Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

S

srmd22

New member
My favorite humbucker of any guitar I have ever played are the T-tops in my '72 LP BB. I have another solid body LP-style custom made guitar (C.P. Thornton) with Wolfetones in it. Sounds great, but I much prefer the sounds of my old LP. Does SD (or anyone) make pups that sound like those T-tops?

Thanks.

PS: come to think of it, I have a couple of other HB equipped guitars that I would love to hear with T-tops.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

I've a big fan of T-Tops, too. None of the Duncans sound like T-Tops. Most of the boutique winders have their take on it, including Wolfe (Grey Wolf, I believe), but for what they all cost you could just pick up a couple T-Tops on the bay and have what you want. There's a guy called Brandonwound that sells replicas for $175/pr. on ebay; what little feedback you can find on them is good, but there's not a lot of it. Been tempted to try some on occasion, but afraid they won't cut it, and will have no resale value.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Wasn't sure if original used T-tops were actually available, but if they I think I will look into that a bit more. Someone else recommnded Rewind Electric's products - they do a set, I guess it is a 70's style set with a T-top for the bridge and a higher output period correct neck - whatever is in my '72 is what I want. I assumed they were both T-tops, but I guess the neck is not actually a T-top? I never looked, not even sure how to.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

srmd22 said:
Wasn't sure if original used T-tops were actually available, but if they I think I will look into that a bit more. Someone else recommnded Rewind Electric's products - they do a set, I guess it is a 70's style set with a T-top for the bridge and a higher output period correct neck - whatever is in my '72 is what I want. I assumed they were both T-tops, but I guess the neck is not actually a T-top? I never looked, not even sure how to.
Click to expand...

That's a Jimmy Page set, but you can get a pair of T-tops from him no problem.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

ericmeyer4 said:
Take a Gibson 490r and put a short A5 magnet in it. That is rumored to approximate a t-top.
Click to expand...

It sounds more like a T-top than a 59 or Jazz does, but in the end it's not really the same, IME; not as open or chimey. But it can work pretty well, depending on how close you want to get, or if you need potted pickups.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Ive got a killer set of T tops from James @ Rewind. Worth every penny and then some.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Why? Just why….

[says guy who owns two 70's LP's…]
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

I would pick up a set of used Duncan standard humbuckers, and have the Custom Shop rewind them for you, spec'ing poly-insulated wire, 7.5KOhm, and short A5. They'll do as good a job as anyone, and with the cost of a used pickup ($30 or $40), plus the rewinding and magnet swap ($75 per pickup), you're actually looking at a pretty fair price for a custom spec'd pickup. The good thing about T-Tops is that they reproduce very well, because the originals were made remarkably consistently. They were very consistently wound by machine, almost always falling in the 7.4–7.6 KOhm range (and usually right at or near 7.5K), and almost always having the same neat winding pattern as the next one. As such, there isn't a lot of "artistic license" to be taken when they are being reproduced, like there is with P.A.F. and Pat. No. pickups.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

How does the Duncan Jazz compare to a T-top?

Sound wise and spec wise?

I've not liked most T-tops compared to real 50's PAF's.

But I did have one in the neck of a 1960 ES-355 that sounded great.

I replaced it with a real 50's PAF and that particular T-top sounded better: livelier and clearer. So I put it back in.

It couldn't have been the original pickup and someone must have broken the original pickup and installed that T-top as a replacement.

But it sure sounded good!

That guitar was stolen from me in the early 1980's and I still miss it.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Lewguitar said:
How does the Duncan Jazz compare to a T-top?

Sound wise and spec wise?
Click to expand...

