works without actually installing it into a guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think that's what I'm going to do with this one. Is there any way to test a pickup to make sure it works without actually installing it into a guitar? not really sure...one of the more experienced guys here could probably tell you, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jelloman Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think that's what I'm going to do with this one. Is there any way to test a pickup to make sure it works without actually installing it into a guitar? do you have a multi-tester? also known as an meter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diceman1000 Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Was going through an old box of guitar stuff I've had stored away for many years. Found a Bill Lawrence L500XL which I had bought back in the mid-eighties. But I also found what I just discovered to be a Gibson T-Top pickup. No cover. Base plate has patent # stamped on in as well as a date of Feb 10, 1978. A friend gave me this pickup when I was a teenager (again, mid-eighties) and since he just gave it to me I thought it was just some generic pickup and just I chucked it in the box and forgot about it. Now that I know what it is, I have a few questions:1. Were there different bridge and neck versions made of this pickup? And if so, is there any way to tell the difference? I'd like to know what I have.2. What is its relation to the original PAF.3. What is the reputation of these pickups? Are they highly regarded, poorly regarded, etc? plug a guitar cable into your amp... the tip is hot, the side is ground... tape the pup wires to their respective spots, turn on the amp, and tap on the pup with you finger... or just use a multimeter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MistaT Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 If you have a multimeter, just put it on the 20k setting, and it should read 7.00 to 9.00, which would be 7,000 - 9,000 ohms. Also like Diceman said, wire it up, but I just take something metal (like a screwdriver) and *lightly* tap the pickups screws that are usually under the strings. If its a good pickup, you will hear the tapping in your amp. Last year someone gave me an early 60's Melody Maker that someone attempted to route out and put in a pair of these pickups. They failed miserably. I was able to get it going, and personally I love the sound of the pickups. Whenever I take it into the music store, everyone wants to play it. Here is a link to my Melody Maker that I rebuilt if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonP Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 3. What is the reputation of these pickups? Are they highly regarded, poorly regarded, etc? Some like them, some don't. If they were crap, they wouldn't pull in $100 on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littlemilo Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I have one from the early 70's in my ES 125 that sounds great as a bridge pickup, works well with the p-90 in the neck. I got it in 1972 or 73, and I didn't know there was such a thing as a t-top until 5 years ago or so. There is no date on it, it doesn't say Gibson, just has a sticker with the patent number. I pulled the cover off a few years ago to see if it had the T on one of the bobbins (yup:thu:). Like almost all pickups, how it sounds depends on the guitar. Like I said, mine sounds great, and changing pickups is such a hassle in hollowbodys that it's staying put right where it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I love mine. It's very nearly my perfect humbucker. Here it is clean in the neck. http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8409443 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littlemilo Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I love mine. It's very nearly my perfect humbucker. Here it is clean in the neck. http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8409443 Sounded great. "Skyrocketing to #2 on the soundclick charts is the one and only JJ Pistols with Ophelia" "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Sounded great. "Skyrocketing to #2 on the soundclick charts is the one and only JJ Pistols with Ophelia" "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." haha thanks man didn't know they took #21-40 away from Shaggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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