skydog52 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 (edited) What say yee? Anyone try these yet? 1959 Humbucker Collector’s Edition Series 1, Exclusive, | Gibson Edited February 27 by skydog52 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LK155 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 $1K for a couple of pickups? You could likely buy a decent guitar for that. Obviously Gibson is not a not-for-profit organization. Pass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 ... but they say 59 on them, so they must be exactly like the pickups that Gibson made 65 years ago, using a super secret recipe that has never been duplicated! AND it's says Collectors Edition right there in the description. These aren't your everyday pickups! They're AUTHENTIC! Put a pair in your Epiphone, and you'll be playing Hideaway like it's 1966! .... oops. Only 1000 set made, and they're all sold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 (edited) 9 hours ago, LK155 said: $1K for a couple of pickups? You could likely buy a decent guitar for that. Obviously Gibson is not a not-for-profit organization. Pass. What do you mean not for profit? The run of 1000 sold out immediately, I bet that was a pretty profit! That said, for the big money (still less than a $1000) I would rather go with Throbak. Edited February 28 by rockabilly69 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Guitar players are crazy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 The original machine that wound those PUP's is in in use at ThroBak. They also use period correct wire size with the same metallurgical content. I too would rather go with ThroBak. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage1970 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Wow. Yeah the whole guitar community, with the whole "vintage correct" thing has gone off the deep end in my opinion. It's absolutely unreal what people are paying for some of this stuff. It's now become a "hey but I HAVE this" thing instead of just having what you need to play and sound your best. But hey, everyone's free to spend their cash on what they want to. Just makes no sense to me. But as long as people are lined up to buy this stuff, they'll keep making it and making it very expensive too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANGAR18 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 DiMarzio owns trademark for "PAF" and casually mentioned that fact to Gibson for a little taste of their own medicine. Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Yes, but look at the case you get. 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Gibson is a master of perceived product exclusivity. They take very basic guitars and guitar-related products, add a certificate of authenticity and special packaging, then charge a premium for them. Great marketing scheme! They aren't alone however. Throbak is similar, offering high prices due to their p'ups being wound on the old Leesona, Slug 101, KZLP and Meteor 101 pickup winding machines. Great pickups...but very pricey. Also, PRS is notorious for producing high cost, exclusives on their products. Remember the 57/08 pickups? Great pickups, but they were offered at a premium price along with special packaging back in the day. At least they are still available at reasonable prices! My only beef with Gibson is that they only offered a limited amount of these new "59 Humbucker Collector Edition" pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 So I am guessing that they cost bout $20 to make. But you do get a nice boxe to store your old pickups in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANGAR18 Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 8 hours ago, skydog52 said: Yes, but look at the case you get. 😁 You remember that story where the factory in Kalamazoo had thousands of leftover original PAF pickups and threw them out into a dumpster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 18 hours ago, Gitfiddler said: Gibson is a master of perceived product exclusivity. They take very basic guitars and guitar-related products, add aertificate of authenticity and special packaging, then charge a premium for them. Great marketing scheme! They aren't alone however. Throbak is similar, offering high prices due to their p'ups being wound on the old Leesona, Slug 101, KZLP and Meteor 101 pickup winding machines. Great pickups...but very pricey. Also, PRS is notorious for producing high cost, exclusives on their products. Remember the 57/08 pickups? Great pickups, but they were offered at a premium price along with special packaging back in the day. At least they are still available at reasonable prices! My only beef with Gibson is that they only offered a limited amount of these new "59 Humbucker Collector Edition" pickups. Am I wrong in that the magnets used in PAFs by 59 were usually Alnico 2 or some #5s? I wonder why they used Alnico 4 for these authentic 59 recreations? 15 hours ago, rwinking said: So I am guessing that they cost bout $20 to make. But you do get a nice boxe to store your old pickups in. I think you're probably right on the money. I know a shop nearby who can wind a set of pickups and sell them for $65 to $100, which includes a profit margin that is got to be at least half that (retail is often 100% markup). This is a small shop, so you know they don't get the same terms and pricing that Gibson will get. "Send me 15,000 of our standard Alnico 5 magnets, and while you're at it, throw in 2000 rough cast Alnico 4s, 2.5" long. .. yeah, a buck twenty sounds good." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davesultra Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 56 minutes ago, TalismanRich said: Am I wrong in that the magnets used in PAFs by 59 were usually Alnico 2 or some #5s? I wonder why they used Alnico 4 for these authentic 59 recreations? My understanding was that there were no absolutes regarding what type of magnets were used. Gibson was notoriously cheap and went with whatever magnets were the best deal from their supplier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Dave, I heard that was very true in the early days. They used 2, 3, 4 and 5, but by 58, I think they had pretty much settled on #2 or #5, but as you said, whichever was available. That's how the white vs black bobbin deal came into being. But that is what I (and apparently others) find so strange of how they are being touted. "Using a combination of 3D scanning, scientific analysis, reverse engineering of original examples from the late 1950s, and specifications from the Gibson archives, the Gibson Pickup Shop has developed the most accurate recreations of these acclaimed pickups ever made, right down to the tool marks on the baseplates. " How much analysis and reverse engineering does it take to wind some wire on a bobbin (which, by the way, didn't have a counter on it) until it's almost full, and to stamp out some nickel silver baseplates and screw the things together. They certainly weren't "boutique" builds, hand wound and assembled by magical elves in the dark recesses of Parsons Street. It would be different if they were made like some of the slot car motors we had years ago. They might be hand wound with 38 turns of #27 gauge wire, precisely laid side by side on each pole for one class, then carefully polished and balanced. But nobody is going to precisely win 5000 turns of #42 wire on a bobbin by hand. