Gibson classic 57 plus humbucker, anyone of the gibson fans use one?

Keira-WitherKay

hi ya....... anyone here used a Gibson classic 57 plus pup ?

obviously i'll use it only for clean sounds in neck position for jazz............

after getting my archtop a few months back i've gotten so used to that fat neck pup sound ...... that i wanted to get a solid body guitar with a good neck pup........ and was at the point of buying a gibson les paul studio ...... cos i was in marshall music and tho it's NOT the same sound as the archtop i wanted a solid body to avoid the feedback issues the archtop can be prone to on loud stages ........ so basically a fallback guitar for when i do a gig like last wed where i had a small stage playing loud enough but my archtop was booming on certain notes...... which is no problem if i have a big stage to move the amp (which in this case was impossible) or play softer which too was impossible........ so i should have had a solid body there as the fall back ........ but my tele was at home ....... and like i sai earlier as much as i love that tele for alternative jazz.....for traditional jazz the single coil pup can sound a bit thin especially now i'm used to the archtop tone.............

so anyway there i am sitting with a Gibson les paul studio on my lap in the demo room at marshall and stuart suggested i try fit a humbucker in tele in neck before splashing out on a Gibson ...... so i bought the Gibson classic 57 plus which is very popular on jazz sites ........ so this week my tele gets a new scratch plate and the gibson 57 .luckily the american standard comes already routed out for a humbucker in neck and i have a spare scratch plate handy ........

so by wed i will know whether i need to buy a gibson les paul studio (which i love the clean neck pup of for jazz even tho very few jazz players will touch a les paul or les paul studio ........ but it works for me ) or the tele which again is favoured by jazz players with a new pup in neck

so any thoughts on this pup ............ and yes i have a new 500K tone pot to fit with it ?

so seems my tele is about to become a hybrid fender guitar but with a gibson pup (since i only use the neck pup) also i thought it was a good investment buying the 57 classic gibson pup..as it seems it's the industry standard among jazz muso's for any 335/175 or les paul i would own in the future so it can be moved to whatever i need it in as a top end pup ......or so the press and player advice goes ........so now what do you guys think .............

ps. and of course i will keep the fender original scratchplate and pup to fit back if i'm NOT happy or i change to another genre ....... and since it's pre routed for a humbucker no damage of mod is done that will devalue my tele

singemonkey

Got one in my SG. They're lovely pickups. Gibson's recreation of their original PAFs. They lack a certain quality of original PAFs - a slight squeakiness that EZ's bareknuckles do capture, but that's a question of flavour, not quality. They're definitely wonderful. Clear, complex.

I was also going to suggest, for a combo of "jazzy" looks with feedback relief, the Tokai ES130 335 copy. I'm sure that the Tele will sound great with the '57 Classic through.

Reinhard

The guys on the Les Paul forum are pretty unanimous that these pickups sound great in 335's. My 97 335 had these in, sounded good in that guitar. My LP had them as well, but I opted for some Timbuckers for more of a vintage LP sound. In hindsight, I probably prefer the classic 57's to the burstbuckers. I think it will sound good in the tele, curious to hear what you think.

Keira-WitherKay

singemonkey wrote
I was also going to suggest, for a combo of "jazzy" looks with feedback relief, the Tokai ES130 335 copy.

? afraid i'm not a 335 of any brand or tokai fan unless they cheap ........ ? as in 3 k ect 2nd hand

and NO i'm not starting a gibson/ tokai comparison ..... but oddly enough i too don't like a Gibson les paul for the weight and all the binding/bling ect so to me the affordable option if i get something new is the les paul studio faded series made by Gibson usa but selling new for 8K (after discount) which is a give away and i played one the other day and to my surprise really liked it for the weight or rather 'lack of" and unfinished feel and look and the tone which i played thru a 15W tube amp sounded great for what i need.......it was fat and warm clean jazz tone ..........i really don't understand why most jazz players shy away from les paul type guitars (with the exception of les paul himself of course ? )... ...........of course i'd love a vintage (in my dreams) or even new ES175 but afraid 8K is affordable for a backup guitar like the studio would be NOT the 25 K or was it closer to 30 K after discount a 175 would set me back and marshall have one on the wall and told me the price but i forget and i was offered it........ but no not at that price right now ?

so anyway i got the pup at a nice price .stuart is very kind to me ? thanks stuart greatly appreciated .....and yeah by wed i'll let you know how a tele sounds with a gibson pup .......

we did joke the other alternative was to play the tele as is with the single coil and just throw a blanket over the amp to get a muffled jazz tone ?

vic

Keira my '95 CS Les Paul Goldtop has '57's and they sound real mellow and jazzy...but with enough bite do do the hard rock thing as well. Nice pups.

singemonkey

But wait. Is your Epi not giving you a jazz tone you can use? Did I miss something?

