I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

[Benjy_26]

Hello all.

I have come to a realization recently.

I think I've taken the stereotypical "Gibson sound" out of most of my Gibson style guitars. Mind you, I don't have any real Gibsons, but I've always tended to gravitate towards dual humbucker, short scale, set neck guitars.

I own a couple of shred sticks, love telecasters, and realize that only a strat really sounds like a strat, but, by and large, the meat and potatoes of my tone has been made up of a Gibson-inspired guitar.

Recently, I've been playing mostly telecasters and an Epiphone Night Hawk Custom RI. Between a Thinline Tele, a solid body Tele, and the Night Hawk, I've been able to get all the tones I'm using with a band. At home, I've kept tinkering with most of my guitars, trying different magnets, wiring, switching, pickups, et al.

Last night, I was cleaning up the music room and got side tracked. I started plugging in guitars into my big amps that I had only plugged into my smaller amps in the process of messing with wiring, magnets, and pickups.

I started getting excited, because, in particular, my Les Paul andy Sheraton were really rocking through my Bassman. I figured I'd give them a try in place of my two telecasters next time I play out.

The LP has a pair of Phat Cats (A4/A5 in the neck) and the Sheraton has a MagnaTron and a Tv Tron Plus in the bridge. That decided, I went to plug in my Hamer Special. This guitar hadn't been plugged into any amp in over a year. I play it acoustically at home because: I really enjoy how it sounds and feels unplugged, and: it's older than I am. I try not to take this one out for fear that I'll damage it worse than it already is.

This guitar has an Antiquity in the neck and a S Deco V in the bridge.

Holy COW.

The sounds I was getting were big, fat, juicy, and clear. Not bright and spanky like the Fenders I've been playing, but they *are* plenty clear and have a lot of air and shimmer.

This made me realize that the gibson style guitars I *do* play often have been moving more and more tone-wise towards the Fenders I've been playing out. Playing the Telecasters through the same rig confirmed that.

Has this happened to anyone else? Are your guitars moving closer to each other tone-wise?

 

[zionstrat]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

Yeah, as you say, the total rig had to be considered but IMHO, Gibson has to add Fenderish tones to the repitoire if they are going to remain a major player.

From my perspective, it's not that hard to get Gibsonish tones on a Fender... 25.5 is going to add some snap instead of bloom, but pickups can help cross this barrier.

Switch to a mahogany body and humbuckers and Teles can easily reproduce the vast majority of the Gibson timbres.

So the blueshawk and night hawks were a great example of Gibson throwing up a good design without proper positioning... Very few understood that they did a great job crossing both camps... Fender people didn't need it and Gibson people said this doesn't sound like a Gibson.

I built a mahogany body 25.5 maple neck and it does an excellent job covering the full tonal range that you are describing.

But my stock Reverend Double agent can easily get into the same range... When the bridge is parallel to self and the bass contour is rolled off, it's easy to get into bridge and center pup strat land. With the neck p90 and bass contour bypassed, it easily gets in Lp jr. land.

The Korina body is extrey flexible.



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[Benjy_26]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I think you're spot on about scale length, tbh. The longer scale instruments do seem to be able to produce more tonal variety than the shorter scale guitars that I have. With that said, I am sort of tempted to go back to PAF's in my semi hollows and in my LP so I can get some of that fat note bloom back.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I used to be strictly a dual bucker, short scale, mid-range and overwound Gibson tone kinda guy. Then I started splitting coils. Threw in some brighter magnets. Then went the P-90 route. Now all my builds are Fender scale (25.5") and using lots of P-90s (with lots of different magnets), gold foils, and brighter toned low output buckers with split and/or parallel options. I'm really diggin' the snap and clarity I'm getting out of them. It's been a total 180 turnabout.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I used to be strictly a dual bucker, short scale, mid-range and overwound Gibson tone kinda guy. Then I started splitting coils. Threw in some brighter magnets. Then went the P-90 route. Now all my builds are Fender scale (25.5") and using lots of P-90s (with lots of different magnets), gold foils, and brighter toned low output buckers with split and/or parallel options. I'm really diggin' the snap and clarity I'm getting out of them. It's been a total 180 turnabout.

I hear you. I'm *really* digging what I'm hearing out of my Nighthawk, particularly. I guess I'm just really shocked at how damned good the tones coming out of that Hamer are. No fancy wiring. Just a pair of PAF's in mahogany.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I guess I'm just really shocked at how damned good the tones coming out of that Hamer are. No fancy wiring. Just a pair of PAF's in mahogany.

That is what they call a timeless, classic tone.

 

[Aceman]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I don't know about "de-gibsoning" but I'll say that I think since the late 70's a DiMarzio or Duncan coaxed Gibson has been the Gibson sound.

I have no desire to move to a Fender tone, but I'll agree that it is easier to get Gibson-esque out of a Fender than Fender out of a Gibson.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I don't know about "de-gibsoning" but I'll say that I think since the late 70's a DiMarzio or Duncan coaxed Gibson has been the Gibson sound.

I have no desire to move to a Fender tone, but I'll agree that it is easier to get Gibson-esque out of a Fender than Fender out of a Gibson.

I think you're right. I remember putting a Super D in my LP a few years ago with a PGn and thinking that it was a great, classic rock sound. Sometimes I forget that the 70's happened almost 50 years ago.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

but I'll agree that it is easier to get Gibson-esque out of a Fender than Fender out of a Gibson.

%100 agree

A lot of the character of a Fender is the single coil pickups, but maple fretboard and scale play a decent part -and bridge if it's a Tele.

But most of the character of Gibson is the Humbuckers

So getting Gibsony in a Fender is easy with versatile humbuckers or stacked HB and some EQ, but getting Fendery in a Gibson is really really hard.

 

[beaubrummels]

I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

Vintage HH Gibsons sound more like a Telecaster and vintage Telecasters sound more like a vintage Gibson. Old PAFs had an audible Fendery spank and top end to them. I think the tone difference you are describing is more from modern back to vintage Gibson.

A pair of Seths will take you there. Also most any similar vintage PAF-like HH combo.

I have an SG with a T-Deco bridge and Pearly/A2P hybrid neck and it’s one of the best Gibson sounds I’ve gotten out of it - F. King to Allmans to Page to Angus and then some.

 

[SAguitar]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

Q: "Are your guitars moving closer to each other tone-wise?"

A: No. I consciously try to keep my guitars sounding different from each other. If I didn't, I could sure get by with a lot less guitars and we don't want to see that happening.

Now if I applied that question to my amps, then I'd have to answer Yes. I do have a prejudice for Fender amps, or amps that I can dial in to sound like them. My first electric guitar experience was playing a friend's Les Paul through a Fender Twin Reverb and that did it. I was hooked, and I never recovered.

 

[Killertofu]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I'm presently on a HSS kick and my appreciation for fender's style has really grown in the last couple years.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I'm presently on a HSS kick and my appreciation for fender's style has really grown in the last couple years.

I used to *hate* HSS set ups. Not so these days. Maybe my ears are liking more treble as I get older.

 

[Diego]

Re: I think I de-Gibson'd my "Gibsons".

I tend to dislike overwound pickups mostly, so my concept of a "Gibson" sound is a reasonably bright PAF pickup, not a hotrodded LP tone.

I think it was Greg Koch that said that a really good sounding LP will share some characteristics with a Tele, tonewise. I can see where that comes from.