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 If anyone on here bought a set of the pick ups let me know. After you install them I will give you $20 for the cool box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davesultra Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 3 hours ago, TalismanRich said: Dave, I heard that was very true in the early days. They used 2, 3, 4 and 5, but by 58, I think they had pretty much settled on #2 or #5, but as you said, whichever was available. That's how the white vs black bobbin deal came into being. But that is what I (and apparently others) find so strange of how they are being touted. "Using a combination of 3D scanning, scientific analysis, reverse engineering of original examples from the late 1950s, and specifications from the Gibson archives, the Gibson Pickup Shop has developed the most accurate recreations of these acclaimed pickups ever made, right down to the tool marks on the baseplates. " How much analysis and reverse engineering does it take to wind some wire on a bobbin (which, by the way, didn't have a counter on it) until it's almost full, and to stamp out some nickel silver baseplates and screw the things together. They certainly weren't "boutique" builds, hand wound and assembled by magical elves in the dark recesses of Parsons Street. It would be different if they were made like some of the slot car motors we had years ago. They might be hand wound with 38 turns of #27 gauge wire, precisely laid side by side on each pole for one class, then carefully polished and balanced. But nobody is going to precisely win 5000 turns of #42 wire on a bobbin by hand. Yup, I find it odd to think of someone attempting to make exact science of an “un-exact” process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 20 hours ago, HANGAR18 said: You remember that story where the factory in Kalamazoo had thousands of leftover original PAF pickups and threw them out into a dumpster? Pete Marino (RIP) told me the factory filled up the back of his pickup truck with them and asked him to deliver them to the dump. From what I understand less them 1/2 made it to the dump. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davesultra Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 50 minutes ago, Genericmusic said: Pete Marino (RIP) told me the factory filled up the back of his pickup truck with them and asked him to deliver them to the dump. From what I understand less them 1/2 made it to the dump. Wow, talk about a great disturbance in the force!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Seriously: sometimes I'm embarrassed to tell people I play gtr, with all of this ridiculous bullshit going on. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 YOu gotta love capitalism..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 The exact science is finding great examples from the past, finding out why they sounded so good, and then consistently being able to wind a pickup that gets that solid tone consistently. I know Throbak pickups are expensive, but frankly, I've never heard a bad one. And yes, maybe a pickup is not too complicated of an item, but sourcing the right materials to assemble pickups takes a bit, and I think Throbak not only sourced the right materials, they put the work in to get the details that make the pickup winding right, and they got the winders. The proof is in their track record. They make a consistently good pickup. And they sell for what people will pay for them! And these Gibson pickups? Most people around here know that I'm a Gibson fan, but I don't think they are that consistent in their pickups. They have hit and misses even in the same pickups. I've heard and installed many good and bad examples of Classic 57's, Burstbuckers, and Custombuckers. If I truly thought they had nailed the original PAF tone, I would buck up the money for these limited editions, but I seriously doubt they did, On 2/29/2024 at 1:36 PM, davesultra said: Yup, I find it odd to think of someone attempting to make exact science of an “un-exact” process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zguitar71 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 (edited) For about $750 less you can skip the fancy case and get a padded envelope with a set of Wolfetone pickups in it and start ripping it up. Also if you don’t like the A4 sound you can re-authenticate them with a set of rough cast A5, 2, 3 or 8 magnets from Philadelphia Luthier for $7.95. I assure you these magnets were scientifically analyzed. Most people would benefit more from the Wolfetones and spend the $750 on guitar lessons. Edited March 2 by zguitar71 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 15 hours ago, rockabilly69 said: If I truly thought they had nailed the original PAF tone, I would buck up the money for these limited editions, but I seriously doubt they did, Therein lies the issue....What exactly is the original PAF tone? I mean which PAF tone? I have a friend with a 58 Burst and it is more the guitar than the pick ups. The guitar acoustically is just that much different. He also has a dot neck 335 and the pick ups are different sounding than the burst. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Here's the process. You first find the ideal guitar. Next, you search for the optimal pickups. Once successful, you focus on the right strings. Then it's onward to the amp. Finally you can concentrate on the pedals. Then you're dead. The whole time the technology keeps changing and guitar pundits tell you why you're wrong about every opinion you have. And in those last breaths you remember why you picked up that first guitar and smile. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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