Can't compare them in the bridge as I've never tried a Jazz there, but in the neck the Jazz (and 59) is much more scooped. T-tops are odd in that they have lots of mids, but without the top end roll off you normally get with that many mids. They are not some holy grail tone, but they can sound pretty darn good, especially in the neck. In the bridge they are tele-like in their thinness and bite, so look elsewhere if you're looking for big & fat. They measure in the mid 7s, 7.4-7.6k generally.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

ItsaBass said:
I would pick up a set of used Duncan standard humbuckers, and have the Custom Shop rewind them for you, spec'ing poly-insulated wire, 7.5KOhm, and short A5. They'll do as good a job as anyone, and with the cost of a used pickup ($30 or $40), plus the rewinding and magnet swap ($75 per pickup), you're actually looking at a pretty fair price for a custom spec'd pickup. The good thing about T-Tops is that they reproduce very well, because the originals were made remarkably consistently. They were very consistently wound by machine, almost always falling in the 7.4–7.6 KOhm range (and usually right at or near 7.5K), and almost always having the same neat winding pattern as the next one. As such, there isn't a lot of "artistic license" to be taken when they are being reproduced, like there is with P.A.F. and Pat. No. pickups.
Click to expand...

Interesting suggestion - what would one do, just send them to SD's custom shop for rewinding and magnets?


lemonman said:
Can't compare them in the bridge as I've never tried a Jazz there, but in the neck the Jazz (and 59) is much more scooped. T-tops are odd in that they have lots of mids, but without the top end roll off you normally get with that many mids. They are not some holy grail tone, but they can sound pretty darn good, especially in the neck. In the bridge they are tele-like in their thinness and bite, so look elsewhere if you're looking for big & fat. They measure in the mid 7s, 7.4-7.6k generally.
Click to expand...

I like both the neck and bridge in my '72, so whatever they are, that's what I want :) I guess they are both T-tops, but I don't know if one is any different then the other.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

srmd22 said:
Interesting suggestion - what would one do, just send them to SD's custom shop for rewinding and magnets?
Click to expand...

Yep; that's it. The order form is online somewhere. Just Google search for "Seymour Duncan pickup rewinding." Find the page that is made for humbuckers, and enter your instructions. Be sure to click the bubble that says it's Duncan pickups you will be sending in (it saves you $20 per pickup). A rewind and mag swap come as a package deal for $95 (they'd be a total of $105 if charged separately), and you also get -$20 per pickup for them being Duncans, so your total comes to $75 per pickup, plus shipping.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

ItsaBass said:
Yep; that's it. The order form is online somewhere. Just Google search for "Seymour Duncan pickup rewinding." Find the page that is made for humbuckers, and enter your instructions. Be sure to click the bubble that says it's Duncan pickups you will be sending in (it saves you $20 per pickup). A rewind and mag swap come as a package deal for $95 (they'd be a total of $105 if charged separately), and you also get -$20 per pickup for them being Duncans, so your total comes to $75 per pickup, plus shipping.
Click to expand...

Yeah, contact the Custom Shop by using their form, by email, or by phone. Don't just send the pickup in without contacting them- there needs to be a record of the order.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Still waiting on an answer to "why?"

Seriously…

I have 73/74/79 Les Pauls. Between the 7 pickups in them, there are 5 DiMarzios (2 SuperD's, 3 PAF's) A Duncan (Distortion) and just one T-Top.


Full disclosure: I have the neck T-Top in my 79 LP and it is never coming out. It is so Slash you can smell Jack Daniels in the air when I play it.
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Aceman said:
Still waiting on an answer to "why?"

Seriously…

I have 73/74/79 Les Pauls. Between the 7 pickups in them, there are 5 DiMarzios (2 SuperD's, 3 PAF's) A Duncan (Distortion) and just one T-Top.


Full disclosure: I have the neck T-Top in my 79 LP and it is never coming out. It is so Slash you can smell Jack Daniels in the air when I play it.
Click to expand...

why not?

seriously... use what works ....just because it didnt work for you,doesnt mean it wont for some one else..HELL..i put one in a modern metal guitar and its never coming out.. It gives my guitar a soul and cant imagine the guitar w/o it
 
Re: Best Aftermarket T-top type pickup

Probably THE most replaced pickup of all time - just sayin'

But yeah…if it works it works. I have one that does.

just see T-Tops as the "Pabst Blue Ribbon" of pickups. It was meh then, and it is meh now. But because it is old it somehow became like nostalgic chic. I can't think of a tone issue that I'd be going "You know - it sounds like you need a T-Top."

But as mentioned - what rocks, rocks.
 
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