Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

How would a bb3 compare to a 78? I'd figure they'd be pretty similar right?

[blues]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

How would a bb3 compare to a 78? I'd figure they'd be pretty similar right?

If your talking about the custom shop 78,I dont think they are similar.

I had a BB3 in a traditional pro Les Paul. I felt the same way that tubecrunch does. I can say I did not like it.

I plug straight into the amp most of the time. So its just the guitar to the amp so pickups are important to me.

I have a 78 wound onto a P-90 base in my current guitar. It came with the guitar. Its a korina Les Paul Jr. style. The first thing I thought was to get a P-90 for the guitar. I was not going to like a humbucker pickup straight into my amp. Its a Victoria 5112. I did not like the BB3 with it.

Despite people thinking you will sound like VH and get the brown sound you would still need his set up to get close. I thought I was not going to like the 78. Boy was I wrong. I did not know that the specs were slightly higher than a regular PAF type wind. But again someone from Gibson said they wound the original PAF untill they were full. So they did vary somewhat and it was possibe the pickup VH had one will a higher amount of winds

If found it to break up nice and had definition so you could her all the notes clearly you were playing. No mud or high pitched shrill. It even cleans up well when you roll off the volume. I can roll the tone off and no mud. I think it is a versatile pick up.

If your thinking on a change i would pick the 78 over BB3 But YMMV

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

I kinda like the BB3 but I don't know what pickup to match it with. I've got a 57 classic and a Pearly Gates laying around.... Which one would pair better with the BB3 in a 335 style guitar?

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

The BB3 I am testing out was matched with a 57c. They seem to work very well together. I think I lot of the LP Standard Pros come with this match.

[chadd]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

The BB3 I am testing out was matched with a 57c. They seem to work very well together. I think I lot of the LP Standard Pros come with this match.

That is standard setup for Traditional Pros. I raised a couple of the pole pieces on my 57s in order to get the right balance and definition when combined with the bridge tone I liked.

[blueman335]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

I kinda like the BB3 but I don't know what pickup to match it with. I've got a 57 classic and a Pearly Gates laying around.... Which one would pair better with the BB3 in a 335 style guitar?

To me, both PGN's and '57's are fairly warm in the neck slot. I like more treble and clarity there, and swapped magnets in both.

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

That is standard setup for Traditional Pros. I raised a couple of the pole pieces on my 57s in order to get the right balance and definition when combined with the bridge tone I liked.

I haven't done pole tweaking yet on this setup, but right out of the gate, they blend pretty well. I'll bet some tweaks would be icing on the cake.

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

To me, both PGN's and '57's are fairly warm in the neck slot. I like more treble and clarity there, and swapped magnets in both.

I also think the 57 could use a touch more treble in the neck. Do you think an A3 would help?

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

Thanks for that info guys
Just for argument sake though, the PG measures at 7.83 for me while the 57C measures 8.22. Is this a large difference? I thought 8.2 and up was a nice vintage bridge pickup wind while 7.6 to 8 was for neck pickups (just using DCR as a reading) will the 57 be too harsh or woofy compared to the pg?

[blueman335]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

I also think the 57 could use a touch more treble in the neck. Do you think an A3 would help?

Yes, A3 or A4.

[chadd]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

I haven't done pole tweaking yet on this setup, but right out of the gate, they blend pretty well. I'll bet some tweaks would be icing on the cake.

I would try it before swapping magnets, you may be surprised at how much it can change the tone.

[blueman335]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

I would try it before swapping magnets, you may be surprised at how much it can change the tone.

Sorry, it was assumed that had been done already.

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Gibson BB3 is pretty cool, but.....

Sorry, it was assumed that had been done already.

Still, it's good food for thought. Nothing wrong with looking to the future.