All you ever wanted to know about Gibson T Tops

OilCityPickups

chrisv said:

The Calibrated T-Types in my 2021 ES-335 sound fantastic, I'm very happy with them. Here are a few examples, the first and second from a filmed live session (guitar direct using a Quad Cortex) and the third an Instagram noodle (of which there are many more posted on my account): 

https://youtu.be/_pWzdyW1v1E?si=MrpTEhgYrGE7WTa3

https://youtu.be/GWMDMzvOMb8?si=kw3ywXblo76vwEl6

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CufJ4HsqbUT/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Nothing wrong with reducing the neck power at all ... it just won't suit every player or every guitar :-) 
The most accurate approach to vintage is to wind both to 7.6k and compensate via height ... almost nobody does this when winding repros however.  

xchrisv

Average DC resistance on the new neck units is stated as 7.3k ohms, so the 6.9k example seems to be an outlier. I'd measure mine but I don't have a multimeter to hand. 

Cirrus

Yeah, like I say, I was surprised.

Been trying to work out what to do with them. I was using my Explorer at practice last night and I just love the way the T-tops mate with that guitar - it's all Mahogany, really resonant. And they're the perfect output & EQ to go into an AC30. It feels like it'd be a bit of a waste of time to swap out pickups that I know I love for repros, I can't really see how they'd be better.

Actually, I don't know for sure what magnets are in the T-Tops - they seem to be mid '70s, stamped, but their moderate output comparable with some Ibanez Super 58s (A3) and a slight smoothness in the very top end makes me think they might be A3. If only there was a way to find out just by looking.

OilCityPickups

By that pic they are short magnet ... so could easily be short A3 - it's usually pretty easy to tell if you have an alnico 5 humbucker around for comparison, the pull on say a small screwdriver, held on the pole, will be way less with alnico 3!

Cirrus

Well by that test they're A5, and the super 58s are A3 as expected. The top end must just be from the pickup covers.

Kittyfrisk

Don't forget the effect on tone of the maple V plastic spacers 

Cirrus

Kittyfrisk said:

Don't forget the effect on tone of the maple V plastic spacers 

Surely not 

OilCityPickups

Cirrus said:

Well by that test they're A5, and the super 58s are A3 as expected. The top end must just be from the pickup covers.

Covers make more of a difference than most folks think. 

fnpt

I have a set of Riot Acts in my LP with A3 magnets which I believe are wound closer to the Bean-O set. Two questions: are these based on the T-Tops rather than PAF's and are they potted?

OilCityPickups

Riot acts are based on a particular set of T Tops I had a chance to work on and measure (as is the case for all of my 'reproduction' pickups) . And as they are Masterwounds they can be requested potted or unpotted (standard is potted). . 

fnpt

Thanks.