What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

[Masta' C]

I recently picked up a very unique pickup and would love to figure out what it is and/or what it came from!

It's a Gibson pickup and it looks like your typical "Tarback" from the bottom. However, it has no exposed poles, very similar to the early '70s "Super Humbucker" designed by Bill Lawrence. But, this is where it gets interesting...

1) Black metal cover from the factory, though I did find a similar example in chrome. Both are shown below.​
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2) It has a factory "PAF" sticker (so does the chrome one if you look closely)
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3) It has gray shielding on the lead wires, similar to the late-model Gibson pickups and the '80s Bill Lawrence designed models, such as "The Original" series.​ The '70s-era pickups of this style all had braided leads.
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4) It measures a stout 15.9K (the chrome one was reported to be 17.5K by its owner). The original '70s "Super Humbucker" which these resemble most in appearance and construction, was only 7.8K or so with some neck models falling in the 6K range. The later Bill Lawrence stuff rarely broke 12-13K.

I'm guessing an oddity from the mid-'80s, maybe a prototype or limited run of some sort? Any thoughts on what it could be?

Black:

Chrome:

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I think that's a Gibson Toni Iommi pickup? The bar in the middle under the baseplate is the A2 magnet. https://reverb.com/item/227811-gibson-tony-iommi-signature-humbucker-pickup-chrome

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I was thinking maybe one of the old Schecter SuperRock pickups from the late 70's/early 80's when you said black cover. But they didn't look like the pictures.

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Iommi pickup perhaps

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

It has the thick magnet at the bottom and everything. Good find.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I think that's a Gibson Toni Iommi pickup[/url]

Holy crap, I think you're right! How bizarre!

Here's the back of another Iommi...

 

[Masta' C]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

So, clearly inspired by the '70s "super humbucker" design and construction, but different magnet/coils it seems

Very interesting!

Here's the internal construction:

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I believe it has a mix of A2 and ceramic magnets.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Very interesting! Do they sound sludgy, crunchy, or what?

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I’ve wondered about the construction of these. Being filled with epoxy, you have to pretty much destroy it to open it lol.

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I always thought it had three magnets. Two ceramic and an A2. But I guess that wouldn’t make sense.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

The green blocks in the picture are A2 and the red is Ceramic. Not quite sure how the bottom A2 and Ceramic bars are sandwiched in there, but I'd be surprised if they were touching directly.

The old Super Humbuckers used pretty much the same internal design, but with an "Indox" magnet, which was a type of Ceramic. They were very clear sounding pickups with a balanced tone. Found on Gibson L5-S, L6-S, and Artisan LP guitars from the '70s

Haven't tried the "Iommi" to compare, but the biggest difference appears to be in the higher output coil windings, which I suspect will darken the tone considerably, but retain clarity in the way that Bill Lawrence designs tend to do.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Sounds very intriguing...

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Why such a short magnet on top? Why is the point of that?

 

[Masta' C]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

I'm not entirely sure. Depending on how things are configured, it could essentially complete an internal magnetic circuit between the top and bottom magnets. Not sure what other pickup designs do this or what the real-world implications are. Like I said, I assume this design originates from the mind of Bill Lawrence, who operated on an entirely different level of understanding from most pickup makers. It's certainly interesting!

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Yeah that diagram shows the blades shorter than the bobbin height so I think they are decoupled directly from the bottom magnets. It must be like airing the poles. Then the purpose of the magnet on top is to complete or redirect things?

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Let us know if the pickup doesn’t work and you plan on tearing it apart because I’d like to see pictures of it disassembled lol.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

LOL! Hopefully it works, ha ha! If the pickup arrives broken, I'm getting a refund, not pulling it apart!

If you notice, some parts on that diagram are not drawn to scale. The bobbins, for instance, are so big that only one could fit under the cover pictured! So, who knows what the internals really look like at scale.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Re: What the heck is this? Gibson Bill Lawrence "Tarback" PAF Super-Humbucker?

Even this was from Friday... I looked and my mind just said “Iommi”. Thanks for detailing it, I look forward to your impressions.