Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

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BloodRose

Professional Scapegoat
Hello boys and girls.. Mr BloodRose here.. Can you say frustration? Sure you can...
Today, we are going to learn a new word. Da^^it! Say it with meaning boys and girls, but maybe not let mommy or daddy hear you practice!!

Im trying to bond with my LP trad pro's stock pups as I dont wanna change them. I did swap the mag in the BB. Ive heard the 57 is a great pup, but both of them break up even on clean.
Im sure its probably a setup issue.. But I started high (the pickup, not me..) and keep working down.. Do you guys that run these, do you set them really low?
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

what amp are they breaking up the clean channel on? they arent that hot for buckers but have way more juice than a single coil.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

jeremy said:
what amp are they breaking up the clean channel on? they arent that hot for buckers but have way more juice than a single coil.
Click to expand...

Im using my little H&K Blues 30. I get better cleans with the JB in my Charvel. Its not just cleans, it lacks definition under gain.. The 57 sounds good under gain, but breaks up under cleans. Im sure I can adjust it down to clean it up. I guess Ill have to crank the bb way down too to balance..

Im gonna try dialing them down more... Ill crank em way down tommorrow..
I found another post I made before on my struggle with these (sorry for the dup!!) so, apparently Im not gelling with them.. haha
I like the BB better with the A8 mag in it, but... I had em dialed in where I was somewhat content, then I tried dropping the tuning on the guitar and they went to mush.. I tried to adjust for that setting and couldnt get it so went back to standard and cant get em back.. sheesh
 
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Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

the a8 has huge output. youre gonna have to set that sucker really low.

i start with my neck pup even with the ring and adjust from there.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

thanks, Ive got it about at the ring.. Ill go LOW tommorrow and see if I can sort it out.. thanks!

Hey you mentioned that these arent hot pups.. Do you know if they rate hotter or lower than a Slash set? Im trying to decide what to do if I cant dial em in. I like the tones I see in vids of the Slash set and I like an A2p in the neck, but I had an AIIp (regular) set in a LP studio once and didnt seem like the bridge had any output.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

well they arent that hot until you put the a8 in there. thats a huge volume bump from the a2 thats stock.

the slash is hotter than the aph in the bridge but not crazy hot
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

LOL!! I love a8 mags tho! maybe ill try a 5. I think the slash set may be in order tho.. I loved the tone, just not the low output.. Just caught this vid on youtube and it pretty much sold me a set.

http://youtu.be/2EphfwROCLk


thanks as always for your help Jeremy!
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, not everyone, but I get the best tone by letting amps do the work, while using vintage spec pickups...and sometimes medium hot bridge pickups.

I start low in the ring or pickguard, and bring the height up just enough so that my pick attack sits right on the edge of the pickup swelling up, so I'm in the range of ultimate touch sensitivity.

I think most serious tone aficionados end up at vintage spec pickups, while making sure their amps and OD pedals are top quality. Unfortunately, most start with cheap amps and the desire to get their guitars beefier sounding, going straight to hot pickups first. And too many over-think it, worrying about pickups and magnets, when it would be much wiser to just get better on their instrument using vintage spec pickups and dialed in amp rigs.

Take that for what it's worth.....just an opinion from someone who's gone full circle with everything.
 
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Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

+1. The amp is the main tone generator. Pups just fine tune your tone. And of course, magnets provide the ultimate fine tuning.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

I've never been able to get the tones I want from a neck '57, without putting in an A5. It's just too dark with an A2. I'd try an UOA5 in the BB3 to keep the vinatge vibe and dynamics.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

hey guys! thanks for the great advice! GJ, yeah Im learning what you are saying. Tho, Ive not yet taken a liking for vintage pups, Im trying to rely on my amp, now that I have the splawn, Im happy with its tone and want to build around it. Yeah, im mostly using and HK practice amp these days, but Ive used it long enough to know that if it sounds like crap with that amp, it wont sound much better on the main rig.
now, I spent alot of time this morning dialing it in and am much happier! The neck is at the ring and the bridge is much lower than I would normally set em.. But, it sounds pretty good. I still see a swap in the future, but Im enjoying playing her again. I will try an UOA5 if i can get my mitts on one, before I make the full plunge. Right now it sounds good and even better when I dial up the mids on the amp. So, should fit the splawn even better. will try it in a day or so..

Thanks again
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

The key to the BB3 with the stock magnet is to not get it too close to the strings. Start with it set about the same you would a SuperD, 1 nickel on the treble side and 2 nickels on the bass side and tweak from there. Too close and it thins out real bad. The BB3/57 Classic is a great combo but you have to dial in the height of them for your setup to get the max benefit.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

I have a LP with a neck '57 Classic and love it with the A2 stock mag. Not as much as I love the Pearly Gates neck or the Demon, but I think it does what I want it to do. For some things I think it works even better than the PG or SD. I won't be changing the mag in mine.

Admittedly, since the PG and SD are better allaround pups than the '57, my guitars with those pups are the ones I use all the time. I rarely use my LP with the '57 also because it is so heavy.

I'm getting too old for that much weight around my neck in addition to the many millstones that are already there.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

I'd set them level with the pickup rings and work up from there. I'm getting partial to having pups set lower these days. Any output or gain you lose (and it won't be much) you can make for with your amp and to me they just sound better set low.
 
Re: Gibby 57 Classic/BB3 combo help needed

Erik,
Since I learned the nickel trick from Bill Lawrence, I usually use that method. Before that, I went from the ring and worked up. The BB3 is a picky beast. Seems best set alot lower then I normally run a pup.
The 57 is pretty decent sounding pup. I just had to get it really low.
You say it has an A2 Doc?

RichardP, yeah, these are both alot lower than Id normally run. Im starting to embrace this theory more, now that I have an amp I really click with
 
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