Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

[ItsaBass]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

I like 'em in SGs and Fenders. Not so hot in Les Pauls or pointies IMO.

[Chickenwings]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

57s...sound like blah to me

[Ayrton]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

I only have one guitar that they sound good in, and that is an older SG standard. I pulled them out of every other guitar I own that had them.

Very hit or (mostly) miss for me.

[Securb]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

They didn't have enough beef for me. I swapped out my 57+ for a 498T and could not be happier.

[blueman335]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

I only have one guitar that they sound good in, and that is an older SG standard. I pulled them out of every other guitar I own that had them.

Very hit or (mostly) miss for me.

Sounds about right. And Gibson puts them in so many models of guitars.

[Ayrton]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

Sounds about right. And Gibson puts them in so many models of guitars.

What is worse is that I know if I swapped out the '57s for say a set of Antiquities, I would like the guitar even more.

No matter what the '57 sound like, there are pups that sound better.

[AlexR]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

I think Burstbuckers are much better-sounding than '57's. The unbalanced coils give them a sharper high-end, and a little more clarity.

I think thats the wind - the BB's have only a few winds difference between coils according to Zhang and others who've done measurements on them.

[always SD]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

2 questions
basswood+classic 57 in neck: good or not?

and classic 57 / sh1

the sound of the famous sh1 seems to be different and
classic 57 gives a fat and warm sound
so, winner is classic 57, isn't it?

[blueman335]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

2 questions
basswood+classic 57 in neck: good or not?

and classic 57 / sh1

the sound of the famous sh1 seems to be different and
classic 57 gives a fat and warm sound
so, winner is classic 57, isn't it?

Not that easy. PU's sound different depending on what guitar they're in; every piece of wood has it's own tonal characteristics due to variations in grain, density, mineral content, water content, etc. '59's (SH-1) are bright, bassy, and mid scooped, which works well in many guitars, but can be boomy in the neck slot of LP's. '57 Classics are middy with a loose low-end and a rounded high-end, which also can have issues in warm woods, especially LP's.

I'd take a '59 over a '57 any day, although I may need to swap magnets to dial in the EQ. I just don't care for the sound of '57's, it can be hard to get cut and bite with them. They're widely used by Gibson, but remember that Gibson is a guitar company that only makes PU's to have something to put in their guitars. Duncan's business revolves around PU's, and there's an obvious passion there, and a perpetual quest for tone quality that Gibson does not have. With Gibson, a PU only needs to be adequate, but Duncan can't sell their aftermarket PU's unless they beat stock PU's. Gibson and Fender are some of the main reasons why Duncan, DiMarzio, etc have a market in the first place.

[always SD]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

very interesting about business
thanks

[Duffy1949]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

I have the 57 classic and plus covered pickup set in a LP and like the pickups. I'm going to try the Antiquities in another guitar soon.

I have the Seymour Duncan JB bridge and Jazz neck, black open coils, in my black twin humbucker strat with a black pickguard and a maple fretboard. It has black knurled P bass type knobs instead of the unsightly "amp style" knobs it came with. This is a super "stealth" type guitar, looks laid back; but man can that JB scream. Those pickups replaced the stock chrome covered Fender Blacktop strat humbuckers that came in it. No comparison.

The JB is a great bridge pickup for a bright sound that you can mellow out with the tone knob on the guitar. I also like the '59 neck pickup I have in other guitars. The JB and '59 can be a great pickup set in a twin humbucker guitar.

I have a Pearly Gates stock, custom made for Fender, in my Lonestar Strat. The new Lonestar's are way different from mine and mine is only about two years old, if that. I like mine better than the new ones and the pickups are great. The Pearly Gates is a great bridge pickup in a HSS guitar.

I wonder if the OP is still getting these messages? It would be interesting to see if he still has that 57 in the strat.

[Geraldo]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

Very nice Duffy..

[marvar]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

I like the 57 classics, not that crazy about the 57+ for some reason.

[JeffB]

Re: Any fans of Gibson 57 Classic humbuckers?

Big fan here. Since the switch to polysol, I like them far better, much less muddy, more articulate,and more aggressive than the older plain enamel wire versions. Have one in my 335S, and a Super/Classic in my Les Paul.

Basswood? IDK. Worth a shot I guess.

As a follow up


Have a pair of standard old 57s in my new Les Paul Classic now, and they sound awesome. The addition of a covered 57 in the bridge really opened the guitar. Bought a nickel cover for the neck to install/. That said I am NOT going for a PAF sound. I am going for that late pat#/T top type of sound, and the newer 57s with spn wire are essentially a slightly hotter, slightly warmer version (polished A2 vs. the short A5, and high 7ks vs low to mid 7Ks.)

I tried a UOA5 in the Super 57, let it marinate for a week, and meh.... nice chewy mids, but it seemed to lose its width of sound.....got narrow and congested/too focused (like a stock Custiom 5). I do not really like the 57 Plus or Super 57 (they are different, super is more open, more highs and lows, than the Plus)