What are T-Top pickups

[Lewguitar]

Re: What are T-Top pickups

Interesting coincidence!

I just made an Antiquity neck humbucker into a "T-Top" yesterday.

I removed the 2 1/2" roughcast Alnico 2 magnet MJ had installed, and replaced it with a 2 3/8" roughcast Alnico 5 magnet from AddictionFX.

I also removed the 2 1/2" roughcast A2 magnet from the bridge Antiquity and installed a 2 1/2" roughcast Alnico 5 magnet.

I like the change.

In the 70's I gigged with a 1960 Gibson ES-355 like BB King's. It was all original except the neck pickup had been replaced with a gold T-Top.

The bridge pickup was still the original paf...probably Alnico 5.

I loved that pickup combination.

The neck pickup was great for jazzy chords and had a Larry Carlton kind of tone for solos. With overdrive the tone was breathy and open and not so nasal as some humbuckers can be.

That guitar was stolen when I moved to Denver from Detroit and I never saw it again and I've missed it ever since.

Anyways: if a player is using Alnico 5 humbuckers and needs a little more clarity from the neck pickup, change the 2 1/2" magnet in the neck pickup to a 2 3/8" T-Top style magnet.

You'll get the drive and push of Alnico 5 but a clearer sound.

I prefer roughcast magnets like I've found in my Antiquity pickups and original pafs.

[AlexR]

Re: What are T-Top pickups

Technically, you've actually made a 1960 PAF, or a Pat#.

Actually short magnets did make their way into some 1959 PAF's, but 1960 was a time when there was a much greater uptake. Of course the pat# pickups had the short A5 pretty much all the way through.

[Lewguitar]

Re: What are T-Top pickups

Does the Duncan "JAZZ" use a short magnet? It's nice and clean too. And bright.

[ToneFiddler]

Re: What are T-Top pickups

Does the Duncan "JAZZ" use a short magnet? It's nice and clean too. And bright.

no, long magnet.

t-tops: short mag and poly wire
pat#: short mag and enamel wire