Keira-WitherKay

singemonkey wrote But wait. Is your Epi not giving you a jazz tone you can use? Did I miss something?

no you missed nothing ? my epi archtop is incredible for finger style jazz and love the jazz tone . It's perfect for me , just feedback can be an issue in some gigs since archtop's are hyper sensitive to feedback much more than my 175 copy or hofner ever was so i need another guitar thats solid body as a fall back when i need it and not as my main guitar and the tele might just need a the humbucker in neck ? to fatten the tone to do the job. So maybe we crossed wires but that archtop is instant jazz tone into any of my 4 amps and is my main guitar for jazz . So hope that sets it straight ?

MikeM

Be aware that pairing a single coil bridge with a humbucker neck does bring some eq problems, particularly on a tele.

Keira-WitherKay

MikeM wrote Be aware that pairing a single coil bridge with a humbucker neck does bring some eq problems, particularly on a tele.

no worry about that mike at moment i only play jazz so that tele bridge pup is a mere ornament and if i want my twang tone back which i love with the tele just stock i'll swop out the humbucker for original tele neck pup as i don't want or need a versatile instrument but merely a good jazz tone from a solid body and for me that is using only neck pup ?

AlanRatcliffe

MikeM wrote Be aware that pairing a single coil bridge with a humbucker neck does bring some eq problems, particularly on a tele.

Funny - I've always found it's a surprisingly flexible combo, provided it's a vintage output humbucker. Bit of a volume jump to neck position, but it works. The middle tone is great, with both articulation and girth.

MikeM

'57 Classic Plus

The perfect bridge-position companion to the '57 Classic, the '57 Classic Plus mimics those late-1950s humbuckers that received a few extra turns of wire. This treatment gave the pickup slighter higher output without sacrificing its rich, vintage tone.

It helps overdrive tube preamps to a smooth level of saturation without becoming overpowering. Made with the same features as the '57 Classic, the '57 Classic Plus is available with genuine gold-plated covers, nickel-plated covers, or open coils.

?

Keira, just saying that if you eq your amp for a nice neck tone, the bridge might be too bright, and the inverse.

A 6.8k A2 or 7.2k A3 works great paired with a tele bridge though.

Keira-WitherKay

Oh i totally understood what you said mike and i have heard others say that too with tele's , but i did reply that i'm only gonna use the neck pup alone and for my purposes i could disconnect the bridge pup and not miss it . ? i'm only looking for one good jazz tone thats it .

MikeM

I thought as much, so it won't be a problem. Knowing you, you'll probably still end up using the bridge sometime or other though ?

Charlie4

If feedback is an issue on the hollowbody why not use transparent duct tape to cover the f-holes?
Saw quite a few guys doing it including a certain Mr George Benson. 8)

Keira-WitherKay

Charlie4 wrote If feedback is an issue on the hollowbody why not use transparent duct tape to cover the f-holes?
Saw quite a few guys doing it including a certain Mr George Benson. 8)

yes i know of that and they even make rubber f hole plugs ...... ?

however the problem i seem to have is where the amps sound is picked up by the back of the guitar ...... since if i sit very carefull and shield the guitar from the amp with my bod inbetween it minimises it BUT as i mentioned it's no issue in my usual gigs(which are pretty soft) or where the stage is big enough to move the amp to a spot that won't interact with the guitar but i do lots of functions where like last wed night i was in a tiny space playing my tube amp at 5 -6 (15W) which is loud cos i was working with percussionist and both of is were cramped into a postage stamp size stage as space was a premium and then the venue filled with people about 100 so we needed to play loud enough to cut over 100 people chatting away ....anyway that lead to an uncomfortable night of constantly worryig each note or sustained chord would boom or do that volume swell thing ...... so i kinda had enough and now need to sort a solution not for 90% of my gigs but for the other 10% and in fact it's that 10% of gigs that are high paying functions that warrants i sort out a solution ..... and just having a nice warm sounding solid body on hand seems the solution .......... however it will be the backup plan ....... as i love the tone and look of the archtop ......... but those high paying functions do require a solution that allows me to concentrate on my playing and not about contolling rougue booming notes or feedback (btw the feedback is never high piercing feedback but that low booming type that swells

anyway thanks for the advice to block the f holes ......... and wow you actually got to see george benson ...can't say i love all his songs many fall into that 70's cheesy genre for me ....... .... but he's a monsterous guitarist and oh what a fabulous tone you usually gets .........