Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

[donaldr]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

I have a Gibson Les Paul LPJ with '61T and like it, maybe because of the maple neck it's not dark, but they are bright, I have my tone pot around 5.
As @itsabass suggested I had to play alot with the height and pole pieces. Was using DR Tite-fit and moved to Ernie Ball Power Slinky 11-48 and that worked for me.

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

I'll probably just throw in a Seth or an Antiquity and be done

Can't go wrong there.

[GOB]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

I bet I could swap out the A5 magnets for a big improvement, but I'm thinking I might just replace the pickup so I can keep the 61T in tact to make it easier to sell.

I think what I really want in this guitar is big, round, and warm. And I can't stand that nasal half-cocked-wah sort of tone. I'll probably just throw in a Seth or an Antiquity and be done

[ItsaBass]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

Have you carefully adjusted the pickup and its pole pieces? You can do a whole lot with that, if you know how.

Lots of modern pickups use magnets that are, quite simply, too powerful for my taste. A5s are quite strong, and can often cause the infamous too bright and too dark problem. Too bright due to the power of the magnet...and too dark because it's hitting your amp too hard and distorting the low end.

Try lowering the pickup a bit and rolling back your tone knob. Also, dial in less bass and treble on your amp, and more mids, if you have a knob for them. And make sure you balance the strings's volumes using the adjustable pole pieces.

[freefrog]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

The numbered Burstbuckers used alnico 2 magnets, correct? Because I have experience with (almost) all Gibson humbuckers, and off the top of my head, all the A2 models are pretty good, while all of the A5 ones kinda suck.

The recent Gibson A5 bars that I've tested were 1/3 more gaussed than other magnets of the same (?) alloy... With coils exhibiting a high Q factor, like those in the BB pros, it gives the tone described above as too bright and too dark simultaneously: their high Q factor makes them too focused with powerful magnets (not to mention the tendency to produce unrequested feedback).

FWIW...

[oilpit]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

A lot of A5 magnets sound that way to me, but BB pros were awful. This is coming from a guy that actually liked the BB1, BB2 and BB3, as well. The 61T is pretty much the same thing as a Pro B with the coils swapped, from what I understand, so I can't imagine liking it.

The numbered Burstbuckers used alnico 2 magnets, correct? Because I have experience with (almost) all Gibson humbuckers, and off the top of my head, all the A2 models are pretty good, while all of the A5 ones kinda suck.

The BB1, BB2, BB3(not 100% sure about the BB3 mag?), '57 Classic/+.

All fantastic pickups, the BB1/3 combo, as well as the '57 Classics both absolutely sing in everything I've heard them in. I don't personally have experience with the BB2, I think they are mostly used in the bridge position of semi-hollow bodies, but I assume they are as good as their siblings in guitars that don't need any grunt from the pickups.

The BB Pros and 498T/490R have sounded like crap everytime I've heard them. I have less experience with the latter, but they sound pretty generic to me.

Maybe whoever winds for Gibson just works better with weaker magnets? Or maybe it's total coincidence.

[chadd]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

A lot of A5 magnets sound that way to me, but BB pros were awful. This is coming from a guy that actually liked the BB1, BB2 and BB3, as well. The 61T is pretty much the same thing as a Pro B with the coils swapped, from what I understand, so I can't imagine liking it.

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

It also does this annoying thing where it is too bright and too dark at the same time!

This is how I felt about the burstbucker pros that were in my 2006 Standard. I went through a lot of pickups before I came to a few Duncans that I liked. Seths, WLH, 59s w/A2 mags; all were much better than the BBs. Seths were probably the best, but currently I'm running 59 neck and 59/Custom bridge b/c I wanted something a little hotter than the rest of my stable of PAF guitars.

[Chistopher]

Re: Gibson Burstbucker 61T... yuck

The Saturday Night Special is what you want from this description.

[GOB]

I know Les Paul bridge pickups aren't exactly a new topic.

I recently picked up a new Les Paul Standard 60s and I love everything about the guitar except that bridge pickup! It sounds ok for some things, but it gets a really nasal quality to it in notes around the Bb-C on the 3rd-5th frets of the G string. Overall it's sort of honky and thin.

It also does this annoying thing where it is too bright and too dark at the same time! The top three strings get really sharp and too bright while the low strings are still very dark and boomy!

I don't have much experience with Gibson humbuckers, but this one is making me think it might be time to throw a Duncan in there